Retreat: Time Apart for Silence and Solitude

Roger Housden's beautiful introduction to the practice and philosophy of the spiritual retreat is a complete overview of the long and venerable tradition of withdrawing temporarily from the world in order to experience a return to oneself. Housden brings to the modern seeker a glimpse of the diverse and rich practices that through the ages have taught the spiritual value of solitude and contemplation. He shows us how, with the cultivation of silence and awareness, we can each find relief from the hectic and chaotic pace of the world and come alive to ourselves again.With a broad perspective, Housden skillfully guides the reader through the ways to mindfulness as practiced by Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, indigenous cultures, nature lovers, and many others. Housden opens the way for many teachings to be integrated into an individual approach to seeking spiritual fulfillment. In this way, the reader can design a personal spiritual retreat determined by his or her own motivation and intention.Retreat is an invaluable primer on the religions, institutions, and retreat centers that focus on the value of meditation, silence, and awareness as the path to our deeper natures. In addition to a skillful outline of the rich traditions that teach the contemplative path, Housden provides a wide range of methods and approaches to the practice of retreat - from a walk in the woods to a three-year silent retreat in the mountains of Tibet. He equips the novice with a full range of information, and masterfully introduces the five factors that set the retreat apart from the affairs of daily living: silence, mindfulness, meditation, the retreat community, and the retreat leader.