The Beauty of a Silent Retreat
I just returned from my retreat in the Bradshaw Mountains outside of Prescott. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.
One of the things I promised myself when I closed the business of Desert Song was to take a week and go up to the mountains to take a silent retreat. I know of this cabin on Spruce Mountain which is 7,639 feet elevation. It is one of the best kept secrets in the Bradshaw Mountains for it is surrounded by magnificent blue spruce and oaks that are 40 to 60 feet high. The Cabin is off the grid on solar power and surrounded with hiking trails, a fire station very close by and a gorgeous view from the deck of my cabin. I basked in the beauty and quiet of the mountain surroundings. Vince and Tuli, my dog, came for two nights and then I stayed for another five days of quiet. I have experienced silent retreats in the past, and I knew it was time for another. Over the decades of Desert Songs history, I have learned that when life brings you into a time of change, stress, illness etc. it is best to get quiet and pay attention.
The intention of this self-oriented retreat was to invite the quiet and the expansiveness of life. The cabin offered spacious mountain views, cool temps, afternoon showers, glorious sunsets, a full moon, wildlife surprises and time to nurture my heart and spirit again.
The beauty of a silent retreat is that you are not talking, doing or extending energy outward. You are inviting energy into yourself and restoring yourself from the inside. It is not always possible to take this kind of time for oneself but when we do, we find there is a well-spring of wisdom and creativity that we can tap into without the noise and efforts of our daily responsibilities.
While I was there, I had a magical time practicing Yoga and Yoga Nidra, meditating, praying, reading, hiking, journaling and of course eating healthy food. I knew I needed this sabbatical; I just didn’t realize how much it was needed. My retreat allowed for some incredible shifts in my tension, stress levels and allowed for a quiet soulful experience. It feels good to be in present time again, to be present in my body, aware of the deeper sides of myself.
During my sabbatical, I hope to link several of these quiet and restorative times together and find a new rhythm that feeds me and others in my life without overextending myself. Teaching and massaging always brings me joy. But for now, the focus is health, family and opening to what’s next.