Spiritual Retreats – How to Experience This Type of Awakening

During the Lenten season many people go into spiritual retreats. In our city, Cotabato City, Philippines, every year two radio stations do not broadcast their regular programs from Holy Thursday to Maundy Saturday because their staff go on a spiritual retreat. There are many other people who go on spiritual retreat during the Holy Week. But judging from the effect of these retreats in their life it seems that they do not experience spiritual awakening during these retreats. This is because they continue the same kind of life before and after these retreats. They may experience some kind of spiritual or religious high. But deep inside them nothing has really happened. This post discusses how you can make use of spiritual retreats so that you can experience a spiritual awakening.

Have a Specific Objective When You Go on Retreat

The first thing you need to do in order to experience spiritual awakening during a retreat is to have a specific objective as you go into this kind of activity. It does not matter whether you are herded into a retreat by your manager or human relations officer or you undertake this on your own, get a specific objective as you plan to make a retreat.

The objective does not have to be a big one, like changing your life for the better. This has been the general objective. But to get a better experience out of a retreat, have a specific objective. For example, you can put as your objective the making of a resolution not to smoke anymore. Or your objective can be the complete reading of one of the Gospels during the course of the retreat. Or it can be the resolution to be quiet at home. Whatever it is, make it specific.

Make the Retreat a Time for Talking with Your God

Secondly, as you proceed with the retreat determine that this will be a time for talking with your God, whoever or whatever you conceive him to be.

Usually a retreat has a series of talks by the retreat master or facilitator and reflections for the participants. Even during the talk of the retreat master discuss this over with your God. For example, while you are listening to the talk, you can say to your God, “Make me listen attentively to this talk so that I get some benefit from it.”

I say “your God” because each one of us have a different concept of God, even if we are all Christians or Muslims. The Buddhists do not have a specific concept of God as the Christians and Muslims do. The atheists or non-believers have actually a concept of God which they deny. You cannot deny nothing. There is some concept of God you deny. It is with this God that you talk things over during the retreat.

Then during the time for reflection, talk with your God about anything that comes to your mind. In this way you begin to contact powers beyond yourself, if you have not yet done so, and the retreat becomes an occasion of spiritual awakening for you.

Write a Record of Your Reflections

Thirdly, write a record of your reflections in a good notebook. I notice that many during the retreat do not write anything. They listen to the speaker and do the exercises they are led through like singing and doing posture exercises but they do not write.

Not to write your reflections means that you do not have a record of these and there is no easy way of bringing back these reflections to your mind later on. Whereas if you write them you can read them later and see how your life has progressed since the retreat. In this way you can see how your life has improved since then. And if you see no improvement, you can make the necessary adjustment to move forward again in the journey to eternity. In this way you can discover whether you have wakened up spiritually or not yet, or whether your spiritual horizons have broadened if you have already experienced spiritual awakening.

These are the ways to make use of retreats effectively so that you can be awakened spiritually: Have a specific objective, talk with your God throughout the retreat, write down your reflections. Good luck to your retreat!

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Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/devspirit

for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alternativehealth

for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends

for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline

for earning some income from the Internet

Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.

Ways of Achieving Your Goals in Spirituality

Life is not what it seems to be. This is the impression we grow with. When we were children we thought life was a time of games and play. Then when we became adolescents we were worried more about our achievements in school. Then as we grow into young adults we were interested in what course to take up in college.

Many Goals, Many Ways

Life’s goals seem to be changing all the time. When I ask my students what their goal in life is, they usually answer: To finish college. So I ask them, “Do you mean to say that when you shall have finished your college course you are going to sit down, relax, and enjoy life and say to yourself, Rest for you have reached your life’s goal?” This convinces them that finishing college is not really their goal in life.

As in life, so also in spirituality. Our goals change. There may have been a time when our goal in spirituality was not to commit sins. But as we grow in spirit we realize that spirituality is not only about avoiding sins. It is more than this. It is living an abundant life, free from debilitating tensions. In spirituality there are many goals or rather, spirituality can be applied to reaching many goals in life: freedom from addiction of alcohol and smoking, a more satisfying love life, a more stable and profitable business, a more healthy mind and body, a more harmonious family relationship, a more confident self-image, a more intimate relationship with God.

And you ask: What are the ways of achieving these goals in spirituality? There are many ways. We can explore some of them here.

Some Ways of Achieving Your Goals in Spirituality

One way is by writing a journal about your goals in spirituality and the ways you use to achieving these goals. It is not a mere diary. It is a journal with a specific purpose: to periodically reflect upon your goals in the spiritual life and the means you use to attain these goals. You will notice after a year or two that your goals are changing.

Another way is by taking time out from your work and go into a retreat. You can begin with a retreat of one or two days. It does not matter where you spend this retreat. It can be in a hotel room, or in a religious house or a specific retreat house. The important thing is that you stop your work and reflect on your spiritual life, what spiritual goals you want to achieve and how you can do this. Later you can lengthen the time of your retreat. If you have the luxury of time you can imitate the members of the Society of Jesus who make a month long retreat.

An improvement on this method is by having a life coach around or a retreat master who can guide you in your spiritual journey. You can consult him or her during this time of retreat or even outside of retreat time.

Another way which worked for many in the past is called the Examination of Conscience Exercise. Every night before you retire you reflect on the day that has passed and ask how successful you have achieved your spiritual goal for the day, like keeping silence for 10 minutes during the day. Then if you have achieved your goal you set another goal and strive to achieve that in the following day.

Of course, meditation is a very popular way of achieving spiritual goals. There are many ways of meditating. It will be beneficial for you to learn more about this way of achieving your goals in spirituality.

Another way is reflective reading of a book on spirituality. More and more books on spirituality are published daily. You can choose one which fits in with your religious background.

There are other ways. There are even bodily exercises which can help you in achieving those goals, like the tai chi, the yoga postures and others. Some have tried drugs to achieve their goals. I do not advice this.

Choose what suits you and you will certainly progress in achieving your goals in spirituality.

Click Here!

Here are my other blogs which may be of help to you:

http://bit.ly/spiritdev for your spiritual growth

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

Here are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website http://bit.ly/anewchrist. To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth. I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.