I could write dozens of articles about the benefits of a 10-day silent retreat. You could spend hours and hours talking about what a spiritual retreat offers. Could we say so many things? But I’ll just say a few.
I will show you which ones can be shared, because the vast majority are personal and individual, these experiences are so profound that no matter how many words we use they are impossible to transmit, in addition to the impossibility of oral or written transmission, they belong to the internal, private sphere.
- When I made my first 7-day retreat two years ago.
- One of the first impulses when I left was to talk about the experience.
- At that moment I realized that not everyone is ready to understand what.
- For some.
- Can be a transformative change.
- I haven’t talked about it much since.
- Unless you ask me.
- Or I do it very superficially.
In fact, when I left my last retirement, one of the first things I was asked was, “Ten days without talking to anyone and without using my cell phone,” “Yes,” I said, “How weird you are,” she replied.
Retirement is essentially about retiring from life. That said, it sounds a little dark, but let’s explain it better.
Every day we encounter situations that cause us anger, as well as people who irritate us, we face facts that sadden us. In short, we have to face, more or less continuously, situations that generate discomfort. On the other hand, we are also victims of attachments that, at a very serious point, could be classified as dependence.
Therefore, a retreat is to temporarily move away from what makes us so uncomfortable to learn to be with ourselves, this is done with the help of the teachings of a highly qualified teacher, who guides and sets guidelines to follow.
Being my third retreat I already had some experience, but the first moments are always different, in addition this retreat consisted of the end of the course to be a Buddhist meditation instructor, so I felt a great responsibility.
Between retreats, life went on and we continue to accumulate experience, when you walk through the door of the retirement center, you know that even if other participants accompany you, you’ll be alone with your mind. without a computer, without the Internet, without contact with the outside world.
In our day to day we constantly avoid our most uncomfortable thoughts, we do not tolerate thinking about what causes us pain and that is why we always use the mobile phone or any other activity to distract us, in a retreat you are alone in the face of danger: your mind and your thoughts.
When it was an end-of-course retreat of silence for a Tibetan meditation instructor, we meditated 5 to 6 times a day as a practice, in addition to the individual meditations everyone wanted to do. They taught us, too. It was our only auditory stimulus, the professor’s words a few hours a day. For the rest, silence.
As you meditate, you realize how many thoughts sometimes go through your mind, thoughts you thought were old-fashioned, and others more current, some remain in your mind like a dagger in your back.
You sit cross-legged, breathe deeply and slowly and let the thought pass, looking at it without judging, however, when meditation ends, come back again.
The thoughts that we seemed to have under control begin to emerge, to look like lava from a volcano completely out of control, the tip of a thought appears and, day after day, hides.
In the retreat not only appears the tip of the iceberg, but all the ice begins to emerge and, little by little, we see its size: huge!Do you realize that many thoughts are like the iceberg that sunk the Titanic: on the outside do you think they don’t affect you so much, but they sureptitiously hurt you so that little by little they will sink your emotional health, your mind, your self-esteem?Congratulations, you’re starting to face your own demons!
“In a retreat of silence, every disturbing thought seems to become a ferocious dragon, but we must know that it is the fruit of our spirit and to remain calm.
It is not uncommon for participants to experience anxiety attacks, tremors, sweating, crying, palpitations, hyperventilation, etc. These symptoms are not described to scare, but to let us know everything that happens when we really face our minds, so we know how much we hide from ourselves. When we have to deal with it, we don’t even know where to start.
One way or another, this anxiety could also be explained as an abstinence syndrome from everyday life, we are used to a certain routine, to go back and forth, but in a retirement center you have a defined schedule. you have access to technology, you can’t leave your room in the middle of the night and go to the fridge for an ice cream.
These are habits that we must eliminate in order to adopt a different schedule and behavior, which can cause some discomfort, besides when it is a retreat of silence we cannot speak either, everything is different.
The funny thing is that the benefits of silent retirement are only beginning to be felt when you return to everyday life, being there you feel the tranquility, the serenity, although you were emotionally agitated for a few days, everything returns to normal.
The mind is much calmer, you don’t need to talk, you don’t need many external stimuli to be happy, you’re enough with yourself and nothing else.
You leave the retreat center on the way home and start being overrun by the noise of the environment: cars, people talking, people screaming, accidents?You start to become aware of the excessive noise in which we are wrapped and that causes us a state of stress almost unconsciously.
Those who live alone have this advantage, but when you live with more people at home, you have a TV, another a computer, another a mobile phone, and almost everyone sees things that don’t bring anything really useful.
“Our body and mind have the ability to heal themselves if we allow them to rest. “Thich Nhat Hanh-
When you reconnect with people, you realize that most conversations are purely social, that is, to fill a gap and do not contribute to growth, that does not mean that they are negative, but it is worth thinking about.
We talked a little bit about the country, about friends, about sports, but are we getting better as people?After ten intense days of inner development, you realize how much superfluous information is used just to talk.
You learn to appreciate the simple, what really gives value to our lives. When you visit a mall, all you see is opulence, consumerism and materialism. We opened our eyes and realized that from a very young age we were taught to seek happiness. in external things, but it’s inside us. Fortunately, we can learn to grow it.
The issue of returning to daily life is an important aspect, as many may be obsessed with talking only about what helps them in their inner development, however, the ideal is to achieve balance. Don’t leave our friends or family aside, but don’t set aside our meditative practices, for example.
Lama Rinchen Gyaltsen led the meditation training course and always talked about the three phases of the spiritual journey:
The first step is to get away from anything that negatively affects you or creates attachment and prepares it. It’s mental training.
When we think we’re ready, we go into the valley to make a day-to-day “deal” and see how far we’ve evolved.
Finally, the cemetery stage would be a little outdated, in the past, in India, cemeteries were places where rotten bodies could be seen, it was said that if someone could meditate on a cemetery, their level of evolution was really high.
Fortunately, we don’t need to go to a cemetery to meditate and, if we want to, today, at least in Brazil, we won’t have a body in sight.
Many, when they leave retirement, claim that everything remains as quiet as in the “grotto”, but it is very difficult and unrealistic. Every day we are bombarded with hundreds of stimuli and we have to deal with different situations and setbacks.
However, it is also not healthy to get carried away by the foolish and extremely materialistic vortex of the valley phase, so it is ideal to know how to interact with our environment, to be able to maintain a certain calm and not to set aside. our personal practices.
First of all, it is advisable to start with a short retreat of 2 or 3 days, above all you have to be guided. The three retreats I made (7 days, 3 days and 10 days) were guided, I started directly with a 7-day program that changed my life, but this could generate some degree of anxiety in many.
On the other hand, is it important to know the center, that is, to look for references, to try to find people who participated, to look at the web, to see who the teachers are?This information will give us assurances as to where the withdrawal will take place.
Another important aspect is to know that not all retreats are silent, many are meditative, but they do not need silence, although it is true that somehow, perhaps unconsciously, people tend to speak less.
It is now essential to know that if we make a retreat in silence, we can feel anxiety and discomfort for a few days, it is a very normal phase. In this case, if we do not know what to do, it is better to consult with the teacher and he will give us instructions to improve our situation. Above all, don’t be afraid.
A lot of people tell me they would never make a quiet retreat, but I would recommend the experience, even if it’s just a weekend. We spend a lot of money on a whim, we invest a lot of time in empty tasks; What harm could it do to invest some money and time in something as beneficial as national development?
? Tigers, lions, elephants, bears
snakes and all kinds of enemies
the watchful beings of hell,
evil spirits and demons
just tie the mind,
everyone will also be linked.
Only mind control
Will they all be equally controlled?
-Shantideva-