Weekend Retreat at the Centre
The Silent Mind
A weekend retreat with Burt Harding
March 23 – 25, 2018 at KECC
Burt Harding joined us from Vancouver for the fifth consecutive year to present a weekend retreat, this time called “The Silent Mind,” on the subject of self-realization and learning to live as our true nature. He began on the Friday evening with an introduction to the topic and its central importance for happiness and well-being. He then shared some deeply meaningful experiences from his childhood which shaped his understanding for the rest of his life and ended all fear of death. He emphasized the profound transformative significance of near-death experiences and what they often mean for those who are blessed to have them. Burt guided the 14 attendees in an exploration of full breathing and a meditation on Being and the silent mind. He distributed a handout which quoted Krishnamurti speaking of silence in his own way. “Have you not noticed that your love is silence? … Love has no past or future, and so it is with this extraordinary state of silence.” The evening wound up with a discussion of the importance of trusting in a “higher power” or the “power of Being.”
There were sixteen participants for the Saturday session. After guiding us in some bodily movement with affirmations, Burt invited the group to participate in a number of different meditative exercises, like gazing into a partner’s eyes, following Burt’s guidance into a state of relaxation and total awareness, using awareness for healing and for travel out of the body, and working with fear. There was an extensive discussion of subtle questions regarding how we look at ourselves, who or what we really are, and what is meant by non-duality. The afternoon also included a video introduction to the life and teachings of J. Krishnamurti.
In the evening we began looking into a booklet that Burt had been inspired to write entitled “The Four Unknown Facts of Reality.” The writing explores some of the meaning and significance of Emptiness, which Burt puts at the centre of what is true in life and in ourselves. In group discussion he went into details and fielded questions and perceptions from the participants, always encouraging us to express and value our own understanding and experience. The simplicity and purity of Emptiness rightly understood is the place we can actually rest in Being and happiness.
For the remainder of the weekend there were more guided meditations, further exploration of Emptiness, Silence, Love, and Stillness, and how we let go into these beautiful qualities of Being. The weekend seemed to be a rich experience for all and each took something with them to sustain the art of being in the course of daily life. A big “Thank you” to Burt and all the participants for such a nurturing weekend.