I have a weekend where Dave will be away and I've always wanted to do a spiritual retreat. I intend to take that Friday off, as Dave leaves Thursday, and other than singing/chanting be silent for the weekend, no casual conversation. I do know that I want to go for a walk at a local state park and I will carry a little card explaining why I can't talk if anyone tries to really engage me in conversation. I'll let my neighbors know in advance.

I'm making a list of things I want to do, meditations I want to try, music or spiritual documentaries, books, etc., that I want to immerse myself in. I'll do some writing related to my path.

I'm sure I'll cook up a spell also, haven't decided yet what its focus will be.

Any suggestions for other retreat type activities? (I have been looking for that Baba Ram Dass documentary but I can't seem to find it locally at video stores. We do have a metaphysical bookstore that I'm going to drop by before the weekend.)

This will be over the 1st-2nd-3rd of July, Dave will be back later on the 3rd.

I will be offline and the mods will have a way to contact me, plus I will ask for our tech consultant to check in for messages from them.

So...any ideas? Or--what would you choose to do with the time and how would you structure it? Or would you structure it? Maybe free flow is the way to go...or some combination of free time and structured time?

I don't get chances like this often so I want to make the most of it.

Meanwhile the longest day of the year is coming up.

So...no ideas, anyone? I could really use some suggestions and would be interested in how others would use the time.

You already covered the parts needed I think. there are 9 practises right?
Sravanama, Kirtananam, Padasevanama, Archanama,..............


What I like to do, is to #1 be in a peacefull place, #2 make that place full of spiritual sound vibration. ( I have a set of MP3 files or about 1500 hours of teachings, played loud through a sound system, which might make it less peacefull for others, kind of like India)

And from the list of 9, one of my favorites is to take Prasadam! But also, another favorite is to give gifts to others and recieve from them.

Time alone for me always means lots of reading as well as walks either on the beach or in the woods or mountains. Nature somehow needs to figure in this time, unless it is pouring down raining. Sometimes I also take small trips to places that I always wanted to see but no one else wanted to go.

When I am in Boston, I often crank up the cd player and blast some old or new punk & alternative tunes. My son hates loud music, so I can only do this when he isn't around. My car is also a place for this. Kind of ironic. Usually it is the kid who wants the loud stuff.

In general, these times alone are good for focusing, meditating and making decisions about the future. If I don't get these periods frequently enough, I will get very, very cranky.

Tapati, I pray you have a wonderful and fulfilling time!

p.s. In my pagan days, cooking up a spell was usually on the list as well, if I was alone.

I definitely want to spend some time in nature, probably one of our state parks, out on a trail.

I need to go by the library too, and get some books I've been wanting to read.

I have been so busy all week long that I haven't had time to prepare as much as I wanted to, so I shall be busy tomorrow and Friday morning getting the things I need together.

I am sorry to be offline for a few days just as new members have arrived. I will be excited to catch up when I get back.

Open Mind, I definitely have some of your meditations on my agenda for the weekend, as I've wanted more time to dive into them for awhile now. (Yes, he's back!)

Hope you all have a fun or spiritual (or both) weekend of your own!

Blessed be--

Tapati

Tapati,

Traditionally, for a personal retreat it is recommended to have four meditation periods a day. How long they last, it is all up to your own condition. Between the sessions it is good to walk and do some light exercises so that your body does not get tense. The main point is attentiveness and relaxation, don't force anything, when you feel like taking a nap, just do it. The whole idea of meditation is based on relaxing your body and spirit. All the other things will come automatically. Try to do everything, every single act with full awareness.

The Tara sadhana I sent you a while ago would be a good choice.

I hope you will be back more happy and relaxed than ever.

If you have any specific questions, please PM me.

My retreat got interrupted by illness, an unscheduled trip to the dmv, and other calamaties, but I did get some of the things I wanted to do in before it derailed completely by Dave coming home a day too soon.

I finally got my mehndi fix in, in fact I may do more tonight since I had some left and it needs to be used within 3 days.

Here are some pics:

Ok, I know I'm pale. I am required to stay out of sun because one of my meds makes me sun sensitive.

The sun is on my hand, the other two are on my legs beside my surgical scars from my bypass surgery, where they took veins for the bypass. One of my body image issues has been the scars left behind by my surgery, so I wanted to do something positive next to them. I also worked with my chest scar but when I slept that henna smeared, messing up the design. I'll need to do that again when I'm going to be awake while it sets (minimum 6 hours).

No meaning behind the paisley other than its resemblence to the shape of certain female anatomy--all unintentional. The ankh is famous so I don't think I need to explain. The spiral is one of my favorite symbols and is found in so many places both in nature and in art and historic use. Celts used spiral imagery repeatedly. The sun is significant to me personally as the source of alleviating my seasonal depression. If I want to symbolize energy of any kind I use the sun.

I made some avatars from pics I had in my home or found in books: