So it’s time for me to take another silent retreat.  Silent retreats do my soul so much good.

I leave tomorrow for an eight-day centering prayer retreat and will be in silence about five and a half days of it.  Three hours each day of centering prayer/meditation.  No internet or online access.  No phone calls.  No television.  Lots of sitting by the lake and just being.  Lots of naps.  Some walking the labyrinth.  Meals in silence.

I have a daily practice of centering prayer, but going on a group retreat, sitting in silence with others, being on retreat with others – even though we aren’t talking – there’s an energy, a support, that I don’t get when I’m alone.

I’m even more aware of the connectedness of everything and everyone.

And you know what?  I’ll be connected with you.  You and I, we always are connected, but this next week, I’ll be more aware of it.  We are all on this little planet, circling the fiery sun, all on this journey together.

Kind of amazing, isn’t it?

And humbling.

That’s part of what mindfulness does for me.  Helps me to see, to feel our connections.  And a week of meditation and silence helps me connect on a deeper, more transcendent level.

I feel that I’m in the midst of a big transition, of letting go even more.  It’s as if my cancer journey were just the first part of a much broader, deeper, more boundless journey.  And this retreat is a stepping further into it.

Or actually, a leaping.

Tomorrow the retreat begins, and the silence starts tomorrow night.  I’ll check back in afterward to share some of my experiences.  Until then, please remember me in your prayers and send some good vibes.

And I’ll be with you in the silence.