One person just had to change her mini-retreat participation to next March 7th retreat instead. If you are inclined to come last minute, there is room for you. Emailing or texting will get the fastest response grace@workwithgrace.com. It’s in northeast Seattle from 1:30-5:30 pm.
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When you go to a workshop, a class, a training, a retreat, a temporary job assignment, even a vacation…
…there’s always a “before” and a “during” and an “after”.
The length of time is often known before you leave, you’re called to go somewhere for some reason (usually important) and you know when it’s over you’ll either return home or make a new decision as to what’s next.
Many of these kinds of times away fulfill our expectations. We have brochures. It’s in the job description. Our friends told us all about it.
Occasionally they’re disappointing or meh, or something unplanned and freaky happens.
Sometimes, they’re completely life-changing. As in, never to be the same again afterwards.
I just came away from a retreat that felt powerfully life-altering, with Adyashanti, the spiritual teacher who comes from a Zen Buddhist tradition but teaches to the general public.
It was so good for me, I’ll be telling you about several gems I received in the weeks ahead I am sure.
But I was thinking yesterday about what factors come together to promise a life-altering, life-changing experience.
This is the kind of “life-changing” that you plan for, save up for, invest time and energy in and choose.
Chosen experiences, if we’re lucky enough to get to be in a place and time and have the resources or the option to sign up for such a thing.
After contemplating this question of why and how an event becomes life-changing, I came up with…
…drum role…
…it depends.
There are too many unexpected, unexplainable factors at play.
There are no guarantees.
You may have a huge gut feeling that it’s the right thing, and it may or may not turn out that way. Other people you know may have loved their experience, but this doesn’t guarantee it’s going to hit the spot for you. The leader may have great integrity or personality, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be changed because of it. You may not be in the right mindset or right phase of life to need or get what’s being offered. It may not be your thing, your path.
The thing is, it’s a wide open unknown mystery.
You don’t really know until it’s over, and you’re living your new changed life.
And if you can’t head off to a retreat or workshop for really significant reasons (you can question them first, by the way, in case your reasons are stressful) then you know you don’t need it.
What I can share with you today, only twelve hours or so after returning home from six days away, is that during the retreat I cried, I laughed, and I spent many hours in complete silence. There was zero talking with anyone at any time, unless you had a question for Adya and you chose to go up to the microphone and converse with him in front of 400 other people (I did). Adya gave beautiful and meaningful talks, his heart is so big and wise.
I was very inspired.
I remembered how silence is a magical, deep, powerful, strict, high-standard teacher.
I felt how glorious it is to question thought constantly with humor, a practice for life.
I remembered how you can be in the presence of love anywhere, any time.
You don’t really need a retreat. You don’t have to have a special teacher. You have it in you right now, this moment, while you’re reading this.
Some of us apparently need to get on airplanes and stop regular everyday life and enroll with a teacher of wisdom, but it’s not required.
Not for you, if you weren’t there.
You are in the perfect place for whatever you need.
“I welcome you into the ever-continuing retreat called this life.” ~ Adyashanti
Much love, Grace