I just returned from a day long mindfulness retreat, and  feel compelled to share with you a little bit about my experience.

As so often I find myself in the role of teacher, I treasure the moments when I can be present as a student.  It gives me precious opportunities to mine new depths of insight, foster compassion for myself and others, and bestow honesty along with acceptance for wherever I may happen to be on my journey on any given day.

The day was filled with noble silence, broken only by short talks and instruction from our teacher for the day, a teacher who comes from the same tradition of mindful, insight meditation practice as myself.   This  practice is commonly described as a training of mental attention that awakens us beyond the conditioned mind and our habits of thinking. We become willing and able to take a step back from our usual auto-pilot and reactivity, the condition in which we go through many of our days – unless we cultivate the practice of doing otherwise, which is the foundation of mindfulness practice. (This practice is the foundation of my book coming out later this year, The Mindful Vegan.)

I treasure retreats held in silence as this one was. It lets you drop the social mask – no need to activate your personality – and really allows you to be in solitude while still benefitting from the opportunities of a group experience.

Just before I walked out the door to drive to the retreat, I came across the above image and posted it on social media.  The message stuck with me through the day - so much so that I wanted to come back and tell you a little bit about it on the blog here.

I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

A Simple Mindful Tool for Troubled Times

Hope you'll join me there.

Peace,

Lani

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