Are you planning a contemplative weekend or a week-long spiritual retreat? Or maybe vacation time is approaching and you’d like to use some of them for a retreat, but you’re not sure how.
This is the second article in a two-part series on how to turn any vacation time into a spiritual retreat, whether you just have a weekend or have an even longer vacation time.
Weekend spiritual retreats
If you are planning a weekend retreat, you have several options. You can visit a healing spa or spiritual retreat center and let them plan your retreat for you, you can plan your own weekend retreat in advance or you can take each day as it comes, which may be the best option if you are adding this retreat. to the vacation plans you have already made.
Regardless of the retirement plan you choose, the first step is to identify what you hope to gain from the experience. Are you hoping to regain a sense of spiritual connection, hoping to heal an unresolved issue, or just want to spend more contemplative time in nature?
Once you’ve identified your main purpose, you can design your retreat around that goal. Planning should include a lighter fare and a very relaxed schedule so that your mind, body, and spirit can fully dedicate themselves to the spiritual task at hand.
Fruits and vegetables, salads, lots of water, and plenty of rest will help lighten the load on your body. Getting some more sleep or taking a nap or two will help your body and spirit release what is no longer needed.
For the actual time of the retreat, you can incorporate any, some, or all of the following into your schedule: meditation, guided imagery, journaling, and reading whatever encourages and inspires you.
“Retreats, both long and short, with partners or alone, transform us as we travel by opening ourselves to those subtle spiritual realms that we instinctively yearn for. This process of transformation involves shedding the layers of personality, beliefs, and acculturations, which form the veils that surround us. separate. from the spirit world. “- Rachel Harris, Ph.D., 20-Minute Retreats – Revive your spirit in just a few minutes a day with simple, self-led exercises
Spiritual vacation
If you can take a week or more, you may want to add longer meditations, more time to journal, and more readings. And you can be creative about how you withdraw.
Walking meditation, in which you contemplate all that really is while perceiving your surroundings, is as valid as sitting still in a yoga position. Standing meditation works too. It is your intention and the energy you bring to the experience that transforms it.
Whatever your time, it is your focus on using that time for an intentional and contemplative retreat that will create the experience you need and allow you to leave the experience lighter and more spiritually connected, or closer to healing the unresolved problem in your life. life.
