Testimonies
Below are some accounts of people’s experiences whilst on retreat with Burgs. We hope by reading these, you may feel inspired to come and try a retreat for yourself.
“Working with Burgs completely re-writes the rule books as far as traditional therapy is concerned. It allows one to reach beyond the conscious mind to effect healing: here anything is possible. While the effect is faster than anything that I have witnessed it is no quick fix and still requires hard won character refinement to allow one to access such profoundly healing states, and deep acceptance and surrender in allowing them to re-structure one’s being.”
Adrianna Irvine – MA MBACP Psychotherapist.
“It was so liberating to have the insight and mindfulness to take a really honest look at myself, and be aware of and unhook some of the negative habit patterns that have previously limited me in maximising my potential as a human being. I feel a much deeper sense of peace, spaciousness and stability within myself, and most importantly a gentle love for the person I am moment to moment, imperfections and all! Burg’s teachings have been an invaluable source of guidance in my life, of which I am truly grateful for.”
- attendee of Usada Healing Retreat
“A truly amazing week of Chi Kung, meditation and discourses in a beautiful location with amazing food. There were many people who had never done mediation before, so it really didn’t matter what level you were. Burgs is an amazing teacher and explains things in a very understandable and engaging way. We are very blessed.”
- attendee of Usada Healing Retreat
“Having met Burgs at a weekend workshop, I was very taken with his direct teaching style, which after having had most of my prior experience through monasteries and reading, was a refreshing change. A truly heart-warming and cleansing experience that everyone deserves to give themselves, with a wonderful combination of meditation, chi kung and the Buddha’s teachings. Moments of long sought after stillness, with concepts once intellectualised starting to be felt. I am truly amazed at my time on this retreat with the feeling of balance and laughter always managing to creep in at some point with the group which was wonderful! The food was a true delight with the talents of Ellie the chef, I forgot meat existed! I am truly amazed at my time on this retreat, to have somewhere where I was able to be guided and supported into clearing out and letting go was a great unburdening, for that I am truly grateful.”
- Giles, attendee of Usada Healing Retreat
“To be taught by Burgs is a truly awesome experience. It’s not just his profound wisdom and guidance, but the way his teaching is delivered, with unflinching honesty, patience, humour and humility. It is these qualities that make him utterly relatable, and that hold you throughout his retreats. I went on my first retreat really not knowing what to expect, having never meditated before. With my third now under my belt, I can safely say, I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction, or a better guide for the long journey of meditation ahead. He’s just awesome.”
- Kate, Usada Healing Retreat
“A few months ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I met Burgs two days before I had my operation and he suggested I joined his retreat.. You know I sailed through Chemo …Even my consultant couldn’t believe it . Now I am in remission…My oncologist doesn’t want to see me anymore and I feel better that I ever have. I feel I have a new life…one I may not have had. And what’s more I am so excited about my new life. I have felt so much healing this week even more than the last time I came. Thank you Burgs.”
“I attended the Usada Level 1 Retreat at beautiful Poulstone Court, on the banks of the River Wye. It was my first real stab at meditation and I had pre-conceived ideas and concerns which disappeared over the course of the week. In Burgs you have a relaxed, calm and understanding teacher who makes it all seem immediate and above all accessible. Emphasis is placed on meditation being an important and enhancing element of one’s normal life: there is no lecturing, no hectoring, and no call or direction for wholesale change of lifestyle beyond the addition of this calming ingredient. I returned revitalised, calmer, and happier.”
- Oliver, attendee of Usada Healing Retreat
“I would recommend spending some time with Burgs to anyone who is disillusioned with life and would like some answers. He has the ability to show us the doorway to happiness and prepares us to make the necessary changes in life to achieve it, leaving it merely down to us to take the first steps through that door. The USADA retreat was for me a life changing experience, but one which definitely requires a mind that is both open to new ideas and willing to put in the necessary effort. The retreats are very well run, and the support staff do everything they can to help the guests so I urge anyone who is fortunate enough to have found this website to make a booking and start learning the real nature of what makes us tick.”
