The Eight & the Four
22-30 August 2025
Buddhist wisdom to untangle your life and make it meaningful
Apply Buddhist wisdom to the knots that keep us miserable
Mindsprings' annual retreat on Holy Island is looking at the teachings around the 8 Wordly Winds that chain the mind and the 4 Thoughts that free it. This is a millenia-old teaching but I have found that it's extraordinarily useful in our current day and age.
The Buddha often described himself as a doctor, diagnosing the illness and prescribing a cure. And these two sets of complementary teachings are a great way of noticing all the ways we knot ourselves up in the course of the day. And then offering a framework for lifting our life out of bruising struggle into something more uplifting and noble.
Mindsprings summer retreat draws on the beautiful Buddhist energy of the Island but you don't need to be a Buddhist to enjoy this week of retreat and exploration. You also don't need to have decades of meditation practice - beginner's mind is always welcome!
What are the Eight Worldly Winds? What are the Four Thoughts?
Traditionally the Eight Worldly Winds are paired as follows:
pleasure/pain
gain/loss
praise/blame
fame/disrepute
but I have found it much more useful and insightful to break them into 2 quartets:
fear of pain, loss, blame and ill-repute
desire for pleasure, gain, praise and fame
And by slowing down - using meditation - and spotting how these tensions and knots form and reform throughout my day, I notice what a tangle my mind gets into.
Becoming mindful of these eight 'clenches' of the mind is instructive. But the Buddhist path also offers something more uplifting.
The Four Thoughts are a cornerstone of Tibetan Buddhism and pave the way for a more inspiring framework for living. They are:
how precious life is
how fleeting is is
how meaningful it is
and where a life-well-lived can lead.
About Holy Isle
Holy Island is a stunning granite outcrop in Lamlash Bay off the isle of Arran in West Scotland. It's been a holy site since the times of Celtic Christianity when St. Molaise lived in a cave here. In the last few decades, it's been a place of Buddhist-inspired contemplation under the auspices of Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche. But the World Centre for Peace and Health where this course takes place is open to all faiths or none. It's a uniquely nurturing place for practice and draws people from all over the world.
You can watch an aerial tour of the island here.
What to expect from a Mindsprings Retreat
Our first evening together on Friday is a chance to arrive, enjoy some food and get to know one another. Most people are tired from travel and we'll have an early night after some relaxation.
The first day (Friday-Saturday evening) is a spacious arrival day. A chance to settle in, walk the island, catch up on rest. We will begin the retreat with a group session on Saturday evening.
The daily schedule for the Monday-Friday is fairly similar
We start with some gentle stretching and a silent sit before breakfast. This is a great way to start the day.
Before our delicious breakfast, Alistair will lead us in some t'ai chi on the beachfront which is optional. But does involve hugs - which everyone seems to love.
Throughout the week the schedule will vary as we explore the 8 fetters and 4 thoughts.
After supper, there is a further chance to practice together and integrate what we have learned during the day.
Generally, it's light's out and silence after 9.30pm - so early nights, though you could go for a moonlight walk!
We often explore silence on the Island and one full day of silence somewhere in the middle. It's a very friendly silence and, again, many people love this element of the retreat.
About the teacher
Alistair is a broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.
He's worked for the BBC for more than 20 years and works as a UKCP-accredited therapist in East Sussex. Since 2004, he's run Mindsprings, his therapeutic meditation organisation which teaches body-based and Buddhist solutions to many of our everyday problems.
Mindsprings offers popular meditation-based courses on many subjects:
-
helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.
-
working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.
-
exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.
-
teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being
Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
Alistair will be leading this retreat supported by Kirsty.
We will begin each day with some gentle embodiment practices and practice together communally before breakfast.
There's then a chance to meet with the community and work together before we gather in the Peace Hall to explore various practices and take them out into the Island if it feels appropriate.
ROUGH TIMETABLE:
This year we are having a full 24-hours to arrive on the Island, so people get to Holy Isle on the 22nd and we have time to settle in and acclimatise before starting on the 23rd.
On Saturday 23rd at 7.30 pm, we will have a morning session and then a free day before the beginning session of the retreat after soup ending around 9pm.
Then from Sunday to Friday:
7am- 8am: Early morning yoga + silent sit
8am-9am: Breakfast break
9am-10am: Community Work
10am-6pm: Practice (this will vary throughout the week)
6pm -7.30pm Supper time
7.30pm-8.30pm: Group practice
We'll wrap the retreat up on the Friday Night (29th) and leave the Island early on the 30th to travel back home.
Team and schedule
Food, Accommodation and Pricing
One of the greatest joys of Holy Isle is the fantastic food harvested directly from the biodynamic and organic gardens that surround the centre. The resident kitchen team will be providing delicious vegetarian food throughout. There will be breakfast, lunch and supper and tea and snacks available throughout the day. Vegan and wheat-free diets are also catered for.
The cost of the retreat is £360 per person and then you will need to book your accommodation through the Holy Island office separately. They have single rooms, a couple of double rooms and male and female dorms. The dorms (and the doubles) have sea views!
You will have to book the retreat AND then your room separately!
Getting to Holy Isle
Reaching Holy Island is part of the experience of going on retreat there. It is a pilgrimage.
Details can be found on the Holy Island site here. But in essence, you need to get to Lamlash pier by lunchtime on the arrival day. Ideally, you might want to come to Arran a day early to give yourself some time. Zangpo, the Island's director, has asked that guests don't try to get over to Holy Isle before the start date though.
The little ferry from Lamlash to the Island is very weather sensitive so it's a good idea to speak to the Island closer to the retreat. Also you will need to book your ticket with Grant at this site.
Please don't book homeward travel too early on the last day. Leave yourself time in case there are delays getting off because of weather. Giving yourself some breathing space makes the whole experience less stressful.
A little bit of planning and double-checking never goes amiss!
Frequently Asked Questions
-
My login doesn't work anymore. Can you help?This new site needs a one-time signup. If you have a email/password combo from the Mindsprings School (Beingfulness, Anxiety courses etc.) then I suggest using the same one. But you will need to sign up one time only to access the site (use those same details if you like) and then you'll be able to access everything with that login the next time you visit!
-
Where have my online courses gone?All the online self-study courses are still on the Mindsprings School. You can access this under Courses > Self Study on the navigation bar. I'm trying to find a way to synchronise the school with the new site - but everything is safe and sound there for your perusal.
-
When are the live online classes starting again?I'm starting to teach online three times a week from the 20th October 2022. You can find out more and book your classes here.
