Retreat Guidelines

The Purpose and Benefits of Periodical Retreats

"The news outside is full of woe, but the news inside is – there’s no news at all."

Rumi (13th century poet and mystic)

Stress is a word we now commonly use to describe a feeling of being overwhelmed by circumstances pressing in on us, leaving no sense of inner space. Coupled with this we live in a mentally complex technological world, hosting a variety of pollutants including airway intrusions such as radio, gamma, x–rays and micro-waves (mobiles) to name just a few, which impinge on us in an invisible yet tangible way. Many people at this point in time have no idea what it is to experience inner emptiness or space.

To quietly withdraw and focus on our inner life for even a few hours a week without the aid of music, sedative/stimulating agents or other distractions is also becoming increasingly rare. We visit a therapist or guru inwardly yearning for anyone who can help us with an inkling of what’s really going inside us and then we act as if it doesn’t matter when we find no lasting relief or conclusion. Or we are left (at worst) feeling like there’s something innately wrong with us. Yet the only thing that is wrong is that we’re not making time to listen to the wisdom and guidance that intuitively arises from the silent depths of our own inner space.

Common Spiritual Pursuits

Within the last three decades meditation has had a surge of interest but even for those practising regularly, it can feel like a snatched life line between the pressures of everyday living, or yet another thing we have to do. For unless there’s a complete ‘reframe’ in our mental processes and attitudes towards the origins of our thoughts, we remain torn between two worlds, – mind-fullness and emptiness.

Like-wise, reading spiritual books is important for guidance but too often we turn to texts for reassurance that we are on the right track, clutching morals as if they were precious pieces of a sacred puzzle that never quite fits. There are always some pieces missing. Our own inner puzzle is never quite finished, whole or complete.

Commitment to the Retreat Process

"He who looks outside – dreams. He who looks inside – wakes."

Carl. G. Jung

The retreat process is as old as man but the depth to which a person goes varies. For example, just over a two hundred years ago, with a smaller population and relatively no technological intrusions or distractions, many people experienced inner space whether they were aware of it or not. But it was usually left to the shamans or hermits of our race to make explorations in-depth. Many of today’s religions, such as Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, stem from their prophets making in-depth retreats into wilderness areas. These are not isolated incidences but part of a precise map showing us the most profound and surest way to commune with our ‘innermost’.

Retreating from a world that pulls us away from ourselves means making a serious commitment to take time out of it. Once having entered the retreat process, we need to face and stay with whatever comes up without clutching any previously held safety nets in whatever form or guise. Like the mystical fabled ‘fool’ or ‘child,’ the way to enter the unknown is in a state of vulnerable simplicity, something often talked about but due to our complexity, difficult to put into practice.