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 have 2 suites plus 2 guest rooms with bathrooms nearby so
we could have up to 4 people come on the retreat. (The resident staff 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 Pure Meditation and meals, but again
we'd encourage you to follow your 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 Pure 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. Everyone of all faiths, meditation practices and
traditions is welcome. We will lead the Preparation for Meditation Exercises -
a short series of limbering exercises - before the evening Pure Meditation 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 Pure 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 just before 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.
