From always thinking to total silence.

Today I'm going on a 48 hour silent retreat.

8 years ago, 5 minutes with nothing to do was unbearable.

I filled every minute with
- to do lists
- worry about the future
- planning the next 5 minutes.

Today I'm going on a 48 hour silent retreat.

Yup, totally silent.

Nothing to do except
- 3 meals a day
- meditate
- sleep

And 1 hour of talking to a mentor once a day.

I used to think silent retreats sounded like a form of torture.

Why sit with my own thoughts for any length of time, let alone for days?!

I knew what’d they’d day.

“This is stupid”.

“Why can’t I just talk to someone”

“God I’m pathetic it’s been 5 minutes”

“What is wrong with me?!”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, this is hard.”

“This is stupid.”

But that was 8 years ago.

Turns out people can change.

You CAN train your brain to go more slowly.

You CAN learn to turn off the internal monologue.

You CAN become that calm and peaceful person.

Even if it feels a million miles away right now.

So while going on retreat right before my podcast isn’t ideal, (I like to be around to answer questions etc), it’s ended up this way.

And I hope it’s an example of how much you can change.

I can’t tell you I won’t think about the podcast and my inbox this weekend.

But I can tell you I won’t engage in those thoughts.

That if they pop up, I’ll tell them, kindly, that they’re not relevant.

And I’ll go back to my retreat.

Now going on silent retreat may not be one of your aspirations - it certainly wasn’t one of mine.

But if slowing down your mind IS something you want to do, I really hope you tune in to the SOAR podcast next week.

If you’re already subscribed to The Mindful Living Academy - you don’t need to do anything, the first episode will drop straight into your inbox 6am Monday morning.

For now, I’m signing out for the weekend.

Any questions - I might get to them Sunday evening, but in all honesty, I might not.

But I WILL reply, when I get back to working on Monday.

And I’ll be a better coach, mum, wife, friend, colleague, for having taken this time totally for myself.

And I’d like to remind you to do the same - take some time for you, away from work this weekend. I promise the world won’t end.

Sending you all lots of love,

Lucy x

PS. When I run my Mindful Living Retreat, there won’t be any silence!

But, I will create an environment in which your mind slows down and you start to feel at peace.

Just like watching the footie at the pub is overwhelming for the senses (however fun!) and leaves you feel thoroughly exhausted and pumped at the same time, it’s possible to create a space that does the opposite. A space that slows down your heart rate, slows down your mind, while also feeling happy.

There’ll be a perfect balance of activities to hold your attention, plus workshops to teach you how to carry the feeling home.

Dates in Sept 2024 and Feb 2025. Get the details here.