📖 I remembered hearing this story from one of my teachers:
*cue deep breath in here*
A mindfulness student was struggling with untangling difficult emotions and went to their teacher for advice. The teacher listened and then said: “Go for a meditation retreat. You’ll feel better.”
Taking the advice, the student went on a retreat but found it extremely challenging. Most of the time, they were completely overwhelmed by difficult emotions: peaks of rage, sadness, self-doubt, vulnerability, WTF-I-did-this-to-me moments.
When the retreat finally ended, the student stormed back to the teacher: “I did what you said! You told me I’d feel better!!”
The teacher replied, “Indeed: you felt anger better. You felt sadness better. You felt self-doubt better...”
Takeaway:
Never trust a mindfulness teacher (jocking! 👀)
As Dan Harris says, mindfulness will give you the most exquisite high of your life, but the hangover comes first. (This has certainly been my experience so far, anyway). The only way is through.
Post-Retreat Download
The meditation hall: 3 teachers, around 50 participants + more people in long-term retreat
I’ve been back from my retreat for five days now, and let me tell you, this time felt different.
I was fully prepped to embrace my internal circus of existential dread like I had done in previous retreats, and instead..
..it felt familiar, pleasant, soothing. I found myself witnessing pleasant, heartwarming sh*t like never happened before.
(Classic retreat irony, by the way, kicking you in the butt with the exact opposite of your expectations just to mess with you until you finally accept that expectations are BS 😅)
It felt so good that I even heard my inner critic (who NEVER takes a damn day off) whisper, “This is too easy. Are you even doing it right? Maybe you’re slacking off because your husband is here.”
😂 Honestly, can we catch a break? Hilarious.
I had the chance to ask one of the three retreat teachers, Laura Bridgman (a former Buddhist nun in the Theravada tradition for over 20 years (!), about it. Her response was:
“
The fact that this time around felt pleasant is completely irrelevant. It doesn’t mean you’re not working. You can work on getting to know yourself even through pleasant experiences by investigating your reactions—like the inner critic creeping in. And it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve ‘arrived.’ Everything is temporary. This, too, will change.”
The room I was sharing with other 2 retreatants
If I could get a forehead tattoo today, it would be this.
"This, too, will change".
A big heart milestone
This retreat was also the perfect way to mark the end of my two-year journey in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.
Last night, we had our final mentor group meeting. My wonderful mentor, La Sarmiento, asked us how we’d celebrate this milestone.
This came up:
I want to offer another free Introductory Mindfulness Meditation Course. I’ve done this before as part of my practicum, but this time, it will reflect everything I’ve learned and grown into over the past two years, going deeper into my 'hangover-moments' and my understanding of the roots of the Buddhist and yoga traditions.
I can't think of anything that could bring me more joy than sharing the gifts I was given during the last years with others.
The webpage is still cooking (dates and details TBD), but if this resonates, you can join the waitlist and share it now with someone who might enjoy it to ensure you don't miss it.
How often do you pause to align your energy, creativity, and intentions? I joined forces with lovely Alice from Creative Tea Breaks to offer you a sweet glimpse of creative rest.
P.S. You're reading this because you signed up for a free event, download, or newsletter with me, Maria Chietera, and now you're on the list for my regular letter. I know your time is valuable, and your inbox is packed (same here), so I appreciate you reading this newsletter.
