How Inner Silence Teaches You to Trust: Silent Retreat Part 2
Two teachers guide us through this three day silent meditation retreat. Their names are Tuere Sala and Shelly Graf. The retreat itself is taking place over MLK weekend and the retreats guiding focus is the intersection of the tenets of buddhism, like non-harm and mindfulness, and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The retreat invites us to hold Noble Silence: no speech, no reading, no writing, no gestural communication. You are invited to keep your eyes down when passing people in the hallways. This is all an invitation. If you accidentally smile at someone, there is no punishment. The vibe of the place is of a kind, nurturing presence. I feel held to be my best, quiet self.
Our teachers speak. They guide us and give our untethered minds and hearts a place to anchor. The first full day, there is a question and answer session. Each day there is a Metta talk around noon and each night there is a Dharma talk.
The question and answer is interesting because we get to hear the very human echoes of our own thoughts much of the time. My back hurts, how do you recommend we sit? My mind keeps wandering to dark places? or I feel such peace and support in this full room of mediators, how do I bring this back to my home so I can practice daily?
The Metta talks are about loving kindness: how we can offer loving kindness to others and also ourselves. Tuere’s voice is warm and lively as she delivers a poignant talk with some key points that stick with me.
- Be still so you can hear yourself
- Once you can hear yourself, trust yourself
- The answers are all within you
The most profound teachings are so simple. They are accessible to all if we have the courage to be still and listen. These teachings or the practice of meditation does not promise we will not suffer or face difficult times. Instead, it gives us the tools to be present for the uncomfortable and unwanted feelings that are inescapable in this human life. Can we sit through the difficulties, knowing we are whole and good, knowing that this time too shall pass?
The dharma talks are teachings on Buddhism. I am not a Buddhist, yet the teachings make so much sense to me. They offer an approach to living that openly acknowledges the difficulties of being human and the very common, shared reactions we have to being alive. Of all the philosophies and religions I have explored, Buddhism is so practical and so human and it deeply acknowledges our connection to each other and all things.
The night of Tuere’s Metta talk, I lie in bed, holding Noble Silence and foregoing journaling and writing down everything that lit me up when she spoke. Instead, I repeat to myself the three points listed above: Be still so you can hear yourself. Trust what you hear. The answers are all within.
Falling asleep to a sweet and loving mantra was a new practice. I recommend it.
Meditation practices relates well with acupuncture treatments, both allowing you to make more room within yourself for peace and quiet, so you can hear yourself. If you haven’t tried acupuncture yet, I also recommend that!
TO BE CONTINUED… (Read Part One Here)
