This silent retreat offers a rare opportunity to step away from noise, deadlines and everyday pressures and settle into the quiet that’s already within you. If you’re feeling the pull toward stillness or renewal, this weekend with Stephen Archer provides a supportive and spacious environment to reconnect with yourself in the peaceful sanctuary of Te Moata.
This meditation retreat introduces the core principles and practices of mindfulness in the beautiful and peaceful setting of a Coromandel nature sanctuary.
On this silent retreat we will create an environment of safety, silence and tranquillity in order to help everyone relax and realign with themselves in a natural way. Through a series of guided group sessions, we will explore how to engage with focused attention, self-compassion and spacious awareness practices, and learn how they can assist us to self-regulate, gain insight and reclaim our authentic self.
The retreat will consist of a supportive and simple structure of group sessions and regular instruction periods and includes delicious vegetarian meals. It is suitable for beginners as well as those more experienced in meditation. Please see our FAQ page for our cancellation policy. Stephen’s fee is not set and consists entirely of your Dana offering. Dana (meaning generosity) invites each individual to develop their own capacity to be generous according to their means. There is now Eftpos at Te Moata so Dana payments can be made the end of the retreat or made online.
Accommodation
Rooms are mainly curtained cubicles with shared bathrooms. A limited number of single rooms/cabins/cottages are available at a surcharge – please see our FAQ page for surcharges and explanation how this works. Those booking early and paying in full will be in the queue for an accommodation upgrade. Bedding/Linen can be hired for $26.00 but is reserved for those flying to the retreat as we only have solar powered washing machines!
Meals
The kitchen team will provide delicious and nutritious vegetarian meals. Please indicate on the registration form if you have any food allergies or special dietary needs. Please ring us to discuss your allergies/intolerances if your needs are complex. There is a $10 per day surcharge to cater for special diets.
NZ Olympic Team, Tokyo
“Stephen is an exceptional mindfulness teacher. He tailored the workshop really accurately to the unique needs of our team, helping a group diverse in age and experience—Olympic athletes, sports coaches, health team, sport managers—to connect to mindfulness in a practical, enlightening and fun way. Stephen has a way of keeping the practices and approaches fresh, new, and fascinating. He channels a significant body of experience and knowledge into relatable, usable and often hilarious observations and descriptions, with authenticity and authority. Personally, I’ve practiced mindfulness for a decade or so to help me get more out of life and work. Whenever I spend time with Stephen I find my motivation to practice is renewed and revitalised, and my understanding of why and how to do this whole mindfulness thing becomes clearer and simpler. Nga mihi nui Stephen from me and the NZ Team.”
Campbell Thompson, New Zealand Olympic Committee and Psychologist NZ Olympic Team, Tokyo
The Kindness Institute
“As a non-profit working in the mindfulness education and mental wellbeing space, it’s important for us to ‘walk-the-talk’ and develop our own practice and deep understanding of mindfulness. Aware of Stephen’s amazing experience and accessible teachings, our core team of five recently attended his 7-day mindfulness intensive and experienced incredible individual learnings as well as an immense team connection. Collectively we found Stephen’s teachings insightful, inclusive and ultimately transformative. Individually our team have shared this was extremely beneficial for their own connection to self and came away with tangible tools to practice themselves and pass on to the marginalised communities we support”.
Brady Polkinghorne, Director, The Kindness Institute, Auckland
Stephen Archer has been involved with mindfulness for over 40 years, starting his meditation journey as an ordained Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest tradition at the age of twenty-three. This involved working closely for 13 years with different teachers and completing a number of long solitary retreats to strengthen his practice.
