Mindlab, a non-profit organisation, has brought its 2-night 3-day ‘Healing Universe 2 – Art Meditation Journey of Healing and Happiness: Soma and Samu-ryangshim (Basic Course)’ to a close at Korea DMZ Peace Life Land in Inje, Gangwon, from the 21st to the 23rd.
The programme ran for 2 nights and 3 days, led together with art-meditation and healing specialist Yeonjeonjae-ma (Anshinjeong) Buddhist nun, during which participants felt their body and mind in nature and restored a sense of connection with themselves and others, and with nature.
Art meditation journey programme
This journey focused on experiencing and internalising ‘Soma’ and ‘Samu-ryangshim’ directly through the practice of art meditation. Participants examined their own bodies and emotions, and experienced взаим-connection with others and nature, through meditation, singing-bowl sound healing, movement and touch, artistic expression, and activities in the forest.
‘Soma’ does not mean a mere physical body; it refers to the whole, living body as something that feels for itself and moves. ‘Samu-ryangshim (四無量心)’ in Buddhism refers to four kinds of minds cultivated towards oneself and the world: loving-kindness (慈), compassion/mercy (悲), joy (喜), and equanimity (舍).
The programme consisted of a total of six sessions. On the first day, participants spent time stepping away from daily life to welcome their body and mind and to stay in the present through ‘Anchoring: Mutual connection and hospitality’, and ‘Wholeness and presence: Mutual connection and singing-bowl sound healing’. On the second day, they took part in ‘Equanimity: Mutual connection and new eyes’, ‘No boundaries: Mutual connection and compassion’, and ‘Soma and touch: Mutual connection and loving-kindness’. In particular, through sessions held in the forest, participants looked at the boundary between nature and the body in a new way, and experienced what ‘connection’ means through sensations and relationships. On the final day, they continued the connection and joy they had experienced through movement work into everyday life by taking ‘A new journey: Mutual connection and joy’.
In addition, a special lecture by Jeong Seong-heon, the chair of Korea DMZ Peace Life Land, offered an opportunity to think in detail about peace and life, and the relationship between nature and human beings.
Art meditation healing specialist Yeonjeonjae-ma Buddhist nun leads
Yeonjeonjae-ma Buddhist nun, who led the programme, is a Buddhist nun of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and holds a doctorate in literature. She also serves as the head of the AUM Art Meditation Healing Centre. She is a regular guest on the ‘Meditation is Good’ segment of BBS Radio’s ‘Illuminate the Unknown’, and is active across a range of healing fields for body and mind, including singing-bowl sound healing, meditation, expressive arts psychological counselling, and Buddhist psychological counselling.
This programme differed from previous meditation programmes in that it does not stop at learning Samu-ryangshim simply as Buddhist doctrine. Instead, it allows participants to experience and internalise it directly through bodily sensations and artistic expression, encounters with sound and movement, and meeting nature.
One participant said, “Through this art meditation journey, I discovered new aspects of myself that I did not know. I think I can look back on the past when I lived by fitting myself to society’s expectations, and in the future, I will be able to show my own self—more fearlessly.”
In the nature of Inje, Gangwon, for 2 nights and 3 days
‘Healing Universe 2’ was held at Korea DMZ Peace Life Land in Inje County, Gangwon, and provided the best possible setting to stay and experience a life-sustaining meal table made from farm produce grown directly in pristine nature where fireflies live.
■ Event overview
Event name: Healing Universe 2 – Art Meditation Journey of Healing and Happiness: Soma and Samu-ryangshim (Basic Course)
Dates: Friday 21 August 2026 to Sunday 23 August 2026, 2 nights and 3 days
Venue: Korea DMZ Peace Life Land (1630 Geumgang-ro, Seohwa-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon)
Organiser: Mindlab (non-profit organisation), spiritual lifestyle webzine IPKU
In charge: Yeonjeonjae-ma Buddhist nun (Anshinjeong)
