A detailed description of Silent Retreats
For a retreat we provide your bedding, towel, wash cloth, and all
meals. You'll want to bring your toiletries and comfortable clothing
with outdoor clothes suitable to the time of year. There is a wooded
township park with rustic walking trails next door. Some people have a
favorite pillow, etc, so feel free to bring things like that if you
wish to. If there is something that you wonder whether to bring or not
that I haven't mentioned, please feel free to ask.
We plan that two to three people (of the same sex, if not in the same party) will share a room,
however a private room or private suite (which would have its own
bathroom) may also be available for an additional cost. We have 5 guest
rooms so we could have from one to 11 people come on the retreat. (The
resident staff are a married couple. We will also be on retreat, and
are on call throughout the weekend in case anyone needs anything at all.)
The weekend can be a time for you to spend as you feel to, following
your intuition about what is right for you in each moment. There will
be times when we will be gathering for meditations and meals, but again
we'd encourage you to follow you intuition if you feel to do something
else.
You could arrive some time Friday afternoon or evening to get settled
in, dinner will be at 6 pm (and you could talk with other retreatants
if you wish to).
After dinner we will have an Orientation in which we give suggestions
of how to make the most of a silent retreat for those who've never been
on one before, and to go over a few details for the weekend.
The whole Centre goes into the silence after meditation that evening.
The meditation times morning and evening each day are for all to join
us, coming and going as you feel to ~ so you don't have to stay for a
certain length of time. We will lead the Preparation for Meditation
Exercises - a short series of limbering exercises - before the evening
meditations to help give our body what it needs before we ask it to sit
still.
There will be yogurt, butter, crackers, fruit and teas available for
you to help yourself to anytime from the early morning until after
evening meditation Saturday and Sunday. A delicious, home-cooked,
vegetarian lunch and dinner will be served on Saturday and Sunday at
1pm and 5:30 pm. The food for the weekend is easy to digest and gives
the body a chance to rest, too. If you don't feel to eat at the time a
meal is being served, you can take a plate for later or ask us to put
something aside for you.
We also stop for Quiet Time (even though we are in the Silence) from 12:45 to 1 pm just before lunch.
We are in the silence until after dinner on Sunday, when we have a
final gathering and give tips for making a graceful transition back
into things after being in the silence for the weekend.
Self Realization Meditation
Healing Centre