Nanpantan Hall, August 2021

Back in August of this year I attended a 5 day silent retreat run by the wonderful couple behind Mindfulness CIC - Suryacitta (aka The Happy Buddha) and Gaynor -  wife, chief organiser and creator of delicious meals.  It was an opportunity to go even deeper into the silence for an extended period within a community setting.  We connected at a level which required no language as we shared a love and curiosity of the present moment.  Open to all which would arise and fall in that held-space, discoveries were made, lessons were learned, tears were shed - whether for what needed to be released or simply for the intensity of gratitude in a given moment didn't matter - the beauty of being comfortable with the unknown - it just is what it is!  The peace and stillness I was left with at the end of the week has settled within me - anchoring the resilience which grows with the ever-increasing periods of observing with an open heart and noticing with neutrality.   If we could all slow down, be quiet awhile and connect in this way there really would be world peace!  'They say I'm a dreamer .....' well now I've experienced I'm not the only one!

​Below is a poem I wrote about the silence - The Stillness of Silence - which I was invited to share with the group one evening during meditation and one which I wrote whilst experiencing the silence - Nanpantan Hall.

The Stillness of Silence
 
When we trust in what we know
at one with our inner glow
the stillness of silence settles us so
 
Questioning all we perceive as real
abandoning commentary in order to feel
the stillness of silence helps us to heal
 
Releasing beliefs once held fast
no longer under the spell they cast
the stillness of silence embraces until at last
 
The doors of perception open wide
no sense of separation, no divide
the stillness of silence with our being collides
 
Resting in this place of knowing
aware of life, ebbing and flowing
the stillness of silence is us, love, growing
 
 

​Nanpantan Hall 2021
 
A dog’s bark echoes down the valley
A screeching bird of prey, leaves its perch, takes flight
Butterflies dance in twos and threes
On a breeze both warm and light
 
Wasps land on my toes, not one but two
With a twitch of the foot they buzz off
The screeching buzzard makes its presence known
Whilst pollinating bees, busy busy, can’t get enough
 
Sitting, being, with life as it is
A cooler breeze blows in unjudged
The clouds, like my thoughts are distant, yet there
Simply observed in their passing, not begrudged
 
The bell is soon to toll, formal sitting time beckons
Wise words will be absorbed and heard
The silence - before and aft - speaks volumes, loud and clear
Shared energy – as free as a bird!