Being Present

Someone recently said to me that they were ready to have some shift, change, or other transformation in their life. They went on to say that they would be attending a weekend retreat for the first time and hoped something would arise from that.

My first thought was, “Of course it will!”

Diving a little deeper into my response lead me to recognize how extremely important my mindfulness meditation practice has been to making important, thoughtful, considerate changes in my life.

I recognized that each meaningful change came from being quiet for extended periods of time. Those quiet times were either longer meditation sits or retreat experiences. Each of them offered time with no distractions, nothing competing for attention, and just embodied experience for company. These immersions offered the opportunity for healing, clarity, deep problem solving, identifying patterns, and compassionate care.

The cultivation of patience and the ability to sit for extended times or live in silence for a number of days leads to the peeling away of layers of “busyness”. The episodes of quiet are mirror like, reflecting back to us our frantic functioning and the damaging results. They show us there is an alternative to frenzied living, and that we can benefit from moments of stillness.

Environmental quiet invites the mind to quiet. When we reduce the outer demands and stimulus, the internal volume goes up. We become aware of unattended hurts, carelessness in self-care, and patterns of relating that cause harm to self and others. We can grapple more clearly with decisions by being able to reduce the noise and let the most important elements surface.

If you are feeling a sense of restlessness, dissatisfaction, unsureness, or feel lost, consider setting up some mini retreats. See my additional blog, How to Retreat, to see how to set up an extended quiet session.

Moments of quiet and stillness are wonderful gifts to give yourself. It is in those moments of stillness that transformation happens.