My Seven Days in Silence – Day Three
The Chopra Center offers an annual retreat at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA. It’s called Silent Awakenings. It’s literally adjacent to Pebble Beach, for some context. We spend seven days in silence. No phone, no TV, no online YouTube cat videos, no social media, and no talking! It’s a complete digital detox. I’ll be sharing my learnings and insights from each day. Here’s day three which is all about Nature.
Through day two, what I’ve found is complete immersion with nature. It’s interesting that we are focusing on nature today, yet it’s nature that has been the forefront for me, especially yesterday. I had a moment on the beach. It was overcast and cold, which is not atypical for Northern California. And, I lost track of time simply watching sea lions (or it may have been otters) play. I was overwhelmed by a sense of connection, love, gratitude, and humility. I can’t fully describe it, but I highly recommend it!
The daily theme to awaken to is Nature:
Elements. I was reminded of the elements. The human body is comprised of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. And, if we look at other living things, these elements are there too, just in different quantities. We are all made of the same good stuff! Therefore, we are connected in that sameness. It’s unfortunate that we often forget this. It’s when we disconnect ourselves from the notion of sameness that we get imbalanced. So, spending time in nature is a way to recharge and remember. A favorite Rumi quote, “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.” We are encouraged to expand our view. The late Dr. David Simon, one of the founding members of The Chopra Center, shares, … “all (everything is) are an expression of nature’s impulse to create.”
Random notes:
I spent the day witnessing absolute perfection, with symmetry and asymmetry alike. The first takeaway, there is beauty in the dying and decay. Decomposing to serve anew. The second insight, live outside; outside of the conditioned mind, outside the box, outside of sound. Therefore, just be outside! The third ‘ah ha’, you don’t have to be a certain way to belong here. You are part of the symphony that is going on in every moment. Lastly, when form and experience don’t match my internal idea of what ‘said’ form should be, I’m uncomfortable. Then, I notice when I accept things ‘as they are’ I begin to see beauty in the unexpected. So fun!
A short exercise:
In any given moment, STOP and ask:
- Am I aware of this?
- What am I aware of?
- Who or what is aware of this?
In summary, I challenge you to find some silence today and simply notice nature and it’s creations. Find beauty in the unexpected.
We only have a finite amount of time on this planet, and you can choose how to spend that time.
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I wish you much success in your career quest. Yours in balance, learning, growth, and harmony. – Melissa DeLuca, CEO
