"People talk about the "speaking silence" and that's really true"
August 13, 2010 at 16:55 Quiet Retreat in Vikarbyn July 2010
Why do you drive on quiet retreat? What is it that attracts? Probably several things: you want to be removed from the daily bustle and the over-stimulation we experience daily, but perhaps mainly because for once, be alone with yourself and your thoughts. A both alluring and frightening idea!
Remember that first night I had palpitations without really understanding why. But yes, we need the silence, it is magical, strong, and raises so many feelings and observations, and gives us a healthy distance from what we believe is our true inner self.
A combination of five hours of meditation and three hours of yoga every day became a crash course in dealing with you! Imagine the strength it gives to know that you actually can do it, we do not always need to hire therapists and other experts to do well, but can heal ourselves. It provides security, trust in oneself and a lovely peaceful feeling in my stomach. Now I would not say that I come in "target" after a week, but it was a fantastic kick-start of something new, something to work on and something to look forward to. But it requires time, commitment, a bit spare and a belief that we can change and evolve, that the law largely is only we ourselves can determine how well or bad we want to feel.
Therefore, I can heartily recommend Annelies quiet retreats; she has developed a very simple, still difficult, concept for us restless, troubled souls who have come so far from a natural lifestyle. We are looking at a plethora of more or less serious "quick fix". I appreciated very much Annelies focused, wholehearted and straightforward approach and her ability to offer her selves, her experiences and knowledge. It was also good that with her guidance free to decide the degree of spirituality that we could digest.
People talk about the "speaking silence" and that's really true. Few things are as rich as a great silence - because that is where we find ourselves!
Ingrid Sandstrom
Stockholm 100 813