In two weeks I will be starting a one week silent meditation retreat.
I recall my first weekend retreat in which I didn’t really understand the meaning behind retreat. I kept thinking that a spa vacation might have been a better choice. And then I kept falling asleep. When I asked my instructor about this, he said, “Sleep.” And so I slept all weekend.
Sometimes we are so revved up in our daily lives that we don’t take a break or reprieve from the norm. So when we finally do take a break we are either anxious or we sleep.
After almost 10 years of meditation practice I have learned to rest when I feel tired, but am no longer faced with sleepiness. Rather there is a sense of warmth. I can acknowledge this part of me that needs to relax. I can love and not condemn this aspect of my being.