Spiritual retreats offer a chance to recharge your batteries - away from the pressures of everyday life.
Most people value their holidays as a time to unwind and relax. But holidays can be stressful too – delayed flights, cranky kids, crowded places all take their toll.
Spiritual Healing
A monastic retreat, on the other hand, offers not only a calm environment, but spiritual healing. Whether you decide simply to stay in a monastery for a few days, or to join an organised retreat, you’ll be refreshed and energised by the experience.
Pluscarden Abbey, in Scotland, was founded in the thirteenth century. Though like other monasteries in Britain it was disbanded at the Reformation, it returned to monastic use in 1948 when the owner of the buildings gave them to a community of monks. They’re still restoring the abbey.
Pluscarden accepts both women and men for retreats, though women occupy a guesthouse separate from the abbey buildings. It doesn't make a charge for accommodation, though donations are welcomed, and guests are asked to help with the chores – or even, if they want, with the monks’ manual labours.
Monastic Services Give Your Stay its Structure
The monastic hours shape each day, from the earliest service, vigils and lauds at quafter to five in the morning, through to Compline and Vespers in the evening. Unlike some other retreat centres, Pluscarden doesn't offer spiritual direction – between the offices, guests are free to use their time however they wish.
It’s not just Catholics who can benefit from monastic retreats. Many Protestant communities also offer retreat accommodation. Often, members of other religions – and of none – are equally welcomed, though at some centres more formal spiritual direction is offered, and sometimes aimed specifically at those considering a religious vocation.
Buddhist Monks Lead Meditations at Throssel Hole Abbey
Other religions also have monasteries open to guests. Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey, in Northumberland, follows a Soto Zen tradition and offers organised retreats including led meditations, spiritual readings, and dharma talks.
Throssel Hole stresses that though the retreats are guided by the Buddhist monks, you don't need to be a Buddhist to participate. Instead, the stress is on joining the activities of the community in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Throssel Hole is quite a large community. If you’re looking for a much more intimate experience of Buddhist life, you can stay at Tranquil Abiding, a guest house in Trawsfynydd, Wales, which is run by two Buddhist monks. Zen gardens, mountains and forest create an island of calm, while visitors who are more interested in the active than the contemplative life can use the house as a centre for exploring Snowdonia.
Spiritual Retreats in the City
Not all retreats are in rural havens. The London Centre for Spirituality is located right in the middle of the main financial district – the house of Christ in the temple of Mammon! It offers spiritual guidance, including ‘retreats in daily life’ for stressed-out City workers.
Whether you’re looking for a spiritual experience, or simply for a restful place to stay, there is something special about staying in a monastic community. The Poor Clares, Franciscan nuns of Lynton, in North Devon, have a wonderful way of describing their welcome. (They also have the advantage of being in a dead zone for mobile phones, on the edge of Exmoor.) They call it “The hospitality of the heart” - and it’s that unforced, unconditional welcome that you’ll find in most monasteries, and that makes a stay in one such a rewarding experience.
