Thinking of going on a silent meditation retreat? It certainly is a powerful experience, one that might change something in you and your life. I’ve been to 2 silent meditation retreats in my life, both 10-day long. And we’ve also interviewed several retreat goers and organizers for this article. We promise you we’ve created the most comprehensive article online about what it is like to go to a silent meditation retreat. So, if this is something that interests you, you’ve come to the right place.
Silent meditation retreat is a unique experience where you have to be in silence during a certain amount of days during meditations and any other activities such as eating, walking, relaxing. Its costs depend on what you’re looking for. There are high end luxury retreats and then there are more affordable, even donations based ones. And the benefits are too many to fit into this paragraph:
- learning to be in the present moment
- practicing mindfulness
- making peace and developing a deeper connection with yourself
- getting your questions answered
- learning to manage and come to peace with your thoughts, emotions and energy
- easing or eliminating your suffering
- improvement of physical health
- it’s another window into your consciousness
- it can change your life
In the rest of the article we shall:
- discuss the pros and cons of some retreats (such as the popular Vipassana)
- present interviews from several retreat goers about their experiences, challenges and benefit
- present interviews we made with two silent meditation retreat organizers of to hear their point of view about what people can expect to gain and what to know before coming.
To learn more about different types of silent meditation and their benefits, check this post.
The Pros and Cons of Vipassana – the Most Famous Silent Meditation Retreat
THE PROS:
Cheap and accessible
- Vipassana retreats are organized all over the world and it’s pretty easy to join them. Also, it’s donation based so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg as popular high-end retreats might.
The joys of no-talking rule
- As someone who usually has lots of questions, it was such a relief to discover that most of my questions will get answered if I am patient enough. Usually, I would just take a moment to look around and see what others are doing. Or my mind would just find an answer itself. Also, you come to realize how much of your energy you preserve when you don’t engage in social pleasantries and conventional rules of chit chats. You just mind your own business, because you’re there for yourself and nobody else matters. We were instructed not to even make eye contact with others. As someone whose main reason for traveling was connecting with others, minding my own business was very new, refreshing and liberating for me.
Learning to manage your cravings
- I definitely learned the difference between grasping for something and savoring it. After 10 days of not drinking my coffee, I remember that on the last day, when we could speak to others, I said to one of the retreat goers: “I could drink a coffee now. I’m not craving my coffee, but It would be nice to have one.”
Speaking of cravings, i.e. addictions, you can read our comprehensive article on the many kinds of addictions, from addictions to shopping to other people’s opinions – yup, that can be an addiction too. We wrote why they show up, so you have a better understanding and more compassion for yourself and also how meditation can help you. Also, we added in a mindfulness technique to help you cope with them.
Time for self-reflection
- This one we all had in heaps. I noticed that in the last days when we were allowed to talk and exchange our impressions. Lots of time to go over your whole life, what you did wrong or right and hopefully make peace with some of it. It was also a good opportunity to observe my self-talk and see how much of it was positive versus negative.
If you struggle with negative self-talk like I did during that retreat, try out one or more of these techniques to replace it with positive.
Learning to listen to others and to be mindful of what you choose to say
- After honoring silence for so long, your brain starts to filter out the unnecessary things to say and you become really present for others. But, I will be honest with you, this experience lasted a few minutes for me only. It didn’t take me long before I burst into words, just talking, talking, talking like a maniac. I felt like I had to make up for all those days of silence! But for just those few minutes, I felt for the first time what having mindful conversations means.
And now I write about it. Check out our article on mindful nonviolent communication. Honing this skill is a great way to connect with others and also deepen and enliven your present relationships.
Facing yourself
- I’ll be honest, I didn’t spend much time meditating in there. I just couldn’t. And by the end it was so difficult even to keep my eyes closed, because I just couldn’t listen to my brain any more.
Learning to slow down
- For me, who always rushes from one thing to another, this was so new. Walking, moving and doing everything slowly and consciously, what an incredible experience.
THE CONS:
Too tough for beginners
- If you’re not an advanced meditator, think twice before signing up. Many productivity and self-development authors have said that when starting out something new, we need to be gentle with our nervous system. If it isn’t used to something as hardcore as meditating 10 hours a day, sitting in a strict meditation posture for an hour at a time, this will be quite a challenge.
Physical activities are not allowed – not even yoga!
