My Hiatus (Month-long Meditation Retreat)

Before

My good friend Carol came to Barcelona for a two week visit.  It worked out that she could come
around the time that Chris and I would be going to Gran Canary for some R&R before I headed off to my retreat.  I got some alone time with Carol and we picked up just where we left off when she was here last September with her husband and friends.  It was great to catch up and and spend time together.

Chris got here a few days later and we got to spend the day and evening together before we flew off to the Canary Islands.  It was great to have some beach time, down time, and fun time together.
You would think that we couldn't go deeper in our relationship or that our love wouldn't intensify more, but my experience has been that it continues to grow.  And for that I am truly grateful.

During

At the end of my month retreat, I was very content and glad to have done it.  I certainly didn't feel that way in the beginning.  It was a shock to the system, going from a leisurely retired lifestyle in Barcelona to a rigorous and disciplined schedule of meditation and contemplative activities.  Plus I was taking on a new role as a meditation instructor, which gave me additional responsibilities in supporting the group as a whole (there were about 60 of us) and also working with a few participants individually.

But I see that it was all worth it.  I have deepened my meditation practice and have developed more skill in working with others who are on this path.  But actually being a good meditator is not the goal.  It is the means by which I can rediscover my basic and intrinsic goodness, develop confidence in it, and express it in words and action with intelligence and compassion, not only to benefit my own well being, but also for the well being of others.

And what an ideal place to make this discovery.  Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, in the beautiful rolling countryside of southwest France, we were nestled on the grounds of Dechen Choling Meditation Retreat Center, one of the land centers of Shambhala, an organization that is based on trust in human dignity and which offers a path of meditation practice and contemplative arts oriented towards modern life. We woke up early, did some sitting meditation and body movement before breakfast, returned for meditation afterwards which many times included outside meditation walks and experiencing the land waking up to the early Spring.  On some mornings or afternoons, we would listen to talks given by the retreat director on topics such as meditation, fear & fearlessness, the ego, working with emotions, doubt, waking up to the world, etc.  They were always timely and very motivational.

We all had our little work assignments that most of us did after lunch.  Then back to meditation

practice in the afternoons, dinner and a final shorter meditation session afterwards before some free time in the evening.  Many times I would take night walks in the cool, fresh air and appreciate this time in nature that I rarely ever have the opportunity to be in living in Barcelona except for times when I go on a hiking trip in the Catalan mountains with friends.

The participants and staff were from all over Europe.  There were Germans, French, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, British, Irish, Scottish, Austrian, Dutch and Belgian folks with age ranges from early twenties to late sixties. And besides myself, there was only one other American who came over from the States specifically to be in this retreat.  Most spoke English and the retreat was conducted in English with translation offered for those who spoke French.  There were some who were very new to Shambhala and meditation practice and others who have been with Shambhala for many years.  But more than the demographics, the people themselves were genuine and sincere and very interesting to get to know.

In our short stay there, we created a little society, experiencing some of the same issues and problems that we have in our everyday lives.  But in this environment, we had the time to look at those issues and the habitual patterns of reacting to them and by slowing down, we had the opportunity and skillful tools to work with them and ourselves to possibly make some better choices that we could carry back to our regular lives.  I feel that was the case for me.

After

Sunset, our cat, was thoroughly pampered by her Uncle Oscar in his home.  I arranged to pick her up and slowly reentered back to living in Barcelona and seeing friends after being away for a month.  I am now getting ready to take another trip this Friday to visit Chris in Kiev and help celebrate with him his birthday.  I am so much looking forward to that and to enjoy Kiev from Chris' perspective after him spending almost 9 months there since my first visit last August after Chris had just arrived himself.  I then come back to Barcelona for only a week before I fly to Istanbul to meet Chris again and spend 10 days there.