What is “Silence Singing”?
Finding stillness and becoming the silence, we come to know the profound, tender truths of our heart—we come to hear the whispers and the songs that have not been able to get through to us in our busy daily lives. Having the courage to open our hearts, mouths, and hands to sing, chant, tone, drum, and play, we express the vital force of the creation through us—we express that which is uniquely ours to express.
Many spiritual seekers get great benefit out of silence meditation retreats. And many creatives get great benefit out of periods of time to focus exclusively on music, sound, and creation. In this lively, fun, and devoted retreat, Silence Singing, we invite you to come delve deeply into both the silence and the song. Join us as we explore musical landscapes through the space of silence. Through meditation, contemplative practices, creative exercises, energy work, and solo creative time in nature, we will create space to connect with our deeper selves, and open ourselves to its expression.
We will move between song and silence throughout the retreat to support the depth of each practice. We will also spend some time working in potent and playful ways with what for many is the biggest block to creative expression and meditative exploration–the inner critic. Here the tools of psychodynamic therapy and spiritual inquiry can be invaluable in enlarging our meditative and creative capacities.
The Format: Residency + Retreat
For this time, we will have two parts to our gathering:
Mini-Residency: Morning of Monday, September, 29 — Evening of Thursday, October, 2
We will have meditation, workshops, and group explorations in the morning and evening. The rest of the day is open for creative practice, meditation, or work.
Retreat: Evening of Thursday October 2 — Late Morning of Sunday, October 5th
This will be a more intensive format, with a great portion of the morning and evening being dedicated to silence, group activities, and learning together. Expect a mix of meditation, song, reflective exercises, energy practices, and ritual.
This retreat is for participants with all levels of experience in meditation and music, including:
Musicians and lovers of sound who want to find a deeper connection to the silence.
It is very different to play a nice-sounding melody than to offer a melody that comes as a medicine, a teaching, or a celebration from the depths of your inner silence. Great music comes from beyond ourselves, and the most tried and true method to contact this “something beyond” is in stillness and silence.
Meditators who want support giving create expression to the truths they find in the silence.
It is one thing to find the meditative space of silence, and another to let it sing through you. Since we will express ourselves in this life, it is important that we learn to express ourselves fully and wholeheartedly, without self-criticism and reservation. This is how we can find our truest expression and healing potential.
Those who have a story they are “not creative” or “not musical”, or creatives who feel stuck.
Come join us and challenge this limiting, false belief and open to the creative connection that is the birthright of every human being.
Those new to meditation who would like an introduction that is filled with fun, lightness, and loving community.
We expect to keep our capacity to about 10 participants.
About the Facilitators
Thomas Walker, M.Div, is a chaplain, musician, and spiritual seeker. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary with a degree in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement, in particularly studying about the interplay of sound/music and ritual. He currently works as a hospice chaplain, while also being devoted to the cultivation of silence and sound as forces of healing, love, and peace in a turbulent world.
Eric (Satya) Hertz, MA, MFA, is a psychotherapist, dharma practitioner, musician, writer, and myth-teller. A student of the dharma for about a decade, he lived and trained at Great Vow Zen Monastery for two years, has done numerous multi-month long retreats in the Theravada Insight Tradition, and has completed a total of over 1 year of silent meditation retreat. He now lives in a Zen community in the PNW where he works as a therapist with an emphasis in creative-arts therapy and spiritual inquiry. As a musician, he loves to engage in music as devotional practice, as playful group exploration, and as ceremony. He has an MFA in Creative Writing and previously taught creative writing at Boston University, especially enjoying helping students who held the belief that they “were not creative” find their inherent, vital creativity that is the essence of every human being. His passion is helping others explore the nature of their own being through self-inquiry, contemplative practices, and creative expression. He loves forests, drums, curiosity, and his friends.
Accomodations
The Hurley House has many bedrooms, so you can expect to stay in the house, unless you would prefer to camp in the forest adjacent to the house.
Costs
All Hurley House retreats are donation-based. All proceeds from the retreat will go to continuing the renovation of the Hurley House and the development of our community.
Base donation: $250
Suggested donation: $500
Support donation: $750
Super donation: $1000
A note about the sliding scale
This is a very special opportunity to work with a highly regarded teacher of deep practice in an extra intimate environment. We know it's tough out there financially right now, and we wish to keep events at HH accessible. This is why we have a sliding scale. That said, these events this summer are how we find out if and how HH can be a financially viable thing and continue the renovation. If you wish to see this community space continue and more events like this happen in it, please give as much as you can.