Retreats and Music Meditation
Meditation Retreats and Music Meditation Evenings
These retreats are designed as the needs arises but incorporate music, art and exercise as part of the meditations to become aware and help us to grow in becoming silent in our inner being. Every second Sunday we have a Music Meditation Evening with periods of silence and still music where you can relax and just be in the presence of the Lord. If you would like to attend please sms /phone Johan van Niekerk with your e-mail address or cell number and you will receive notices of the dates and times of these Meditation Evenings.
Spiritual Accompaniment Retreats
These retreats offer an opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of life to spend time in prayer and reflection in an atmosphere of silence and solitude. During this time of silence, we empty ourselves of the cares and worries, anxieties and concerns that surround us and make space within — for ourselves, for God, and for others. Only in the silence and solitude can we begin to listen, to see more clearly what is going on within us. It is a time to be attentive to God in our inner being, to be held in his embrace, and to allow God to communicate with us. The silence helps us to move deeper into prayer and meditation and not be distracted by others or things happening around us.
These retreats require you to stay in the retreat centre. For details about accommodation and other facilities, see ACCOMMODATION & FACILITIES. The length of the retreat can be over a weekend, or a few days, or a week, or longer. The whole period of the retreat will be held in prayerful silence. However, each day there will be opportunity to meet with a spiritual director or guide who will primarily be a listener, companion, and guide on your journey, to help you discern how God is working in your life. A weekend retreat usually starts on a Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon.
What does a retreat entail?
With the exception of the Retreats guided by Specialits in certain fields of meditation, our individually guided retreats do not have a particular theme or follow a fixed programme of meditations. Instead your personal retreat guide seeks to help you locate the areas it could be most fruitful to pray with and ponder over. In this way you make your own personal retreat with its own focus and dynamic.
Most retreats offer a Sunday Eucharist and some a Daily Eucharist. The liturgy will vary from the Roman Catholic tradition to the Dutch Reformed and you are welcome to attend whatever your Christian denomination is or if you have no religious affiliation you are also welcome.
Retreatants normally have three to five periods of personal prayer a day of a length chosen to be comfortable rather than strenuous: fifteen minutes to an hour might be usual. You may be given suggestions for your prayer taken from scripture, poetry, or some other reading, or you may be invited to meditate on your own life.
You will usually see your guide once a day for three quarters of an hour. A second daily meeting is occasionally arranged for people who are new to retreats. The time between prayer periods is most profitably spent alone and in silence. The silence is not intended as a penance, but to release your creative potential and help you get in touch with what is deepest within yourself. Many of us spend so much time rushing about that we take our fundamental options in life for granted. It is within the focused space promoted by solitude and silence that God can be heard speaking and making Himself known.
What you get from a retreat depends upon the particular grace God wants to give you at this time. If you are open, you will be graced by God, though not always in the way you expect. It is good to start a retreat with a completely open mind, open to self, to God and to your guide. Don’t expect instant solutions and try to avoid entering a retreat determined to ‘sort something out’ once and for all. The best approach is to come with a simple desire to be with God and to listen to God’s voice: ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’ The best stance is one of generous openness.
Many retreatants just enjoy spending a few days of quiet and relaxation. For some it is a time to try out new methods of prayer and find those which are helpful to them. Others are confirmed in the decisions they have already made. Some are given help in discerning the ways in which God is calling them. Others may manage to face a block within themselves, a block to loving, or to developing a deeper relationship with God and with others.
What are the Advantages of Visiting a Retreat
Daily-, weekend-, and week-long Spiritual Accompaniment Retreats and meditation retreats will give you an opportunity to relax and take a break from your life as well as helping you to find inner peace, contentment and happiness from within. They are attended by men and women from all walks of life and bring many long term benefits into people’s lives including:
• A Closer relationship with God.
• Improved work performance, concentration and focus in daily life
• Less stress, worry & anxiety
• Reduced irritation, anger & frustration
• Greater inner peace & happiness
• Increased confidence & self-esteem
• Improved mental and physical well being
• A positive outlook on life & better relationships