Treat yourself to a meditation retreat!

Online or In-Person

Join a growing community of people, reconnect, learn and find space.

Chris Luard has been practicing meditation for 39 years and teaching meditation worldwide since 2009. As well as teaching from his home, Chris teaches a series of online retreat programs, delivered over a selection of time zones, so all may benefit.

His classes are offered live, not pre-recorded. There is a maximum of 20 people, and include meditations, discussions and one on one sessions.

Chris welcomes your questions - please contact email him or visit his about page to learn a little more.

Current Online Retreat Offerings

Welcome to Awakened Living! This is our year long immersive online meditation program. Over the duration of this course we will take a comprehensive and non-sectarian exploration into the earliest teachings of the Buddha.

This will include the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, (including the Seven Factors of Awakening and the Five Hindrances) the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path, Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity.

The Awakened Living Course will be offered in four semesters, with a break of at least 10 days in between each semester.

Semester 1: 12 Weeks. Jan 8th-Mar 29th: Exploring Skillful View, Intention, and Speech. Mindfulness of Body, Feeling Tones, Mind/Heart

Semester 2: 12 Weeks. April 23rd-July 12th: Exploring Skillful Action, Livelihood, and Effort. Mindfulness of Hindrances, Awakening Factors, Body

Semester 3: 8 Weeks. July 30th-Sept 20th: Mindfulness and Widening the Window of Tolerance. Resilience Training.

Semester 4: 12 Weeks. Oct 1st-Dec 20th: Exploring Concentration, Hindrances, Awakening Factors, Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity.

Although we will be drawing primarily on the teachings of The Buddha, there is no religion being taught here and people from any and all (or no) religions and beliefs are welcome.

As the course unfolds we will look at numerous mindfulness based practices, systematically cultivating a continuity of mindful awareness. The benefit of a continuity of mindful may allow us to engage in our life experiences with deep sense of wisdom, kindness, curiosity, and care.

The Awakened Living Year Long Immersive will be offered in two sections:
Section A: 7:00 am-9:00 am on Wednesdays and Saturdays Thai Time. (*7pm-9:00 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, East Coast Time)

Section B: 7:30 pm-9:30 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays Thai Time, (*7:30 am-9:30 am on Wednesdays and Saturdays, East Coast Time)

*** PLEASE Check your time zone here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

Each group session will include guided meditations, Q n A, one to one private session with Chris, interactive discussions with the retreat participants, and the option to join a small study group which will meet at a time to be determined by the group itself.
If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here: chrisluard@yahoo.com

Although Chris will be facilitating all of the sessions live, (nothing is pre-recorded) The sessions are offered over the Zoom platform and will be recorded and made available to participants so one can attend as much or a little as the live program as suits the participant.

The program fees for the entire year are as follows:
Scholarship Fee: $520.00

Basic Fee: $780.00

Sustainer Fee $1,600

Benefactor Fee $3,100

There are scholarships, payment plans, and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited.

Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here on FB, chrisluard@yahoo.com or through

January 5th-March 23rd, 2025

Have you ever gotten into a discussion and found yourself too overwhelmed to make a clear point? Do you dred politically charged conversations with family, friends, or strangers? Do you find yourself at a loss for how to get your point across without offending a particular person. Would you like to be able to navigate challenging conversations with kindness and compassion, curiosity and non-judgement?

Over the twelve weeks of this online mindfulness immersion, we will take a comprehensive exploration into incorporating mindfulness, kindness, and compassion into our styles of communication, while at the same time, not losing our ability to be concise, direct, and matter of fact in our interactions. The benefits of this is a more authentic, clear, and compassionate form of communication.

Our journey begins with a three week exploration of mindfulness, kindness, and compassion. In the following three weeks we take a very deep dive into embodied speech. (Feeling our speech) Following this we will venture forth into navigating challenging conversations, and we round the course out with speaking authentically.

None of the sessions are pre-recorded. The entire course is offered live and with plenty of space for interaction with Chris and with your fellow participants.

We will be drawing primarily on the teachings of The Buddha, Nonviolent Communication, and Somatic Psychology

There will be a good amount of meditations and informal practices offered in the course, so that we have the opportunity to bring these practices into our lives.

The retreat is offered in two sections to cater to different time zones and needs, and meeting once a week,
Section A meets on Sunday Evenings from 7:30 pm-9:30 pm. Thai Time. (*7:30 am to 9:30 am Sunday Mornings EST)
Section B meets on Monday Mornings from 7:00 am-9:00 am Thai Time. ( 7:00 pm-9:00 pm Sunday Evenings)

*** Check your time zone here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/

The course runs from January 5th to March 23rd, 2025.

Each group session will include guided meditations, Q n A, A one to one private session with Chris, interactive discussions with the retreat participants, and the option to join a small study group which will meet at a time to be determined by the group itself.
If you would like to participate, but find these times limiting, please feel free to message Chris here on Facebook or through the website: www.suchsweetthunder.org

The sessions are offered over the Zoom platform and will be recorded and made available to participants so one can attend as much or a little as the live program as suits the participant.
The fee for the complete twelve week offering is as follows:
Benefactor: $800.00 USD.
Sustainer: $400.00 USD.
Basic: $199.00 USD.
Scholarship $130.00 USD.

There are scholarships and financial assistance available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Spaces are limited. Signing up for this special offering in advance is recommended. To do so, message Chris directly here. or on FB, or chrisluard@yahoo.com.

Welcome to the Such Sweet Thunder Community Meditation Circle! If you have ever attended a retreat, online course, workshop, of have studied with me in a 1:1 format, you are welcome to join.

What to expect: There will be a brief introduction to the meditation which we will explore for that evening. Then there will be a guided meditation offered by Chris Luard. Following this there will be a discussion/Q n A opportunity or breakout rooms. Once a month there will be a session dedicated for discussions and questions.

Fee: There is no cost for this event, however donations are strongly suggested. There will be a donation link provided at each session.

We will be using the same zoom link every week. Please save the link. Here is the link to join:

Topic: Such Sweet Thunder Community Meditation Circle

Time: Jan 7, 2025 07:30 AM Bangkok

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83907390308

May All Benefit.

May All Benefit.

All sessions are offered live, not pre-recorded.