Deepen your practice

Silent Mindfulness retreat

A silent group retreat offers a unique possibility to practice together, deepening your experiences and supporting the development of insight. Suitable for those relatively new to meditation, as well as for more experienced meditators. This is a secular Mindfulness retreat, which means it is offered without traditional (buddhist) forms and rituals.

The retreat will be taught in the style of the western insight meditation tradition, with sitting and walking meditation, as well as gentle yoga. Guidance, talks as well as (personal) interviews are being offered throughout by the teacher.

What to expect in a silent retreat
Once you have arrived and settled in, there is an introduction to the program and a meal shared with your fellow retreatants. After this, the silence begins.

Retreat life is simple. The day program is between 6:30 AM and 09:00 PM, with periods of sitting- and walking meditation and mindful movement. The whole day is an invitation to practice mindfulness. Being in silence helps to calm the mind and body and allows to deepen your concentration and awareness. Throughout the retreat, the focus is on developing an attitude of friendliness in the practice.

About the silence
In our daily lives, most of our focus is directed outward. We are busy with work, care, targets, deadlines, social media, with performing well in the eyes of others: the focus tends to be largely external. This is how we forget about ourselves, or miss the opportunity to pause and reflect on our lives.

A silent retreat offers a safe setting where we can leave our focus and care for the other and turn inward. Here is where you can find more clarity and wisdom. Practising together with others, even though you are in silence, can be a huge support for concentration and deeper insights.

On the closing day of the retreat, we gradually break the silence and return to speaking. We end with a lunch together.

retraite-stilte
mindful-training-trainers

“De verschillende vormen van metta in deze retraite raakte diepere lagen. Ook was het fijn samen in stilte te oefenen. Het geeft het gevoel dat je elkaar draagt”.