13 years ago, my good friend, Pat Coffey, convinced me that I really wanted to experience meditation. Almost as a dare, I told him that if he could get me into an upcoming Shinzen Young ten-day retreat, I would go. He did and I did.
Vipassana meditation retreats are held in silence. This was the first time that I experienced an extended period of silence and it was the most profound aspect of my retreat experience. Since then, I have attended several retreats, some for an extended time, and silence is what I find the most healing and beneficial aspect of my meditation practice.
There is real peace in the relief from the activity of discursive thinking. During a retreat, I am, at times, able to approach a state of “no thought.” I am usually able to become aware of the spaces of silence between thoughts. I am always aware that a space, free of thought, is available even if I am not in that space in the moment. It is this space, this silence, which brings me back to the cushion and sustains my practice.
When I sit, and I allow my attention to rest with the breath, even when my mind is busily working away as it wants to do, I have an awareness of the silence and I feel at home.
Dale Abrahamse 2009