“Only from a calm mind can clarity and wisdom arise.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

On this retreat the mindful practices of conscious breathing, meditation, conscious movement and the modalities of Colour Dialogue and the Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI®) collaborate in a unique way to facilitate a space for connecting with our inner and outer landscape. This retreat offers the opportunity to come to stillness, reflect and reach clarity on any current life situations or important decisions that needs to be made. The beautiful gardens of Temenos and morning walks also provide the opportunity to be nurtured by Nature and gently guided to a place of centredness and inner stillness.

What to expect on this retreat:

• Learning to focus, calm the mind and regulate the nervous system through conscious breathing and Mindfulness Meditation.

• Colour Dialogue: A therapeutic tool that helps give expression to emotional content where words fail. A spontaneous and playful engagement with colour will help release built up stress and anxiety and achieve clarity on internal processes.

• Group MARI® Reading: The MARI® process is completely intuitive and involves choosing symbol cards that is matched with colour cards, and these are placed on the different stages resembling the cycle of life on the MARI® board, also called the Great Round. Processing is done through the drawing of “mandalas”, spontaneous sketches drawn on a page with a circle on it.

• Conscious Movement: A morning walk in the nearby Die Krans Nature Reserve, gentle Tai Chi/Qigong-based movement, and walking the labyrinth will further facilitate an embodied experience of peace, wellbeing and centredness.

• The Saturday mealtimes will be enjoyed in silence to experience mindful eating and drinking. The focus will be on the sensual experience of eating and drinking: seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting, hearing.

You are invited to join me for this weekend retreat at Temenos Retreat Centre on 17 April 2026. Checking in-time will be from 14:00 on Friday 17 th April and we will gather 17:00 for the start of the retreat. The retreat will end at around 14:00 after a closing ritual on Sunday 19 th April. The fee includes brunch and dinner daily, retreat activities, materials used and two nights’ accommodation. Those who would like to stay on the Sunday evening can do so at 50% of the normal Temenos fee. Arrangements and payments for the Sunday evening need to be made with Temenos directly. The restaurant at Temenos, Tebaldi’s, is closed on Sunday evenings, but you can book for a dinner in town or order a take-away from Tebaldi’s or choose to self-cater. The cottages at Temenos are fully equipped for self-catering.

The retreat fee is R 5 000.00* for shared accommodation and R 5 500.00* for single accommodation. An immediate deposit of R1 000.00 secures your booking. The balance is payable on 2 nd April. A payment plan can be discussed. I offer special non-residential rates to residents of McGregor. Please book soon as space is limited. For bookings, contact Johann at johann@johannvangreunen.co.za or 083 764 5978.

*International rates do apply.

Please note my Cancellation Policy:

• Should you cancel your reservation up to 4 weeks prior a retreat, you will be refunded. An option would be to keep your deposit, but to transfer it to another retreat at no additional cost. Do note that transfer costs will be deducted for the refunding of international deposits.

• For cancellations 2-4 weeks prior the retreat, refunds will only be offered if your place can be re-sold. You will still have the option to transfer your deposit to another retreat at no additional cost.

• Cancellations up to 2 weeks prior the retreat will not be refunded, and no deposits will be transferred.

About your facilitator:

Johann Van Greunen

Johann is a Specialist Wellness Counsellor in private practice with training and background in Pastoral Therapy. In his practice he focuses on counselling, Reiki healing and training, teaching mindfulness meditation, MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) readings and he runs various workshops and retreats focused on mindfulness practices, inner wellbeing and creativity. Johann has realised the value of Meditation and Mindfulness Practices early in his life and has come to know Mindfulness Meditation as an invaluable aid in assisting us to develop integrated and coherent life stories. With an interest in Integral and Complementary Medicine from early on, Johann qualified as Reiki Master to offer a hands-on healing practice that complements his counselling practice. Being a Master in Reiki, he teaches courses on Levels 1, 2 and Master Level.

Johann had been training in both contemporary and ballroom dance for years and developed a strong interest in the healing power of creative processes, especially in art, movement and music. He uses these processes working with groups and during his workshops and retreats teaching Mindfulness Practices. He encourages his clients coming for counselling to use creative processes in order to develop new narratives for their life stories. Entering the domain of art therapy, Johann has qualified as a MARI® (Mandala Assessment Research Instrument) Practitioner and offers the group version of MARI® on some of his retreats.

Johann holds an Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Pretoria and a M.Th. (Clinical Pastoral Care) from the University of Stellenbosch. He is registered as Specialist Wellness Counsellor at the Association for Supportive Counsellors & Holistic Practitioners. He is involved with mentoring programmes for the City of Cape Town which involves psycho-social support for health clinic staff and clinic managers. His work with these teams includes team building, trauma debriefing and teaching mindfulness practices. Past work in this field includes mentoring programmes for HIV/AIDS counsellors at Lifeline, Wola Nani, Sothemba AIDS Action Group, Positive Muslims and Desmond Tutu TB Centre linked to the University of Stellenbosch. He was also supervisor for the M.Th. Clinical Pastoral Care (HIV Counselling) programme for 5 years.

Johann is passionate about life, the arts, music, dance, nature, good food, coffee, wine and soulful friendships. He lives with his partner and two cats in the leafy suburb of Kenridge in Durbanville.