Love as the Path - Online Course 2023
An extended online training programme presented in four terms
Term 1 (started 15th January) - Registration Fee £35
with invitation to Donate
Registration is now Closed
Started 15th January 2023
This January AOM will be offering a new online programme designed to bring together all the threads of Burgs' approach to meditation.
The programme will be broken down into 4 three month terms
each lasting about 12 weeks.
“This is a rare opportunity to learn in this depth the teachings that Burgs has shared with students over the years.”
What is the course?
This programme will culminate with the transmission, teaching and commentary on the practice that Burgs wanted to share for the past few years but have thus far been unable to; initially because of the pandemic and more recently due to his ill health.
The objective behind the first two terms is to review thoroughly all the developmental stages of meditation training and then terms 3 and 4 will then go on to weave them together into a single practice that takes Love and the cultivation of Loving Kindness AS the path to the cessation of suffering. In effect it will teach us how the cultivation and refinement of our capacity to experience LOVE can function to purity the mind of the causes of suffering just as powerfully as does the insight that develops out of our practice of Vipassana. The culmination of this course will be the teaching and transmission of this approach.
Many of you will have learned some or even all of the preliminary practices with Burgs previously and will see this as on opportunity to thoroughly review your practice and refine both your meditation and the stages of liberating insight that they point towards.
Others of you may only have had a brief introduction to these practices and so this course offers a rare opportunity to dive deeply into the whole path offered by Burgs and learn to integrate and unify all the threads into a comprehensive and complete practice.
A note from Burgs regarding the course
and how it will run
This past year has taught me that we need to build a more stable structure into AOM for the future, so that it doesn’t rely so heavily on me. In the absence of such a structure I am aware that you have not had the support with your practice this past year that I would have liked. I wish now to rectify that in a number of ways.
While you are following the course I will myself be doing my own intensive self retreat, practicing alongside you. I will be there as needed to give any support that our assistants are unable to provide you with.
I have made the decision to ‘give forward’ this course rather than charge for it as was the original intention. The reason for this is two fold:
Firstly, simply because I would like to gift these precious teachings to you in the way that I received them, as a reflection of the generosity of my teachers.
The second reason is subtler but I would like to explain. By being given the gift of Dharma rather than buying a course and service that you pay for, it is hoped that you will honour that gift and take responsibility for your practice and put the work in on your own behalf that will lead to the results that you might wish for. It is really important to understand that no one, not even the Buddha, has ever freed another being from suffering. It is something that each of us must do for ourselves.
While careful and skilled guidance from a teacher can certainly count for a lot, ultimately I would like you all to find your own inner refuge. You each already have within you all that you need to realise the complete freedom from suffering. The teacher can merely point you towards it . You must reveal it from within yourselves.
I can however gift you the Dharma that I have within me in the hope that it will at least get you looking in the right direction and in the right way. I hope that should you chose to join this course you will take that gift to heart and honour it with your own endeavour, seeing it through to the end as if you had paid highly for it.
It has been said to me many times that when people receive something for free they often do not value it as highly as if it had cost them much. I sincerely hope you will prove these people wrong and recognise that the Dharma is in truth priceless and thus honour it by bringing it to fruition within your own hearts... each and every one of you according to your own efforts. In this I wish you the very best success and may you all attain to the most precious gift of all: your own freedom from suffering.
Remember the Dharma is ultimately your teacher, not me. I would prefer simply that you see me as your meditation friend; one who stands beside you along the way.
Started 15th January 2023
An extended online training programme presented in four terms
Term 1 - Registration Fee £35
with invitation to Donate
Registration is now Closed
Why do this course? A message from Burgs…
“For some years now I have felt there is a need to bring together the various meditation techniques that I teach into a single unified practice that embodies and contains the essence of them all. In effect a practice for each of you who have done all of the preparatory work with regards to training, cultivation, and clarifying the mind so that you are receptive to the higher stages of liberating insight.
As time has passed in recent years so too has the environment and energetic terrain within which we are all practicing. Where once, many of us had to reflect deeply to perceive the true nature of suffering, it is ever more apparent to us all in a way that our approach to its transformation needs to be reviewed and brought into alignment with our lived experiences in the world.
For many of you I have taught the importance of integrating a direct relationship to the Sacred into the process of developing Liberating Wisdom. Indeed the Buddha taught us that the next Buddha’s dispensation will even take love itself as the path. It is in response to these things that I feel it is now time for us to do the work that will allow us to unify the Path of Love and Insight. Such is my motivation for providing this new programme.
I am aware that for many of you who have been practicing for many years with me, the early stages of this path will effectively be a review of much that you already know. But I hope that the programme will function in a similar way to our long retreats, to gradually refine and attune your meditation to make each of you increasingly receptive to the transformative process that leads to the freedom from suffering.
Furthermore I feel that the physical, emotional and psychological challenges of the past few years also make it appropriate for a thorough review and re-atunement of our practice; both our attitude and approach to it, as we each work to reclaim our optimal state of spiritual wellbeing. In so doing I hope that you will be able to pick back up and weave together the many aspects, disciplines and practices that together combine and contribute towards stable mature spiritual practice and perspective, that pave the way for your liberation from suffering.”
The course will presented in 4 terms, each term lasting around 12 weeks.
During each term the various threads to the practice are taught, followed by a final fourth term of honing and developing the unified practice that they will point towards.
Please note that although those of you who have already sat long retreat with Burgs in the past will be eligible to join for just the final term, it is recommended that you at least attend term three as a preparation. You are of course all invited to follow the complete programme also should you wish.
