Going Deeper: A Silent Retreat for Spiritual Growth

By Yogeshwar

The Invitation to Turn Inward with the Going Deeper Silent Retreat 

As the world around us quiets with the arrival of the fall, there is a natural invitation to turn inward. In this spirit, Baba Hari Dass has given a collection of practices that embrace the energy of this reflective season, comprising what we now call the Going Deeper Silent Retreat. This immersive experience offers a structured environment that mirrors the natural stillness of fall, inviting us to quiet the mind and reconnect with the source of awareness.

The Concept of “Cave Sadhana”: Prepare the mind for meditation 

This retreat centres around a “cave sadhana.” As the yogis of the past discovered, dark caves or cave-like spaces could be very helpful in preparing the mind for meditation. The sun, though beneficial for life, nonetheless has a stimulating, or rajasik, effect on the mind, further sparking thoughts and pulling the attention toward objects of the senses. For this retreat, windows are covered and the indoor lights are kept dim. It may seem a little strange, but if has a potent effect on the quality of the mind.

Silence as a Path to Inner Stillness

We also observe silence during the Going Deeper Silent Retreat. Engaging in conversation, though certainly important in everyday life, can tend to stir up the thinking mind. We spend thought and energy considering what we’re going to say to others, and then ruminating about what we did say. While it’s often subtle, in everyday interactions there is often a continuous pressure to keep up small talk, to appear polite and friendly to others, and to present ourselves favourably. In a silent retreat, that constant effort can be relaxed, and there becomes more space just to be in stillness. In time, this outer silence can also encourage an inner silence, whereby we can even let go of the tendency to talk or think to ourselves, thus setting the stage for meditation.  

Simple Diet for a Focused Mind

In further support of meditation, a simple diet is observed that is free from spices and foods that have a tendency to stimulate the mind. The food is easy to digest and ideal for supporting the body during longer periods of meditation and other related practices. While still nourishing and tasty, the simple diet helps to calm the tendency to fixate on or obsess about food as a means to fulfill desires beyond what feeds the body.

We can sometimes have very powerful attachments to food, which in turn fuel further activity and obsession in the mind. The retreat’s simple diet is an invitation to let go of some of that grasping and obsessiveness and further pare down the mind’s busyness. Rather than spending time throughout the day wondering what to make and to eat, teasing out each day’s desires and appetites, the food is simply there for us to nourish ourselves, and then move on.

Structured Routine for Inner Stillness

In a somewhat similar way, the schedule of the Going Deeper Silent Retreat itself allows us to let go of all of the tedious micro-decisions of the day, through which there is often a subtle grasping after the next thing, and a constant projection of ourselves into the future. With the set schedule of the day’s practices and events, we can actually relax into the present moment, rather than wonder what we’ll do with the afternoon, or when we’ll take lunch, etc. With this, a further layer of the mind’s activity can settle into stillness.

Practices to Support Meditation

And finally, there are the practices themselves. We’ll spend approximately 5-6 hours in seated pranayama and meditation practice each day, but there are other practices to support the quieting of the mind and the cultivation of meditative states. There are twice daily asana practices, including the Forgiveness Series, a devotionally oriented asana series given by Baba Hari Dass, the ritual of arati, or offering light, devotional chanting, or kirtan, and even some time listening to spiritual stories and other readings in the evening.

Embracing Tapas: Challenges That Strengthen the Mind

The Going Deeper Silent Retreat can be challenging, and it’s not well-suited for those simply looking to relax or unwind and have some time out of their usual schedule and commitments. The retreat has an element of tapas, a Sanskrit word that literally means heat or burning, but refers more generally to austerities or challenges to our usual patterns of desire and comfort. These challenges, when undertaken skillfully and consciously, help us to refine our attention, cultivate energy, and gain freedom from unconscious habits.

Things like getting up early, observing silence, eating a set diet of simple vegetarian food, sitting for long periods, and so on, are not always pleasant or fun, but they develop a capacity for patience and strength in us, and they can also reveal to us that even in the midst of challenge and discomfort, there is still that which simply is, beyond our habitual judgments and reactions to the situation at hand.

Who Is the Going Deeper Retreat For?

That said, Going Deeper is a very accessible silent retreat, and less demanding than some other silent retreats out there. It can be a wonderful first silent retreat for those who have some solid experience with the practices of yoga and seated meditation and would like to explore them in a more immersive retreat environment.

Learn More and Join Us

Would you like to learn more about the Going Deeper Silent Retreat? 👉 Click here to explore further and join us from November 20 to November 24, for this transformative journey into stillness and spiritual growth.

By Yogeshwar Will Humphrey

Yogeshwar has been teaching yoga for over a decade and a half. He completed 200hr and 300hr teacher trainings at the Mount Madonna Center in California. Yogeshwar also lived there for several years while working on staff, teaching in various yoga trainings and retreats, and serving as a pujari at the Center’s Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. In addition to years of personal practice, Yogeshwar also completed an M.A. in Religious Studies at the University of Calgary in 2016. His studies included coursework on both western and eastern traditions of philosophy and religion, as well as over two years of academic Sanskrit study. He currently teaches yoga practice and theory to resident karma yogis and in retreats at the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga. For Yogeshwar, the theory and practice of yoga is a gateway to appreciating the profound mystery of being conscious and alive, and ultimately to abiding in the wholeness and peace that is our true nature.