Silence

How do I know if silence is for me? Maybe I’m not ready yet?
When you’re curious to see what silence can offer you (an indication can be that you’ve read this page already up to here), you’re probably safe to say that silence is for you indeed. A short anecdote:
During many of the plenty retreats I joined or facilitated, sooner or later the question rises from one of the participants: ‘Is it possible that meditation works for everyone, except me?’
My spiritual teacher, Sahajananda, always giggles at that question like a child would, and jokingly answers something along the lines of:
’Hmmm, yes, surely, through your written note I can see how you’re right.. Meditation in perfectly suitable for all 89 other people in this room, but for you.. no..’
To continue on a more serious tone of voice:
‘Of course meditation is also for you. The mind encounters obstacles and struggles staying present with itself, but through gentle awareness and honest witnessing you can unveil the spaciousness you’re longing for so deeply. For some that happens in mere hours, for others after multiple retreats, but during every meditation you are deconditioning the spinning wheel of the mind, you are creating space in your subconscious habits. Yes, meditation is also for you.’

I believe silence is good for me, but it really scares me..
I fully understand, we’ve all been there. For nearly everyone the idea to enter a period of complete silence is very scary, we feel we’ve ‘on our own’, and what if we don’t like ourselves all that much..? You might find both ends as true.. at moments you’ll be frustrated with yourself.. to then suddenly - for no reason - sink into a blissful void you never even knew existed. On the one hand silence asks you to be responsible for your own process, on the other hand there is always an experienced team of staff ready to assist you where needed. Together we carry the field in which your process is safe to unfold.

So, no eye-contact? What about touch?
To fully support everyone’s proces and safety, we create a space without contact. No eye-contact, no physical contact, no written contact, no smoke signals etc.. In daily life we rarely (read: never) take the time to fully be with ourselves and stay there. These retreats are an open invitation to do precisely that, in intimate awareness, for you and your fellow travellers.

What about reading or writing?
We strongly discourage you to read (or make / listen to music), these are all external stimuli, which is why they’re such a sweet distraction ;-).
We do recommend you to write, as long as you write about your direct experience without going too much into stories or writing your biography or next poetry bundle!

What if I have questions during the retreat?
We offer the option to write practical notes to the team-members at any moment, they will reply your practical question as soons as possible. During multiple day retreats there is also the opportunity to send in questions for the ‘Q&I’ session: Questions & Inspiration. You will then receive a verbal answer / insight on this topic when deemed relevant for the entire group. Why do we do it that way?
Because in reality your ‘personal’ question nearly always applies to others as well, through answering individual questions in front of the group is a very helpful tool to connect to you process and understand it deeper.

Do we go completely offline? What about emergencies?
For emergencies we have a special phone number which can be called at all times and will be checked twice a day by the team. Other than that we do indeed go completely offline and even encourage you to hand in your phone at the beginning of the retreat.

Do I have to participate in every session?
No, you don’t. We highly invite you to trust that we’ve carefully created the program for your optimal process, however, if you feel it is genuinely needed to rest or not to participate for another reason, we always invite you to listen to your intuition. - let yourself be guided by the silence from within.

What age are the participants?
Our activities are designed for all ages. In reality we find that we attract an audience between approximately 20 and 50 years of age.

What about food and accomodation?
The accommodation varies per occasion. Usually we are equipped with a team of experienced chefs who spoil us with highly nutritious, vegetarian and organic deliciousness! Take a look at the event itself for the specific details.  

What are the costs?
Most Silence events are Dana based. That means that you pay the cost price + a donation. This varies greatly per event. For instance during the PLAY! Silent Retreats the costs usually lay around 300,- euros and the suggestion donation is offered on a sliding scale between 250,- and 450,- euros.

*Dana = generosity. Dana translates as generosity, a gift from the heart, deriving from Buddhism as an active practice. The teachings are given free of costs, however, those providing the teachings also need to live, prepare and dedicate their lives to these teachings in order to transmit them from a place of transparency and integrity.
Dana is a gift from the heart, meeting everyone’s individual needs and circumstances. Through donating we ensure that the teachings remain alive and can be passed on to future participants or even future generations. Therefor it is said that is is not ‘pay it back’ but rather ‘pay it forward’.
The donation is given as a sign of appreciation for the teachings and contribute to the facilitator who might be fully dependent on these offerings.

Why Dana?

• Practicing Dana is a joyeus act for the giver and the receiver, it is an expression of love and appreciation.
• It allows for people of all financial dispositions to participate and give from their truth. Those who can offer a bigger donation, do so, other who can not, give less, but their generosity is the same.
• This way the entry price is low and the complete amount can be paid in phases.
• Separating the costs creates transparency and trust.
• Practicing Dana is a very hands on practice in ‘letting go’. The practice of surrenderment and that of generosity spring from the same source within.

  Example Program 7-day Silence Retreat:
  07:00 - 08:30 Yoga & Meditation
  08:30 - 10:30 Breakfast
  10:30 - 11:30 Talk / Inspiration Session
  11:30 - 13:00 Morning Meditation
  13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
  14:00 - 16:00 Break
  16:00 - 18:00 Afternoon Program (various activities or silent meditation)
  18:00 - 19:30 Diner
  19:30 - 21:30 Questions & Insight + Evening Meditation

  Example Program 1-day Singing Silence:
  09:45 - 10:00 Arrival
  10:00 - 10:30 Short meditation and sharing circle
  10.30 - 13:00 Entering the silence with a guided meditation
  13:00 - 14:30 Silent Lunch
  14:30 - 17:30 Sounding & singing from silence
  17:30 - 18:30 Soup in Silence
  18:30 - 19:00 Closing Ceremony
  19:00 - 19:30 Jamming / Goodbyes