Dharma Bum Temple Retreat

The retreat at the DBT was great. We had no idea what the day would hold, so I walked in with a bit of excitement and curiosity. A 'menu' for the day was posted - a morning spent in silence (meditation, tea, meditation, tea etc) then a silent lunch. What a great shared experience; it felt good to be in a group and not HAVE to talk - I could just read or write or sit drinking tea AND still hang out with everyone. Maggie whipped up an amazing lunch (in like 20 minutes) and I can still hear the sound of others chewing which I don't think I've ever noticed before. I liked mindfully waiting for the food vs. mindlessly diving in.

After all the silence, Jeff announced we were going lawn bowling. I laughed - lawn bowling . . . seriously? How cool is that? We went to the LBClub in Balboa Park and a team of members gave us group lessons. Such a fantastic afternoon in the sun, feeling calm and relaxed, easily chatting with my classmates about meditation and mindfulness. We really had fun cheering each other on and I really found it helpful to talk about all that silence and what came up. I found the discussions very purposeful and there seemed to be little to no 'small talk' - our shared words were mindful. (Although they said they had never played, I still think Maggie & Jeff have been on a lawn bowling team before as they were quite good!)

Dharma Bum Beth