Retreat - Zeit für mich. Das Dreitageprogramm.

by Sylvia Boorstein

In this lively new addition for Harper's retreat series, Buddhist practice teacher and retreat leader Sylvia Boorstein, beloved for dispensing what Jon Kabat-Zinn has termed "endearingly personal mindfulness wisdom in doses that slide right down into the heart, " offers accessible, step-by-step instructions for experiencing a traditional three-day meditational retreat.

Genres: Nonfiction, Buddhism, Spirituality, Meditation, Psychology, Self Help, Philosophy

Paperback

First published February 16, 1996

About the author

Sylvia Boorstein (born 1936) is an American writer and Buddhist spiritualist.

Reviews

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mindfulness cultivates the habit of not getting angry with life because it isn’t happening in the way we’d like
the mind becomes confused and fatigued chasing pleasant experiences and running away from unpleasant experiences
the chasing and running creates tension in the mind. that is suffering

pay attention: attentive sitting and alert walking

keep everything simple:

Paul Revere had the words “Live Contented” inscribed on the wedding ring he gave to his spouse.

The real work of mindfulness is accommodating the heart to change
- the notion that if we get a little more comfortable, it will stay that way longer

May I be peaceful
May I be happy
May all beings be peaceful
May all beings be happy

Feel all of your body. It lets you know where it is with many, many sensations.

Slow is not better than fast, it’s just different.

Nothing is worth thinking about vs Nothing is worth thinking about

There are no in-between times. All are times for mindfulness.

Be alert when eating. Aware of taste and sensations. Eat slowly. Taste it fully
Consider interconnectedness; nonseparate self.

Aversive feelings and fantasies come and go. There’s always something Gilda Radner

If the mind is caught in clinging or aversion is uncomfortable, it’s caught in suffering.

The alert mind is comfortable, free.

Practice the feeling of calm. Sit still, relaxed. Close your eyes. Rest on your breath. I calm my body...

Mind states, body sensations, feeling tones, insights.

What is true?

Discomfort is clinging to an experience that can’t continue or being eager to end before it is over. Enjoy what is happening right now. Simply relax.

When clinging and aversion are absent, you experience freedom.

Fear confuses the mind. When calm and paying attention, we see in a wise way

metta = lovingkindness: Wish it for yourself and others

May you be happy
May you be peaceful

Intention. inclining the mind in the direction of insight.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no storyteller like Sylvia Boorstein! This is a manual for mindfulness practice but even reading it (and not doing the practice) helped ease my ever-present worries.

Quotes:

I've noticed license plate frames that say "I'd rather be sailing" or "I'd rather be bowling." Sometimes I think it's fun to see the rather-be-doing frames because they are a hint about the driver. Other times I start reflecting about the fact that preferring to be doing something else always diminishes the present moment. I imagine starting a business that produces license plate frames that read "I'm totally content right now."

***

On my desk, I have one of those round, fluid-filled globes with "snowflakes" in it that swirl up into a snowstorm when the globe is shaken and settle down at the bottom when the globe is still. When the "snow" stops falling, a lone snowman looks at me through the glass. During a "storm", I can hardly see him. I don't have an altar, and I don't exactly think of my globe as a religious icon, but if I did have an altar, I'd probably put my snowman in the middle. Perhaps, someday, I'll put a little sign in front of the snowman that says, "Wait! Things will get clearer!" That would be a declaration of my faith - not complicated faith, not cosmological faith, but garden-variety, common-knowledge faith in the mind's tendency, like the snowman's globe, to settle down if you leave it alone.

***

Even without preplanning, the top ten of our psychological-emotional hit parade have a way of marching into the mind whenever there is a break in the clouds. As soon as space allows, the mind ruminates over memories or reflects about the future - mostly with remorse or apprehension.

***

We forget that we have an eject button for mind stories. We ruminate and regret and reflect and rehearse endlessly. We probably pass by Now only briefly, on the way from Ruminating to Rehearsing, hardly pausing to relax. When we stop at Now, things become clear. We do what we need to do, or the best we can do, and move on. Stories of the past are history. Stories of the future are science fiction.

***

If the point of practice is to see in this moment, as in every moment, the truth of arising and passing away, the truth of eternal change, I need to be here, now, to see it. Stories are always mind-elaborations on the mythic past or the hypothetical future. They are not here.

***

"Why am I here?" I would think. "This is all futile. Sunrise, sunset, endless cycles passing inexorably by, and all of us self-consciously doing 'spiritual practice to become enlightened' and who knows what that means anyway?" I would feel melancholy about my plight and everyone else's plight, and then I'd feel depressed about my despair. "It's all a hoax!" I would think. "And somehow we've all believed it - and here we are in ridiculous, empty pursuit."

