A Celebration Of
The Wholeness Of What Naturally Seems To Appear
Life, dialogue and time together in northern Portugal
Alongside the publication of The Wholeness Of What Naturally Seems To Appear: Two But Not Two, I am offering something a little different.
You are invited to come and spend some time with me here in northern Portugal — individually, as a couple, or as part of a very small group.
At the heart of our time together is a friendly and open dialogue around the description explored in the book: the wholeness of what naturally seems to appear. We can explore the book itself, questions about non-duality, or whatever may be arising in your own life — relationships, fear, uncertainty, seeking, change, identity, suffering, or simply what it seems to be like to be you.
But I don't envisage us necessarily spending our time sitting in a room talking.
Nothing is being taught or transmitted in this meeting. It simply offers an opportunity to spend some time with this message in relaxed and open conversation. Some people have found that spending time with the description in this way allows it to resonate more clearly, although no particular outcome is expected or promised.
A beautiful place in which to meet
I live close to Amarante in northern Portugal, an extraordinarily beautiful part of the country where mountains, rivers, forests, vineyards, historic towns and villages are all within reach.
Amarante itself lies on the banks of the River Tâmega, with the Serra do Marão rising beyond it. The old town, riverside cafés, historic bridge and surrounding countryside make it a wonderful place simply to walk, talk and spend time. The nearby Marão mountains offer very different landscapes, woodland and opportunities for walking.
Further afield is the Douro Valley, with its extraordinary terraced hillsides, vineyards, river landscapes, villages and viewpoints. It is a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape and one of the great landscapes of northern Portugal.
There is also an enormous amount of history and culture around us. Amarante lies within a region rich in Romanesque monasteries, churches, bridges and other historic buildings. Porto, Guimarães and the Douro Valley form part of the wider cultural landscape around us.
And when the weather invites it, northern Portugal offers another possibility altogether: water. There are river beaches and swimming places throughout the north, as well as the Atlantic coast with its long beaches and invigorating ocean.
So our time might include a mountain walk, swimming in a river, wandering through Amarante, driving through the Douro, visiting an old monastery or village, spending an afternoon by the Atlantic, having lunch somewhere we discover, sitting over coffee, painting, or simply finding somewhere beautiful and continuing our conversation.
No fixed programme
This is not a retreat with a timetable of teachings, meditations and prescribed activities.
Before you arrive, we can talk about what interests you and what you might enjoy doing. From that we can create a loose itinerary together. But it can remain spontaneous. We might change our minds because the weather is beautiful, because somewhere catches our interest, because a conversation takes us somewhere unexpected — or simply because we feel like doing something else.
You might come for an afternoon, a whole day or several days.
You are booking my time, rather than purchasing a predetermined programme. During that time we can decide together how we would like to spend it.
And the dialogue need not stop because we're walking, driving, eating or swimming.
In some ways, that is part of the point.
The wholeness described in the book isn't something confined to a meeting room, meditation, spiritual experience or particular state. There is no reason for our exploration of it to be confined to those things either.
Walking is appearing. Talking is appearing. Eating is appearing. Swimming is appearing. Silence is appearing. A difficult question is appearing. Laughter is appearing.
Nothing needs to become extraordinary in order for the wholeness of what naturally seems to appear to be self-evident.
Time together
I want to keep the arrangements simple.
Half a day — €175
Up to four hours together.
We might spend the morning or afternoon walking and talking, explore Amarante or somewhere nearby, have coffee or lunch, swim, paint, or simply see where the time takes us.
A full day — €300
Up to seven hours together.
This gives us the freedom to travel a little further — perhaps into the Marão mountains, through the Douro Valley, towards the coast or somewhere else we decide upon — without feeling that we are watching the clock.
Several days
If you would like to make a longer visit to northern Portugal, we can agree an arrangement depending upon how much time you would like to spend together.
That does not mean we need to spend every waking hour together. You may want plenty of time to yourself — exploring, resting, reading, swimming, painting or simply enjoying being here — with our time together arranged around that.
The prices are for my time, whether you come individually, as a couple or as part of a very small group.
Practical arrangements
You arrange your own journey to Portugal and your own accommodation. I will provide suggestions for local hotels, guest houses and B&Bs at different price levels so that you can choose whatever suits you.
Once we have confirmed that I am available, we can talk briefly about what you would like from your visit and roughly how much time you would like to spend together.
I'm happy to drive when we decide to explore somewhere together. My normal local driving and incidental expenses are covered within my fee, rather than being added to your bill. If we decide together on something involving an unusually significant additional expense, we can simply discuss that beforehand.
Your accommodation, meals, entrance charges and other personal expenses remain your own.
Because I want this to remain personal and conversational, numbers will be deliberately small. If we're travelling together in my car, that will normally mean a maximum of three guests.
There is nowhere we need to get to
Although our conversations may touch upon deeply personal questions, these meetings are not psychotherapy and aren't intended as treatment for mental-health difficulties.
Neither are they an offer of enlightenment or a promise that some particular experience will happen.
They are an opportunity to spend some time together, enjoy this beautiful part of Portugal, talk about what matters to you, and explore the description at the heart of the book:
What naturally seems to appear — and what is self-evident about it?
Perhaps that is enough.