Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘In much the same way that deep rest revives our vitality, sleep restores mental clarity, and healing brings us back to good health, meditation retreats return us to wonderful states free from stress, preoccupation, and exhaustion. In the silent environment of a retreat center, our mind, heart, and body can settle into health and harmony. While meditation states are sometimes called “altered states of consciousness,” it’s actually the fragmented, distracted, and emotionally challenged mind of daily life that is better understood as an unnecessarily altered state. In contrast, time spent on a meditation retreat can return us to a wholesome and natural mind. Our inner life in meditation may seem altered when it is rarely—if ever—experienced elsewhere. Even so, when the mind is deeply settled, it gives us a taste of a natural mind, free of attachments and anxiety. Meditation retreats are training grounds for discovering and supporting our potential for a healthy heart and mind.’ (from the Insight Retreat Center website)

In my two recent weekends away, I have been speaking about the restorative value of being on retreat, and how we can use the experience it gives us to try to find that same state of mind as we go back to busier places.