- Thom Powell, Usada Healing Retreat
“I had a lot of very high and perhaps foolish expectations for what I may get out of going on a meditation retreat for a week. However, by the end of the week I was completely overwhelmed by what I had learned and experienced. Burgs provides incredibly concise and poignant insight in the most layed back yet personal manner. I feel truly fortunate to have found such a genuine source of wisdom and calm. Thank you also to the whole team. The food was incredible, the location was beautiful and the people enthusiastic, gentle and sincere.”
- Hugo Boswell, Usada Healing Retreat
“I find them a fantastic opportunity to take a weekend out, give myself a bit of an “MOT” and recharge the batteries. Cowdray Park is a lovely location. Even over a weekend I find I learn a lot from Burgs.”
- regular attendee of the ‘Just Let Go’ workshops
“My idea of what I thought was possible has been completely blown out of the water by what I have experienced with Burgs over the last two years. The Retreat in Devon has totally changed my life and set me on my path, and the extraordinary time with Burgs in Bali was a truly amazing experience. To work under the guidance of someone who can bring this Dhamma, this truth to life with such clarity and vision in the country that we live in, let alone on the planet in the way it is right now, is a true blessing. We should appreciate this and use it wisely because it is really amazing…A real gift.”
“I have worked with so many different teachers over the last 30 years. I want you all to understand how lucky you are to be working with Burgs. His extraordinary gift to be able to transmit the essence of such deep and ancient wisdom with such clarity and simplicity is so rare. You are so lucky if you are coming to this work for the first time and are just learning to meditate now. You are getting it and getting it right first time. So few do that. For many it may take them all their lives to even find a teacher who can teach with authenticity from direct experience the way that Burgs does. Don’t be deceived by the fact he is young. It is a blessing, because it means he will be around for many years. Thank you.”
“Hand on heart, I could not have asked for a better teacher, mentor, and friend. He has tolerated my abuse and ignorance with love, flattered none of my vanity, inspired me to walk the path when I may have given up hope and caringly steered me along the way. I am so grateful.”
“I have known Burgs for half my life. To have him as a friend is one thing, but to be a pupil of a teacher is another, and he is without doubt the best teacher I have ever had. I feel very honoured and very privileged to take him as my teacher. The experience of sharing something that is so profoundly good and for the benefit of all beings is both truly humbling and amazing.”
“To finally learn and see that life really is like a lotus leaf…just the way they always tell you…to learn to see with such clarity what we maybe have sensed and longed to know all our lives …to be given the tools by which we can finally make sense of our life and condition…this is truly profound and rare. The gratitude we feel to you Burgs for giving us such clarity and the tools by which to navigate life are beyond words. To learn to joyfully and patiently observe the gentle opening of that lotus is such a deep blessing. To trust the process is to know that we need nothing more. What a relief. Thank you.”
“We are blessed to be touched by such a great teacher.”
“To have spent our lives learning or trying desperately to acquire more and more…What a relief it is to finally realise that actually it’s about letting go. And to find within these profound teachings such simplicity and the confidence to trust that yes…It IS alright to let go…Oh thank you, thank you!”
“I have felt such a deep sense of healing here this week. I have recently been diagnosed with a serious conditions and the prognosis isn’t all that good. But I have found a practice and a teaching that I not only believe in but can feel working and healing me at the deepest level. I had confidence from the first retreat I did last month but only here did I realise what an extraordinary healing presence Burgs is. When he left the room for interviews during our meditation the other day I was having a particularly good session. For the first time I was really directly aware of energy and the healing I had been receiving form Burgs. But it was extra ordinary. When he walked out of the room I felt as if the lights had been switched half off!”
“From feeling a momentary sense of joy and peace sitting on the first retreat, the second retreat was vastly different. This time I had what was to be an epiphany in my life. I can’t believe how much it has affected me. Sitting still and just being. It’s truly amazing. The mixture of chi gung and meditation is a perfect combination – they go hand in hand. The stiller your mind gets, the deeper you go. And with the chi gung releasing all of the “stuff” you dig up from inside your psyche – its truly liberating! My life has truly turned a corner and I ain”t looking back!”
“The first time I went for a retreat with Burgs I did not know what to expect. I thought I’d just be learning how to meditate. Little did I know that this one singular event would change my life from then on! Instilled with enthusiasm I went back to my friends telling them all about the amazing time I had had.”