- Moreover, the irony of Vipassana is that (except for the first 3 days), you are doing a type of body scan meditation. However, you are not allowed to do anything physical with your body! Even gentle yoga is out of the question! “How can I spend 10 hours meditating on my body when I can’t feel my body from sitting all day long?” That was my daily question.
The middle was the words
- For me, and others I’ve talked to about this, days 5 and 6 were the worst. When you know that what you’ve been through is only half of the road and there’s as much more of that coming, oh boy…
The chants
- Then there was Goenka’s singing coming from the loud speakers throughout the day. Interesting the first time I heard it, yes. But listening to it every day over and over? Oh god, kill me now.
No writing allowed
- A nice addition to the retreat would have been the possibility to write our own thoughts and impressions. But this is not allowed in Vipassana. Luckily, other retreats allow this.
Introduction to Buddhism Silent Meditation Retreat – The Pros and Cons
The second one, which I highly recommend to anyone planning to go to India is Tushita, an old Buddhist center in the village where the Dalai Lama lives.
THE PROS:
- Very affordable price. In 2018 the price of a 10-day silent retreat “Introduction to Buddhism” was 80 dollars, food and lodging included. So, expect the price is still fairly low for everything you get.
- Natural entertainment. If you go on a retreat anywhere around Asia, know that monkeys will be your daily TV entertainment.
- Living like the monks do. For the first time, I could understand how wonderful the lives of little Buddhist monks were. Living in beautiful nature, safe and protected from all the turmoil of modern life, being with like-minded people and staying committed to your life’s and soul’s purpose. How beautiful is that? I didn’t want to leave that place.
- Lots to learn and integrate. I learned about the teachings of Buddhism, to go with the flow and to enjoy the beauty of silence and the present moment. Also, I did Karma Yoga and felt really good contributing to the community. And I learned more about compassion for the people who were there with me. Many of them were really struggling with lots in their lives.
- Feeling safe. You feel taken care of, with teachers who are there to support you.
THE CONS:
Too lenient. The only con is that silence wasn’t observed as much. Lots of people broke the rules. Also, people were more focused on each other. This made me feel less comfortable and more self-conscious about how I am supposed to behave in this group.
Now let’s see what other retreat goers and organizers I interviewed had to say. One of them also talks about Vipassana and absolutely loves it, so it might be interesting for you to see these two perspectives on it.
Interviewing the Silent Meditation Retreat Goers
Amy Montanaro, RYT 200 is a Life Coach and Social Worker (butterflycoachingandyoga@gmail.com). She has a personal meditation practice. Kathleen is an American nurse who at the point of her silent retreat wasn’t practicing meditation. Kanika Sud is a former professor of Sociology and a Yoga Professional based in Mumbai, India. She has been meditating for 13 years. Agnes Kruszynska is a yoga teacher and meditates on a regular base since the day Trump became president. Katie Gibbon is a yoga teacher who regularly attends Vipassana retreats and, unlike me, is a big fan of them.
1. Which silent meditation retreat did you go to? Describe the setting and activities.
Amy:
I have always gone through Mindful Valley. Shel does a fantastic job. We have a structured schedule of meals, guided meditation, silent meditation, walking meditation, free time, meal, etc. The retreat center was in West Virginia and the surrounding grounds were beautiful and serene. Lots of space to spread out and be with your thoughts. There was a “grandmother tree” deep in the woods and just sitting under her branches was so healing.
Kathleen:
I remember my retreat was in a beautiful forest in the Pacific NW of the United States (Oregon), where it rains often, so I remember all of the various shades of the color green. It was winter. There was a river nearby. Because no one could speak, and there were no distractions, all my memories were heightened to the sounds of the river and of nature. I still remember the meals, and the sounds of plates and glasses, and how to figure out a way for someone to pass the salt or the water pitcher without speaking!
Kanika:
I’ve been to the Art of Living’s Advanced meditation retreat Programme a couple of times (both residential and online). It was also known as the Silence retreat Programme, as participants are expected to maintain silence for a major part of the course. This course may vary from 5-10 days, though I’ve always enrolled in 4 days retreat programmes. The Art of Living’s Advanced meditation retreat programme is a residential programme that takes one deeper in their spiritual practices, with Avant Garde insights on the laws governing our mind and emotions.
This program offers deep meditative experiences for the participants. Along with breathing exercises and advanced meditations, a series of simple and effective Pranayamas and Mudras – a subtle technique to balance the mind and emotions, are taught in the program which can be practiced along with other meditations.