[Lieva Whitbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get your calendar. Find the next 3-5 day stretch where you can make it be ok to step away from your life. Find a place to go. Any place will do. (Bonus points for lots of pretty nature. More bonus points for not so many people who will talk to you. But really, any place will do.) Take this book. Read the first little bit before you leave, it will tell you what else to take (not much.) Then just follow the instructions. So helpful.

[Mommyhungry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lends itself to be read a bit at a time. I am so inspired by Boorstein's descriptions of a do-it-yourself meditation retreat that I am excitedly planning mine. I highly recommend this to anyone exploring mindfulness and meditation.

[Ken Ronkowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote my "review" of this book as a post on one of my blogs at Weekends in Paradelle. It begins this way:

Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There. That is a great title. And good advice. It is the title of this non-fiction book about conducting your own mindfulness retreat.

It is difficult to define a mindfulness retreat because different people and groups define it differently. You’ll see the term meditation retreat or even yoga retreat used interchangeably.

A search online will turn up retreats at various centers that are very different from what Sylvia Boorstein’s book is suggesting. One web post on the “best retreats” at well-known retreat centers offers mindfulness retreats where you can experience anything from Pranayama breathing lessons along with stress-management classes, facials, massages, and private yoga sessions. The center nearest to me offers two-night single cabin room accommodation packages with three meals a day, an arctic plunge pool, mud lounge, Scotch hoses (huh?), infinity pool, and services such as acupuncture and life coaching. The menu is not Spartan and includes fresh, raw, organic foods, juices, and smoothies as well as Mediterranean cuisine but also hamburgers and tater tots. Most of these “best” retreats are around $1000 for a weekend. That alone would cause me stress.

Sylvia Boorstein’s approach is a much more down-to-earth guide. The book guides you through a three-day retreat plan and also includes lessons on how to achieve through meditation practices some serenity and focus.

An important caveat is that you need a 3-5 day stretch where it will be possible to step away from your life. You need the time and a place, but the time is more important and possibly harder to obtain...

[Jim Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

About once per year, more if I'm lucky enough to have time for more, I do some sort of "retreat." Usually it's pretty informal-- I find a cabin or pull out the tent or whatever, I go someplace quiet, I read, I write, I meditate, I try to get my head straight, try to settle down from the buzz of every day life. Once, it was more formal-- a 4 day/3 night sesshin at a Zen center, lots of silence, lots of sitting, overall just an amazing (though difficult) experience.

I picked this book up a while back and thought it might be nice to make my next retreat something sort of in the middle-- solo (which I really, really like) in a cabin in the woods, but with a quasi-formal sitting/walking schedule.

This book gives a basic outline for a three day retreat, with a sitting schedule, walking meditation schedule, meal schedule, bits and pieces to read at different times, general advice and insights for a retreat, etc.

I won't stick to it 100% on my next getaway. For starters, I'm sort of in the middle of training for a really, really long run, and I'm going to have use some of that retreat time for (meditative, I'm sure) distance running. And this is "insight" Buddhism, as opposed to Zen, which, well, no real big difference I suppose, but I lean more Zen.

But this will make a nice template for a little retreat. I'm looking forward to it.

[Anna Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written in simple language and full of personal stories that readers can easily relate to. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Each chapter is short, concise and encouraging. Even if you are new to meditation and mindfulness, you will benefit immensely from this book. It not only helps you structure your retreat at your own place and time but also teach you how to meditate, what to expect, the hurdles (which are not a bad thing), how to improve your mindfulness and how to carry it on in your daily life. I am inspired to attend more retreats and also to start one on my own.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book not realizing it was about setting up your own 3-day retreat. But that's OK. I still enjoyed reading it, the advice and lessons. Her questions and answers were especially helpful to me.

Boorstein's writing connected with to me. She was really down-to-earth, and someone with a traditional type of real life, not a monk/nun, former monk/nun, or isolated person meditating 24/7.

Bottom line, sit and do the time. Good reminders and new ways of looking at methods, simpler the better with me.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love author Boorstein's accessible, humorous, down-to-earth books about Buddhism and mindfulness, and I purchase them whenever I see them at used book sales. I should have looked more closely at the title of this one though. It's a specific retreat plan for a 3-day (or longer) meditation retreat. I still enjoyed Boorstein's writing, but since I'm not planning to do a retreat a present, the book wasn't completely relevant to me at this time.

