Zoence
Special Event

Iona Retreat

The Sacred Eye of the Mysteries

27 September - 3 October 2010
St Columba Hotel
Iona, Scotland

led by
Peter & Sarah Dawkins

Join Peter and Sarah for an inspirational and educational retreat on this sacred isle of the West, island of dreams and angels, where the veil between heaven and earth is thin.

Famous for being the monastic settlement of St Columba, the ‘light of the west’ and burial place of kings and saints, Iona has been a major focus of pilgrimage for centuries. Its abbey attracts thousands of visitors every year. But more than this, the island is a stunning example of sacred landscape, complete with a chakra system, zodiac and ‘Tree of Life’ energy pattern, in which the angels heal, inspire and teach. It is a spiritual home and place of peace for many, and a remarkable ‘university of light’. It is also a star jewel in the crown of the Grail Land of Europe, with all that that means.

The Dove
Located off the west coast of Scotland, Iona has been inhabited and acknowledged as a sacred island for millennia. Its Celtic name ‘Ioua’ is a name of God as the Holy Spirit of Love. Traditionally symbolised by the Dove, this Name or spiritual vibration has a form, and this energy form is imprinted on the island in various ways.

The Sacred Eye
Iona’s highest hill is called Dun I, a Celtic name referring to the One (i.e. God) but also to the All Seeing Eye or Eye of God of the Celtic-Christian tradition, equivalent to the Eye of Horus of the Egyptian tradition. It is synonymous with the ‘Third Eye’ of spiritual clairvoyance and illumination, and associated in some mysterious way with the Star Sirius.

Atlantis
‘I’ is the earliest known name of the island. Besides referring to the One [God] and the All-Seeing Eye, it is also the word for ‘ island’ and the ‘Tree of Life’, symbolised in Druidic tradition by the yew. ‘Pillar’, in the sense of the Axis of the Universe, is also denoted by the single-lettered name. In the Atlantean wisdom tradition this ‘Pillar’ was called Atlas. The connection with Atlantis is one of the secrets of Iona.

The Mysteries of Sirius
The mysteries connected with Sirius are the mysteries of enlightenment and the place where the great masters and guides of humanity dwell. Iona appears especially connected with this, denoting Sirius in the Scottish landscape zodiac. It is a place where the veil between heaven and earth is very thin and the presence of the masters and the angels can be more easily felt and experienced.

Programme
Times: 18:00 Mon 27 Sept – 10:00 Sun 3 Oct 2010

Accommodation
This retreat is fully residential in the St Columba Hotel on Iona.
The hotel is reserved entirely for our group and so will be very special. We will also have the use of the village hall for group meetings, meditations, etc...
Most rooms in the hotel have a sea-view. Choice of accommodation will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Cost
The cost of the Retreat includes six nights’ dinner, bed & breakfast at the St. Columba Hotel, as well as all the organisation, teaching and workshop leadership that is an integral part of the retreat week. The cost does not include lunches or travel to/from Iona.

Cost/person, if booked before 1st March 2010:-
£646 shared accommodation (double or twin bedded) sea-view
£592 shared accommodation (double or twin bedded) back-view
£673 single accommodation (limited numbers available)

Cost/person, if booked after 1st March 2010:-
£696 shared accommodation (double or twin bedded) sea-view
£642 shared accommodation (double or twin bedded) back-view
£713 single accommodation (limited numbers available)

Booking          
50% of the cost is payable on booking. Remainder is due by 15th April 2010.

If, for any reason, you find that you are unable to come on the retreat, we will endeavour to refund any monies paid, depending on whether your place can be taken by someone else or the hotel room be re-let. If this is a worry to you, we recommend that you take out insurance to cover against the possibility of such an unforeseen circumstance.

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Recommended Reading
It is recommended that Zoence Basics, comprising four information sheets (free download) and the book Zoence—Science of Life is read before attending this retreat week.

Travel
The usual way to reach Iona is by ferry (car and passenger) from Oban on the west coast of mainland Scotland to Craignure on the east coast of Mull; then by car or bus across Mull to Fionnphort on the southern tip of the Isle of Mull. From there a small passenger ferry operates between Fionnphort and Iona for the short journey across the Iona Sound.

The drive to Fionnphort through the mountains and lochs of southern Mull is very inspiring in itself. There are regular buses connecting with the ferries arriving from Oban on the mainland. This journey across Mull can also be done by car, if you intend travelling by car, but your car must then be left in the carpark at Fionnphort, as no visitors’ cars are allowed on Iona.

A useful guide can be found on the Internet Guide to Scotland website.

‘The Grail Land and New Age’
This retreat is directly preceded by a Zoence Special Event weekend, ‘The Grail Land and New Age’, 25-26 September 2010, at Bonnington House near Edinburgh.