Nature walks and service activities are a huge part of the programme. We connect with ourselves amidst lush greenery, blueish purple skies, pleasant weather, trees, and chirping birds which rejuvenates and refreshes us.
Agnes:
I went to a silent retreat organised by “Osho Sanyasins” in Mallorca. Classical Vipassana Meditation was mixed with the active meditations from Osho. We woke up at 6am with “dynamic meditation”( which is the opposite of silent as you got asked to scream and go wild, etc.) but afterwards we had seated outdoor or indoor meditation combined with walking meditation. At the afternoon we were doing “community work in silence“ like cleaning windows or doing gardening, to learn to be in meditation center doing normal daily activities in our life. In the evening we had a “kundalini meditation” a la Osho followed by classical Vipassana. Also each day one of us had to cook for everyone.
Katie:
I do Vipassana retreats regularly. I also really liked Gaia House and Moulin de Chaves for a slightly more relaxed approach and less rigid schedule. 3 meditation sessions a day, the rest of the time is yours to do what you wish, you can even keep your phone! (You have to hand these in at most Vipassana centres). At both Gaia House and the Moulin you’re expected to do some work for the centre each day. Both beautiful settings attracting some of the best meditation teachers.
2. What was the cost of it?
Amy: It wasn’t very expensive, maybe $300 for a long weekend? Food and lodging included!
Kanika: The cost of the programme depends on every country’s and city’s per capita income- hence, it varies.
Kathleen: Zero cost
Katie: Vipassana is donation only, so it’s what you can afford. I can’t remember the prices of the other two, but it really just covers room and board.
Agnes: Around 450€ (very cheap for this island).
3. What motivated you to go to a retreat of this kind?
Amy: At first a yoga teacher/friend wanted someone to go with her. I went with her the first time and loved it! Then I attended 2 other retreats on my own.
Kanika: I had done the Art of Living’s basic programme, and I absolutely loved it! I felt such a difference in my state of mind – I was peaceful, centred, focused AND relaxed. This led me to explore the Art of Living’s advance meditation retreat programme- and boy was I happy!
Kathleen: My first year after university I did a one year volunteer program where I worked full time as a nurse and we lived with the other volunteers and practiced a year of simplicity and spirituality. We were required to go on 4 retreats. The silent retreat was an option. I think I chose the silent retreat option because it had a lot of positive feedback.
Katy: I’m very shy and quiet and find the world too noisy and busy sometimes! I like to get away for a while with no pressure to ‘fit in’.
Agnes: I had a crisis in my relationship and needed a break.
4. Describe your experience.
Amy:
I felt like Shel was this compassionate guide helping you be with the thoughts you don’t usually get to examine or get curious in the day to day life. With all the instructions in place (to not look at each other, to respect each other’s need for silence, the space to spread out away from each other, etc) gave you the opportunity to truly be with yourself without all the usual concerns of interacting with others (such as having to make small talk over meals, etc). It was an amazing opportunity to really slow down…enjoy each bite of food, the blades of grass on our walks, the little things I wouldn’t notice if I was just doing “life”.
Kanika:
The meditation and breathing practices taught here help in releasing the deepest layers of stress from the nervous system. All the impressions in the mind are released and one finds utmost peace and joy by connecting with one’s Self.
I experienced and explored meaningful silences – we go beyond our active mind and experience an extraordinary sense of tranquility. I always experience a renewed vitality during and after attending this retreat programme.
The techniques taught in this retreat helped increase my energy levels (what we call “prana” in Sanskrit, or life force energy). Mind felt way uncluttered and calm. I felt deeply rested, away from all mental chatter – thus enabling me to be in a “flow state.”
Agnes:
it was one of my strongest spiritual experiences beside my first teacher training. It took me 3 days to slow down and I think on day 4 I had a major break through that happened in a walking meditation. Afterwards I didn’t want to stop to meditate. I was considering not to sleep and just to sit and meditate. It was a very strong experience to be so deeply in meditation.
Funny enough the walking meditation was the one what I less liked and it annoyed me a lot at the beginning. The dynamic meditation was a very new experience to me, I have never screamed, cried, laughed and jumped around like crazy with other people at 6 am, being completely conscious. It was also interesting to share time with people without any exchange. It was actually not necessary as you can feel people’s energy. I feel like knowing them all thought not having talked to them.
