Pssst ...! I drive into the silence - and then? An experience report

In silence there is strength, calm, relaxation. At least that's how it always says. But what happens when everything really gets silent? Or - or rather - when I get very quiet? I want to find out. And do the self -experiment. When staying in the silence monastery ...

In the middle of the wide nature of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and surrounded by an idyllic park, the Saunstorf monastery is located. The listed manor house serves as a place for relaxation, retreat and silence. In addition to silence, the over-confessional monastery also offers meditation weekends, dark retreats and Zen courses.

Immediately when I enter the extensive area of ​​the monastery, I notice how quiet it is here. Although it is still "allowed" on my arrival, the talks are limited to a minimum. After a short tour of the property, the evening meditation is pending - and with it: the beginning of silence. I will spend four days in silence. Completely in, completely for me. I'm already a bit excited.

A morning and evening meditation. In between breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the only appointments that give my days in the structure. I fill the time in between with long walks. Swim in the small pond in the park of the property, sit in the sauna and watch the sun go down.

The days before the retreat, I started slowing down my social contacts and doing less. "This makes it easier to silence the transition," as Christel Westermeier advised me before I tried. She is a meditation teacher in the monastery and accompanies my attempt.

At first it is unusual to have so much time. My thoughts are loud and present. "Unrest andUsually have nothing to do with external circumstances. They come from the inside. This is particularly evident in moments when it becomes calm on the outside, ”explains Christel Westermeier when I tell her about it at the end of my retreat. “Silence and silence are not the same. Silence is a way into the silence, which is only successful if you go completely. By paying attention inwards. And feels. ”I try that - and over time my head is getting quieter.

I get used to the silence and the silence is getting more and more inside. She makes everything slower, more careful. And gives me a presence that I rarely experience. I get everything around me. For example, the small snail on the leaf of a bush. Or the always passing clouds - sometimes like delicate feathers, sometimes like thick cotton breasts. I also notice how much louder all other things are suddenly - the clinking of dishes. Or the wing strikes of the birds. Although language is actually not a sensory organ, my senses feel sharpened.

I still indirectly wait for a emotional outbreak. But he doesn't come. Instead, silence surrounds me like a gentle hug. I don't feel lonely, I enjoy my own society, the slowness and the presence that the silence gives me. After the four days, I feel so relaxed and resting in me as it has not been for a long time. What did the silence show me? How fulfilling it is to only spend time with myself. And: that I want to do it much more often.

Sweet -like ends in the single room with full board, from € 436 per person. The next dates are in February, May and August 2025.kloster-saunstorf.de