Desert Days, Retreats and Vacations with John Drury
Jul 8, 2024
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John Drury, an advocate for retreats, discusses the importance of sacred time for rest. Topics include 'desert days,' quarterly retreats, and balancing work and personal life. They explore the benefits of vacations, visitations, and vocations, emphasizing the value of restful practices for personal growth. Practical tips on integrating retreats into daily life and prioritizing mental well-being are also shared.
Retreats offer a chance for deep self-reflection and growth by disconnecting from daily routines.
Distinguishing between vacation, visitation, and vocation helps optimize benefits and experiences from each.
Embracing gratitude, challenge, and awakening can guide personal development and exploration.
Deep dives
Annual Retreat Structure and Benefits
Having an annual retreat, usually spanning over several days, offers participants a unique opportunity to disconnect from daily routines and focus on self-reflection and growth. By immersing oneself in a different environment and slowing down the pace, individuals can sync up with natural rhythms and experience a sense of relaxation and reflection. This practice allows for new insights and perspectives to emerge, which can lead to personal growth and a deeper understanding of oneself.
Balancing Vacation, Visitation, and Vocation
Distinguishing between vacation, visitation, and vocation can help in recognizing the distinct values and energies each brings. While vacation entails making memories, visitation involves connecting with family in a more casual setting, and vocation encompasses work-related trips with potential family involvement. By understanding and delineating these categories, individuals can optimize the benefits and experiences derived from each, fostering a more balanced approach to time off and family engagement.
Identifying Gratitude, Challenges, and Awakening
When considering implementing new practices, individuals can adopt a framework of gratitude, challenge, and awakening. Recognizing existing positive aspects in one's routine warrants gratitude, while identifying areas for growth presents challenges to address. Discovering new horizons or ideas can be viewed as an awakening, signaling potential avenues to explore in the future. By embracing these perspectives, individuals can navigate personal development with introspection and intention.
Appreciating Time for Self-Reflection
Allocating dedicated time for self-reflection through scheduled retreats or getaways allows individuals to explore deeper aspects of their thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs. These moments of solitude and introspection provide opportunities to disconnect from daily distractions, engage with nature's tranquility, and delve into profound contemplation. By embracing these reflective practices, individuals can gain clarity, rejuvenation, and valuable insights into their inner selves.
Sharing Insights and Encouraging Personal Growth
Engaging in meaningful conversations that encourage the sharing of insights, experiences, and reflections can contribute to personal growth and self-awareness. By exchanging viewpoints, challenges, and learnings with trusted individuals, such as a spiritual friend or a supportive community, individuals can enhance their understanding, expand their perspectives, and foster deeper connections. Through open dialogue and mutual exploration, individuals can cultivate a supportive environment for intellectual and spiritual development.
In part 2 of 2 of this conversation, John Drury shares about the importance of retreats and sacred time for rest and rejuvenation. John shares his personal experiences with different forms of retreats, emphasizing the value of eliminating distractions and under-stimulation to foster deeper self-reflection and mindfulness. He introduces practical techniques such as "desert days," quarterly overnight retreats, and shorter, regular practices to incorporate these into the business and personal life of busy individuals.
Erik and John also discuss the distinctions between vacations, visitations, and vocations and how expectation of each affects personal energy and relationships. John offers a variety of suggestions for integrating restful practices into everyday life, such as journaling, spiritual friendship, and practicing an "hour on, hour off" method during retreats. They underscore the importance of approaching these practices with an open mind, ready for unexpected insights and personal growth.
