Retreat Echoes

Going on a spiritual retreat for longer periods of prayer or meditation are good for the mind and the heart. We are able to withdraw from the demands of our daily lives and provide the mind an opportunity to slow down and settle into our natural state of peaceful joy. We can also connect deeply with those with whom we share the walk on the spiritual path.

Typically, after a retreat, we go back to our daily lives, but changed in some way. The echoes of silence, peace, and joy continue to resonate within us, reminding us of the possibility of bringing that peace into the more active part of our lives.

What is echoing from the retreat I just attended is Friendship.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, says,

We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.

It is possible the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community, a community practicing understanding and lovingkindness, a community practicing mindful living. And the practice can be carried out as a group, as a city, as a nation.

Baruch Spinoza says:

Of all the things that are beyond my power, I value nothing more highly than to be allowed the honor of entering into bonds of friendship with people who sincerely love truth.

Rupert Spira says:

When two minds have met in understanding or when two minds have melted in love, they are connected forever, in eternity.

Other teachers have said, in a similar vein, that the age of the Guru is past and the age of the Spiritual Friend is emerging.

With that in mind, let’s join in friendship with the intention to help each other on the spiritual path.