Comments on: Taking Retreat Home

By: Kate T.W.

Kate T.W. — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:07:16 +0000

Having recently been involved in an activity that usually causes me great anxiety, I would love to be able to report that I was unruffled this time around, but that would be false. The difference is that now my inner observer has her eyes wide open. I am very aware of how the anxiety is effecting my body, so I am able to smile at it a bit, stretch my jaw instead of grind my teeth, and put some distance between it and me. Anxiety is a state, just like other passing states. I am shifting it this time from the inside out, instead of relying on those “set thoughts” Urvashi mentions eschewing.

By: Urvashi

Urvashi — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:28:50 +0000

I think the continuing effects of retreat for me are a constant openness and plasticity. The world writes itself directly into my nerves without intervention by my thoughts. The inner landscape changes with each moment, so the reference point — the bedrock against which signals from the world bounce is always changing, hence I am always changing. It is exhilarating and terrifying, requiring constant attention. I can’t get lazy and retreat into set thoughts that shield me. I wonder if this is what surfing a 60 foot wave feels like.

By: ann

ann — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:14:53 +0000

I love this ‘marketplace’ practice, I want to shout for joy as I hear others relate to this. It is such a pleasant companion for me, a help and I hope a source of patience for myself and others. I can always have it with me, for to me it is the most basic connection there can be. I need no props, no books, no specific location. ‘only’ my awareness and my body, the nourishment that the days and hours that the monastery provides, and the honing of my connection to myself in the support a daily practice gives.

By: Kryss

Kryss — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:47:52 +0000

This is often the part of the practice I find most practical. Being in my daily life, away from monastery and being able to tap into the calm and the rich breath. The awareness of my body that allows me to notice when I am becoming anxious before it is too overwhelming helps me deal with uncomfortable moments in my daily life without fully panicking.