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Silence Retreat in Italy
by Ilaria Sarri
Silence, The Seed Of Peace. Peace Is Your Spiritual Gift
  From June 28th till July 1st, a silence retreat took place in La Verna, Italy, in the presence of Swami Ritavan and Swami Ma Radha. It has been a time to turn our senses inward: four days of pure contemplation, in a sacred place, rich in spirituality, art, culture, history and completely covered with a monumental forest that wraps, protects, reassures, embraces. A time to be in deep contact with the power and the energy of nature, which deeply fill minds and hearts.
And it has been exactly the place (where, in 1224, St. Francis retired for periods of silence and prayer) that has led us to silence the senses, the mind, the impulse to speak, the urge to get up to do and move. All the rest has come directly from the possibility to "learn" silence simply being in contact with the silence of Swami Ritavan and Swami Ma Radha.
 
Swami Rama and Swami Veda taught us that children learn meditation simply by watching their parents sitting in meditation: they observe their parents and then they imitate them, sitting next to them, and letting be wrapped in their shawl.
  And, for a few days, we had this chance too: we became like children wrapped in the shawls of our Swamis. We just sat down, we observed, we heard many profound and advanced teachings and practices, but, above all, we had the possibility of entering into silence simply letting Swami Ritavan and Swami Ma Radha lead us into a space of deep inner listening, a space of peace, happiness, joy where simply be ourselves, a space of profound stability. It was like being taken by the hand and led into a place where everything is quiet, still, a place of harmony, a place of complete fullness, a place where we don't need anything else, we just have to feel consciously and simply be, flowing and listening to that deep eco within us, the eco of silence, the place from which we arrive and where we will be back.
  To be in deep contact with their mindfield, allowed us to feel that peace is within us, we just have to "let the seeds of peace, happiness and joy grow", remembering the teachings of our Beloved Masters: Love, Serve, Remember.
Thank you, dear Swami Ritavan and dear Swami Ma Radha.
With Love and Gratitude to the Lineage,
Om shantih
Editor’s Note:
Himalayan Yoga Institute Firenze is an affiliate center of AHYMSIN in Florence, Italy. This sangha organized the retreat.
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