THE WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR

A SUMMER RETREAT FOR MEN
Aug 6-10, Tomar, Portugal
Ton van der Kroon & Eran Markose

Welcome to this special summer retreat for men, in which we will explore the Way of the Peaceful Warrior. We will do this in the beautiful setting of Tomar, the ancient capital of the Templars in Portugal. This retreat is a follow up of our online course ‘sacred warriors’ in 2024, and the men’s gatherings in Sinai in the last 3 years.

“The time has come for the peaceful warrior. The warrior that doesn’t use violence or war to reach its goals, but the warrior that acts from the heart. Its ‘weapons’ are compassion, love and wisdom. And its enemies are ignorance, judgement and hatred. Its arrows are not pointed at any specific person or group, because the peaceful warrior knows we are all human beings trying to find our way out of the claws of illusion. We are all caught in the web of ‘samsara’ and to free ourselves we have to liberate first our own mind and release our negative emotions.

This is no easy practice. That’s why it takes a warrior’s mind: To be sharp, relentless and yet compassionate and wise. Each one of us has a favourite enemy: someone or something that we want to fight. Could be our father or mother, our leaders or any other authority figure; could be our neighbours, other people, the system, the bad guys, another religion, another race. We can even want to fight ourselves and fight an inner battle. To get out of the fight- and survive modus it takes a lot of courage, wisdom and strength. But in the end it is rewarding on many levels.

To bring peace to the world, we first have to bring peace and healing to our own mind and soul. Yes, there is darkness, injustice, war and suffering. Yet, how can we avoid to contribute to it, knowingly or unknowingly. This is the Way of the Peaceful Warrior.’

THE GUIDES
Ton van der Kroon is a pioneer of men’s work for over 30 years, giving workshops for men in the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Israel, Gaza and Sinai. He wrote 11 books, including the bestseller ‘The Return of the King, a book for men in the 21st century’.

Eran Markose is a great storyteller and healer. He left the Israeli army and became a warrior of the heart instead. He gives traumahealing to Israeli soldiers, and works with mixed Israeli/Platestinian groups.

THE PROGRAM

We will use the principles of Open Space as a way of ceremony to delve into our inner world, explore who we are, discover what holds us back and make a leap forward: into the unknown and into ourselves. We will have 2 sharing circles a day, exercises and body work. The whole program will be a powerful ceremony of personal change and transformation.

OPEN SPACE
The Open Space principles are:

1. The people who are there, are the right people

2. Whatever happens, is the right thing to happen

3. When it begins, it begins

4. When it is over, it is over

5. Follow the Law of Two Feet

6. Expect the unexpected

COSTS:  € 550 (including: the costs of the workshop, 4 x lunch, 5 x dinner, and a visit to the Templar Castle & the Convento de Cristo / excluding: your journey towards Tomar, accommodation costs, breakfast, drinks and other excursions + transport decided on the spot).

PARTICIPATION: You can only participate for the whole event. All retreats start at 6 pm (18:00) with dinner and the opening ceremony on the first night, and end at 11 am (11:00) on the last day with a closing ceremony before lunch time.

ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation, lunch and dinner need to be paid separately. We advice to book a hostel or airbnb in the old town. We will organize lunch and dinner and share the costs.

INSPIRATION: The Return of the King, being a man in the 21st century, click here

BRING WITH YOU: suncream, a hat or cap, yoga clothing, swimming suit, sandals, light walking shoes, slippers for in The Gate, notebook, instruments if you have them, a personal symbol to put on the altar…

HOW TO BOOK: Your subscription is definitive by paying the full amount of the retreat to bank account: IBAN: NL90 INGB 0008216143, BICcode: INGBNL2A, Tree of Life, Laurierstraat 122, 1016 PR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Please mention the name of the retreat: “THE WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR AUGUST”.
Finally, please send an email with your subscription to [email protected]

NB. In case of cancellation, there is a fee of € 200 two weeks before the start of the event. After that the whole amount has to be paid.  Hotel cancellations should be checked with the hotel itself. Your registration to the retreat will only be confirmed once the payment is received.

HOW TO GET IN TOMAR: Tomar  can be easily reached by plane to Lisbon and a direct 2 hour train drive to Tomar. You can walk from the trainstation to The Gate and hotels inside the old town in 10 minutes.

PLEASE READ OUR GENERAL CONDITIONS attentively before booking.