Silent Retreat: Accepting Change & Embracing Transience [4 Days Near Berlin]

Embracing Change and Living in the Flow of Transformation: A Silent Retreat on the Principle of Impermanence

Everything is subject to change; nothing remains constant. We can observe this everywhere in nature, as well as within ourselves. Often, however, this change causes us suffering. For we want to preserve and hold on to the good times, the pleasant feelings, and everything familiar. It is not always easy for us to open ourselves up to change. We tend to shy away from the ultimate change in our lives—death—until it is imminent. Yet confronting transience—especially our own—can help us shift our perspective on life and live more mindfully.

What to Expect

On the day of arrival, we’ll begin at 4:30 p.m. and go over all the important details so that you can safely sink into the silence and fully into yourself.
 
Until the morning of the day you leave, we’ll envelop ourselves in dignified silence, focusing entirely on introspection. Looking inward. Listening. After lunch, there will still be time for sharing and fellowship.
 
Generally, you can expect a moderately intensive meditation practice that is well-suited even for those with little experience: we sit for a maximum of about 25 minutes at a time, approximately 4–5 times a day, together in silence, and sometimes as guided meditation.
 
The meditation practice is inspired by Buddhist traditions and combines mindful awareness, qualities of the heart, and mental focus.

To complement the meditation practice, we’ll practice yoga—as a gentle physical balance and to prepare for sitting. The focus is on passive Yin Yoga, supplemented by calm, mindfully performed Hatha Yoga exercises. The practice is intentionally slow and inwardly focused; dynamic or performance-oriented forms of yoga are not part of the guided program. Personal practice is welcome outside of group sessions.
 
The program is supplemented by various contemplative elements (e.g., short talks, stories and food for thought, contemplative exercises, journaling, group walks); the specific format varies from retreat to retreat and draws from the themes I am currently exploring in my own philosophical practice and studies. At the end of each retreat, there is a practice session to integrate the experience.

On this retreat, there will also be an opportunity on Saturday to really work up a sweat in a wood-fired outdoor sauna, and—if conditions permit—we’ll build a campfire.

Community, Self-Sufficiency, & Helping Out

An essential part of the retreat is the idea of community. We take care of ourselves as a group. Each person takes on about an hour of helping out per day (chopping, washing dishes, etc.). I handle the shopping, menu planning, and coordination. The food budget is intentionally generous, and at the end there should be a small surplus, which we’ll donate as a group to a shared project.

Here’s what a former participant had to say about my retreats:

“The weekend of silence was a highlight for me this year, and I hope the effects will last for a long time. Despite the usual Christmas stress, I’m already approaching many things a little differently, meditating every day, and writing in my journal in the evenings. It was such a wonderful weekend that I’d love to experience it again in the future—and we were so lucky with the group! Thank you again so, so much for your fantastic introduction to silence, Yin Yoga, and so much more.” — Marisca M.

Your instructor:
Ever since my first philosophical wonder at the strange phenomenon of consciousness took hold of me about 30 years ago, I’ve been exploring philosophy, psychology, meditation, yoga, and all such things. It is the search for truth and for answers to the ultimate questions of human existence that has always driven me: I want to explore and understand consciousness, life, and what it means to be human in their deepest sense.

With great joy and dedication, I have been creating spaces for experience since 2020 that are inspired by this quest—spaces where people can move from doing to being and find peace, encounter and question themselves, and thus sharpen, enrich, shape, and expand their consciousness—ultimately leading to a more joyful and peaceful life. In this way, I hope to contribute to a more peaceful, conciliatory, and humane world.