Why Meditate for a Week?

We asked people to share their aspirations for sitting a Weekthun. Below are some of their responses. Click here to learn more about the Summer Weekthun week-long meditation retreat.

“I believe the nature of experience is clarity and one good way to let the nature of experience flourish is through meditation.” –Ally Catherine

“To shed the shell of guilt and fear to free my spirit, to live from here: my heart, my joy, that soft, quiet place where creation resides, grace-filled space.”–Dayna

“namaste:

they say the universe aligns to bring you what you are needing at pivotal points in your life, and this offering is exactly that.  i have been asking for a way to immerse myself in my commitment to my spiritual nourishment and i feel certain this meditation retreat, nestled in the spacious rocky mountains, is the perfect prescription to heal my wounded heart.

it has been a challenging & emotional 3 years–losing two people very close to me to cancer, struggling financially and recently dealing with the dissolution of a personal relationship.  i have been tested on every level and have lost a lot of my grounding and faith.  my daily life has somehow weaved itself into such busyness that i have neglected the one thing that i can always turn to–my meditation practice.

being a part of this amazing week would allow me to renew my belief in myself and my purpose in this world.  i am struggling w/clarity and living more from a place of fear and not love.  this is just not ok to me.  i would LOVE to connect w/community, while immersing myself in the ritual, tranquility and significance of a practice, which not only benefits me, but the people in my life and the world at large.

thank you for considering my application and i look forward to hearing from you.

deepest blessings, Sasha”

“I want to take the time to go on retreat to reconnect with myself. To me, such a reconnection involves remembering the mystery and joy of life as it manifests through my action in the world and relationship to the outside: people, plants, the environment, work, etc. I feel an incredible yearning right now to slow down and bear witness to my moment-to-moment experience as I feel ripe and alive, yet yearning for more connection, and I know that that connection must start with myself. i look at the pictures of the faces of people who went on retreat and feel an implicit understanding of the wondeful rejuvenative power of retreat – especially when entered into from a place of deep universal trust and respect in the power of my body, mind, and circumstance to lead me to where I need to be/ right now it is all pointing to a retreat. As A graduate student in the Transpersonal Counseling program at Naropa, I strongly believe that taking a retreat is in service of me, my future clients, and all those around me.”  –Kaila

“The power of a smile deeply benefits those who receive and give it.  Those who give smiles are the greatest servants of humanity and compassion, and a smile is the simplest way to add just a bit more light to this world.  I continually strive to be one of these servants and try my hardest to use the methods of wisdom and compassion to spark my inner light and always give genuine smiles.  I thank the Buddha everyday for offering the wonderful methods to enable this inner light and I thank you for making this wonderful offer to one lucky winner!” –Chris

“I long to be in the presence of true love and compassion. When I have visited the Stupa at Shambala, I have been at peace. It has been so long since I have felt that. Please help me get back to that space.” –Peggy

“May I open my heart unconditionally to myself and to the entire world.
May I learn to deepen my practice and enlighten my presence to my family
May I stop the suffering and spread around Joy
May I pause, retreat and renew my aspiration to awaken and be free
May all being benefit from my deepened practice and renewed commitment to stay present.” –Ania

“To inwardly go where no one dares,
Shine the light,
To those who wish to see the stars,
Without a word uttered.”–Marcy

“I am a graduate student in social work.
suffering is the word/experience we wish to alleviate.
how though!?!
little child is hungry.
unimpressed by past support.
feeling alone.
I enter the picture.
I want to alleviate that suffering.
suffering from hunger and neglect.
HOW!?!
I blanket you with love.
I make inquiries and suggest support.
I need practice in making my spiritual practice a support for me.
yeah- a living wage, universal health care, adequate public transport… that will help (among other things)
but until then…I need strength to be the best social worker, to be the best person and offer love and support to all who seek it.
I need a weekend, a week, that reminds me of my purpose, my aim.
unity.
responsibility.
love.” –Laura

“TO
M ake peace with myself and the world
E ven when
D aily life
I s
T aking its toll
A nd
Equaniminity escapes me.”

