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.
May the force be with you Beth!
Posted by: krish | April 01, 2011 at 04:49 PM
Yes, Beth, may it be a light-filled silence.
Posted by: Natalie | April 01, 2011 at 04:58 PM
Yes, Christians talk a *lot*, even when they're supposedly being silent :-)
Posted by: dale | April 01, 2011 at 05:02 PM
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.
Posted by: Hattie | April 01, 2011 at 05:36 PM
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.
Posted by: Peter | April 01, 2011 at 05:37 PM
I look forward to the full report! Bring a comfortable pillow.
Posted by: Dave | April 01, 2011 at 08:58 PM
Have a peaceful and fruitful retreat. I will be thinking of you.
Posted by: Jean | April 02, 2011 at 05:24 AM
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.
Posted by: Anne Gibert | April 03, 2011 at 02:24 PM
Ssshh... [Left you a fb note, but I won't tell you that now because I'm being very quiet.]
Posted by: marly youmans | April 03, 2011 at 06:47 PM
beautiful photograph - just beautiful - quiet, intimate, mysterious
Posted by: Fire Bird | April 05, 2011 at 12:46 PM
Good point. I hadn't thugoht about it quite that way. :)
Posted by: Nelly | April 13, 2011 at 07:24 PM