In episode 45, the presenters - Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu and journalist Jo Confino - are joined by lay practitioner Nick Kenrick to talk about Plum Village as a healing center, the many reasons people go there, and the personal transformations and deep healing life journeys taking place there. For the past 18 months, Nick has been living with the Plum Village community of monastics and lay practitioners, and kindly agreed to share his own transformative deep healing journey.

Nick Kenrick worked as a diplomat for the British government for nine years before retraining to work as a psychotherapist for the next decade. He has visited Plum Village every year since Thay and his monastics came to the UK in 2010, and helped to found Wake Up London — a local sangha for younger practitioners in the city - following Thay’s visit. He joined the Order of Interbeing in 2018 and has been living in Plum Village since June 2021. 

Nick’s deep sharing touches upon the conditions that brought him to Plum Village, and upon exhaustion and breakdown, changing careers, and recovery and aspects of healing, including the practices he found refuge in. He further delves into individual and collective suffering; perceptions and the roots of conflict; befriending despair; psychotherapy and spiritual practice; healthy boundaries; following ‘the schedule’; sharing circles; taking refuge in the sangha; and much more.

In addition, Brother Phap Huu shares about Plum Village as a practice center for meditation and mindfulness; the energy of collective mindfulness; meditation and its healing dimension; mindfulness of the body; and the importance of the schedule in the life of the community.

And Jo recollects aspects of his own healing journey, and of learning through practice about some hard facts of life.

You also get to witness the Plum Village tradition of watering the positive seeds and showing appreciation.

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:50 Why Do People Go to Plum Village?
00:08:10 Nick Kenrick Intro, Background
00:11:48 The Conditions That Brought Nick to Plum Village
00:16:11 Boundaries: Looking After the Community While Offering Refuge to People in Need
00:20:29 Understanding Suffering, Following the Schedule
00:28:08 The Importance of the Schedule
00:36:31 The Schedule in Plum Village
00:41:30 Dharma Sharing Circles
00:44:58 Mindfulness of the Body
00:49:32 Foundational Practices: Slowing Down, Learning to Stop
00:56:16 Survival, Stability
00:57:25 Relating to Ancestors
1:00:35 The Importance of Practicing in the Good Times
1:08:58 Other Helpful Practices & Experiences
1:14:23 Learning to Be Open to the Present Moment No Matter What It Offers; Patience; Taking Refuge in the Sangha
1:26:06 Returning to a Good Level of Wellness & Health
1:32:08 The Essence of What Nick Learned in Plum Village
1:38:27 Finding A Way Through
1:40:16 Individual and Collective Manifestations of Suffering
1:44:19 Psychological vs. Spiritual Practices: Differences, Similarities
1:50:45 The Practice of Showing Appreciation
2:00:43 Outro

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🎧 Listen to previous episodes on YouTube ➛ http://pvapp.to/twoii-episodes

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🔔 The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living is a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. 🔔

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The podcast is co-produced by the Plum Village App:
https://plumvillage.app/
And Global Optimism:
https://globaloptimism.com/
With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:
https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

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🎧 Listen to the podcast on the (completely free) Plum Village App ➛ https://web.plumvillage.app/talks/the-way-out-is-in and other streaming services.

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Resources:

Plum Village Community ➛ https://plumvillage.org/
Thich Nhat Hanh ➛ https://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/
🎙️ Brother Phap Huu ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/br-phap-huu/
🎙️ Jo Confino ➛ https://www.instagram.com/joconfino/
Sister Chan Khong ➛ https://plumvillage.org/about/sister-chan-khong/
Wake Up London ➛ https://wakeuplondon.org/
Order of Interbeing ➛ https://orderofinterbeing.org/
‘Home Practices for the Rains Retreat’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/articles/home-practices-for-the-rains-retreat/
‘Extended Practises’ (Dharma sharing) ➛ https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/extended-practises/
The Organic Happy Farms ➛ https://plumvillage.org/community/happy-farm/
Brother Phap Linh ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/brother-phap-linh/
Sister True Dedication ➛ https://plumvillage.org/people/dharma-teachers/sister-hien-nghiem/
‘The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings’ ➛ https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-14-mindfulness-trainings/

Help us caption and translate this video: https://web.plumvillage.app/subs?yt=P6fJ06-pAVk

#TheWayOutIsIn #ThichNhatHanh #PlumVillageApp #twoii