I learned in this retreat that mindfulness is a meditation practice that helps you pay attention in a particular way “on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmental…” I experienced bringing my complete attention to the present moment during the guided practices as well as during periods of Noble Silence. Cindy guided us through some of the meditations. Her knowledge and experience together with her spiritual personality and voice helped me get to know my mind, body and heart at a higher level. Jose’s participation was lively; he provided his own perspectives and experience on mindful meditation. The location was excellent: accommodations, surrounding areas, and vegetarian food added to the pleasant experience. The singing bowls and the mindful yoga was a nice touch! Overall, I give this retreat 5 stars!…

The retreat was wonderful! …location was absolutely beautiful, food was really delicious and the teacher was just extraordinary! We had a great chance to live these 3 days mindfully in the present moment, spent a lot of time outdoors, practiced yoga and meditated. It was a great experienced that brought calmness and clearness to my life. Thank you so much, Cindy and Jose…

I went into retreat with as few expectations as possible as this was my first retreat. I was most stunned by the opportunity to observe just how noisy my mind actually is. It’s easy to get caught up in the strong, consistent flow of thoughts and this time in silence really helped me identify this habit. The most powerful outcome of silence was coming to find that the thoughts and stories are not what is important while in practice, it’s the pausing to acknowledge and be with what is actually arising in the moment and learning how stay present by bringing the attention to the breath, body sensations or sounds. In this way I stay present instead of caught up in stories and limited beliefs…

The experience of a silence retreat is a true gift to self. The opportunity to be alone with your thoughts and be aware of what occupies your mind is pretty interesting. Once unplugged from outside stimuli and entering Noble Silence, you are encouraged to be with what is arising in the moment and to understand the multitude of thoughts and feelings that inhabit the mind. It may seem like it’s a difficult thing to do but it’s totally doable. The meditations and talks gave us structured time to quiet down those thoughts.