Why make an online retreat at home?

We can decide to go on retreat at any time by simply creating the necessary conditions, either at a retreat centre or at home.

A retreat is about more being by less doing. It is a space and a time created to allow ourselves to detox, de-stress and re-centre. It is time taken to remember, prioritise, simplify, advance, ‘BE’ and ‘LET BE’. A retreat enables us to learn something new and unlearn what we need to let go of.

What you will need to decide is the schedule and rhythm, the place and the amount of solitude and silence that will work for you.

During an online retreat, you can still feel the contemplative energy and the supportive friendship of community, even while participating in the comfort of your own home.

Good intentions are easy to make but feeling part of a community, meditating with others, makes fulfilling them easier.

What we recommend :

Find peace by creating order and harmony by designing a daily timetable that is realistic. Self-discipline is always good and we all need it to develop harmony between body, mind and spirit.

Here are suggested elements to consider :

silence and solitude
sleep, food, exercise, being in nature
reading
something creative – haiku, poetry, art, music, baking bread
meditating
time with a mentor
off-line / on-line balance

We undertake this journey in faith. We travel in faith and we arrive in faith. Our faith is in the Spirit who dwells in our hearts and who, in silence, is loving to all. Remember the way: from the beginning to the end of each meditation, each morning and each evening, say your mantra, say your word “ma ra na tha”. Do not think, do not imagine but be. Be in the presence and be in the power of the presence.
from ‘In The Beginning’ – John Main

Decide to keep in the spirit of the retreat and relax…

Tell people you are on a retreat.
Negotiate with your family when and where you will be in silence and solitude.
If you have to go out, shop or see someone, you can still stay centred and remain on retreat.
If you can’t turn off your phone / e-mail, manage them at fixed times during the day.