Silent meditation retreats always intimidated me. What would it be like? Would I get bored? Antsy beyond belief? So uncomfortable I can't stand it anymore? Could I handle something like that? Do I even want to try?
At the end of 2016 I released an episode called the Sweet Sound of Silence (Part One)—on the powerful calm and insight that stillness has brought into my life—before heading into a five-day silent meditation retreat for New Year's to ring in 2017. This week on the Pivot Podcast I share what the experience was like.
And here's a haiku that came to me at the start of the retreat that I incorporated as a mantra to help me drop more deeply into meditation—try repeating it while releasing all the tiny muscles around your eyes, and any tension in your jaw, face or body:
Melt, soften, release
your grip. Open hand allows
space for everything.
Topics We Cover
What goes on at a silent retreat?
Releasing our grip
Gratitude and living with our inner truth
Soul speaks in stillness
Reentry to the world
Resources Mentioned
Previous Pivot Podcasts:
After The Ecstasy, The Laundry by Jack Kornfield
I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav
Check out other episodes of the Pivot Podcast here. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen, and if you enjoy the show I would be very grateful for a rating and/or review! Sign-up for my weekly(ish) #PivotList newsletter to receive curated round-ups of what I’m reading, watching, listening to, and new tools I’m geeking out on.