A Pause for Silence

From this evening through Sunday morning, I'm going to be participating in a silent Lenten retreat at the cathedral. We'll be returning home to sleep both nights, but will spend the rest of the time in silence except for some talks that will be given on the retreat's theme -- Jacob wrestling with the angel -- and those biblical texts, and the daily offices. We'll be eating all our meals together, but in silence, or with perhaps with some texts read aloud. I haven't done an Anglican silent retreat for a long time, and it's going to be interesting; I am much more the Buddhist type when it comes to meditation and contemplation and I suspect that the difficulty for me will be not with the silence, which I usually find fruitful, open, and helpful, but with the community, many of whom are not accustomed to silence at all. I'm also not used to meditating on scripture - so that's going to be interesting too.

We shall see; I go with an open mind and every intention for patience and calmness -- without cell phone or laptop -- and with a pencil and notebook.

 

Comments

[krish]

May the force be with you Beth!

[Natalie]

Yes, Beth, may it be a light-filled silence.

[dale]

Yes, Christians talk a *lot*, even when they're supposedly being silent :-)

[Hattie]

I couldn't deal with a silent retreat. I have a distracting buzz in my right ear that can drive me nuts if I concentrate on it.
But: I'm sure you will have revelations to share after this.

[Peter]

Jacob and the angel keeps coming up for me -- just read it in Everett Fox, and I just read an article on the Gaugin exhibit in D.C.'s National Gallery. I love the idea of having that story as a theme! I think there's so much empty space in those Genesis stories that many of them might be useful in different forms of meditation.

[Dave]

I look forward to the full report! Bring a comfortable pillow.

[Jean]

Have a peaceful and fruitful retreat. I will be thinking of you.

[Anne Gibert]

Those pears are utterly sensuous.

I'm afraid I would keep thinking up blog posts or new paintings, and lose track of what I was supposed to be meditating about. I have an unruly mind.

[marly youmans]

Ssshh... [Left you a fb note, but I won't tell you that now because I'm being very quiet.]

[Fire Bird]

beautiful photograph - just beautiful - quiet, intimate, mysterious

[Nelly]

Good point. I hadn't thugoht about it quite that way. :)