Feeling Frazzled? Take a Religious Retreat
A spiritual retreat is needed for many people, who are fed up with the fast-paced modern life. But if you open a newspaper or magazine, often all you see is listings for super-expensive yoga retreats in Bali or whatever.
In fact, some really good religious retreats are right on your doorstep, and often very affordable too.
You can visit for a few hours or a few days, and usually you get an absolute bargain in return for helping say with washing-up and being open to living in a small single bedroom or even a dormitory. Just enter your postcode to find nearby retreats.
Many are not dog-friendly. If not, consider a short break somewhere else. Or have someone look after your pooch for a few days, if you need to reset for a few days, to return in a better state of mind.
Many religious retreats are housed in lovely old buildings with labyrinths and beautiful gardens. Often they are run by Catholic nuns and priests, who live simply, and open up their homes and gardens, for the money to pay for upkeep.
You don’t have to be religious to glean the benefits, and it’s a lovely opportunity to slow down and get some peace (most don’t have TVs!). You just ‘do nothing’ for a while, and then you’re reset with a different mindset on your return.
These retreats are not like prisons. You’re free to go as you please, so you could always take walks on your own to nearby forests or seaside etc.
But overall it’s good to just enjoy the benefits for a few days, and perhaps have a little time in the company of those who have genuine inner peace, and so hopefully it rubs off on you!
By getting away from the ‘outside world’ for a bit, you get to live more in line with your authentic self, and then it’s easier to feel better yourself, and do more good for others.
We find these retreats very interesting (more so than thousand-pound spa retreats). Let’s take a look at a few examples, to whet your retreat appetite of what to expect:
An Edwardian house in Northumberland (gifted by the church) offers a base to rest amid 26 acres of grounds. Within easy reach of north-eastern cities, it’s a spiritual place for peace and quiet.
A retreat in Shropshire surrounded by woodland trees, run by a former detective and his wife (a former hospice care nurse).
A bishop’s house (built in 1894) on the tiny Scottish island of Iona. Here you can enjoy 2 daily services, wholesome cooking and walk to a little beautiful beach, at the bottom of the garden.
Why would you go stay with monks or nuns?
Because it’s a few days to stop off from a usual routine, and live at a different pace, often with people who are truly relaxed and really do have inner peace!
Most of today’s ‘retreats’ often cost hundreds of pounds a night, run by ‘gurus’ who ask you to spend money on expensive detox meals or even do fasts, and there is a huge schedule to follow, from meditation to yoga class to ‘inner work’ to God knows what. All in luxury accommodation.
But a quiet religious retreat is quite the opposite. If you’re fortunate you may have a little room to yourself, sometimes with a private bathroom. But often it’s just a clean quite shared bedroom or even a dormitory with a shared bathroom block, plain simple meals and beautiful grounds to wander.
You are usually free to join in worship, but there’s no obligation. Sometimes you help to wash up (that’s why the break is so cheap!) but you nearly always have access to a quiet chapel, reading room and beautiful grounds. And usually there is a library of (religious) books but likely no TV or Internet!
When you go away for a few days like this, deep emotions may surface. But the good news is that you are around people who can help you feel at peace. You will also find (perhaps surprisingly) that the monks and nuns won’t want you to ‘talk’ about why you are there.
Usually they just get on with their daily lives (which may include praying up to seven times a day) and are just happy for you to soak up the calming atmosphere, and perhaps be inspired enough to change your own routines a little bit when you return home. Like more rest, plain living and more prayer.
