Date: Friday 18th to Sunday 20th May 2007
Times: Depart at 12 noon from NW London, Return by 9pm to NW London
Location: The Abbey, Oxfordshire
Register: By contacting Malini at retreat@youngjains.org.uk or call 020 8907 7972 / 07816 627817

Early this summer, spend a dynamic weekend in the Oxfordshire countryside, as you encounter the warm, open-minded atmosphere of the Young Jains Residential Retreat.

Spanning across two and a half days of mind, body, and spiritual nourishment, this is your opportunity to immerse yourself in sessions that explore the foundations and lifestyle application of Jain Dharma, amongst a group of twenty curious and creative individuals just like you.

Take some time out to make new friends, build on existing friendships, and have fun within a playful setting where we will cook together, play games, and walk in nature.

Subsidised by Young Jains, your contribution is just £45 for Young Jains Student Members, £60 for Young Jains Members, and £75 for Non-members. With 12 people already signed up, be sure to contact Malini now to register for one of the 8 remaining places.

Get in touch with Malini at retreat@youngjains.org.uk or call 020 8907 7972 / 07816 627817 to request a registration form, or to have any questions about the retreat answered.

For more information, visit http://www.youngjains.org.uk/events/retreat/

If you think cafes are safe environments, you’re right. They’re amazing safe spaces in which you can feed off the buzz of energy that’s around you, take inspiration from all the other customers, and immerse yourself in creative work, and beautiful collaborative dialogue.

You can get very comfortable in such an environment, and when you’re so immersed in your work, without that awareness of what’s going on around you, thieves have a wonderful opportunity to operate.

This afternoon, I was sitting at Starbucks in Angel with a friend for a hot drink. As we were about to leave, he went to get his laptop bag and couldn’t find it. In it’s place was a scruffy empty black satchel, and on the table next to it a half opened sandwich.

The thief had stolen a sandwich (as none of the staff recognised that sandwich being paid for), sat at a potential hotspot where he / she wouldn’t be recognised, swiftly swapped bags (like you see in the films when they swap briefcases) and had taken the opportunity to run off with my friend’s bag, which contained his laptop and some important documents.

I don’t remember who sat in the seat behind my friend, and nobody I questioned in the cafe could remember what that person looked like. We were all so immersed in our own conversations, that weren’t aware of what else was going on.

This incident prompted me to take a look at additional security measures myself, and on the Microsoft, you’ll find an article about “How to protect your laptop from thieves”

I’m still going to keep going to cafes to immerse in creative work - it’s an environment in which I thrive in! Only now, my eyes and ears will be more open than they have ever been before.