While talking to some friends recently there was a suggestion that we should do a silent retreat sometime, as a meditative activity. I responded that I thought that was a bit traditional and I wasn’t sure the idea was still relevant today. And what exactly is a silent retreat?
Deconstructing it simply: forced silence isn’t very natural, and wouldn’t be true anyway unless you spent time in a sound proof chamber; and what are we retreating from? Life is good.
I proposed that instead we go on a Natural Adventure. This is a very positive thing, driven by the natural decision points and opportunities that emerge. The adventure aspect means going forward into the world, instead of contracting. In a natural environment there are many periods of silence, they don’t need to be structured in.
We had a great weekend in Apollo Bay sitting by the open log fire, watching Waking Life, enjoying a dark dinner, meditating on an awesome hill, devouring some incredible home cooked meals, walking along the coast, walking through grassy fields, finding hidden beaches, going on a helicopter ride by the twelve apostles, eating awesome burgers, sipping coffee, discovering a popular wine bar, driving through the forrest, having breakfast with the local birdlife, and sleeping to the sounds of the ocean.
I noticed a strong link to time very early on, so we stopped looking at clocks because they were unhelpful and irrelevant constraints. As a current example – as I write this I’m sitting in a room in Bangkok having just woken up, and the time on my iPad is 11.49am so my internal monologue goes “wow that’s late, I should really have a shower and go do something,” but then I realise that I haven’t adjusted the location settings yet and that the local time as shown on my iPhone is actually 8.49am “oh that’s okay, there is plenty of time in the day!” Notice how diverse the reactions and feelings are despite the time being a actually the same… Perceived time had a huge impact on us.
Consider how many times you have looked at a clock today? What if you didn’t?
I also decided to turn off my email, but retain Twitter. Emails are often filled with requests or require heavier thought, while tweets can wash over you without attachment. It was nice to be connected to the stream and be part of that collective while also not feeling like I needed to be there. My tweets that weekend were of the classic nature, sharing responses to the original question “what’s happening (right now)?”
The Natural Adventure was a lot of fun and was really easy. All we planned in advance was a house to stay in for a few nights and the rest emerged from there. If the idea resonates with you perhaps you could go somewhere this weekend, or even apply the idea to a few hours of your afternoon today?
Enjoy it.
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