This is the final post in a series inspired by a week on retreat. You can read the first post, ‘The Gift of Kindness’ here, the second post, ‘Simplicity in Practice’ here and the third post, ‘What is Silence?’ here.

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Clear sky full of stars. Soft footsteps echoing through the cold night air. Wind howling around the courtyard. Wrapped up in coat, hat, scarf and gloves, protected and held by the walls of Vajrasana. Buddha sitting on his pool of rippling black water. Soft spot lights picking up textured seed heads. I walk a little with my walker, exhilarated, hopeful. I sit back in my wheelchair pulling my blanket around me as I allow my senses to awaken and my imagination to come alive.

The theme of imagination ran throughout much of the retreat. We were invited to let it into our practice and to play with it, from a place of embodiment so that we didn’t slip into fantasy. I often draw upon imagination in my meditations and I was delighted that it became a topic of the retreat; something that can feel at odds to mindfulness, but that can add such vibrancy and richness to our practice.

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