5. What benefits did you get?
Amy: A deeper connection with myself, more clarity about what I wanted to do.
Kathleen: I still remember the sounds and the colors of nature, so obviously it helps people to be in the present moment.
Kanika: I saw a vast improvement in my physical and emotional health. For the most part of my life, I’ve dealt with hormonal imbalance and an underactive thyroid. This retreat helped in regulating my thyroid and hormonal levels. Emotionally, I’ve experienced more confidence and joy. My anxieties and mental chatter have surely gotten a rest.
Katie: I love it. I need it. Vipassana is quite intense so I only do it once a year. You get to really quieten down, mentally physically and emotionally. The first time I did it changed me subtly but profoundly and I wanted my life to be different from then on.
Anges: we solved our crisis in our relationship first of all. I noticed that real peace has to come from me, inside… as real love. I noticed what I have all projected and we had very respectful and peaceful talks afterwards (and a child now). Since then I understand what “meditation“ means and I can easily get back into it again into this deep state of everything is one and I am one with everything, no space no time, absolute peace and ecstasy. Since then meditation has been an important part of my life.
5. What are the challenges that people going on this retreat for the first time can expect?
Amy:
Good question! Not to scare people away, as I think for the most part it is a very safe, very nurturing environment, but being in a good mental head space is key. You are alone with yourself and your thoughts and since we aren’t used to that, it can be uncomfortable. It would be helpful to be prepared for that. For us, we were in dorm style living quarters, so you had to learn how to be okay with that as well (twin beds, not much privacy, etc.). And I would say that it isn’t necessary to have a meditation practice already but to at least be familiar with it would be helpful. I have to say that I only attended Shel’s silent retreats so I can’t speak for all of them, but she was so helpful in preparing us the night we got there that I always felt good.
Kathleen:
Mealtimes. It can feel awkward. If you are home alone and do not want any noise, it’s not that difficult. Now imagine being surrounded by people, and no one can talk—but you need a glass of water and the water pitcher is a few people away from you. You want someone to pass you salt. You have to learn to communicate with only body language. If I had been better prepared mentally about how difficult it could be before the retreat I think it would have been a better experience, versus all I heard was, “It’s so amazing! You will love it!”.
Kanika:
One of the important aspects of this course is Silence, and given how we are trained to always be vocal at all arenas of our lives, some first timers can find maintaining silence a bit challenging. But if the participants sincerely follow the instructions of the teacher and techniques taught to quieten the mind and reconnect with Self, maintaining silence happens naturally.
Katie:
If you’re considering doing Vipassana I would definitely get a regular practice going, and try different sitting positions because it’s quite tough. Be prepared to really be with yourself, there’s no escape. Things might come up, but things might also get resolved.
Agnes:
You have to face yourself. That’s the biggest challenge. And there’s no hiding possible.
Interviewing the Silent Meditation Retreat Organizers
We’ve talked to Okwang Sunim, who organizes Korean Zen silent meditation retreats in Serbia. He has spent 25 years in Asian monasteries in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Japan. Our second interlocutor was Matt Lerner. Matt (E-RYT-500) is the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at the Spiritual Life Society and Yoga Center of Hudson. He has been a yoga teacher for 46 years now.
We asked them to describe the setting and practices of their retreats, and to tell us about the benefits and challenges one might experience if they decide to go on such a retreat.
1. Describe the setting and practices.
Okwang Sunim:
The setting is a small retreat center that is situated in nature in Serbia, Ovcar-Kablar gorge. It’s actually a relatively small meditation hall that can accommodate about 15 people at most, and there’s also a kind of little meditation center. In terms of facilities, it’s pretty basic actually. But, adequate for a little ascetic retreat.
4 times a day we gather, we meditate for 2 hours but it’s not 2 hours straight. We sit for about 30 min and then another 15 min approximately we do walking meditation. That means we move our bodies, we walk slowly and try to keep our awareness of what we are doing, staying very clearly with the sensations we are experiencing at that moment. And feeling our breathing, just like in sitting meditation. We also do a little bit of yoga, a form of Hatha yoga. Or people do longer walking during the breaks, for an hour or two in the mountains because the mountains are everywhere around us where we are.
