The 8.5-Day Health & Happiness Retreat in September 2018 was a journey to wholeness for many of the students. One woman said that she’d never been away from her family for this length of time and that would usually cause her anxiety and worry. However, she went the entire week without anxiety; instead, she was peaceful and zen. She credited the meditation, saying that it healed her mind from being entrenched in emotional pain. That was just one of the inspiring stories of how Bodhi Meditation transformed lives. Here are a few more:
Nicola: What a family. What a community of actual genuine compassion. I have immense gratitude and love for everybody here
Kat: I feel blessed. Every meditation practice counts. I actually walked to the Bodhi Meditation Center from home, the first time I have been able to do so since coming to Bodhi two years ago. My chronic arthritic pain is now completely gone, and I see that as a miracle. I am so grateful to Bodhi for all I have received.
Nicole: Something amazing happened on Day 3 of the Retreat. I got up very early, at 5:30 am. I love my bed, and always found it very tough to get up early, and I was quite lazy, but that is now in the past. Before coming to Bodhi Meditation, I was stressed, and in a dark place. Now all my stress has been replaced with inner calm. I have so much happiness, and so much to give. I used to be self-focused, but I am now focused on giving to others.
Jane: This retreat meant a lot for me. Many things happened to me last year. My ex-husband moved away and my dog died, so I’ve been dealing with a lot of emotion. I didn’t think I was in a depression, but I guess I was. During this retreat I realized I was totally drained and slept through most of it. The healing was powerful for me. The frightened little girl inside me, that part of me that I’ve suppressed and instead always showed my brave side, told me, “Be brave. You can do this.” I have even more faith in Master JinBodhi. I started a gratitude book, listing ten things I’m grateful for each day.
Owen: I came to Bodhi less than a year ago. I just knew I had to be here. Every retreat has been so potent. They are all different. I have this commitment to growing and in the past I had kind of forgotten why I was on the planet.
In my early days it was fun and games, and then I went into a period where that wasn’t working for me. Finally, only when my mental and emotional feelings got so intense that I couldn’t tolerate it any longer, I went inside myself. That was the Universe pushing me to become who I really am and do what I came here to do. That’s when I started searching for what it was that I needed to learn and to do my own personal healing from a tough childhood.
Over the years, I worked with many healers and mentors, and when I got what I needed from them, I thanked them and moved on. That journey has been one of twenty years and now I’m very discriminating about what I do, who I learn from, who I connect with, so I guess I was open and ready for the next step when I saw ads for Bodhi Meditation and felt the need to show up.
I’m very grateful for everything Bodhi has given me so far. I wanted mental, emotional and spiritual resiliency and a growing compassion.
On my way to Bodhi this week, two pigeons crossed my path. In that moment I felt a deep connection and compassion to these pigeons. I saw them in a completely different way – as part of the cosmos. It’s hard to explain how profound it was for me. They equally connected with me. I thought wow, this is such a Bodhi moment and it was because of the work I’ve done here that I could have that moment.
I want to thank everyone for being such a courageous, caring, giving group.
Disclaimer:
- The effects associated with practicing Bodhi Meditation can vary from person to person.
- Any and all content, views, opinions, and/or responses in this student sharing are solely the views, opinions and responsibility of the respondent and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Bodhi Meditation.
- Bodhi Meditation does not provide or replace any medical advice or treatment. We recommend everyone adhere to their medical treatment and prescription.