TAKING A SILENT RETREAT
A silent retreat in Las Vegas? What?
I know you are asking yourself how is it possible to go on a silent retreat in one of the noisiest, busiest cities in our country, Las Vegas. Well, I did it. I needed to get away to shut down for a few days so my spirit guides suggested I go to Vegas. One would think that a blaring, crowded, somewhat low vibrational city would not be the place that spirit guides would send you, but they do know me.
Vegas is not the stereotypical place one would think of to shutdown but I wanted to challenge myself to be in the world, but not of the world. It’s easy to remain at peace in a tranquil, quiet retreat in the forest with a waterfall cascading down into a pale blue river, but quite challenging in an ostentatious world with thousands of people walking around, and the clank, clank of the slot machines adding to the cacophony of Vegas. But when my spirit guides told me to go, I didn’t hesitate. I knew it was somehow exactly what I needed.
Being extremely empathic makes periodic shutting down a requirement not an option. My work as an empathic intuitive requires frequent revitalization of my energy system. For years, I have regularly had a shutdown day every week. Some weeks I can only do it from noon to bedtime but most weeks I try to get in a full day of no messages, or phone calls, deep meditations, and aura cleansing. I try to vary my shutdowns from absolutely NO electronic devices to having a movie day where it’s just me watching my favorite movies all day. Since I talk for a living it’s mandatory for me to spend a day clearing thoughts. The subconscious mind not only listens to your thoughts about yourself but it also records the words you say to others, so I need to make sure I didn’t take on someone else’s thoughts.
In order to go on a silent retreat one must have discipline, determination, spirit protection, and begin it with a glorious silent four-hour road trip. I knew if I was going to pull this off I had to start by shutting off my cell phone and computer. One cannot go on a silent retreat without going into a digital shutdown first. The empathic energy involved in responding to messages can be daunting at times. I didn’t want to be tempted by the ping from the notification that I had messages.
I packed my backpack with a minimal amount of clothing and toiletries and loaded up the car for a serene road trip. Before I left I downloaded an audio version of Shirley MacLain’s latest book, “Above the Line” my Wild Oats adventure. It is the real life story of her experience on both the set of an independent movie, and the past life memories of a time in Atlantis that was triggered by the location in the Canary Islands. Thanks to Susan Somers for the suggestion! I felt a need to be inspired by the spiritual journey of another writer. It was the perfect book for my road trip.
Once I got on the road I did not speak to anyone plus I spent the first hour and a half without any sound including radio. Scary. Even when I stopped for gas and refreshments I didn’t speak but just nodded my head when someone spoke to me. I wanted to be in my own head so I could listen to what I was thinking. It’s important to pay attention to the journey inside your head as well as the physical part of the adventure. You can’t change what you’re thinking if you don’t know what that is. After the first hour and a half on the road I turned my focus to the audio book. I didn’t allow myself to drift off into my own story. Her story was so fascinating it was fairly easy to pay attention to her. Whenever I did drift away to my own thoughts I was able to gently, lovingly control the return to the sound and information from the book.
Once I arrived at my hotel room, I immediately went into a deep meditation. I also did a cleansing of my aura to insure clarity. That night I did leave my room with the intention to get sustenance in one of the fabulous restaurants but instead opted to sit in the warm hot tub at the resort. I soaked for quite awhile then grabbed food and went back to my room. I ate in silence then meditated once again. After my meditation I sat at the window and watched the beautiful lights of the city flicker me into a relaxed state and then I went to sleep.
