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Yorkshire Times
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Steve Whitaker
Literary Editor
@stevewh16944270
9:23 PM 15th May 2019
arts

Conference Of The Birds: Retreat To Settle Stories In August

 
retreat:
Withdraw to a quiet or secluded place.
A period or place of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.


Dictionary definitions of the word ‘retreat’ are as multiform as the English language is inherently complex and ambiguous, but the two shown here give a precise rendering of the location and gist of Settle Stories’ programme for 2019. Building on the huge success of earlier ventures, the Craven-based Arts organisation is hoping to expand and develop the process of individual self-discovery in an idyllic Dales landscape which is a natural conduit to reflection.

Pete Armstrong & Sita Brand
Pete Armstrong & Sita Brand
Taking its name from an early work of Persian literature, the ‘Conference of the Birds’, the first of the Settle Stories retreats in August, will bear more than a passing resemblance to the book, both in intention and practice. Attar of Nishapur’s twelfth century masterpiece is a parable for the ideas and anxieties which beset us all on our unique journeying. Taking flight, as the birds in Attar’s story do, is a metaphor for such journeying. The contemplative focus of the retreat will allow the mind to evolve as a part of an amorphous whole, to learn how to achieve a clarified and recharged mandate for the future through a yielding to the impulse for reflection.

Promising wilderness walks, vegan food, mindfulness meditation, and the evening calm of campfire storytelling sessions, the retreat will take place in the remote and beautiful location of Lower Winskill high up on the green slopes above Langcliffe in the Yorkshire Dales. Led by renowned practitioners Sita Brand and Pete Armstrong, who will each bring unique skills in mindfulness and creative development to the retreat, the experience will further bolster Settle Stories’ commitment to personal development in the wider community.

Conference of the Birds Residential Retreat: Wednesday 21st to Monday 26th August
Tel. 01729 822292 for further information.
https://www.settlestories.org.uk/birds