I’m back from the retreat and pleased to say that angels descended from heaven, I was cleansed of my impurities, filled with wisdom, and returned with new life!
Well…at least I saw a lot of birds, sweated profusely, learned that it’s very difficult to stay awake for worship in a dark sanctuary at 3:15am, and thanks to bushwhacking through field and forest I acquired more ticks than my entire life previously.
I missed my family, but the retreat was still to short. Four days go by fast and I felt like I was just beginning to settle into the silence when it was time to go home.
Part of what stillness and silence is about is taking time to decrease your stimulus and simply pay attention to your thoughts – to how your mind and emotions work.
I found that at least 95% of what goes through my mind is incredibly stupid crap!
There’s no point getting all worked up about this though. Becoming mad and frustrated about it is just another pointless mental-loop to get sucked up into and I’ve got plenty of those running as it is.
One of the things I like most about silent retreats is that they help me become aware of my “loops.” Not that I somehow then “beat” them, but when I become aware of them their power over me becomes a little less. If that were the only thing to happen on these retreats it would be worth it.
Well…at least I saw a lot of birds, sweated profusely, learned that it’s very difficult to stay awake for worship in a dark sanctuary at 3:15am, and thanks to bushwhacking through field and forest I acquired more ticks than my entire life previously.
I missed my family, but the retreat was still to short. Four days go by fast and I felt like I was just beginning to settle into the silence when it was time to go home.
Part of what stillness and silence is about is taking time to decrease your stimulus and simply pay attention to your thoughts – to how your mind and emotions work.
I found that at least 95% of what goes through my mind is incredibly stupid crap!
There’s no point getting all worked up about this though. Becoming mad and frustrated about it is just another pointless mental-loop to get sucked up into and I’ve got plenty of those running as it is.
One of the things I like most about silent retreats is that they help me become aware of my “loops.” Not that I somehow then “beat” them, but when I become aware of them their power over me becomes a little less. If that were the only thing to happen on these retreats it would be worth it.
3 comments:
"settle into the silence" That is an interesting thought. I couldn't imagine it, but I can certainly appreciate the self discipline and self reflection that would require and produce. Bravo to you and Tom and your other friends.
The whole retreat thing sounds awesome - I believe for many people, our own self-talk is our worst enemy.
I am reminded of the scene in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) when he is facing his greatest enemy, which of course gets unmasked and we find out it is...well, you know.
Speaking of horrible self-talk and self-delusion, please check out this link about how sad Steven Seagal's life is these days:
http://tinyurl.com/yqg6x5
Look kids, a falling star!
It seems to me that you are so cleansed of impurities that we can't get another blog post out of you!!
Anyway, here is a pic for you Mr.Rat. It appears the tough economy this year has even affected BATMAN:
http://tinyurl.com/2syume
Jay
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