The Path to Freedom: Satipatthana
23-30 August 2026
Buddhist insight to untangle your life!
Explore the ancient wisdom of Buddhist Abhidharma and free up your life.
Mindspring's annual Summer retreat is looking to understand why we unnecessarily cause ourselves heartache and headaches. Buddhist wisdom, dating back 2500 years, can help us untangle the knots and lead us down an easier path. This 7-day exploration shows us the way.
The Satipatthana Sutra is an early Buddhist text designed to help meditators make sense of the tangles of their mind. It also draws on the dizzying wisdom of Buddhist psychology collected in the Abhidharma, which analyses all the building blocks of human experience. With the explicit goal of reducing suffering.
Mindsprings summer retreat draws on the beautiful Buddhist energy of the Island but you don't need to be a Buddhist to enjoy this week of retreat and exploration. You also don't need to have decades of meditation practice - beginner's mind is always welcome!
What is the Satipatthana?
The Satipatthana Sutra is a discourse from the Pali Canon, the earliest collection of his enlightenment teachings. It's a step-by-step road map that shows us how we can turn our attention to our own minds and puzzle out the things that make us suffer. Essentially, it's a SatNav towards Enlightenment.
Over the course of 7 days on the Island, we'll take time to unpack this beautifully detailed text and apply it to our own experience. You don't have to know the sutra or have any Buddhist experience to get a lot from this week. It's all about being curious about our minds.
The sutra looks at the human body, feelings, states of mind, and the various mental phenomena that tangle us up in suffering. Applying a specific kind of awareness allows these "touchstones of awakening" to come alive and do their work.
About Holy Isle
Holy Island is a stunning granite outcrop in Lamlash Bay off the isle of Arran in West Scotland. It's been a holy site since the times of Celtic Christianity when St. Molaise lived in a cave here. In the last few decades, it's been a place of Buddhist-inspired contemplation under the auspices of Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche. But the World Centre for Peace and Health where this course takes place is open to all faiths or none. It's a uniquely nurturing place for practice and draws people from all over the world.
You can watch an aerial tour of the island here.
What to expect from a Mindsprings Retreat
Our first evening together on Sunday is a chance to arrive, enjoy some food and get to know one another. Most people are tired from travel and we'll have an early night after some relaxation.
The first day (Sunday) is a spacious arrival day. A chance to settle in, walk the island, catch up on rest. We will begin the retreat with a group session on Monday evening.
The daily schedule for the Tuesday-Saturday is fairly similar
We start with some gentle stretching and a silent sit before breakfast. This is a great way to start the day.
Before our delicious breakfast, Alistair will lead us in some t'ai chi on the beachfront which is optional. But does involve hugs - which everyone seems to love.
Throughout the week the schedule will vary as we explore the steps of the Satipatthana.
After supper, there is a further chance to practice together and integrate what we have learned during the day.
Generally, it's lights out and silence after 9.30 pm - so early nights, though you could go for a moonlight walk!
We often explore silence on the Island and one full day of silence somewhere in the middle. It's a very friendly silence and, again, many people love this element of the retreat.
About the teacher
Alistair is a broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.
He's worked for the BBC for more than 20 years and works as a UKCP-accredited therapist in East Sussex. Since 2004, he's run Mindsprings, his therapeutic meditation organisation which teaches body-based and Buddhist solutions to many of our everyday problems.
Mindsprings offers popular meditation-based courses on many subjects:
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helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.
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working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.
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exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.
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teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being
Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
Alistair will be leading this retreat supported by Kristine.
We will begin each day with some gentle embodiment practices and practice together communally before breakfast.
There's then a chance to meet with the community and work together before we gather in the Peace Hall to explore various practices and take them out into the Island if it feels appropriate.
ROUGH TIMETABLE:
This year, we are having a full 24 hours to arrive on the Island, so people get to Holy Isle on the 23rd and we have time to settle in and acclimatise before starting on the 24th. For tide reasons, you'll need to be in Lamlash on Sunday morning. The little ferry sails at 10am and 11am only. There are no boats in the afternoon.
On Monday 24th at 7.30 pm, we will have a morning session and then a free day before the beginning session of the retreat, after soup, ending around 9pm.
Then from Tuesday to Saturday:
7am- 8am: Early morning yoga + silent sit
8am-9am: Breakfast break
9am-10am: Community Work
10am-6pm: Practice (this will vary throughout the week)
6pm -7.30pm Supper time
7.30pm-8.30pm: Group practice
We'll wrap the retreat up on Saturday Night (29th) and leave the Island midday on the 30th to travel back home. Ferries back to Lamlash at 11am and 12 noon.
Please plan your travel to and from Arran accordingly.
Team and schedule
Food, Accommodation and Pricing
One of the greatest joys of Holy Isle is the fantastic food harvested directly from the biodynamic and organic gardens that surround the centre. The resident kitchen team will be providing delicious vegetarian food throughout. There will be breakfast, lunch and supper and tea and snacks available throughout the day. Vegan and wheat-free diets are also catered for.
The cost of the retreat is £410 per person and then you will need to book your accommodation through the Holy Island office separately. They have single rooms, a couple of double rooms and male and female dorms. The dorms (and the doubles) have sea views!
You will have to book the retreat AND then your room separately!
Getting to Holy Isle
Reaching Holy Island is part of the experience of going on retreat there. It is a pilgrimage.
Details can be found on the Holy Island site here. But in essence, you need to get to Lamlash pier on the morning of arrival day. Ideally, you might want to come to Arran a day early to give yourself some time. Ani Palden, the Island's director, has asked that guests don't try to get over to Holy Isle before the start date though.
The little ferry from Lamlash to the Island is very weather sensitive so it's a good idea to speak to the Island closer to the retreat. Also, you will need to book your ticket with Grant at this site.
Please don't book the homeward travel too early on the last day. Leave yourself time in case there are delays getting off because of the weather. Giving yourself some breathing space makes the whole experience less stressful.
A little bit of planning and double-checking never goes amiss!
