A koan retreat - an embodied intuitive process

As a regular Zen meditation 'just sitting' sitter I was drawn to trying a Koan retreat as historically working with a Koan has been a complementary practise. I didn't really know what to expect but imagined it would be some kind of mental 'short circuiting' of the left-brain rational mind.

What actually happened was a much more embodied intuitive process that unfolded across the week. The Koan deployed focused me on what needed attention and needed to be worked on over the period of the retreat (and beyond.) Fiona the teacher on this retreat offered excellent guidance on choosing the right Koan for us (from a choice of 16) and how to go about working with it - with regular opportunities for interviews to check-in with how things are going. The Koan I chose has stayed with me and I regularly repeat it.

The support throughout the week from Fiona and her WCF colleagues was first class - these people are experts in what they're doing and you're in very safe hands. The food was also incredible! If you feel a draw towards working with a Koan I recommend you sign-up for a retreat - it's a powerful ancient tool that has the potential to provide insight in a very different way to the meditation method I normally use. I'm sure I will be back again at some point to do more.