Slowing Down

By Jennifer Herrera

“Relax. There’s no need for rushing today. Slow down. Really, slow down today.”

Dr. Paul Kaye, our facilitator, must have offered this gentle reminder at least ten times at our Silent Retreat at Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens. Unplug – Relax, Refresh and Recharge, and I clearly needed it. I say this because each time he said it, I felt my body respond like it was hearing his offering for the first time, and each time I took a deeper breath. Towards the end of the day, when I was walking up the Meditation Garden stairs, I started to vividly see my natural pace is rushing.

That was rather eye opening.

I know that breath and breathing is a tremendous gateway into relaxing, health, and vitality. I also know that when I am relaxed, I am more open, more loving, more creative and more able to receive. I am just a better person inwardly and outwardly when I am relaxed. And cultivating this as my natural state is where I have some opportunity.

I sense this is where many of us have opportunity. We have been habitualized and seduced with the allure of achieving, of getting things done and making things happen. This often requires moving fast, or falling asleep to our awakened consciousness and being in auto pilot. However one describes it, I sense many — if not most of us — have some relationship to the paradigm I am speaking of. With that — and given we live in such a busy, full, techno-charged world — taking time to interrupt these habits in a place of beauty and peace like Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens is essential.

Paul is a skilled curator and master facilitator, and with the support of some lovely assistants, he took us on a restorative journey at our one-day Silent Retreat. We handed over our phones. We traveled. Inwardly and outwardly. We were fed healthy, delicious and thoughtful meals. We journaled. We walked the labyrinth. We had several opportunities of deep meditation which were often accented with a sound bath cleansing our energy fields. And, we participated in learning the art of some ancient cultural customs that are significant instruments of slowing down, being on purpose and breathing more consciously.

I left this day feeling more me than when I arrived. What does that mean? For me, I felt like I let go of layers of activity that were attached to over responsibility and doing, and I opened my heart more fully to the splendor of the present moment. It may sound a bit cliché, and I say give yourself the gift of the Silent Retreat and then let me know how you feel.

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Silent Retreats are offered several times a year at Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens. For more information, email Registrar@peacelabyrinth.org.

Love and a Silent Retreat is All You Need

Once upon a time, in the sixties, there was a very popular band called the Beatles. Titles like All You Need is Love spun on vinyl records. Centuries before them, a bearded man with the initials, JC said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Great advice, right? What happens though when texts, e-mails and phone calls are vying for your attention? When paper and projects are piling up digitally and on your desk? And your family demands you play gracious host to a third cousin once removed? The brain scrambles, Edvard Munch’s The Scream surfaces. “Stop the world I want to get off!”

Well, now you can. Popular meditation teacher, soundscape artist and acclaimed author, Paul Kaye is leading One Day Silent Retreat participants back to the sacred self that breathes and sustains you. Your precious self will thank you. Your husband/wife, colleagues, cat and dog will also appreciate your attending this Saturday, September 8 event.

This autumn day is an opportunity to meet your true self again. Already meditate? Fantastic! You’ll be cradled in a deeper way by the Divine. The serene Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens will reflect your inner beauty.  

Sound too good to be true? Think again. See below for a sampling of the gifts you’ll receive during the retreat. And take home with you long after the silence is gone.

·       Tools for clearing unconscious blocks and tension

·       Moving meditations, the labyrinth

·       Freeing yourself with forgiveness and gratitude

·       Accessing harmony and peace, Japanese tea ceremony style

·       Finding center through a Sound Journey

Even our smart devices need recharging. Take time for you on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens. Click here for details.

Plug Into an Oasis for the Soul

Let’s be real. We’ve all got addictions.  Don’t drink, swear, smoke or touch that white substance called sugar? Congratulations. How long can you go without checking your smart phone? Or binge watching your favorite Netflix show? Most of us need some form of comfort. On planet earth a lot of curve balls and challenges are thrown our way. (If this is not your experience, please send the address of your cave pronto!) 
How cool would it be though to upgrade our addictions to God?  (Higher power, Spirit, you know what I mean.) In the City of Angels, there is a place to plug into the oasis of your Soul. It’s called Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens (PAL&G.)  In the gardens, celestial melodies courtesy of the birds lift the gaze heavenward. Multiple water features sing soothing lullabies.  There’s the ancient labyrinth, too, which is sometimes referred to as a Moving Meditation into the Heart.
Evening events like An Introduction to Meditation: A Deeper Experience led by Dr. Paul Kaye are also a beautiful way to de-stress. Although Paul’s approach is lighthearted, his training is serious. From Lao Tzu to Rumi, from tai chi to yoga and countless other disciplines, Paul has thoroughly researched the subject of healing through meditation and sound. 
Due to numerous requests, PAL&G is now opening its doors, too, for a one day silent retreat entitled Unplug – Relax, Refresh, Recharge. Paul will lead the charge into stillness: “The purpose of the retreat is for you to completely relax, let go of worldly concerns and connect more deeply with who you are and with what breathes and sustains you.”
To ensure the clearest, truest connection, all participants are required to abide by PAL&G’s smoke-free, drug-free environment. If you’d like to attend, please e-mail paulkaye@msia.org with Silent Retreat in the subject line. To uphold the serenity fostered in the retreat, a maximum of 20 participants will be accepted.