Golden moments of Silence...

"Because God whispers"
Being silent means more than just holding your tongue. It means listening for the softest, most subtle sound of all - the sound of the soul.

Ode Magazine, Tijn Touber July 2008 issue

About a year ago now I attended a weekend meditation retreat down on the Mornington Peninsula. The retreat was led by Paul Wilson (Calm Centre ~ http://www.calmcentre.com.au/) and was held at the Brahma Kumaris centre (http://www.brahmakumaris.com.au/). Only an hour from my home but on arrival it felt like I had been transported to a far off country retreat.. set in beautiful untouched native bushland, big open grounds, a surprise lake hidden in the middle of a private forest, a small boat shed at its shoreline, ducks on the water... it felt like a private estate, and once all attendees has registered the big gates at the end of the property were locked behind us for the duration of our stay.

So a small group of 20 strangers came together for the purpose of sharing a weekend of meditation. Having closed the outside world away, we all breathed a contented sigh of relief.. and proceeded to share an amazing weekend, making new friends and enjoyed the opportunity to engage ourselves in a period of inner silence and meditation.

Our days started with the sun rising and early morning silent meditation and while I usually struggle with my alarm clock each morning, when away on retreat it all seems so much easier to do! We followed our early rising with some Qigong exercises, had breakfast, spent time exploring different meditation techniques, joined Paul in his guided meditation sessions, had lively discussions, enjoyed music meditation, filled up on continous and lovingly prepared meals, took walks in the bush - and threw ourselves into fantastic periods of silence.

On our last day we spent most of the day in silence ... no talking, no reading, no writing, no distracting .. just BEING in the moment and witnessing our thoughts, our feelings and our inner voices. This was an inspiring and wonderful gift. The power of silence can only be really appreciated with experience.. it is only when we are truly silent that we really hear.

This article today from Ode Magazine is a beautiful introduction and eloquent journey into the world of silence and I would highly recommend that you read and then seek to explore this gift to yourself.

I am again inspired to seek out another retreat experience with a large component of silence. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know... Namaste