A Meditation Retreat is an ideal way to begin to learn to meditate. Beginners often say that they are not ready to come to a retreat yet. In fact, coming to a retreat is the very best way to establish a working understanding of meditation, and the numerous ways that it can benefit your life.
On retreats there are fewer distractions, and the accumulated days of the retreat give you enough time to address some of the initial difficulties, and to clarify what meditation is all about. You are in a supportive environment; and on a teacher-led retreat you have the guidance of an expert who can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that beginning meditation students sometimes encounter.
You might be needing a little tranquility round about now and just by taking the time to slow down and put aside distractions — even temporarily putting aside the things that may be important — can give you some new perspectives and help you tap into your internal resources of energy and tranquility. You will then go back to your everyday life refreshed and renewed. Coming to a retreat center like Manzanita Village, where the air and water are pristine, and where your surroundings are spacious, has a measurable beneficial effect on your physiology and mental state. Even without the meditation you would feel renewed. Add to that the gentle discipline of focusing and mindful attention, and after a few days you will feel like a new person.
You CAN teach old dogs new tricks. Meditation is easier than you think. Human beings are amazingly skilled at learning. I don’t just mean learning new information. I mean learning new skills and strategies. It’s easier than you think. Who said it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks! We do it all the time – and we’re old dogs ourselves, I’d even go so far as to say we have a passion for learning new things!
Here’s an analogy … if someone showed you a shortcut that took fifteen minutes off your daily commute, how long would it take you to use the shortcut? You’d start immediately, right?
When you understand the immediate –as well as immediately accessible – benefits of tools you will learn for focusing and meditating, you will want to be using them right away. And we’ll also show you how to overcome the inertia you may have in regards to with learning new patterns of behavior.
Do you know how many days it takes to learn a new habit? We’ll tell you that too.
I love your analogy of teaching an old dog new tricks – just changing our belief that it is possible to do this opens us up to seeing other possibilities. Wish I could be at the retreat – sadly, I am in Australia at the moment!
I agree with you that we all need tranquility around us.
And your environment is a perfect example for deep relaxation and renewing. I love to join your retreat. I know how important it is to take time off and deeply look inside.