The Bell, the sound of which goes on for Infinity, marks the end of a Meditation Sit, with a deep bow to all that is.
We completed the Fall Noble Silence Meditation Weekend Retreat on Sunday — Chris and Emma, Emilia, Mindy and Natalie being the “We”, five brave pilgrims plus me. This quarterly foray into inner stillness and weekend of deep practice was established in July with the Summer NSMR. I’m a fan of dubbing it the NSMR because it harkens to Jon Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, “the gold standard of and most scientifically researched mindfulness training program.” I haven’t taken and therefore can’t confirm the effectiveness of MBSR, but the feedback and experience of this weekend employing my teacher Shinzen’s techniques of BIT (Body-Image-Talk) and See Hear Feel, also science-based, merged with indigenous Ceremonial practices, again proved to be quite favorable
Given my elation as well as let’s say not-so-laconic take on the summer run — which you can read if you hit the link above and can endure the gushing — I think this weekend’s overview calls for a more measured response. “A more measured response” to all the things in life that tend to unnerve us was one of a host of positive rejoinders heard in our closing circle, as to the benefits of bearing down and doing the work this weekend. And considering 2020 has been a year of an awful lot of unnerving, external happenings, it’s high time for everyone to build up a bit of internal muscle and psychological resources.
Speaking of overwhelm, I feel pretty damn good about the whole thing because running one of these weekends takes everything I’ve got. And this is the exact retreat I’d been longing to teach when I put a stake in the ground on this land almost seven years ago, seven years Halloween night. Spooky! Time flies when you’re suffering, trying to make a dream come true that includes the success of others. But its a struggle that, when I consider the feedback, is more than worth the effort. “I feel like my mind is in a positive, well-worn groove.” “This was a wonderful weekend for me. It seems when I’m purposely silent, it’s for more negative reasons — I’m angry, I’m isolating — so to embrace silence for a more positive, purposeful reason felt great.” The more experienced meditators mentioned they enjoyed the structured sitting as well as the different focus techniques. Attendees who suffer chronic pain issues reported that they “didn’t feel like they needed to fix the pain” (which, if you have pain like that, is huge) and described the quality of their meditations as significantly improved.
A participant who struggles with social anxiety commented that they didn’t feel strapped to the constantly spinning wheel of their mind… which had me think: Like a snowball down a mountain, or a carnival balloon… like a carousel that's turning running rings around the moon. And a Metta or Lovingkindness Meditation, where we extended the same love and affection and positive regard we hold for people we care for deeply to others we felt very challenged by, led to feelings of “releasing long held shame, guilt, resentment and anger” as sending love out to all people, under any condition, including ourselves, will do. The Yin Yoga Class lead by Kelly aka KK kept us supple and able to work with body sensations that grow achey when we are unmoved, embracing the more traditional meaning of asana or yoga poses as "a mastery of sitting still". Nice work KK.
Finally, when someone described their focus on the breath as feeling like a giant bellow was fanning their Spirit, I thought: This is the kind of reimagining of the human condition and experience we’re after. “You truly are opening the doors to Heaven at Higher Haven,” added Emilia. “This place is magical, time stopped and only nature spoke back. I am grateful for the teachings from your heart and for the space you held for us to commune with our souls. Please spread the word on this piece of Heaven! “ As to Heaven, building up resources in the face of death, becoming the cosmos, and learning how Meditation can lead one to states of unconditional love and eternal life, you’ll have to experience it all for yourself at the next Winter NSMR, starting Friday, February 26th 2021 and soon open for registration.