Silent Meditation 2020 Experience
I just recently finished an 8 days New Year Silent Meditation Retreat in Chiang Mai and here some of the highlights. This is my 3rd silent meditation retreat. The first time is 4 years ago also with this very same teacher. The experience was so enlightening that continues to inspire me and be reminded to take myself spiritually. Here I’m once again back to where I started. Yet previously, I have been on shorter typical Thai retreats at Thai temples.
Total Phone Off
I decided to turn off my phone for good during these 8 days except certain moments for camera function only in airplane mode. It’s like social media detox. I realized how at the beginning my mind would bee wanting to check the phone, pick up the phone, interest on the reaction of Facebook post and so forth. It made me realized how obviously attached to the phone and reactions we have on our social online world. I feel liberated and freed up time and mind to fill with other things. It’s very refreshing experience after the 8 days.
Feel the good-heart souls
I couldn’t help but people smile at me like I mean the world to them sometimes then it’s clear how rude and ignorance I’m not even give a nudge or smile back. It startled me and it shows how we are in typically world going to our daily life by ourselves while trying to ignore and avoid connecting with others. That we became dull and that’s normal. It simply lifted the spirit being with the people radiating with acceptance, kindness, and support. It was a shame on my part that it took me 1–2 days to really spark joy and really really smile with radiant to others.
Feel the power of voice again
It’s unbelievable after being in silent for 8 days and then when you start speak. I wasn’t even familiar with my own voice. It sounded strange. Yet I could feel more of my voice than ever more and gain the appreciation of its power. It took me a while to get accustomed and speaking fluently again. Because all these times we use it too many times without thinking and it’s a weapon that can deeply hurt others sometimes for a life time even unknowingly.
Appreciate the silent
It’s extremely clear yet after 8 days what I learned is that my thoughts simply would always keep occupied by projecting by mind into future, thoughts, random thoughts, images, and so forth. It’s crazy. Thoughts and images just popped up seemingly randomly at times. Mind also try to think all the time about the future and what-ifs. While it seems so obvious, yet after 8 days I gain a better understanding and more awareness of these happenings. Yes, I’m still a long long way to go. You can’t go to gym 8 days straight and expect to be like a top-shaped out, I mean it wouldn’t make sense right? At the end of the day when I came out, I have a more appreciation for the silent, the stillness, the quietness and peace that it brings. Yes, to really take a stand to have a moment of really feeling observing and enjoying the presence moment that constantly robbed by the mind.
Over-eating
I can’t help it but food is a big big thing for me. It’s a reward mechanism I use constantly to reward myself when I accomplished something and sometimes also when we feel a little bit down, let’s go and enjoy the meal. It reminded me again how sometimes we are so used to over-eating. I mean you simply continue eating and would like to eat more simply because you want to or just want to finish the plate and dishes you order ignoring your body telling you that in fact you already full. Here during 8 days eating vegetarian food, I realize how increasingly smaller and smaller portion I would eat to keep me full and going. I am not quite sure what happened but I feel a much reduced appetite for eating meat after this retreat. There something going on inner side of me that I couldn’t imagined that could happen that I start to feel to avoid eating meat. At lunch today I eat a pork meat a bit and I stopped. I didn’t feel like wanting to continue eating.
Final Takeaway
I mean there are much more things to be said but it seems already getting long so let’s finalize. There were some struggles for me this time and there were times I would simply counting the days to the end of the retreat. Some meditations were more challenging than others and mostly are actually surprisingly challenging for me. Here I’m as I was riding the bus on the way back to Chiang Mai from the beautiful Ashram, I started to feel immerse joy and happiness. It was incredible. It feels so much have lifted off. You felt definitely lighter and fulfilled. 2019 has been a really full year of peak experiences. Yet here on the bus ride back as I was contemplating and talking lively, there was a revelation, a clear understanding that now I felt it myself personally, how it is true that the outer world simply couldn’t compared to the feeling of fulfillment deep from the inner world. It’s something that only has to be experienced personally.
Yet here in Chiang Mai, people all over the world comes in from Germany, United States, Finland, Australia and probably more, yet here strangely or note I’m the only Thai people in a group of 30+ people.
Thank you Teacher Uriel Yariv, Blandine , and Radu once again for such an experience. In case anyone is interested, more information is available here: https://tantrayogathailand.com/new-years-yoga-meditation-self/
