go silent for a little while
Several times a year, for a decade now, I go somewhere to be silent with others. There is a magic of being alone in community, to retreat. Few words, no eye contact, no touching, no polite gestures; just being together, meditating, eating, working, chanting or praying. I’ve done this at Zen, Benedictine, Franciscan, and Thai monasteries, for as short as a weekend to as long as ten days.
A few weeks ago a friend initiated a day retreat and advertised on local bulletin boards. A group of us met from 9 to 5 in someone’s home and garden: we meditated, worked outdoors, and ate our bag lunches together. No teacher, no chanting, just silence. A rare time to turn inwards. And what is there, on the inside? Nothing much once you get past thoughts: click the How to Meditate tab at the top of the screen.
Have you ever done a silent retreat? Would you like to? Is there a place and a time you could go on one where you live? If you’re at all curious, you could start small (a good idea for most): an evening “sit” at a local Zen, Vipassana, Shambala centre, or a church that offers Centering Prayer. In the Quaker tradition people join in a “meeting for worship,” a time of communal silence, occasionally broken by words spoken spontaneously from the heart-mind-spirit.
Or arrange to simply be alone (alone), or join with a friend and agree to be silent for a few hours together. No equipment needed, no Lululemon gear.
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