Here are the two talks from Bunya Mountains Retreat from January 2007. It was a very beautiful place and the ancient forest was amazing.
Talk one A springboard into change
Talk two A sense of beauty stems from what’s within
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The retreats at the Bunyas were really special and I have very fond memories of them. Reading these is also a good wake up call as I look back on the time that has passed since going there. Many thanks for uploading these; for me, very timely indeed.
Yes, the Bunya Mountains retreats were very special. I have fond memories of them. I have to admit that I do not believe I really understood the full significance and depth of what was available at the time. It is in such stark contrast to what is available today. Nevertheless I am grateful to have had the experience and have memories and teachings from this time that one cannot forget. Thank you for sharing this again.
Bunya Mountain is such a special place, thanks for the talks and the nice photos
Its very interesting how that sense of beauty can be taken for granted. I assumed everyone had it, so would automatically want to sit in a place of natural beauty and absorb the tranquility and vibrate with the natural harmony. Recently I had close contact with a child which really highlighted some nature nurture conditioning. I realized that generally society kills this appreciation of nature in children, by bribing with ice cream, sweets, video games, rubbish movies, cartoons, santa claus, etc. I really wondered about the nurture aspect and if it were orientated from a very early age toward essence and its perception, rather than instant gratification of negative states. It seems such a quagmire, the child has strong egos without self awareness or understanding, the adults have egos and just want a quiet time so do whatever it takes to get such, plus bribe or control the child for so called ‘love’. The to and fro for attention and ‘love’ seems to become everything but real ‘love’. I could see this so clearly in my own infancy when I simply associated adults between good and bad, depending on how much food and sweets they provided. The adults I most disliked were grumpy and never gave anything, later I learned that some were in great pain, illness and suffering, but as a child I had no awareness of such, the world was totally self centered, narcissistic, and psychopathic. If that is multiplied by billions of people, it is a miracle there are still pockets of natural beauty at all. Just being among free flying birds, eating among the trees and talking among themselves is such a pleasant harmony (even if the birds are quarreling). To imagine birds carrying around a wallet with credit cards to purchase seeds from trees is so absurd, but what do we do with our advanced intellect and potential control over nature?
It is delightful to witness young children reveling in nature and for brief moments the essence shining, but ice cream quickly takes over, not just for the children but everyone else. To develop objective values in the very young would seem to require adults acquiring such in the first instance, then maybe utopia could be in reach, but instead we all get caught and caged by the child catcher within ourselves and without.
https://youtu.be/zUnhfvGdmmw – Child Catcher From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
This was the first spiritual retreat I ever went to and it was a wonderful experiece which left a lasting impression on me. The location was magical and it was the first opportunity I had to gather with a big group of like-minded people. That in itself made it inspiring, but then Mark made a surprise appearance and the gathering took on a whole new level of inspiration.
I can still remember Mark’s talks at Bunya, especially those around the campfire, which were really profound. It’s wonderful to be able to read these two talks again and reflect on their meaning anew, to see what I was able to understand and put into practice at the time, and consider how I can be more consistent and go further with this today.
It was also great to see those pictures. It really brings back fond memories. I certainly look much younger and fresh-faced, which I was!
I know exactly what you mean Matthew, those campfire talks were really profound for me too and I have remembered them often since. It was my first time at a spiritual retreat as well and first time meeting Mark. All of which has left a lasting positive impression on me.
Yes indeed; the campfire. I feel especially privileged to have been present at those talks, they were deeply profound; magical.
Bunya Nut Mountain combined with the retreat that took place there sounded like an incredible experience. I noticed how stunning and majestic the trees from the photograph looked as well Lucia. The forest devastation is a real tragedy, as well as the destructive states of those responsible for its current condition.
This is a quote taken from the A sense of beauty stems from what’s within article.
“What’s lacking unfortunately is a sense of beauty, which is able to perceive the more sensitive aspects of life, and to see and appreciate beautiful things.
Many people don’t have that sensitivity and so they don’t value such beauty, they value other things.”
As a child I loved being outside, especially because I grew up in a smaller village with still lots of nature around. I can vividly remember taking in the surroundings, wanting to climb trees all the time or building little huts in the bushes. Nevertheless, life took its own direction and this sense of beauty you talk about slowly eroded to be replaced by the want for human made stuff. As you point out, in general people don’t value this sense to pick up nature’s subtleties. I don’t even think people realise what they’ve lost unless they can remember it from their childhood and you remind them. I did not realise what I’ve lost until I started using the techniques you give on this site. I’m very grateful to have this website up to at least have some guidance and sense of community.
Thanks for sharing those pictures from Australia too, I almost forgot how beautiful those fern trees are, especially when spring comes and the ferns roll out their new leafs.
I had not read this talk before, but did see another one that touched on similar points; about how the inner, or what’s within a person, is that which values nature and beauty (or does not and the consequences of that.)
There was a film I was looking into where its story portrays this and due to these talks I was able to understand it in a deeper way.
8 years ago btw, since this talk. Time certainly keeps on moving.
Thanks for these articles, it was great to read them and see the photos and remember being there at that retreat and various other things that were said and various walks and practices. It was such a great retreat and I count myself lucky to have been there.
I just read the “Sense of Beauty” one and really liked how everything is put so simply and clearly. Must’ve been a great retreat and opportunity for anyone who was there.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit the Bunya Mountains twice since being in Australia.. It’s such a magical, beautiful place, like it’s in a different time. I thought the retreat there must have been really special. Thanks for posting these insightful talks and giving a glimpse into that retreat.
I was so privileged to hear these talks live – can’t wait to listen to them again. Thanks so much.
I just wanted to say that even from these few pictures I can see the forest there must be really special – the types of trees I haven’t seen in other forests, and seems to also have this other-worldly feel I have experienced once in the Sequoia National Park in the US . Being immersed in spirituality, talks and practices in such a place must have been really inspiring! Thank you very much for sharing the records of this event with us.
The Bunya Mountains is a one-of-a-kind place – I’ve been there quite a number of times and have loved it each time, and the retreats there really benefited from the ancient trees (many of them hundreds of years old, and some I think were up to a thousand years old). I compare it in some ways to the Redwood forests of California like you mention Lucia, although they of course have their own unique mystical energy.
A pity these sorts of places aren’t more common. The devastation of the surrounding countryside due to clearing is prevalent and something Belsebuub touched on in one of his talks. Even in the Bunya Mountains itself there was widespread logging and I think the only reason the place wasn’t wiped out was because they couldn’t access the hilliest areas easily at the time.
Thank you Mark, great insights.
Thanks for sharing these talks. That retreat was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, so it’s great to see some of the wisdom unearthed from there.
And I like the short nature of these snippets as it allows me to focus on one thing for inspiration and practice.
Must have been amazing to be a part of.
Thanks for releasing the transcription of these talks. The photos give a little glimpse as well, it must have been very nice getting together with a spiritual focus in such a place. I’m looking forward to reading the transcriptions properly.
Whoops there were exerts from talks. Thanks again
Thank you look forward to listening to these talks. Very grateful