Sitting by yourself

For a great description of what it's like to attend a three-day silent meditation retreat -- albeit on a beach in Australia -- read this article.

By being silent and being with yourself, the idea is to interrupt the perpetual loop of thought many of us have on repeat; learning to bring yourself back to the experience of right here and now, engaging without distortions of judgment, criticism or fear.

It is a beautiful experience in many ways. But, it is an awful lot of time to spend with yourself, without words and without the distraction of phone, television or computer. The silence and space brings perspective and with that I realise how much pain from the past paints the picture of my present.

The beach at Bundagen where the retreat was held.

Of course, writer Sarah Berry observes, you don't have to go to an extraordinarily beautiful location to experience this.

And once you have had the realization you don't need to stay there, separated from society. You can experience it while listening to music, talking with friends, eating -- or nude body surfing. (Read the article.)