NOTE FROM JOY 4/25/21
Happy springtime to you all. Yes, the honeybees have returned to Wattle Hollow… After much consideration and preparation I am ready to resurrect Wattle Hollow and open it to the public. First thing to know, darlings: ONLY FULLY VACCINATED FOLKS WILL BE WELCOME. There will be more dates and events scheduled than are listed below, once I see if there will be a fourth wave of new Covid variants headed to NWA or not. As it stands now, the meditation retreats will have limited participants…. with social distancing (and masks optional). And I...
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Sunday, May 16th – 10:00 a. m. – 4:00 pm All Dharma Days are suitable for oldies and newcomers…since we all need to arrive with “beginner’s mind,” anyhow. We will have chairs or cushions available for sitting, and yoga mats for our period of stretching, though you all are of course welcome to bring your own. (If you are concerned about the Covid-19 sanitation aspect for your yoga, blanket and meditation equipment, probably better to bring your own supplies and perhaps dish ware for lunch, dears.) We will be practicing the various...
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Sunday, MAY 23rd – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm All Dharma Days are suitable for oldies and newcomers…since we all need to arrive with “beginner’s mind,” anyhow. We will have chairs or cushions available for sitting, and yoga mats for our period of stretching, though you all are of course welcome to bring your own. (If you are concerned about the Covid-19 sanitation aspect for your yoga, blanket and meditation equipment, probably better to bring your own supplies and perhaps dish ware for lunch, dears.) We will be practicing the various...
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Saturday, JUNE 5th – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm All Dharma Days are suitable for oldies and newcomers…since we all need to arrive with “beginner’s mind,” anyhow. We will have chairs or cushions available for sitting, and yoga mats for our period of stretching, though you all are of course welcome to bring your own. (If you are concerned about the Covid-19 sanitation aspect for your yoga, blanket and meditation equipment, probably better to bring your own supplies and perhaps dish ware for lunch, dears.) We will be practicing the various...
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Saturday, JUNE 19 – 10:00 am – 4:00 pm All Dharma Days are suitable for oldies and newcomers…since we all need to arrive with “beginner’s mind,” anyhow. We will have chairs or cushions available for sitting, and yoga mats for our period of stretching, though you all are of course welcome to bring your own.(If you are concerned about the Covid-19 sanitation aspect for your yoga, blanket and meditation equipment, probably better to bring your own supplies and perhaps dish ware for lunch, dears.) We will be practicing the various...
READ MORE / Register‘Freedom’ Weekend
JULY 2 – JULY 4 This will be an opportunity to sink deeper into our meditative focus, perhaps gaining an inner witness powerful enough to open a dialogue with our wily monkey minds, about craving and aversion. It will be held in meditative silence, except for group discussions and a personal interview with Joy. We will fast from Saturday lunch until Sunday morning, in accordance with the Buddhist custom. You must have completed at least one Dharma Day (not necessarily this year) to qualify for the weekend experience. Registration will...
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Saturday JULY 17th – 10 am – 4 pm All Dharma Days are suitable for oldies and newcomers…since we all need to arrive with “beginner’s mind,” anyhow. We will have chairs or cushions available for sitting, and yoga mats for our period of stretching, though you all are of course welcome to bring your own. (If you are concerned about the Covid-19 sanitation aspect for your yoga, blanket and meditation equipment, probably better to bring your own supplies and perhaps dish ware for lunch, dears.) We will be practicing the various forms...
READ MORE / RegisterBeing Where You Are Weekend
SEPT 17 (6:00 pm) – SEPT 19 (2:00 pm) We are quite fortunate to lure the amazing Mark Cain away from his extremely busy farm schedule to join us for this event, and to share his grace as a yogi-meditator. He and Joy will co-teach /guide you. This event has happened annually every year for (about?) fifteen years, minus the pandemic last year. This is a deeper dive into the possibilities of witnessing our meditative focus and offering the mind and body a veritable “brainwash.” No particular expertise is required for either meditation or...
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OCTOBER 1 – 3, 2021 Our annual (except for last year), profoundly soul enriching AND fun weekend of sharing creative opportunities to step WAY out of your musical box… is returning again to Wattle Hollow. This is kind of a family reunion (you will soon feel at home even if it’s your first time. Our illustrious and trusted guides on this journey are Donna and Kelly Mulholland (of Still on the Hill) and Jack Williams. Again, open only to fully vaccinated participants. Don’t wait to sign up for this one, dears. It ALWAYS fills up! Please...
READ MORE / RegisterTales from Thailand 2020 #4
Above is the Chinese dragon, on New Year’s Day. We are now in the year of the Metallic Rat. Below is my favorite “dragon,” and also my closest neighbor here at S.D.S. The photo is actually the baby. Mama appeared last month and posed for five minutes, but I didn’t have my camera with me…what a tease! Mama has grown to (at least) eight feet long now. For you left-brain readers, those brick tiles in the photo are approximately 14”. This winter in Thailand, my schedule has been filled to the brim with field trips, accompanying Khun-mae and Nawng...
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Greetings, dear readers. Hats. We all wear so many in these complicated times, huh? As the relentless dust and heat bore down, over six days of pickaxing holes in the dry rocky ground at SDS 2… I grew to love my Issan farmer’s hat. It became incredibly familiar and comforting as well. This is a strange disclosure for a “nudist Buddhist,” as I’ve often described myself. My sweet friend Maechee Wontawon is on the left (above photo). She’s been here at SDS 2 since its beginning eighteen months ago, and is the sole remaining founding resident....
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Hello again, dear readers. And full-moon greetings from the Green Tara. (It was fun to wait for the moon to rise to just the right spot.) Thanks so much for your heartfelt response to my Tales. There are many Zero Waste Warriors out there, who have been responding with consciousness since long before my nascent attempts. I often fail to avoid single-use plastic: people give me bottles of water, or I buy something that is otherwise unavailable without wrapping.. And I’m still learning about impeccability from Captain Zero Waste. Here (below)...
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Wattle Hollow is a relatively small retreat center (40 acres of woodlands on a mountainside in Northwest Arkansas) with capacity for 20 - 25 folks.