Everybody arrives here usually bringing some food with them and their own sleeping bags and so on. Then people mostly arrive in the evening. That evening we would have a meeting for an hour where I, as the retreat leader, would talk them through and explain the rules. And the rules are that it would be good to keep silent during the retreat. In other words, unless you must talk about something, unless something is connected to what we are doing, it wouldn’t be good to have conversations with people about different unrelated subjects like traveling, reading books and so on. The retreat is a meditative retreat which means that most of the time, we follow the method of Korean Zen Buddhism.
The first night it’s just really giving an orientation and demonstration of what is the position of sitting meditation and how we do the walking meditation. And we agree that everybody takes part in activities like cooking. There’s no cooks so everybody takes part in preparing food.
Then everybody gets a designated place in the meditation hall. Next morning, we get up very early. Every morning we try to start the day early, not just try, there is no choice. In Zen practice everything is done together. That means, at about 5 o’clock, I ring the bell, people get up, they finish their preparations for the meditation, sometimes it’s drinking a cup of tea or coffee or of course going to the bathroom. At 5:30 we’re already sitting in meditation. During the meditation period I usually give some instructions, or remind people what to do or sometimes correct the people who breathe improperly or sit in an improper position with a spine that is not straight or there is perhaps a balance lacking in that position.
Matt Lerner:
The first retreat I helped organize was back in 1980 in Madison, Wisconsin. I was president of Yoga and Meditation Wisconsin. We organized a retreat called Inner Silence, Inner Peace. It was at a Frank Lloyd Wright house, a famous American architect who built beautiful houses. People bunked in droms. There was a barn and so on. Out in the country, totally beautiful.
It was just a weekend retreat, it was to give people an experience of what it’s like to be silent. It was mostly a simple straightforward yoga and meditation retreat. Somebody led asanas, pranayamas and meditations. We went from Friday night to Sunday night. There was probably 1 meditation on Friday night, 2-3 on Saturday and 1-2 on Sunday. Lasting 20-40 minutes for beginners.
The main emphasis was experience in being silent. Most people don’t have this experience. As a mediator it’s not hard to be silent, but if you’re not experienced, it’s a new experience. You learn different things about yourself. We allowed people to write notes, to ask questions if there’s something important, like ‘where is the bathroom’ or something. Some people loved it, for some it made them crazy (joke).
2. What are the benefits that people can expect to gain from going to a silent meditation retreat?
Okwang Sunim:
For everyone experiencing different forms of suffering and stress and looking for something more complete, more rounded and more happy in their life. Living life with more awareness and more mindfulness. As we know, even in the previous ages, when people were not living in the speed and rhythm that we have nowadays that sometimes can be very overwhelming and stressful, people did feel a need to sit down, to connect to their breathing. To their bodies first, then through the bodies to enter their emotions and mind and to kind of look at them, investigate them. And we can even say study them in a particular way. Not a theoretical study but study that is happening right now, right here. Primarily, a study of the mind.
So if is one is able to practice as instructed and as expected, first of all, you slow down. You are not in a rush to accomplish anything. But you try to put more attention to gentle accepting of what is happening to you. Attention to what you’re doing, care for other people if you’re doing something with other people. Compassion aspect. One is exercising these qualities that already exist in each one of us but sometimes in the form that is not developed enough.
When we come to a Zen center and we decide to practice mindfulness, that what we do. We sharpen that mindfulness, we become more aware. That’s not of course a one time activity, but that’s a process of activities or something that is happening. We let go of things that we hold on to that we see are kind of pressurizing us. We try to notice the root of our stress, starting from the very basic things. Like, where do we feel tension in our body, where the tension regularly returns. And then we go back to that place and we try to connect with that, we try to let go, we try to relax that.
And just like tensions can happen in the muscles and the body, the mind also has its own tension. The places where we contract, so to say, where we are not comfortable, where the stress manifests in a way or some traumas from the past and so on.
Matt Lerner:
It can deepen your meditation, temporarily and permanently depending on how much you do it because it gives you a different aspect of yourself. In meditation, you’re watching your thoughts, and when you’re silent, you’re watching your thoughts that want to speak. In meditation, there are just your thoughts and you don’t think about them, but when you’re silent, there’s something I want to share with you, but now I have to hold it in and figure out if I want to communicate with you in another way. So, It opens up other connections because you have to find other ways to communicate and you realize how powerful those are. You have to use eye contact, make facial expressions and hand expressions. And you feel all these other ways of communicating.
And you also realize how much stuff you want to say that you don’t need to say. Whether it’s humorous, or sarcastic, or nasty, or encouraging, all those things come up and you experience your own inner dialogue in a different way.