I did not set my alarm clock to awaken the next morning because I wanted my body to get as much sleep as it needed. Every other day of my life my wake up time is determined by when my cats decide it’s time for me to get out of bed. They are my wake up call every day between 6:30 and 7 AM. When you go on a silent retreat you should allow yourself to intuitively awaken. During our busy lives we always have obligations that require us to arise early, but when you take time to go away and go inside natural sleeping is mandatory. I slept off and on most of the day. I had taken a cooler of some snack food so I didn’t have to leave the room that day. I meditated and read from a new book I purchased for the trip for more inspiration. I would read a sentence that created a reaction of need for a healing or understanding so I would stop reading and meditate on the feeling. My meditation that day was deeper than I have actually ever gone. I was blessed to have spirit guides show up and help me get to my next energetic level. I felt their energy downloading new vibrations and knowledge into my cells and literally changing my DNA (at least according to what they told me). I immediately felt the difference in my joy, vibration and intuition. Best meditation EVER! Whenever those amazing changes happen you feel renewed and like a completely different person. Yes, you still have your personality because you always will but these special downloads change you internally. I was also told that this is the type of meditation I must do on a daily basis from now on. They didn’t tell me the repercussions from that type of daily intense work but I had a feeling it was deeply purposeful and timely.
The next day I meditated in the morning then went to breakfast and spent a couple of hours in the pool. On a retreat you want to rejuvenate mind, body and spirit so I knew I needed some physical rejuvenation as part of the journey. Monte Carlo resort has a pool called the lazy river that allows you to float in a large circle on an inner tube. It has jets that push you along so you just have to lay back and relax. Amazing. I returned to my room to meditate and read more from my book. The next day was pretty much a carbon copy except before I went to sleep I went to the spa to use their steam room, hot tubs and cold plunge for more physical revival. I went back to my room, meditated and went to sleep early.
When I went to sleep on Wednesday night I believed I would wake up on Thursday and go have some normal fun before I left, yet when I awoke I had the feeling it was time to go home. I started packing then got a message from spirit to turn on my cell phone and check messages. There was indeed a message from my house/cat sitter that there was an issue with one of the cats so I knew I had to return. After responding to the message, I turned my phone back off so I could continue my silence on my road trip back home. I packed up my car but before I left I went to Paris hotel to have their breakfast buffet because it is one of my favorites! Crepes anyone? On my way back to my car I played penny slots and won a whopping $ 65. That was enough to pay for all the meals I had so I was happy. I’m not a gambler but playing penny slots doesn’t even feel like gambling. At least that’s the story I told myself. After that I said goodbye to Vegas and my beautiful retreat.
On the trip back I finished listening to Shirley’s audio book. It was the perfect ending to a flawless four-day retreat.
Once I returned home it was back to routine but I could now feel at peace with my daily rituals of living. I’m not the type of person that has routines. My days are very free flowing except for scheduling and seeing clients. I try to wake up every day and listen to what God tells me I am suppose to do that day. I’ve always said God is my Daytimer. Unfortunately, my cats don’t listen to God they have their own internal Daytimer as to when to be fed. Along with their liter box cleaning every day, that’s my only mandatory routine.
When I scheduled my first client I wondered how my new energy would affect my work. I questioned if I would be able to feel any difference in the work itself. My first client answered that question. I felt the intensity of the healing. My hands were immediately on fire. When I started the healing part of my session my clients blocked energy soared out of my body and exploded into light. Although it was amazing to feel it was also a bit scary because the energy movement was so intense. The explosion of light was so powerful I almost passed out. My client instantly felt a burden lift from their body causing them to notice a difference in their energy field. I definitely got my answer that the deep cellular cleansing I received in Vegas had indeed changed the intensity of my healing work. I’ve always had spirit healers that help me help others but this was without a doubt a new level of healing. After my first client left I spent moments of tear-filled joy in celebration of the new energy but I did wonder if the first client was because of the energy level of my client and not my new energy. I discovered on the very next client that it wasn’t. I had the same powerful energy healing with everyone that has come since my return.
After the experience in Vegas I have decided that going into silence for several days will now be a part of my monthly non-routine. For years I worked 3 weeks out of the month and took off a week to regenerate but I hadn’t done that for some time. It is now time to get back to that ritual. With the shifts in energy on our planet, I feel it is now mandatory. Spirit wants me to be prepared. Prepared for what? I don’t have that answer yet I just know they are telling me to get ready so I am going to listen.
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