June 3, 2010
Detox Tips - Retreat Into Silence
Today should be a day off work, a weekend or a holiday, as you will spend it in total silence. This is taking your detoxification one step beyond the traditional detox diet.
Getting to know what is in your head, what you are thinking, how you are reacting, is very easy if you are not interacting with anyone. If the only dialogue you have all day is with yourself then you can find out a lot. It’s like being locked in a room with one person and you are free to ask any question you wish. It may be very telling and quite intense. And you will get answers to many of your questions.
There are many places that call themselves ‘retreats’. These are places where people - often religious - can go to stay for a time of reflection or prayer. You do not enter into conversation with anyone on retreat so you can remain focused on your reasons for being there. You can create these retreat surroundings in your own home and spend your time thinking for yourself: writing lists; writing letters; and sorting things out, physically, emotionally or mentally.
You will need to prepare for this body detox day by shutting yourself off from the outside world and any outside stimuli. Put the ansaphone on or unplug the phone. Lock the front door and do not answer it, do not open the post. There will be no radio or television, no videos, no newspapers, no books. Make sure the day is a full 24 hours, from say 11 p.m. the night before until 11 p.m. on the day of your retreat. Many of these hours will be whilst you are asleep. Indeed, if you use your retreat day to catch up on lost sleep then that is very useful.
Dress in something loose, warm and comfortable but make sure you do dress. If you need to catch up on sleep then sleep in until you wake. Get up and dressed and if you need more sleep then go back to bed for rest as and when required during the day. For the rest of your retreat time you should try to avoid your normal activities. Don’t try to do all the household chores and catch up with tidying the house. Retreat should be about you. Retreat means touching base with yourself.
This may be the first day that you have truly spent on your own. Even though you may normally spend a lot of time on your own, the rule of silence makes you think about yourself more. Use the day to answer any questions you have for yourself. If you have any problems with relationships, use the time to think through all your options. If you need to decide about your job - not about a problem at work - but about yourself in the context of work - then think this through. The fact that you cannot communicate with the outside world means that, if you reach a decision, you will have to live with that decision for several hours before you tell anyone. This may give you more time to reflect and to confirm if the decision is right or wrong for you. If there is a lot going on in your life then your day of silence may simply serve to ‘let contents settle’ before you carry on with business as usual. We file thoughts in our head so that we can access them at a later date; this important filing process can take place when you are relaxing.
If you believe that you are very straight and organized in your head, and that there is nothing you would like time to think through, then well done. What’s your secret!? Seriously, even if you have everything sorted, you should still ‘retreat’ and use the time for deep relaxation exercises, correct breathing and doing nothing. Doing nothing is extremely hard: listen to your breathing, feel your heart beat through your body and become aware of every aspect of your mind and body. When they are in total harmony, prepare a simple meal of cleansing food from the food lists in the liver detox guide and get an early night. You may find that after relaxation your dreams are very much more vivid as your brain goes through its own subconscious sorting process.
Top tips
Remember, you must not do anything that involves any outside stimuli. Retreat is about you and your own mind - no books, no papers, no conversation (except in your own head), no words, no television, no radio, no magazines.
A good view out of the window of the country, sky or garden - no streets or people - is all you are permitted. If the views from your retreat include traffic or people then look inwards at your own house and cut off the outside world. If something distracts you just let it pass, don’t dwell on it, and return to your own thoughts.
Filed under Healthy Living by James