Connecting in joy

It was a true pleasure to come together as a Rainbow Dharma Collective group during this year’s rainbow retreat at the EIAB! What a joy to meet all four of our sponsorship recipients in person!

The EIAB is a beautiful and unique retreat location, with a long history of healing. Our Dharma teacher and retreat facilitator Manu Moonlion provided us with an inspiring personal example through her vulnerable self-reflection. We were inspired by Shelley Anderson’s life dedicated to non-violent activism, and Francois Pottier’s talent for making deep wisdom personal and accessible. What an honor to study with such incredible teachers!

From deep earth touchings to clown-wisdom in the forest, this retreat was packed with special experiences. Our Dharma families were a comfortable and bonded home, and the whole group tea ceremony was the moment we could express our full-throated collective joy. Pia’s musical leadership started us off and the community carried it forward, ending with Richi’s fantastic, spontaneous song composed just for this retreat: I need some (T)ea!

In the words of our sponsorship recipients:

It was really everything I could have asked for: I returned from the retreat nourished, filled with peaceful and loving energy to the brim. I feel like the care and compassion poured into the retreat prep by the organizing team is really noticeable, not to mention the impressive wisdom and vulnerability I felt from the dharma teachers. Ever since the retreat, my own daily pratice has really deepened and I feel more committed than ever to embody the compassionate energy I encountered at the EIAB in my everyday life. My favourite moment was practicing with the group and touching the earth together. This always makes me very emotional, but the way we practiced it this time really made a difference for me, and I came to the realization that I can call on my spiritual teachers at any time to help me carry pain that I cannot carry alone, so I can keep my heart open and compassion at the center of my actions. I do not think I would have had quite the same experience at a bigger, non-community-specific retreat - knowing that I'm surrounded by fellow queer friends and feeling so understood and safe enabled me to let go and breathe much deeper than in other sangha experiences I have had. Thank you again for making this possible ❤️ - Anonymous recipient

As it was my first Retreat, i could not really imagine how being at the EIAB with all these queer siblings would affect me and my life beforehand. I hoped for relaxation and to simply enjoy being surrounded by lovely people. But it affected me beyond my expectations. It was the first time ever in my life, that i felt so much compassion from and for everyone attending, and also for myself that it gave me a glimpse of what the world could possibly feel like. I had so my questions in my head and really wished do get to know others options but didn’t find the people in my day to day life who also liked to talk about spirituality and buddhist practises and the connections with queer liberation. And now I feel so thankful to have made all these connections. This retreat really made a difference and I am beyond happy to have been able to attend it thanks to the work of RAD. - Eddi

RAD is truly grateful to all our donors for making this possible. If you would like to support our work please consider making a donation today—every amount helps!

Where will we go next? The way knows the way!