BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Embassy of Friendship - ECPv6.17.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Embassy of Friendship X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://steffen.livingformusicgroup.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Embassy of Friendship REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Pacific/Auckland BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1300 TZOFFSETTO:+1200 TZNAME:NZST DTSTART:20250405T140000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1200 TZOFFSETTO:+1300 TZNAME:NZDT DTSTART:20250927T140000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1300 TZOFFSETTO:+1200 TZNAME:NZST DTSTART:20260404T140000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1200 TZOFFSETTO:+1300 TZNAME:NZDT DTSTART:20260926T140000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+1300 TZOFFSETTO:+1200 TZNAME:NZST DTSTART:20270403T140000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+1200 TZOFFSETTO:+1300 TZNAME:NZDT DTSTART:20270925T140000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902 DTSTAMP:20260309T051546Z CREATED:20250901T080852Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T051546Z UID:617-1788220800-1788307199@steffen.livingformusicgroup.com SUMMARY:Meditation Retreat Day DESCRIPTION:Why do we meditate? \nComing from the restlessness and confusion of everyday life\, we settle in—and practice to be mindful. We are meditating together – a group of like-minded people – practising self-awareness. Meditation. We allow ourselves to open to a conscious presence\, moment by moment\, breath by breath\, second by second. Sitting upright\, we invite ourselves to be fully present—in body and in mind. \nWe let presence flow inward and outward—ideally relaxed\, surrendered to the rhythm of life breathing through us. Life unfolds only ever now. We practise steady\, open attention—an awareness that meets the moment without judgement or resistance. We meet what’s happening—what we ourselves are—through breath\, through seeing\, through listening\, through receiving. We train in wholehearted mindfulness. \nWe come into contact with the essence of our awareness—our innate capacity to know\, untouched by the content it holds. We practise becoming more aware of the mind’s movements\, so we can rest in this awareness and sustain it gently\, without being pulled off course by mental stories or strong emotions. When we can lean into this pure mindfulness\, we’re better able to meet difficult emotions. And when we touch this state of awareness\, we realise it’s always there—quietly present behind the veil of thought. \nIn this way\, heart and mind begin to align. We feel ourselves held by the flow of life. Slowly\, the restlessness eases. We begin to see how we create stress for ourselves—or how we let the world stress us. \nAnd everyday life—the one we all have to live—soon reveals itself as the real place of practice. We practise practising—we practise the art of being present in a space of quiet and retreat. And in so-called daily life—in our work\, in schools\, in families\, in public—we reclaim presence\, reclaim being\, and bring meditation to life in the everyday. \n— we practise awareness behind the veil of thought — URL:https://steffen.livingformusicgroup.com/event/meditation-retreat-day/ LOCATION:Embassy Of Friendship\, 5 Coghill Street\, Whitianga\, Waikato\, 3510\, New Zealand ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://steffen.livingformusicgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Mediatiobn.png ORGANIZER;CN="Embassy Of Friendship":MAILTO:steffen@eof.nz END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR