Greeting!
Here are some thoughts I would like to share regarding the silent retreat that my friend and colleague (Dian) and I hosted in December 2023.
This retreat was my and Dian’s first experience at hosting a 5 day retreat. We were nervous, confident, inspired, overwhelmed at times, but mostly excited to bring our personal love of being in silence for others to experience. We wanted to provide a safe, beautiful, quiet, relaxing, and sacred space for all that attended. We found the venue that provided what we had envisioned in the vast and amazing San Luis Valley at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Colorado at the Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa and Retreat Center.
Dian and I spent weeks talking about our prior experiences regarding being in silence and the silent retreats we had attended and what we hoped our retreat would provide for the participants. After the venue was secured Dian and I spent the next eight months meeting once a week planning, brain storming, and at times questioning our decision and our sanity of undertaking this project! But we never wavered from our desire to create this retreat. The underlying goal for both of us was to make this time special for each attendee. We wanted each person to have their own unique experience whether that included insights for healing body, mind, and/or spirit or self-care time without job/family obligations. We hoped each person would begin to hear their inner voice and tune in to the whispers of their soul.
In the end we created our retreat based on our experiences and inspirations from our teacher Deepak Chopra, in which we were both fortunate to have attended a few of the retreats when Deepak was in attendance. Our retreat included meditation, yoga, educational sessions each day, hours each day for self-reflection and a few special events we provided throughout the five days.
The retreat brought together a magical group of women ranging from ages in their 30’s to the 60’s. We had attendees traveling from local Colorado locations to others coming from as far as North Carolina and California. Dian and I felt and still hold so much gratitude that our first retreat was filled with such special women. Even though they were all in silence we saw and felt special bonds being formed among the ladies. Those bonds became more evident the last day of the retreat when we held a roundtable discussion after the days of silence ended.
Here are a few statements we received:
“I am blown away by the professionalism, love, passion, and generosity you two shared”
“The retreat was wonderful. Something I needed in my life right now”
“I am thankful for everything and would highly recommend to others”
“The event center staff is awesome”
“It was beyond my expectations”
“I want to bring my daughter next time”
“I know several friends who would love this retreat”
Throughout the week while leading the retreat I found myself ruminating over my personal experiences being in silence. The first thing that comes to my mind is the feeling of peace that enveloped me, almost immediately. The first couple of hours I noticed the urge to check my phone or engage with someone, but the urge quickly dissipated. By the end of the seven days or even when I do a day in silence without going to a retreat, I notice I am reluctant to leave the silent space.
I have found when I leave silence, the peace I have found within and the inner voices whispering to me have become like my closet friends. I find after being in silence for a period of time a few things, among others, is increased clarity, creativeness, calm, and deep experiences while in meditation.
When you take away the noise that encompasses so much of our daily lives, you begin to notice and more importantly appreciate other things. You become the observer of simple things like an amazing lenticular cloud, colors of the sky during a sunrise or sunset, sound of a birds wings as it flies over you, wind blowing through the evergreens, the steam as it flows over the rocks, a bird as it feeds on the sunflower plant, the vast mountain views, and your own inner voice.
This is the voice that, if you listen, can inform you of who you really are. As Rumi, my favorite poet, said “Listen to the silence; it has much to say”.
I am inviting you to treat yourself to silence and listen to your inner voice. Just for a day, or two, or more. What do you hear? Listen to your inner voice and the Whispers of Your Soul?
Or about five days of silence?
I am inviting you to join Dian and I to the next Whispers of Your Soul silent retreat! It will be October 23 – 27, 2024 at Joyful Journey Hot Springs, Colorado. Mark your calendars! Click here for more information: https://soulwhispers.my.canva.site/ or visit contact me directly for a conversation. My email is debbie@debbiecassidy.com. My website is https://debbiecassidy.com and you can schedule a clarity call with me through the site.
Until then, have a beautiful day with light, joy, and love….debbie