We live in interesting times for sure, and few are unmoved by the state of the world. It’s our responses pose the problem – our seeming powerlessness amid swirling bad news on the hour. Fear is rampant, hope hard to come by. So where do we find perspective, purpose, the centre we can hold for our own, our children’s and our planet’s sake?

Instant Calmer combines an informal and generous hospitality with skilful opportunities for breakthroughs in our view of the world and our place and power within it. Nature offers a shortcut, returning us to that childhood connection which was our birthright: we were all meditators once and now we can re-member, ‘get our limbs back’, touch the Earth once again. Even if you have never meditated we’ll show you an old way of walking – just one thread of our weekend together.

Friday to Sunday afternoon may be forty-eight hours by the clock, but bury those watches, mobiles and iPods in your luggage. Taking real time out makes the deeper journey possible.

Re. enchantment
Subtle and all too often lost from busy lives, that meditative space beyond thought and judgment can more easily be re-experienced and anchored here in the hills. We specialise. There are many strands to the weekend, but a simple meditation-in-nature is central.

The place itself helps: the upper Cledan valley has many inhabitants, few people. The lifeweb here – the insect’s flypast, a red kite calling, the hare, the breeze, a dewdrop shard of rainbow light – this non-stop theatre through which we move becomes our meditation’s focus. Uniquely, it offers instant feedback, rewarding us with sparkling affirmation every time we still the monkey mind and open our heart to what is all about us. Soon it becomes plain: the whole show is interactive and a wondrous teacher. Together in our small group it’s not so hard to reach this state.

From micro landscapes of lichen, moss, creatures, wildflower, rock and fern… to the dark star depths of night – a sense of scale confers awe and belonging. And if we are quiet and respectful and can suspend our disbelief, yet another layer may grace us – the realm of nature spirits. As all times and cultures have attested, it is here co-existing and awaits our stillness.

Dawn’s primal power, the beauty of moonrise… new friendships, toys, ideas … a couple of days at lifespeed could do you a power of good.

The weekend
Friday afternoon, we meet you at Caersws station and take you the ten-minute drive to Carno and up the hill. Your bags are ferried on ahead while we walk a beautiful route in to Ffrwd Wen. Relax with refreshments in the big yurt and find your bearings in this special place.
After a leisurely meal, our introduction: how Instant Calmer’s mix of elements came together, and how best to absorb these influences over a couple of days.

Philip’s first workshop follows: Flying the Dog Star is a simple mandala visualisation that becomes a keystone. That something so straightforward could be transformative seems extraordinary, but the proof is in the practice, and readers of the Barefoot Doctor will have seen the Dog Star on every page: “If I was rationed to deliver just one single piece of information which will further you, that would be the one,” he writes. Any symbol would do of course, but the star is easy to hold in the mind’s eye.

As hosts we’ll be up early on Saturday and you might opt for sunrise from the top of the hill.
After breakfast, Philip’s Spine Surfing workshop uses the Dog Star visualisation to extend our awareness of posture and release long-held energy blocks. It can be very effective.

Opening to Nature takes us for a walk. With every footfall conscious, we leave barely a trace passing through the valley’s seemingly untouched paths and places: the walking itself is the meditation. Moving on from this, to a vibrant awareness of the lifeweb interacting with us in real time, is a just matter of noticing. It is simply the case. This beautiful attunement arrives quite naturally, and it is easier to enter this state than to describe it. As ever, the poets got here first.

By Saturday afternoon, it is not so difficult in these landscapes to soften our gaze and slip through to the next level – that of nature spirits. Stillness, respect, and a quiet open mind are all that’s needed. It’s a wonderful world…

Our weekends are a sharing of three decades worth of learning and fun. Experiencing these truths for ourselves and then anchoring them through practice inoculates us against cynicism, the designer despair of so much mainstream culture.

Throw eight explorers together, add four thousand acres of open-access land arcing high and wide two fields away; then fold in the Wye and Severn rising ten miles off. Stir the soul.

Food
We serve organic vegetarian wholefoods, locally sourced and with much from our own garden. Check Earthwalk’s food reviews, you are in for a treat. And let us know if you have special dietary needs.

Accommodation
With three yurts, the cottage, and just eight guests – we’re quite flexible. The yurts each have a cheery woodstove and two futon beds; duvets, cushions, all bedding, pillows and towels are provided in style. There’s Ffrwd Wen’s small double bedroom too – first come, first served.

Our new bathroom has a fine shower and toilet; and this spring we are building a compost loo-with-a-view.

The yoga
No experience is needed. For these weekends Jo uses Yin yoga: slow, gentle and deeply energizing when combined with visualisation. Yoga here may surprise even seasoned students: with clean air, real food and fresh water, prana levels are high and the body responds accordingly. Feel free to contact her with any qualms or queries.

What to bring
A sarong or gown for to and fro the bathroom; loose garments for yoga and lounging; layered clothing and a hat for cool stargazing or changing weather; we provide soft-light eco lanterns, so no LEDs or bright torches, please: without them the night-adapted eye is a revelation and makes real stargazing possible. By all means bring a camera, sketchbook, paints or a musical instrument.

Leather-soled moccasins or bare feet are best for grounding ourselves around Ffwrd Wen. And bring walking boots for the hills.

Optional homework
Watch Microcosmos (1997) the close-up documentary of a day in a French meadow: delightful and without commentary, it attunes one’s eye for the weekend. Read the introductions to William Bloom’s Working with Angels, Fairies & Nature Spirits and The Secret Life of Nature by Peter Tompkins; two wonderful books. And walk barefoot as often as you can, indoors or out, to get past that unaccustomed tickle and on to pure pleasure.

Travel
After Instant Calmer the last thing you will want to do is drive. Carbon footprints aside, it’s better to relax and let the weekend’s experiences take root. Let the train take the strain.

On Friday we will meet the 12.40 from London Euston, which arrives at Caersws at 4.13; this can be joined at Birmingham or Shrewsbury. On Sunday the 4.37 from Caersws will return you gently to the wider world. For tickets, our local Newtown Station Travel is unbeatable: newtownstation@btclick.com

If you have to come by car, rendezvous at Caersws station at 4.15 and you can park safely here at Ffrwd Wen.

Prices
This year’s weekends cost £240, with concessions available. In the unlikely event of our having to cancel the weekend, all payments will be refunded.

Dates
Our first weekemds are August 22 and September 5.