http://dangilliam.net/blog.html Dan Gilliam: Current Meanderings Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:34:17 -0700 http://dangilliam.net/blog.html/the_benefits_of_a_spiritual_retreat
Think back to some of your most enjoyable childhood memories. Can you remember the leisurely hours of seemingly endless summer days when you lay in your yard and felt the cool green grass on your head and neck? Can you recall the sweet sensation of solitude when sitting alone in your room with a book, dreaming of romance and adventure in distant cities and faraway lands? Remember the adrenaline pulsing through your veins as you rode your bicycle down a steep hill imagining you were flying on a magic carpet? Can you still hear the locusts, frogs and song birds that surrounded you in concert as you wandered aimlessly through your neighborhood, city park or farm field? Each step you took made you feel at once grounded to the earth and liberated to soar beyond where your innocent meandering would lead you.

The thrill of transcendence

What was it that made those days gone by seem as if time stood still if not the experience of living completely in the moment though you had not yet learned this concept? What made your life so simple and carefree if not your fired imagination and your sense of connectedness to the natural world? As you reminisce now do these memories stir up feelings of purity and spiritual awakening? Can you almost taste in your mouth the freedom from worry and fear you possessed and the joyful anticipation of what each day would hold in store? Have you ever felt as close to yourself or to the great beyond as you did during those moments? How would you like to recapture the mystery of those long gone days and experience again the thrill of transcendence they now represent? Believe it or not, this is possible and not too difficult to achieve.

Recapture the magic

As adults, experiences like those of our childhood now seem rare or non-existent. Is it not because we have lost the desire or ability to break free from the daily routines we have created for ourselves as responsible grownups? Maybe we feel powerless to step off the treadmill of our workaday worlds for even an hour, much less a day or a weekend, because of the weight of financial strain or the fear of failure. Maybe we don’t think we deserve taking time for ourselves in order to enjoy mental, physical, emotional and mental balance. Perhaps, until this moment it has not occurred to us what we have been missing or that it is even possible to change the way we live. It wouldn’t take much, you know? All we need to recapture the magic of child-like perspective is some intentional space and time away from our hectic realities in order to make room for the satisfying mystery of solitude and spiritual connection. A well-planned and thoughtfully-executed spiritual retreat can go a long way in helping us achieve this.

Seven Benefits of a Spiritual Retreat

1. They afford an opportunity to back away from everyday life to gain an objective view.

2. They allow for interior spiritual development through prolonged periods of reflection.

3. They offer extended exposure to natural settings and the magnificence of creation.

4. They extend an invitation to embrace silence and solitude as tools for enlightenment.

5. They provide fresh encounters with tried and true techniques for spiritual renewal.

6. They create openness in our hearts and minds for new experiences and adventures.

7. They introduce us to a community of like-minded people with whom the spiritual journey can continue when the retreat has ended.

Living beyond the material world

In a nut shell, retreats taken once or more a year can jump start our spiritual practice and revive our commitment to living beyond the confines of the material world. The gravity of everyday life, while a necessary part of living with our feet on the ground can over time deprive us of the vital need for getting our heads and hearts up into the clouds. Here we are reminded of what is most important in life — nurturing relationships with our spiritual awareness and innermost selves in order to love and serve those whose lives intersect our own.]]> http://dangilliam.net/blog.html/the_benefits_of_a_spiritual_retreat Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:34:17 -0800 A Spiritual Journey of Creativity and Contemplation. - Dan Gilliam - Current Meanderings