My Home Retreat
Rest, Reset, and Restraint
March marks eight months since launching Heartbeat Formation, LLC and relaunching my literary ministry. It’s been exciting. Exhilarating. Energetic. Now, it’s time to give myself permission to sit and be still intentionally. As a spiritual director who cares for the souls of others, I must care for my soul: practice the practice. I plan to care for my soul with six days of intentional slowing down, contemplative practices, and artist’s dates. I’ve set aside time for a home retreat, March 8-13.
I am having a home retreat because I welcomed the new year with a full schedule that included traveling, preaching, writing, facilitating group spiritual direction and individual sessions. Additionally, a delightful trip being with my daughters and visiting my mother. The remainder of the year will include more movement; therefore, a home retreat right now demands time of rest, reset, and restraint at home—and that’s not easy.
My spiritual direction practice is nestled in my home. My cozy corner office draws me not to rest but to work. From the window, I notice that workdays begin before sunrise and after sunset. I’m mindful to take a break: attend a Pilates class, cook a meal, call family. But my heart, the center of all emotions, desires time to rest and reset with intention. And I must have restraint not to work.
Although my home retreat is scheduled for six days, the days vary with a flexible schedule. I’m leaving room to hear and listen to the still, small voice of God. I don’t want to become fixated on the perfect home retreat or become a collector of spiritual material without practice. I don’t want to become fixated on mastering contemplative practices but on creating a flow that allows me to center myself—each day, spending a fixed amount of time quieting my mind, and caring for my body. The goal during my home retreat is to see the present circumstances with clarity and freedom and open my heart.
Eliminating distractions such as social media is part of the home retreat. Social media does consume more of my time than needed. I’ve unsubscribed from toxic news, and my home retreat includes no news, not reading news, and not talking about the news. My home retreat embodies my Ash Wednesday sermon/meditation, “a time and a season of humility and restraint.”
I’ve planned a home retreat as a time of rest, reset, and restraint. Please join me and modify it to fit your lifestyle. I’m not sure which day I will do what; however, below is the flow of my daily practice tentatively scheduled from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. My flow includes half days and full days. Perhaps only 30 minutes to an hour will fit your day, send me an email and share your experience. Let me know.
I have a plan, but I expect the Lord to order my steps.
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
My Home Retreat includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack each day. I hydrate by drinking half my body weight in water.
The day begins with a combination of the following contemplative practices. The day continues with an artist's date, rest, and simply doing nothing, and the day ends with contemplative practice, stretching, and reflecting on the day. The entire day may be an artist date or a complete day of silence. The focus is rest, reset, and restraint, with a desire to draw closer to Christ and deepen my relationship with God and self.
20-minute Diary Writing: Fill three pages in longhand done first thing in the morning about anything and everything that crosses your mind– for your eyes only. Julia Cameron and Dorothea Brande agree that stream-of-consciousness writing provokes, clarifies, comforts, cajoles, prioritizes, and synchronizes the day.
60-minute Prayer Hour Wheel - From Dick Eastman’s book The Hour That Changes The World. Divide one hour into 12 periods of five minutes each. Once you’ve spent 5 minutes in any one area of prayer, move to the next. Before you know it, you will have prayed for an hour. Handout here.
20-minute walking meditation: a simple practice for developing awareness. It requires being aware as you walk and using the natural movement of walking to cultivate mindfulness and wakeful presence. It requires no experience and can be done as a stand-alone practice before or after a seated meditation.
10- or 20-minute centering prayer- Click here for the practice of centering prayer, seated meditation, hosted by The Contemplative Society.
5-minute full-body stretch
12-24 hours tuning into silence: Commit to not answering the phone, turning on the television, listening to music, or talking. Spend the time meditating, doing yoga, hiking, or another quiet practice that feeds your soul.
Go on an Artist Date: a festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you. Julia Cameron says, “The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic” — think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination, spark whimsy, encourage play, and feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. Ask
yourself, “What sounds fun?” — and then allow yourself to try it.
Do nothing
The evening ends with
10 minute-diary writing to capture the graces of the day using Ignatius of Loyola Examen. Click here. Another 5-minute full-body stretch, a glass of water, devotional, and how many hours of sleep leave me rested.
