Meditation Retreat with Justin Stone

Green Gulch Zen Center, Marin, CA April 1993

There we were, twenty-one of us spread throughout the vast, austere Zendo (the Zen Center’s meeting hall for meditation services), full of empty expectation. Some of us were old friends, some of us total strangers, but we were all gathered together with the same intent–to learn from Justin. And while the room remained COLD we quickly warmed to Justin’s teaching style. He acknowledged the groups range of experience in doing meditation. He then began our new experience in small increments, step by step.

Mainly because of the cold and some construction noise, we moved to another building the last half of the second day. This move to a smaller, cozier room paralleled our meditation experience. We were now more familiar with each other, feeling comfortable as a group and had a good feel for what was expected of us from Justin. The unknown of whether I could do the meditation practices or not was diminishing, and was replaced with the understanding that what was important was my effort, not the results.

The fourth day we made another move–to the Yurt: a round canvas building with many windows and a domed roof with skylight. It was situated away from the rest of the buildings and trails so I had the feeling of isolation. A change in weather accompanied the spatial change. The wind blew and rain beat upon the canvas that day. I felt very open to the elements. The sounds of nature/life were flooding my being during meditation–wind, moving trees, rain, birds, frogs–taking me deeper rather than distracting. By now the meditation was having a strong effect on my emotions, as tears would spill down my cheeks in a release of–what, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter. It just felt natural and peaceful.

There are so many aspects of those five days I could write about–the friendships that developed and grew, the deep personal sharing of each person as they gave of themselves to the group, the meditation process and experiences, and yet treasured for me is the valuable sharing of Justin. He gave freely of himself, his life experiences, his acquired knowledge and his beautiful ‘humanness’.

What strikes me as so phenomenal is the natural, easy progression of the five days. As a group, we quickly were at ease with one another–no one was on the fringes of the group–we really felt as one family. A special thanks and love to those who attended and to Justin for giving of himself. We are all richer because of this experience.

– Sandy McAlister, Retreat Host