We live in an age of polarised political discourse, whether of leavers v remainers, or of denialists v advocates. As stresses on society increase, we can generally expect this polarisation to increase too. Such conflict takes up much of society’s energy in fruitless cycles of poorly focused and stressful debate, and prevents us from addressing urgent conditions – like climate change – effectively. How can we effectively respond to it without getting sucked into it?
The Middle Way does offer some ways forward in these difficult conditions: ways forward that are not necessarily about conventional moderation. Middling positions do not necessarily address pressing conditions. Instead, we need to recognise that political polarisation has its roots in our own minds and brains, and take responsibility for our own degree of polarisation rather than blaming “the other side”. Paying attention to our state of mind and thought processes is not a recommendation for quietism, or a substitute for urgent political activity, but rather a way of making that activity more effective.
On this retreat, Robert M. Ellis will draw on the work on the philosophy and psychology of absolutes in his Middle Way Philosophy series, to suggest helpful ways of understanding political values and of how they get absolutized and polarised. Once we can understand well how polarisation happens, we can take steps to avoid it in our personal practices of meditation, the arts and critical thinking – making us less prone to polarisation, to whatever degree we are politically active.
Talks and discussion will not focus on political issues in themselves so much as how to approach them effectively, and will be framed by the need to avoid stressed mental states using meditation and by the need to avoid biases and fallacies using critical thinking. Those of all political views will be welcome, provided that they are committed to a process of thoughtful and receptive discourse in which those views are open to change. There will be clear ground rules for discussion, and participants may be asked to leave the context of a discussion if they do not follow those ground rules.
Dates: Fri 22nd March (6pm) to Sun 24th March 2019 (2pm)
Venue: The Beamsley Centre, Harrogate Road, Hazelwood, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6JA, UK. Please see the Beamsley Project website for more details of the venue. See Google map below for location. The Beamsley Centre has excellent facilities for the disabled.
Retreat Leader: Robert M. Ellis is the founder of the Middle Way Society, 
and has a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He has written about 15 books on different aspects of the Middle Way, both in general and in relation to specific traditions. These include the introductory Migglism and the detailed academic series Middle Way Philosophy in four volumes. His latest book, The Buddha’s Middle Way, focuses on the Middle Way in the Buddhist tradition (unlike much of his other work), and will be published by Equinox in summer 2019. Robert has led a number of retreats for the society, and also recorded the series of introductory videos. The podcast interview below particularly gives a sense of his approach to politics.
Who is the retreat for? Anyone aged 18 or over who is interested in de-polarising politics. You do not necessarily have to be a member of the Middle Way Society, though we would like to encourage you to consider joining. Prior experience of meditation is helpful but not essential: if you do not have such experience please let us know when booking.
Cost: Total cost of the weekend is £120, including all accommodation and food. A £40 deposit payable on booking will secure your place on the retreat. The balance of £80 will be payable four weeks before the start of the retreat. If you book after 22nd February 2019, please pay in full on booking. If you would like to join the retreat but cannot afford this amount, please get in touch with the retreat leader explaining your circumstances: concessions can be discussed on a case by case basis, but depend on the financing of the retreat costs as well as your ability to pay.
Stop Press: 50% discount for last minute bookings on this retreat (from 13th March)! Please just select the ‘full discounted’ option when booking.
Retreat conditions: To help create an atmosphere supporting integrative practice, people attending the retreat will be asked not to use electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, radio or TV during the course of the retreat, except for the purposes of the retreat programme or for urgent personal reasons. To maintain interpersonal boundaries in which everyone can feel secure, we also ask you not to initiate new sexual relationships in the context of the retreat.
Travel: The nearest railway station is Skipton, and we can make arrangements to pick you up there if you arrive by train. There is ample car parking at the centre.
Accommodation: Accommodation is in 2 and 4 bedded rooms, with all bedding provided. Depending on the number of people on the retreat, we are quite likely to be able to meet requests for single occupancy of rooms, especially if you have a particular reason for needing a room to yourself. Otherwise you may be asked to share a room with another retreatant of the same sex.
Food will be vegan, but with cow’s milk provided for those who want it in drinks. Please advise us in advance of any other special diets. Everyone normally helps out with food preparation and clearing up as part of the co-operative ethos of the retreat.
Retreat Programme: A detailed programme will be sent out just before the retreat. Like all our retreats, the programme aims at a balance between different kinds of integrative activity. It will include several sessions of meditation, two talks by Robert followed by discussion, an evening of music and poetry, and free time on the Saturday afternoon that should enable you to walk in the surrounding countryside if you wish.
Contact: Please contact robert (at) middlewaysociety.org for all queries about the retreat apart from payment issues. For questions about payment please contact barry (at) middlewaysociety.org. Robert will send out an email with further information for all participants during the week immediately prior to the retreat.
To book please fill in the online form below, then pay your deposit using the Paypal facility that should load up when you submit the form (this also takes cards). Paypal charges us 2% per transaction, so as an alternative you are welcome to pay by bank transfer: Account: Middle Way Society, Co-operative Bank, Sort Code 089299, account number 65711376. Please use your name as a reference.
To pay the balance for this retreat using the Paypal/card facility, if you have previously booked but only paid the deposit, please go directly to the payment page.
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