[andrew y · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother gave me this book after finding it in a Little Free Library. I read it with some level of cynicism but in the end have not one, not two but THREE new aspects of mindfulness that I’ve been pondering and/or practicing nearly constantly. A lovely small book. If the title speaks to you, read it.

Also read this review and not mine: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sian Lile-Pastore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a lovely book. Easy to read, almost folksy and down to earth. It's all about mindfulness, Buddhism and meditation and kinda setting yourself up for your very own mindfulness retreat.
Definitely reading more sylvia!

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book if you want an introduction to mindfulness meditation. The books basically a spiritual retreat in binding If you have a quiet space and a few free days take it with you and she will be your guide. Also a great book to sharpen your daily practice.

[Kimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really useful manual if I ever want to take myself on a meditation retreat and run it myself (I think I'd probably rather go somewhere for my first one; managing yourself like this seems next level).

[Bayneeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A do-it-yourself guide for holding your own personal mindfulness retreat

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found it boring... Could not get into it at all!

[Alan Eyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

What she writes always resonates w me.

[zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written. maybe i'll do this someday — not in a rush.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great easy read. Very helpful.

[Erin Ferreira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meant to be read during a personal
Meditation retreat as a guidebook. I did not read this way, but found inspiration in it nonetheless

[Maria Balsamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylvia presents almost the entirety of the Buddha’s teachings in this simple guide to rolling your own retreat. Great for experienced and beginners. It’s helpful to use this book when you find it difficult to do a whole retreat on your own. It’s like Sylvia is your retreat teacher cheering you on and keeping you on track.

[David Glasgow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book is excellently chosen. "Don't Just Do Something" is a challenging, encouraging, caring book about nothing—which is an excellent find for someone whose days are much, much too full of "something."

The book presents itself as a manual for a three-day mindfulness retreat (arrive, sit, walk, sit, tea, sleep, etc.), so I was at first tempted to put the book down and scan the library shelves for another alternative. (I don't have TIME for a three-day retreat on mindfulness! I'm too busy!) But Boorstein is wisely efficient in her narrative and guidance—and wisely generous with her encouragement and personal confessions.

Reading the book "through"—pausing to reflect, but not devoting the full 10 or 30 or 60 minutes to the meditations she recommends—was not only possible but enjoyable, and in fact the book is written with such gentleness that one feels welcomed to "dip one's toes" into the practice without guilt. Boorstein catalogues the distractions and challenges she faced as she first began to practice mindfulness in much the same way that a physical trainer might acknowledge delayed-onset muscle soreness: "Oh, yes. You'll have that," she says with a sympathetic smile. "Work through it; it gets better."

I look forward to taking this one again "from the top," this time making room in my schedule for the full experience she recommends for each meditation.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A word of warning, this is really a book about meditation retreats. I did not use it that way but more as a book for reflecting on the process of meditation. Although it worked for me in that way, I think it would be more useful for a person planning a retreat. This author writes from the Buddhist perspective, soit that offends you you may want to avoid it. That said, I think anyone, not just a Buddhist, will find value in the insights the author shares.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE Sylvia Boorstein! She is one of the most accessible Buddhist teachers I know. This book is full of useful, practical advice for doing a solitary retreat. Now if I could just find time to go on one... Thank goodness it is also completely applicable to one's regular meditation practice, too!

[Laura Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a big meditator but this was on my shelf, I must have thought I would be! That was back in 1996! It was interesting, with some good advice on how to meditate. Made me want to go on a retreat! The best message: live contentedly.

[Juergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book on how to hold your own self-directed retreat. Great tips on practices, schedules, things that might arise when one is doing serious practice. Feels much more directed to the new yogi, or one who might be interested in deepening things.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first mindfulness books I read and it made an impression. It just came back to me while I was in meditation in yoga class.

Highly recommended; I have learned from and enjoyed much of Sylvia Boorstein's writing.

[Barbara Newhall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of my big favorite books of all time. Boorstein tells great spiritual truths -- usable by Christians, Jews, atheists, and, of course, Buddhists -- through down-to-earth stories. She's very much present in this book. And she's great company.

[Mary Follis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for a do-it-yourself retreat, or a good way to brush up on what meditation is, why do it and how to do it. Even better the second time around, and very useful to me during a retreat of one.

[MariMel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to create a meditation retreat for yourself. Sylvia manages to illuminate nuances of meditation in a succinct, entertaining style. All of her instructions are great for any kind of mindfulness practices, whether a retreat or day-to-day practice.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good guide for a self-directed Vipassana/Insight Meditation retreat/relaxation weekend.