The Restory Retreat Centre

  Enneagram 1 Paul "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss... "                                 Philippians 3:7 The Conversation  Elements From The Conversation   Music May your inner journey bring you to good places. George & Matilda   

  Enneagram 1 Paulus "Maar alles wat vir my wins was, reken ek nou as verlies..."                                        Fil 3:7 Die Gesprek  Elemente Uit Die Gesprek  Musiek  Mag jou binnereis jou by goeie plekke bring. George & Matilda   

We have found that a very handy tool to use in meditation or any quiet practice is drawings. It helps to free us from the tyranny of the rational mind and leads to unexpected insight and discoveries, literally something not being thought of. You can make your own drawings or experiment with doodles. The use of existing drawings or intricate designed patterns is another option. There are lovely mandalas (literally meaning “circle”) available on the internet that can be downloaded or printed. At our recent introductory retreat into mindfulness, we had copies of mandalas available for retreatants to choose from should they wish to use it in their meditation sessions. For the uninformed it might have looked like pages from a child’s colouring book lying scattered on the table. After you’ve chosen your mandala or mandalas (we suggested that they take two each at this specific retreat) it is totally up to you to use it or discard it. And should you decide to use it the ways in which...

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – over and over announcing your place in the family of things.”                                                                               ...