When Tom Darling told his friends he planned to spend 10 days in silent meditation with a group of strangers, they joked that he was joining a cult. But the experience – gruelling and profound – offered an extraordinary antidote to the modern world
.......... He's not the only one smiling: there's a general sense of achievement flowing through most of us, the type that comes from completing something difficult that you suspect will benefit you for some time to come. Some of the students I talk to describe the feeling as having undergone a deep cleansing, a re-evaluation of their priorities, even a rebooting of the system. It's odd suddenly to be able to speak to my roommates after so many days of silent cohabitation. The young guy from Manchester smiles ruefully when I see him. "Yeah, mate, that was no holiday." Anik and I sit on a bench outside the old farmhouse, the paint flaking off onto the ground beneath us. So was it all he hoped it would be? "No question," he says without a moment's hesitation. "I've been looking for something to help me achieve certain goals, and I think this is it. I don't know about the others, but for me this was always about improving myself, about becoming more successful."
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/inner-space-the-power-of-solitude-1705207.html
