Imagine yourself as a modern-day hermit …
In a world where there is an earnestness to our conversations, we are scrambling to keep up. Our conversations are running. Our pacing is fast. The televisual tribe of modern newsreaders is now only a beat or two ahead of the drumming conversations on the street … the pressure to convey … to upload an idea – to export the sound of our own voices – increases apace. We desire to be heard … yet are too tired to listen. The desire to express ourselves is stronger than our morning coffee. Our adrenaline is in a constant state of rush.
Could you choose to go it alone?
Aloneness is no longer the province of the monk, the nun, or the hermit, the writer, or the artist. Aloneness is a desire of many modern human beings, for what they call ‘retreat’. To retreat and refuel and redress the balance in our caffeine-fuelled lives. Aloneness in the midst of other loners is an acceptable place. Couples retreat to reconnect and be two … to untangle from the long and winding road of complex modern life. People increasingly seek a retreat – be it a natural therapy retreat – or be it an emotional therapy retreat – a vacation for the soul. As I write from Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, www.kamalaya.com, I observe that perhaps sixty percent of the guests are women travelling alone.
I’m on the way to a state called R-e-l-a-x
These women, and men, are seeking out a state called R-e-l-a-x. Here, in Relaxville, clients’ smartphones are banished to the admittedly luxurious monastic cell of the sea-view suite, or a hill-top villa. Smartphones are silenced and sentenced to the comfortably salubrious indoor world. And laptops lay shut, tablets layblank, whilst their owners are inducted in the ways of the state of relaxation. Bliss beckons. And there are more and more disciples of bliss.
A Vacation for the Soul
In my view, such resorts are the modern-day equivalents of monasteries in so far as a peaceful retreat is concerned, and they offer a quality of service and a quality of environment that are heaven-sent, and heaven-scented. These modern-day sanctuaries offer a homely vacation for the soul. Upon the altar of the reception desk lies a menu of nutrition, for the mind, for the body, and for the spirit. Within their doors prayers are answered ¾ prayers for holistic health and holistic bliss. As you step within their portals you are welcomed into a world of tender, loving care at an upscale price that more and more people are now ready to stretch their budgets to cover. “Come,” they urge, “reclaim your peace of mind.”
In a world where an ‘inner world’ lies in waiting…
I am writing from Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary on the island of Ko Samui in Thailand. Ko Samui has long been favoured by Buddhist monks as a sanctuary for spiritual retreat. The island, they say, has a special energy that enriches and enlightens their spiritual path and helps them connect more profoundly with spiritual energies. What is above and beyond extraordinary here at Kamalaya, is that the Wellness Sanctuary, where I practise, and, the luxury hermitages that accommodate the retreatants, surround a centuries-old cave, once used by Buddhist monks as a place for meditation and spiritual retreat. Consider the awesome notion of centuries of contemplation and prayer in that one small enclave. In our world, in our modern world, it is right here, in a cave you can get online, and dial directly in to God within… an inner world of vast resources, potential, creativity and guidance.
Imagine a Call Centre with a Direct Line to God…
Imagine being a monk in meditation, sharing your living space with a cobra, having an agreement, made telepathically in the mind?
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even visualizing this modern day equivalent of a monastery is soothing my stressed soul! thanks for such a beautiful piece, deborah.
Enjoyed the thought of these monasteries very much – you’re right places like these where we have time to come home to ourselves are really spiritual places.
Great to share that ‘vacation for the soul’ with you! What a wonderful place for us all to meet. Forever treasured.
You are such a good writher. Ilove the way you express yourself. Yes, we are all very blessed.
Still here and miracles are happening!