One of the strangest things I recently did was to sit in silence with a group of total strangers in the Cederberg mountains and listen to the sound of a single raisin.
But there I was, part of the group in a very remote spot in the mountains, playing sheepishly along. We were on a silent four-day retreat, far beyond the reach of phones, Wi-Fi and maybe even carrier pigeons. All instruments of distraction, like phones, tablets, laptops, books, even knitting, had to be surrendered. Silence was the name of the game, no communication allowed, not even a hand gesture or eyebrow wiggle. We were chasing solitude, even within the group.
The practice with the raisin was part of it. We were sitting down for our first meal together, waiting…
