Swanwick Star Issue No. 4 (2011)

Journey of Awakening Retreats

This year a new retreat format was attempted, seemingly with some positive results. Two weekend retreats were held entitled “The Journey of Awakening, Parts 1 and 2”. Using, as the unifying material, the book “Wake Up Now” by Stephen Bodian, an American spiritual teacher living in Arizona, a selection of DVDs was presented of several, mostly contemporary, teachers: Eckhart Tolle, Adyashanti, Mooji, Krishnamurti, and Byron Katie. Stephen Bodian joined us for a session by skype during the second retreat. The DVDs were chosen because of their pertinence to the subjects from the book being explored at each step of the process and were found to be very powerful and relevant, providing viewpoints on the aspects of “awakening” or self-realization being explored and the challenge of integrating deep insights and experiences into daily life. The DVD material was supported with guided meditations, discussion, and time for silent contemplation. According to feedback from participants, the format was found to be interesting and effective.

These retreats offer an opportunity where people can dive more deeply into themselves and keep their attention on the self-exploration for some sustained amount of time without the usual concerns of practical life. It seems that participants find this to be very refreshing and insightful and there is usually a great enjoyment of spending such time with other like-minded explorers.