The Sacred Silence Retreat is only for lovers of growing. This advanced program is designed to give you no choice but to be with you, to the precious part of you, to the most sacred part of you, to the quiet part of you. Our modern life, our busy minds, our turbulent emotions, our complex relationships, our non-stopable speech, our duties, our responsibilities, all remove us from the garden of our heart and makes us live our lives guided by our mind. Silent retreat opens the doorway to the now by quieting our minds with silence.
My teacher gave me ” no choice”
I took my first retreat in a non-voluntary way. I was twenty-two years old, living in the Amazon triangle where it was very common to be infected by malaria. I was taken to a medicine-man, and he kindly offered his residence as a hospital for me to heal. I was treated with herbs, with smoke, with incomprehensible chants, and with a neutral mind. During my eight days of convalescence, I had the chance to observe that more than physical healing was happening to me, and to the others who were in the same situation. As a young psychologist, I became very curious, and inquired into the possibility of remaining longer in that place to find the secret of my unexpected burst of peace, centeredness and openness. I was declined.
The battle to remain around the teacher
That was enough for me to become more interested and to find methods to remain around my teacher. All my manipulative methods were confronted and exterminated before I was accepted, but that was not the end. I had to remain in silence for ninety days, and to help in all types of mundane work.
Surely I didn’t feel any spiritual work being done. I felt more like a slave with all my mental and emotional turbulence facing me, and visible to to both my teacher and the other members of the group. It was hateful and delightful at the same time. I realized that the hateful part was due to my self-centeredness, my expectations, and my desire to remain aloof, disconnected, and detached. My moments of delight slowly began to appear more often as I my perception was attuned with gratitude, service and simplicity.
Time gives perspective
As time passed, I calmed down and allowed my naturalness to relax. I started experiencing the emergence of a new, unrecognizable me. The profound impact of this simple method still strikes me to this day, After my ninety days, I was invited to leave. So for a period of time, I went out into the world, where I had a social and family life.
I was able to see that my perceptions were not only sharper but happier, rmore elaxed, and I was eager to engage, with vitality, in my own life. Since that time, I have been exposed to different teachings from different teachers. All, in one way or another, have encouraged me to have a time when different consciousness-sculpting methods can be exercised and fully established in the body. I understood that the heart is only truly open when there is silence, containment, and exposure to the ones who can supply that.
I am silence wherever I go
Silent retreat for me continues to be a true holiday for my soul. It is a recharging, rejuvenating, and relaxing experience for all my mental roles. It is healing, it is forgiving, and it is overall loving. We are never too advanced, nor too novice, to experience ourselves in this format that only offers kindness, humbleness, and an opportunity to drop all inner tensions.
