Day 13 - The Last Day

"To see clearly, to see things as they are, free from illusion, is the goal of spiritual practise."
-Andrew Cohen. (Embracing Heaven and Earth, p.55)

Got up early this morning & enjoyed a beautiful stretch in the fresh sunny (!!!) air.  I've cleaned the cottage thoroughly.  The environment  you enter into is important to help condition the mind for good practice.  I'm not saying you need a clean house to be happy!  What I have a strong sense about is that when you arrive somewhere new, to embark on something challenging, you want a warm welcome & a clean house.  Order.

If my other half reads this he'll laugh himself off his chair! 

There's the jets... That's my cue to leave.

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Some things I'll miss from this place...

My bed.  Many wonderful dreams and fears played out here. 

My desk.  Where I wrote this diary, mostly.  A spot with energy in it.  I'll also miss the squeaky chair.  :)

The conservatory.  Wonderful spot.  Lots of knitting and meditating, gazing and writing happened in here.

Goodbye little cottage.    :)

The path home.

I'll miss me.  The hen that was at the cottage.  I know in my heart that no matter how much I try, when I get home I'll forget about what I felt and became here.  Not completely, but enough to make it important I come again.  Crucial in fact.

“…can you nail down a cloud in the sky or tie them up with rope?” 
-Zen Master About truth.

Thank you for sharing my retreat with me.  I hope it has gone some way to helping you take the steps towards doing your own retreat.  Please get in touch if you have anything that you want to discuss.  

Soon I'll write a wee bit about how this retreat affected me in the days and months after going home.  I'll also gradually put up the diary from my first ever solitary retreat.  It was nerve wracking but one of the most incredible experiences of my life.  Never been the same since.

Wishing you happiness always,

hen

xx