Here at Emergence Foundation we are delighted to bring you news of a next step in the life of our organisation. The plan is to offer a retreat to be held in April 2026. After eight years giving grants what, you may ask, has inspired this and also what exactly does it offer.
‘Aha!’
In answer to the first question, we can say the ‘aha’ moment came when we thought about the charity sector and, in particular, the lives of our grantees and their beneficiaries. Our grantees are people who are working for others and trying to change the world in different ways. We know such a life is often more than a full-time job and exhausting for body and soul, because, quite frankly, of how much it takes to go against the tide of the way things are in the world, to create something new and positive.
It is here that we had the thought, the one thing that could help our grantees and their beneficiaries more than anything else (apart from a grant!) is SPACE and TIME.
Space and time….
Space and time, that is….
….. to refresh, to recuperate, to truly absorb everything that is happening for us.
….. to go deeper into what is most important both in our own lives and for life as a whole.
….. to have the opportunity to awaken to new perspectives.
….. to rekindle, revive or even rediscover our meaning and purpose, so that we can return to our lives and our work, vital and rejuvenated.
Inner and Outer
On top of this, we recognised that, between us in our EF collective, we have spent many years mastering the art of meditation and movement that explores the intelligence of the body. We have also done a great deal of work participating in and facilitating dialogue and discussion.
This made us aware that we have something to offer in bringing together the inner and the outer in a way that could help and benefit changemakers like you. Retreats of this nature, we feel, can offer something of great value in this critical time on planet Earth that we are living through.
Meditation, Movement, Discussion
What then could you expect of a retreat like this?
First of all, we want to offer a beautiful space and atmosphere, where people feel safe and can deeply relax and enjoy being together. And within that environment there would be:
- Simple meditation guidance, for anyone at any level, including if you have no experience at all
- Easeful movement sessions, to introduce people to the miraculous intelligence of the body
- Facilitated discussions and dialogue sessions on topics of real relevance to our own lives and our relationship to the world at large
- Time and space to simply share and be together or just be quietly by oneself
Meditation, movement and inquiry, we think naturally fit together and support each other in a way that can benefit everyone. At the end of the retreat there would be time to focus on transitioning back to our lives and work in the most positive and fruitful way; including how to incorporate what we have experienced on the retreat and thinking about next steps.
Who Is It For?
The retreat is not only being offered to our grantees and their beneficiaries. It’s open to everyone. This is because we believe having space and time just to be, is important for anyone who wants to create real change in the world and be a sustainable and vital agent for that possibility.
Interested?
Spaces on the retreat will be limited. We will be running an application process. News of this and other relevant details will follow soon on our website (https://emergencefoundation.org/), so please don’t apply yet! Do, however, if you are interested or think any of your beneficiaries may be, save the date! Friday April 17th to Monday 20th, 2026. The venue, in the heart of rural Oxfordshire, is: Charney Manor, Charney Bassett, Oxon OX12.