–Maja

“So high,
High in the mountains!
Suddenly the stupa
Arises through the trees.
What peace, what imspiration
Who would not want to meditate?” –Bridget

“My current journey is further into myself releasing old beliefs and patterns from childhood that no longer serve and having just moved to a new Country and city and broken away from a relationship that no longer served my higher good, I am refinding myself through Meditation, but it is a struggle! I’d like to kickstart it through a retreat like this. I work as a host in television and am in front of 98 million viewers at any one time each day…and a respite from what I do, into who I am will greatly aid in me being able to offer more I believe from an authenticity standpoint. A few lines keep resonating with me…”There are miles to go before I sleep” and “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renenwed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” JRR Tolkien.  Specifically…not all those who wander are lost. I believe we are all wounded healers.” –Tiffany

“To feel the infinite surge within
and let a new process begin.”–Ryan

“Weekthun:  Becoming a gentler person, allows me to appreciate myself and my family.     In my teaching profession, I aspire to cultivate goodness, kindness and strength in children.  One full week of meditation would help to achieve my basic goodness short term goals.” –Lourdes

“ah   ah  ah     the  beauty of silence, stillness .  Just there , a gate  to   all that refreshes, nourishes  and  recharges ones creative  potential  ..   These  are  some of the  benefits  from  a meditation retreat.  If  you are  a city  dweller  as I am,I add to that   the  decrease  of  stress and the  delight  of  open  skies.    The ability to  exchange the sounds of   garbage trucks, jack hammers,traffic  noise , for  the  symphony of  birds  and  the  sensation of  the wind blowing through your  mind is truly   wonderful   Full  of  wonder.    I am  inspired  to  attend to  my  dreams,write  my  poetry and  observe the    the  marvelous patterns  of the  natural  world  as  it  goes quite  without  any  input from  me.

Letting my eyes rest  on  the  open  sky   finally  my  mind can  see  the difference between  my  thoughts  and  the context  of  my  thoughts.   If I am  lucky,the  truth  of  my  being  may  shine forth .  I  always look forward to that  possibility.” –Francine

“My aspiration is to be clear and mind and pure of heart, as much as possible to show up fully to the moment.  I aspire to be ready for whatever circumstances demand of me, to do whatever is in the highest and best interest for everyone involved.  I aspire to be kind and compassionate, strong and resilient, ready to serve, ready to jump when called to, ready to listen and observe, ready to be a clear channel for wisdom to shine through.”

–Vassi

“A journey begins
Short or long, easy or difficult
Inside me are all outcomes
Responsibility for all choice is inside me
Thoughts words actions
Overcoming samsara for me and for others
Endure to improve, endure to understand
Endure with calm and honesty
Make every choice as if everyone’s happiness depends on it
Get quiet.”–Kathleen

“To let myself be
dictated by a man,
by a bridge, by a
river, by a piece of
metal.
how do those
things
determine
ones worth?
My worth?
How does one
ever know
ones
worth?
Our Worth?
Worthiness is not a
precedent set by winds
or clouds.
Worth is a creation
a fallacy
FALSEHOOD
So for worth
when we break
we have none.
We say
“WE ARE NO GOOD”?
What is goodness?
Can It be measured?
By the cup? By the
ounce?
If I knew my
worth; How much
would it fill my goodness?
I don’t even know
what goodness is.
So what’s that worth to you?” –Jade

“Frontal Theta Waves”
To make a priority
To find the space
and the time
and the willingness
To open the heart
To let it seep into the deepest recesses of the mind
That everything is
As it is
And that embracing
Absolutely
Everything
Is a chance
To realize non-grasping and
Happiness.” –Alexander

“Serenity in the mountains of Shambhala. Sun on my face. Smell of the pine and sage. Sound of the aspen trees. Getting to know me.” –Denise

“To know my fear intimately so I can love better to whatever comes next in my life. To learn to walk as if on ice with grace. To study the most intimate moment and let the sea of my understanding dissolve it.” –Gloria

“Stress leave me, contentedness come to me.  When all distraction leaves, may I be happy with myself.” –Amy

“The Dew Drops Magnified This Healing Place Within
A dew drop shimmered in my tea cup.
A solitary flower,
Touching my innermost being.
A critical threshold,
Sipping stillness.
All the flowers bloomed at once,
Their color so radiant,
Almost impossible to see.
I must have sat for hours, or was it just a moment?
Encroaching on senses unknown.
The ceremony within,
The ceremony without,
Continuous,
One connecting with the other.
Sharing a cup of tea.”–Lebyana

 

 

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