My Silent Retreat

My Silent Retreat

Meditate, Jean Hart

 

Last week I had an opportunity to spend four days alone in my home. My husband and son went on a bird watching trip. It wasn't until I started doing yoga that the idea of doing a silent retreat came to me. While looking up retreats, I saw that many of these retreats cost several hundred dollars, and they were far from where I lived. 

 Where should I do my silent retreat?

 The idea came to me, that since I was going to be home alone what better place then my own home.

How Long will I do this silent retreat?

That was easy for me. I would do for as long as the guys were away,  four days.

What was I going to do?

Never having been to a silent retreat I had to figure out what that meant to me.

I didn't want to waste my time just sitting in silence. There was certain things I wanted to do while I had time alone at home. I made up a list of activities for myself.

I used my timer and each activity had one hour, then I moved on to the next one.

1. No TV, news or back ground noise.

2. No music

3. Only one hour of computer time each day.

4. I would have to answer texts or calls from the family, because they would be checking up on me. But no out calls from me, or picking up from anyone except family.

5. I would meditate, both with guided tapes and silently

6. I would do yoga

7. I would write in my new journal book

8. I would read

9. TED TALKS

10. HAPPY MOVIES

11. clean the house on designated hours

12. eat well

 

 Here's the surprise about this four day silent retreat.

I had a blast!!!! I was never bored.

Because I had planned for this, I had shopped earlier so I didn't have to leave the house.

I eat all the healthy foods I bought, almost never got out of my pajamas, except to put on yoga clothes, and felt accomplished and glad I added on cleaning the house a bit.

By day 3 I was a little fidgety, that's when I added on MOVIES.

Here is my Happy Movie List

1. The Wolf of Wall Street

2. Gatsby

3. The Dallas Buyers Club

4. Peaceful Warrior

5.The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

TED TALKS

1. A Stroke Insight

2. Trust Morality and Oxytocin

Book



 1. Autobiography of a Yogi

 

This was a great retreat. I planned and prepared to be silent and alone. I had activities, which in the end I really needed. I would not say that any great answers about life came to me. But then again, I did feel that my journal took on a more honest turn. OH, after they four days of writing, I burned my pages!! I knew I was going to do that so I think that's why the writing was more honest. I would definitely do this again next year when the guys go on their next bird watching trip.

Be Inspired,

~jean

www.zazzle.com/jeanhar1*