There will be a break for the busy summer months giving you time to review and consolidate the teachings from term 1 and term 2.
**** **** ****
TERM 1 - Awareness and breathing meditation practices. Initiating the healing response and establishing concentration - Starting 15th January
Review of Stillness Meditation for calm abiding, re-establishing direct perception and connection to Awareness as a basis for our practice.
Being sure we have reached a genuine experience of Awareness and direct perception.
Thorough review of Anapana as a concentration practice and other breathwork practices as healing / energy exercises.
Learning how the healing response works and how it is initiated.
Switch on parasympathetic nervous system and deepen into stillness and coherence through Breathwork and Chi Kung.
The groundwork for deep concentration practice -
Concentration on the hands, getting the mind fit, bringing energy to practice. Stopping and Staying.
Overcoming restlessness.Looking at obstacles to meditation practice in daily life -
Sloth & Torpor
Indolence and ignorant energy.
Keeping consciousness clear.
The role of enthusiasm.Letting go the grip of daily life to remain in fluid presence.
Recap and deepen understating of paramis -
Generosity
Virtue
Renunciation
Honesty
TERM 2 - Healing meditation. Deepening our journey into the body - Starting Spring 2023
The 5 pillars of health and the importance of energetic integrity.
Building them into our daily practice.Safeguarding consciousness - a re-cap on responsible use of technology.
Deep Dive into the Body Parts to develop concentration and mindfulness and as a framework for self healing.
Meditations on the different Gross Structures of the body - different organs and systems.
Meditations on Subtle Body -
Chakras
Energy systems and the Energetics of Life.Building Dan Tien and Microcosmic orbit.
Resting in Dan Tien to transform incoherent and unhealthy energy.
Being with feeling in the body for somatic healing -
Trauma release and to deepen our equanimity and harmonious mind.Further refinement of character -
The Paramis of Patience, Determination, Energy
How these paramis relate to meditation.
TERM 3 - Deep Concentration as the doorway to Bliss. Bliss as the doorway to Transcendent love - Starting Autumn 2023
Higher concentration as the doorway to bliss and deeper healing
Deep exploration of 4 Elements meditation and the 5 Jhana factors.
Opening the doorway to love through and bliss and serenity
How to develop Metta Jhana from 4 Elements practice.
TERM 4 - Love as Wisdom. Wisdom as Love. The unification of Liberating Wisdom with the true nature of Love - TBD
Completion Stage: the Unification of Bliss, Serenity, Insight and Love
Clearing the karmic knot through the practice of Bliss and Emptiness
Moving Beyond Self to a Unified Experience of Awakening
Taking Love AS the Path.
What is the difference between this and AOM’s current online courses?
AOM currently offers three online courses (The Stillness Programme Level 0, The Art of Meditation Level 1 and Healing Meditation Level 2) that you can sign up to and practice at any time.
This latest course will contain new material which are not part of the current AOM online course programmes.
Following the course together as a group will hopefully encourage you all to keep practising. There will be set meditation sitting times so you know that you are supported by the group.
You will also feel the effect of a powerful group space and transmission at times when we meditate together.
Terms 1 & 2 will be a preparation for the latter stages of the programme.
Opportunity to submit questions about your practice when needed. A private Telegram group will be created so that any questions you might have can be answered by designated assistants.
Possibility of using Zoom to gather and to meditate and sit together bringing further support and encouragement for your practice.
How does it work?
A new meditation/ lesson every two weeks. These will be streamed live at the same time each fortnight with the intention to all sit together at the same time. It is recommended that you practice this meditation daily (or as much as you can) to progress steadily.
Each lesson will have a guided meditation to follow. We recommend you download this and practice with it whilst offline.
Complimentary discourses and commentaries to further develop both your understanding and application of these practices.
A dedicated Telegram group to answer questions that may arise from your practice.
Whose it for? Who is eligible ?
Anyone committed to their meditation practice who is seeking ongoing structured teaching and tuition. People who sign up to this course will also have priority to attend in-person residential retreats with Burgs (to be scheduled later in the year).
Those who have attended an in-person meditation week long foundation retreat with Burgs or participated in at least three live online retreats during the pandemic.
This is not a beginners course in meditation, rather it will help you to take your practice to the next stage.
How much should I practice?
We recommend practising at least once a day, 5-6 times a week.
Guided meditations will average between 30 – 40 minutes.
If your time is limited, all of the relevant instructions are included in the guided meditation. So no need to listen to the other material provided.
It is recommended to try and listen to the material ‘live’ if possible as it is made available. However if that is not possible you are able to engage with the material at your convenience.
It is suggested that you try to keep pace with the course as best you can.
Can I join this course?
Attendance of a Level 1 In-Person Foundation Retreat
Anyone who attended at least Three Online Live Retreats during the pandemic
Anyone who has a committed and consistent home practice.
“There will arise in you, when you see what life is, an
extraordinary regard for it, because every day that you
wake up you’ll know that you’re an expression of that
profound mystery and extraordinary thing that is life
and you’ll have nothing but the highest respect
and love for it.”
An extended online training programme presented in four terms
Term 1 (started 15th January) - Registration Fee £35
with invitation to Donate
Registration is now Closed
“Burgs' teachings are powerful, deep and very digestible. I have felt a fundamental difference in just a couple of months of the online course; calmer, clearer and more peaceful.”
— Lara
“Having meditated for a number of years, I really enjoyed going back to basics. I've learnt way more than I expected. This course has changed my approach to meditation.”
— Maurice
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