THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF SOLITUDE: We All Need To Take Time Out To Take Care Of Ourselves
After weeks of pushing hard, we are taking time out to rest, restore and connect with our own selves and the Divine in solitude.
THE DAWNING LIGHT, Volume 8, # 691 Thursday, January 4, 2023
STILL MOUNTAIN CHRONICLES Section # 40 A Story written by Chinmayan about how we use solitude to restore our heart and spirit
Top Image courtesy of Pixabay
Bottom Photo Credit: Chinmayan “Dawn On Still Mountain”
Its been a mild winter so far…
We are now fully back in the grips of winter…with days and nights of rain, and cold and swirling grey clouds blocking the sun.
It is a milder version of winter so far…without last winter’s intense back-to-back atmospheric rivers which tested us and seemed to take us to the edges of insanity.
I am grateful for this complete and sudden shift back to cloudy days and rain, for it gives us a perfect opportunity to take time out and time apart to take care of ourselves.
TAKING TIME OUT IN SOLITUDE IN RETREAT
After an intense push last week to help a friend of ours complete a major clean up of a forty year hoard on her family’s property by an end of the year deadline…we are both tired of being tired and achy, so we decided to take time out to take care of ourselves in solitude and retreat for a few days.
Here on Still Mountain, we each have separate tiny houses so that we can have our own personal space when we need it.
We have learned over the years how important and even vital it is to be able to give ourselves times of complete retreat in solitude.
Normally, Ani and I are together every day during the daytime, doing whatever needs to be done in our lives together.
We love being close, sharing communication and the work and chores of daily life, making meals and doing errands.
We love meditating together and simply sitting in the silence and enjoying being present in the moment with each other.
We also love taking time together to go for walks, be out in nature and go on day pilgrimages to special, sacred places.
Photo courtesy of Kristin Kuhn
We Live In One Of The Most Beautiful Places In The World
We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, where the biggest town is still small and our county, which is the size of some small states, has a low population.
Viewed on a map, our county has just a few tiny towns surrounded by pure wilderness that runs to one of the most spectacular coasts of beaches and coves and cliffs on the Pacific Ocean.
We are grateful that our Still Mountain Meditation Center is located in a large verdant valley with a vast wilderness of mountains, rivers, canyons and forests surrounding our slice of paradise.
WHY WE ALL NEED SOLITUDE and TIME OUT TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES
After coming back from the clean up project, we closed our big main gate and went into retreat…
In our separate spaces of solitude.
We all need to spend quality time just with our own selves without distractions or input from others. As much as we all love being with our beloveds, it is even more important to cultivate a deep and growing love relationship with your own self.
I know how engrossing it is to give all our Time, Energy and Attention, which are our three most precious resources, to our work, our duties and obligations and relationships which are important parts of our outer world outside ourselves.
“True Love is two solitudes that greet, and touch and protect each other.” —Rilke
Image courtesy of Pixabay
Most of us spend all our time in this outer world without ever taking time out to simply be with just our own self.
That is unfortunate and even tragic because…
the very best things in life can only be accessed through being alone with yourself, and entering you own inner world which is attainable only through solitude.
I love prayer and meditation because these practices are a way being in solitude in our own inner world.
All the masters who have attained realization were able to do so through consciously choosing to go into retreat in complete solitude so they could focus on doing the inner work necessary to become enlightened.
Solitude is the best space for healing and spiritual growth, for letting go of all the stresses and strains of daily life in the outer world and recharging yourself.
HOW TO TAKE QUALITY TIME OUT FOR YOURSELF
If you can’t take days off in retreat like we are doing, it is absolutely vital to take time out in solitude every day to be with yourself and pray and meditate…even if it is only for short periods.
In fact, I recommend at the very least, to take 5-minute time outs to meditate or pray during your busy days.
Even better, I recommend using the time you are alone in the bathroom, taking a shower or lying for long minutes in a bath of hot water as a focused time out and mini solitude.
If you choose to use those times to nurture and love yourself and cultivate it as a daily habit, you will be amazed at the difference it makes and how much better you feel about life, yourself and all your relationships.
Photo Credit: Chinmayan “Dawn On Still Mountain”
Original Poetry and Calligraphy by Chinmayan
Image Credit: Still Mountain Meditation Retreat
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