Are you planning a contemplative weekend or a week-long spiritual retreat? Or maybe you have a vacation and you’d like to use some of it for a retreat, but you’re not sure how to go about it.
This is the second article in a two-part series on how to turn any vacation time into a spiritual retreat, whether you only have a weekend or an even longer vacation.
Weekend spiritual retreats
If you are planning a weekend retreat, you have several options. You can visit a healing spa or spiritual retreat center and let them plan your retreat for you, you can plan your own weekend retreat in advance or you can take each day as it comes, which may be the best option if you are adding this retreat. to the vacation plans you’ve already made.
Regardless of the retirement plan you choose, the first step is to identify what you hope to gain from the experience. Are you hoping to regain a sense of spiritual connection, want to heal an unresolved issue, or simply want to spend more contemplative time in nature?
Once you’ve identified your primary purpose, you can design your retreat around that goal. Planning should include lighter meals and a very relaxed schedule so that your mind, body, and spirit can give themselves fully to the spiritual task at hand.
Fruits and vegetables, salads, lots of water, and plenty of rest will help lighten the load on your body. Sleeping a little longer or taking a nap or two will help your body and spirit release what is no longer needed.
For the actual time of the retreat, you can incorporate any, some, or all of the following into your program: meditation, guided imagery, journaling, and reading anything that encourages and inspires you.
“Retreats, both long and short, with partners or alone, transform us as we journey by opening ourselves to those subtle spiritual realms we instinctively yearn for. This transformation process involves shedding layers of personality, beliefs and acculturations, which form the veils that separate us from the spirit world.” -Rachel Harris, Ph.D., 20-Minute Retreats – Revive your spirit in just minutes a day with simple self-directed exercises
spiritual vacation
If you can take a week or more, you may want to add longer meditations, more journaling time, and more reading. And you can be creative about how you retire.
Walking meditation, in which you contemplate all that is really and truly while taking in the surroundings, is just as valid as sitting in a yoga position. Standing meditation also works. It is your intention and the energy you bring to the experience that transforms it.
Whatever your time is, it is your focus on using that time for an intentional, contemplative retreat that will create the experience you need and allow you to leave the experience lighter and more spiritually connected, or closer to healing the unresolved issue in your life. .
