Silent Meditation Retreat Guidelines.

A meditation retreat is a unique and precious opportunity - an extraordinary setting for something that is, in truth, a natural instinct. For millenia humans from all walks of life have sought solitude for creative inspiration, clarity, depth, and rest.

For a short time, a group of people come together to live simply and share in a way that’s quite different from everyday life. Instead of relating through conversation or social roles, we connect through the shared experience of meditation—with all its joys, challenges, insights, and moments of stillness.

To support this kind of environment, we follow a few simple agreements: maintaining silence, being considerate of others, respecting the schedule, and following guidance with openness.

These aren’t rules for the sake of rules, but ways to help create a space where everyone can feel safe, focused, and deeply held by the retreat container.

This retreat is designed for those who genuinely wish to go inward, and who feel drawn to a more immersive experience. If the guidelines feel a little unfamiliar or challenging at first, that’s okay—simply check in with yourself. If you feel ready, let that readiness be your inspiration. It’s just a few days in the grand flow of life.

  • Mauna is compulsory. The period of mauna will begin on the first morning, and will end after the last meditation on the last day of the retreat. Absolutely no talking by participants will be allowed.

    Much energy and ego goes into our speech. This not only makes the world noisy, it makes our own mind noisy.

    If there is nobody to talk to we just chatter away to ourselves, in our own heads, without even realising.

    In meditation, this can be an annoying hindrance. So we keep silent by not speaking or passing notes to each other during the retreat, in order to quiet our mind and maintain a quiet, peaceful environment for everyone.

    This can be difficult at times, but most people find it a powerful and liberating experience. Even training ourselves to walk, move, and do things quietly leads to more calmness and grace.

  • To support the depth of the retreat experience, we ask that you refrain from using phones or any electronic devices for its duration. This includes internet use, taking or scrolling through photos, reading, listening to music, etc.

  • Reading is not permitted during the retreat, including spiritual texts. While reading can be nourishing in daily life, during retreat it tends to draw our energy outward - distracting from the deep inner stillness we’re cultivating. To support strong interiorisation and presence, we ask that you fully commit to this guideline and set reading aside for the duration of the retreat.

  • Unless you are an experienced faster, in order to maintain a high level of vitality and energy for meditation fasting is not recommended for the entire duration of the retreat (although your own tapas of a weekly fasting day is okay).

  • It is recommended that you aim to cultivate a state of experience resembling solitude by agreeing not to: look at others, touch, hug, kiss, say hello (even nonverbally), smile at each other, etc. At times, this can feel alienating and lonely for people who are very sociable and miss such simple human contact, but it will drastically help your experience of interiorisation.

    In addition, the opening of the soul will offer you the opportunity to communicate in a much subtler way, through the language of Love. Your friends will still love you at the end of the retreat, maybe even more…

  • No drugs, alcohol, or smoking of any kind is allowed during this retreat.

  • It is recommended that participants record their meditative and daily experiences in a notebook. A retreat journal can help you not only to push through any challenging moments, but can serve to inspire you and provide a point of reference for your growth during the retreat period. A meditation notebook helps us to objectify our experiences and what we understand during meditation. It can bring inspiration to us even after the retreat. Reading it after the retreat is over can be a powerful support in daily life.

  • Please agree to join all sessions and activities of the retreat. The schedule we follow is very moderate compared to some meditation retreats that start the day before dawn :). It is important never to leave a meditation session other than for extreme circumstances.

  • We kindly ask that everyone arrive on time for all sessions, as arriving late can be quite disruptive to the group energy. To support a focused and harmonious atmosphere, late entry into sessions won’t be permitted.

    If you do happen to be late, please wait quietly outside and use the time for your own meditation. You’ll be able to join the group again at the next scheduled break. Thank you for your understanding and care for the shared space.