Oh That Crazy Intuition! Now It Says Go Into 10 Days of Silent Meditation
“Words will mean little now.” – A Course in Miracles
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.” – Henry David Thoreau
10 days of silent meditation
Once upon a time, I was a passionate writer. This passion began when I was a wee tot, maybe only three years old. I’d have to check with my mom to be certain of when I began to write. It was very young.
It is no secret to those who understand healing that words actually are a form of separation. Does that mean we do not use words in healing? No, of course not. We are practical. There are many people who need to be reached by words, still as yet unable to understand through direct experience.
And yet, more and more, I find words exhausting. I’m not sure where that leaves me as a blogger lol. Perhaps the blog just gradually fades away at this point … I don’t know …
So today I was out receiving a Thai massage. Then I went to the post office to pick up a check I was expecting and get it on the way to my bank … And the idea came to go into 10 days of silent meditation. Of course it won’t be entirely silent. I have client coaching sessions scheduled, and I will continue to respond to any client or customer emails. I will still record some new EFT tapping videos.
Other than that though, I’m deep in the woods anyway …
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.” – Henry David Thoreau
So why not go as deep into it as I can … why not fill my days with silence, meditation, EFT tapping, yin yoga, walks in the woods, soaks in the hot tub, and thai massage … and see what if anything comes out of this silence.
After all, I feel myself more and more resonating with what John Lennon said. “I’m just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round …”
I feel unwilling to play any of the “games” that other people are playing. I don’t want to play the Facebook “likes” and “edge rank” game. I don’t want to play the Google game. I don’t want to play the dating and relationships game. I don’t want to play the marketing game. All of it feels exhausting to me … and pointless.
Now of course the left brain had to throw in its objections. “How are you going to make money, Erika? … you have big bills coming due.” And I have to remind myself again and again that I quit my job three and a half years ago and no bill of mine has ever gone unpaid.
Silent meditation soaking in the hot tub in the woods
It still feels challenging to walk in faith, even now.
“You can’t just do NOTHING, Erika, and expect life to take care of itself.”
Even now as I type this blog post, I can feel the fear arising from my stomach up through my heart and into my throat. I feel butterflies. The ego HATES silence and doing nothing. The ego wants us all to keep running on the hamster wheel. Hamster wheel of play not really much different from the hamster wheel of work. What the ego absolutely does not want anyone to do is SIT STILL AND DO NOTHING.
And why do you suppose that is? Why do people who attempt to do a Vipassana 10-day silent meditation retreat often feel like they are going crazy the first few days?
Maybe it’s time to find out … :D I can’t promise I’ll do this for a full 10 days of silent meditation. “A healed mind does not plan.” I’m just going to start the experiment, and see what happens.
Love,
I would definitely love to try something like this! Too bad i never have any time to myself haha
I wish I had more patience when it comes to meditation. I need more time to relax…
I’ve done this before when I was younger, I went very silent for a few days; after I felt more calm and better!
Let me know how you do! I know I could definitely use it but not sure I'll get it if I tried!
I absolutely love that Henry David Thoreau quote! When I most need to heal, I have always written. It has been the way that I deal with things since I have been old enough to string words together. You’ve rocked my world with the idea that words being a form of separation.
I like that you jump in and take chances. It seems to suit you. :)
I am so jealous. I love the woods and would be in Heaven in a hot tub in the middle of the woods.
I also learned years ago to love the silence. It’s hard in this day and age and especially since I have six kids, but I’ve often found peace in my heart and in my soul when I stay quiet and listen.
I wish I could do this for ten straight days. :)
I love meditation. But I am really not sure if I could do 10-days continuously. When ever I have done meditation in the past I have felt so peaceful & energetic.
I’d love to do this when I have the time. maybe even 10-30 minutes everyday will be immensely helpful to balance, reflect, and be one with nature.
Even a little bit makes a big difference, especially if you do it consistently …
I would love to meditate for 10 days. I don't think I would last a day though.
i don't think i could do this at all. more power to the ones that can though
Not even sure I could get through one day of silent meditation. Even 10 hours of silence seems like a lot (besides bedtime of course), but it makes me think I would like to get back to meditating.
I would be very interested to read a follow up to this if you do try the 10 days of silent mediation. I don't know if I could ever do that.
I heard that they did a study about people who meditate and how they living better lives. I am not sure maybe I should check it out
This sounds like just what I need. My days are always so LOUD – literally and figuratively.
I love the idea of 10 days of silence. I got all day not speaking until the family comes home, then I’m just like “shhhh!” If I didn’t have family that needed me to speak to them about things daily, I would LOVE to do 10 full days of silence!
Yea I can imagine it would be hard with kids. Cats are great with it, mostly, though I do talk with them too. Even I didn’t make it 10 days because my brother showed up :)
I like this idea allot.. i could use some silent meditation to get myself straight.
So what was the result (insert joke about a woman staying silent). ;)
haha :)
It’s always nice to get some quiet time for awhile, I’m glad that you enjoyed your meditation. I try to get 45 minutes of quiet time in the mornings but it would be nice to enjoy a longer period of time.
I think it's a great idea Erika, I'd like to hear about what it brings out for you? If you have an intuition that this is what you should do, then it's definitely worth doing! It' s in the stillness that we find ourselves!
One of the best things I ever did was going into silence for longer period of time. I’ve especially enjoyed and benefited through organized “course” called Vipassana where you pretty much don’t talk (not even saying hello with eyes) for 10 days or more and just meditate. I encourage everyone to do it in whatever way they feel it. And then go beyond it :)