Silent Retreat Day One

Saturday October 6th 2007

Gaia House, nr Newton Abbot, Devon

Five Day Silent Meditation Retreat - Day One . . . .

I have been attracted to the idea of retreats for years now. I first went on one in 1979 when I was only 16. I remember that as being pretty strange, but nontheless the idea had stayed with me ever since. My interest probably dates from hearing that the guitarist Robert Fripp, whose music I have always really loved, had spent 9 months at Sherborne House in Gloucestershire in, I think 1975, on a course in "advanced education" run by JG Bennett, a disciple of the mystic Gurdjieff. His Guitar Craft courses (http://www.guitarcraft.com/) follow a retreat pattern and I would have gone on one were it not for the fact that I can't play the guitar.

A year or so ago, there was a brief article in the travel section of a newspaper about a 10-day vipassana retreat in New Zealand, and this was followed by an article in the spring 2007 edition of Tricycle magazine about a US rock star who had been on 6 or 7 10-dayers. Finally I was reading Sarah McDonald's Holy Cow in the spring and that featured her account of a 10-dayer in India. So the idea was set, and last spring I booked myself on a small version of a silent vipassana retreat.

So I am set for five days at Gaia House (http://www.gaiahouse.com.uk/) on "Embodying the Dharma", in which, according the the website, the "complimentary practices of Insight Meditation and Qi Gong [would] cultivate a sustained and gentle attentiveness to the movement and stillness of body and mind". And five days of silence of course; no TV, music, newspapers, phones, etc . . . .

Day One . . . . .

The drive down was pretty uneventful. To put myself in the right mood I had carefully selected some appropriate music but ended up listening to England's shock victory over Australia in the rugby World Cup. Not the most calming start.

It seemed I was among the early people to register as many of the voluntary jobs were still open. (Or maybe the early people know not to volunteer, that thought did cross my mind!). Thinking I'd like to do something other than just the one hour of work required each day I signed up for bell-ringing duties. I would be the guy who gets up before 6:00am and walks round the house sounding the bell to wake everyone up. I will probably be the most dispised person on the retreat.

I also discovered to some surprise that the retreat actually finishes on the Wednesday, not the Tuesday as I had thought. So a quick call home to correct this and my last contact with the outside world.

We have a tour, and are assigned rooms - I am sharing with two other guys on the top floor - and then we have our small bowl of soup for supper and its off to our introductory sessions. First up is the house keeper to discuss some admin - toilets are not to be flushed between 10:30pm and 6:00am, that sort of thing. Myself and seven others then have an intensive course in bell-ringing technique. I am under firm instructions that the 6:00am bell ringing must be done with gusto! The house keepr - who is male - feels we should lightly skip as we move through the house. I'm sure no one will be awake to see what I do, but it probably won't be skipping.

And so to our first session of Qi Gong - about which I know next to nothing. I am surprised when the first session is a "playful" session that is virtually exactly the same as Elena's "Body Awakening" on our yoga course. So that's where it comes from!

Then a quick opening meditation session. I am sitting by the left hand wall (as you face towards the Buddha alter) about two thirds of the way back - suitably anonymous I thought. There are about 50 of us and the hall seems very full. A glance around reveals quite a mix of people. There are a couple of girls who are maybe in their twenties, a couple of ladies perhaps in their seventies but most seem to be thirties or forties. Hard to tell though. One or two look like novice monks with closely cropped hair. There is the odd strange looking guy, but overall a perfectly normal mix. Quite a large number of men I thought - maybe 40%. Our first session doesn't last too long but already my back is sore. I pulled a muscle a day or so ago and the sitting causes it to flair up a little. Not a good start.

We are all packed off to bed at 9:30 and I am more than ready for sleep. Not the usual way to spend Saturday night perhaps!