I recently returned from at 10-day silent meditation retreat at the Blazing Mountain Retreat Center in Crestone Colorado. While my meditation practice, Centering Prayer, of almost 30 years is Christian in origin, the Retreat Center is owned and operated by Dharma Ocean a Tibetan Buddhist organization.
In the past I’ve attended similar retreats at Christian facilities such as monasteries, churches and conference centers. So, what drew me to this retreat? At least in part and in all honesty, it was the online photos of the retreat facilities. They were visually “clean”, fresh, simple, open, spacious and welcoming, as if to say, “come”.
Meditation Hall -
Of course the fact that the retreat was in a setting of immense natural beauty and pervasive quietness at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains with expansive views of the San Luis Valley; and that it was near Crestone, an area of reported concentrated spiritual energy didn’t detract. So, would this setting make a difference in my retreat experience? Since the essence of my practice was consenting to inner transformation and revelation sourced in Ultimate Mystery - some say “God”, I didn’t believe the setting matters. It’s what happening internally that matters. Would this prove wrong or somewhat modified?
The retreat protocol was one of the 25 of us maintaining silence throughout, even at meals. Plus there was 4 hours of scheduled group practice each day. The large room of practice had imagery of non-Christian spiritual traditions (Buddhist, Native American) but they didn’t feel dominating in the least. Literally and metaphorically they were on the periphery. There was the permeation of spaciousness, inner and outer.
Tibetan Buddhist deity -
Indigenous Peoples Shrine -
Tibetan Buddhist Alter at Early Dawn -
An unexpected element of the spaciousness was the facility staff who prepared excellent vegetarian meals. It was as if they were not there. I rarely saw them in the building that housed our sleeping rooms and otherwise only at meals. It seemed as if they were as silent as we were trying to be and felt always on the periphery, out of sight, out of mind. Of course what they did and their silence were key to a successful retreat.
Head Cook and Facility Director Tenzo Noukham Savanh-Johnson
Part of her e-mail signature seemed to express their orientation well.
…Walking the Path of Nature… The Wondrous Mystery, The Great Unknown of Life.
The quality of spaciousness, both inner and outer made it possible for each person to receive whatever was needed - no pre-determined agendas, no readings, no doctrines, no dogmas, no theology, and most importantly perhaps, no interference from conceptual mind and the always busy machinations of thought. Even the brief appearance of a rare afternoon thunderstorm brought the freshness of water to this high desert environment - just the grace of “inner transformation and revelation”. Did the setting of spaciousness matter? I believe it did.
A “dry creek” after a thunderstorm -
Cheers -
About Ronald L. Barnett
Welcome to Hey World - a home for my writings, much of it autobiographically-inspired. My hope is that they entertain, educate, and inspire. I’m simpatico with Enid Sinclair who told Wednesday Addams, ‘’I write in my voice. It’s my truth!” I hope you enjoy them. And if you subscribe and have comments, I’d love to hear from you.
I received the Doctorate in Psychology (concentration in human cognition and learning) and after 5 years working as a community-based mental health clinician, I worked in medical research with the National Institutes of Health for the remainder of my career.
I served Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. (CO) as a teacher, group facilitator, retreat leader, Chapter Coordinator, Board Member and Trustee and taught with The Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography.
As of 2020 I retired, hosted the podcast All Things Contemplative, and still volunteer with CO. I also facilitate Charis Circles with the Charis Foundation for the New Monasticism and Interspirituality - and enjoy information technologies, photography, nature, swimming, biking, and kayaking.
