BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Meditation Meditation retreat

My father's second wife, who I stay in contact with, is interested in going to a weekend meditation / yoga retreat at the Kripalu center in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts.

Have any of you been on a meditation retreat? They will be covering various forms of meditation like walking meditation. I am really looking forward to studying a variety of ways to meditate.

That sounds lovely. Hope you have a wonderfully refreshing time.

Dear Connie -

Thank you so much!

I tend to be nervous when I go somewhere new so I hope I can get past that and be serene.

Here's an article I wrote about my first residential retreat exterience:

Meditating at the Beginning - on a retreat

There is some humor here - I had trouble being quiet ...

Lisa, this sounds wonderful. I would love to learn more about it if you attend.

I meditate a lot, often outside in Nature, where little critters get curious and come close to see what I am there for. The squirrels think I am there just to feed them, which I often do before I meditate.

This sounds wonderful! I went to Kripalu years ago and I really love it there. I really like periodic meditation retreats, especially those in beautiful natural settings. I think being away from our regular lives for a couple of days can really help us settle in, and then we can take that back as a reference point in our daily lives. Enjoy, and please share when you return!

I have just started with meditation but I feel that even with the right ambiance and mood (candles, soft music, etc), my mind still wanders off to other things like work and family and problems. Any tips you could give to help me stay on track? I'd really love to be able to just sit still and listen to myself. I feel I deserve this after being so busy with deadlines in work the past months! Thanks.

Peanutbutter, don't be too hard on yourself. Like other skills, meditation takes practice. You are more likely to continue meditation if you are not worried about doing it right.

I wrote am not a meditation expert, but I have practiced it for about 30 years. I wrote an article for the ADD site. Maybe it would help. Here's the link:
Meditation Can Help ADD

The first time I reached a true meditative state, where the world just fell away from me, it was a bit of magic. It was also easier to do subsequent times.

Enjoy the journey!

Susan - I love your description! I work alone at home all day so I won't - I think - have the talking problem. We'll see.

Peanutbutter - it is normal to have a wandering mind! Meditation is about learning how to find moments of quiet amongst the wandering mind. Even people who have done it for years still have a wandering mind at times.

It's all about practice, practice, practice! At first you might only get a second or two of quiet before your mind starts up. Then in a few weeks you get a few seconds of quiet. The more you train your mind, the more it learns, just like with your other body parts!

I'll definitely report on how the weekend goes

Dear peanutbutter and everyone, I think following the breath is an effective way to stay centered on meditation practice.

Sit still, hands folded in lap or resting palms up or palms down on thighs, eyes closed.

Listen to yourself breathe in 2 counts, listen to yourself breathe out 2 counts and continue this even rhythm for 5 minutes.

Because we have to breathe to live you can stay on track with the pattern of breathing concentration more closely than using a mantra.

When the mind wanders come back to concentrating on the regular rhythmic breathing pattern.