Spending A Month In Silence And No Internet

Whenever I go on a retreat, I gain some insight or wisdom. It’s a gift to be able to disconnect from the world so I can connect with my inner world. I wrote about my week-long meditation retreats before and encouraged you to give it a try.

I’ve done plenty of week-long retreats and I finally got the courage to sign up for a month-long retreat. Well, sort of. It turns out, month-long retreats are highly in demand and it’s offered on a lotto system. I’m doing mine at Spirit Rock, a retreat center in Northern California.

If you’ve read 10% Happier, by Dan Harris, you may recall his experience at the same retreat center.

I applied for this retreat in early 2016 and at the time, March 2017 felt like forever away. Also, I didn’t expect to get in since it’s competitive and they tell you as much.

I was surprised when I received an email congratulating me on getting into the retreat late last year. Ever say yes to something expecting the response to be a no and feel mixture of emotions about getting an unexpected positive response?

It just didn’t seem possible that I could take a month away from work, from clients, from my husband, from the world.

As the description suggests, silent meditation retreat is just that. The days consists of silence and meditation. There’s no talking, no communication with others at the retreat or with the outside world. No email, Facebook, Twitter. No internet.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety over this retreat. Yes, considering I co-authored a book titled The Anxious Lawyer, the irony is not lost on me.

For couple of months, I was in denial mode. The retreat was far enough away that I didn’t really have to think too much about it. But now, it’s just a week away and denial isn’t really possible.

There are so many logistical issues to plan and think about when you’ll be not only out of the office for a month but completely disconnected from the internet. What do I say in my away message? Hi, I’ll respond in a month?

Also, it seems the away message is mostly disregarded because everyone still expects a response anyway. Should I say, really, I won’t be responding for a month?

Of course, I still have client matters that may require attending to so my law partner will be monitoring my email but still… it’s scary to think about.

Yet, I am also looking forward to this gift of taking this time to reflect, to slow down, to rest.

Here’s the retreat description:

An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness, combined with training in loving-kindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and practice meetings with teachers.

More than ever, I believe we need the ability to focus the mind for deep work. Spending extended period of time for meditation trains the mind for focus and concentration.

Perhaps more importantly, retreats offer an opportunity to pause and reflect. Create space to ask deeper questions about life. It’s an opportunity to disengage from the distraction filled world. It’s an opportunity to simply be. 

What do you do to disconnect from the busyness of the world? Drop me an email at [email protected] or let me know over on Twitter.

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Jeena Cho is the author of The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (affiliate link). She regularly speaks and offers training on mindfulness and meditation. You can reach her at [email protected] or @jeena_cho on Twitter.