Even these short periods of silence can give you a lot of benefits. When you do it for a weekend, you get into a mode. It enhances understanding of your own inner voice, it can help deepen your meditation, it can help you experience other things about your own personal whatever philosophy you’re trying to understand or study. You can get a different perspective on it. it’s another window into your consciousness, just like meditation, yoga, martial arts, psychedelics, they all touch on different aspects of who you are. It affects your interaction with other people. It’s a powerful tool that everyone should experience.
3. What challenges should people going to a silent meditation retreat for the first time be prepared for?
Okwang Sunim:
I’d say that it’s not really necessary to know much about the theoretical aspect of Buddhist meditation even though it’s good if people have time to read on this subject. Maybe a book I could recommend is ‘Everyday Zen’ by Charlotte Joko Beck or ‘Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind’ by Shunryu Suzuki.
Physical Challenges
But regarding the challenges one may encounter in a silent meditation retreat, there is quite a lot of sitting. People usually sit on the floor, in a half-lotus position. So, sometimes for many Westerns and some modern day Asians who sit in chairs, it’s not easy. And it takes some time to relax your body and get a little flexible for that, get used to that position which, if meditations are long, there could be pain in your knees and your back.
But that’s solvable and one simply has to be determined to endure through such discomforts and to allow the body time to adapt. That tends to be one of the difficulties. For some people that can get too much and instead of sitting on the floor, they may decide to sit on the chair. This is also ok, there is no absolute need to sit on the floor if this is impossible.
Mental Challenges
In terms of mental challenges, one needs to have some developed habits of doing certain activities repeatedly and going through ups and downs and periods. When the meditation doesn’t go very well, where we feel discouraged and that it leads nowhere.
Also, we have different mind, and some minds are less distracted, some people are less neurotic, some are more neurotic. For people who are psychotic, meditation is not recommended. It’s said that for such people it’s better to go to psychotherapy, and not to sit long hours without moving or doing any kind of meditation in that formal way. That’s maybe a good warning, that people who are mentally healthy are capable of doing this practice. But if they are not, then usually are not even allowed to join a Zen silent meditation retreat.
Matt Lerner:
There’s always fun things happening in silent retreats, people not being used to it. You got people who like to follow rules and people that are rebels. Some people want to talk and break the rule and others don’t. I really encourage people to try and wrap all that up and put it away for a while and try to experience it because it is a unique experience and where else do you get to experience something like that. So it’s really good not to talk about that trivial stuff. You have to deal with your own tendencies cause sometimes you forget. Or sit at a meal and being silent is an interesting experience for those who haven’t done it.
The Mind Has No Pride
I’d like to end this article with a humorous story by Stephen Cope about his first meditation retreat. He recounted this story in his book ‘The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seeker’s Guide to Extraordinary Living’:
I remember on my first meditation retreat being shocked as I stood in the lunch line waiting for my turn to dish up the one solid meal of the day. As I hovered over the food with my stomach grumbling, watching my mind, I couldn’t believe what I witnessed. A plethora of nasty, anxiety-driven grumbling: “Why doesn’t that person move more quickly?” Plenty of judgmental, homicidal thoughts: “Oh my God, look how much food that guy is putting on his plate. He is a real pig. I’m glad I’m not such a hog.” And an abundance of greed and aversion: “If that woman takes the last piece of coffee cake, there won’t be any for me. I hate her.”
Were these thoughts really me? Egad. When I watched my thoughts in that first retreat, I discovered that they were full of concerns about food, sex, comfort, and aggression. Was Sigmund Freud right? It appears so. Many of our thoughts are driven by craving and aversion of the most primitive kind. Decades of social polishing and the various finishing schools of life create only a thin veneer over this activity. Ordinary man is more like our three-year-old nephew than we would like to think. As Joseph Goldstein, the American Buddhist teacher, has sad, “The mind has absolutely no pride.”
So, yes, don’t have too high expectations from your mind. 🙂
Conclusion: Could You Do It?
You have hopefully read enough to have a clear image of what to *expect* if you decide to go on a silent meditation retreat. The best thing is not to expect anything, of course. Still, now you have an idea of what awaits you and what the appeal of such retreats is. If you feel you need it, and are ready for something entirely different from the regular life, go for it!
And let us know how it on was on our socials (Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter). We’d love to hear!
Tatjana Glogovac, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
Learn more about Tatjana by reading her bio below.
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