I spent Easter at Nirvana Wellbeing Retreat in the Gold Coast hinterland, on a 4 day silent meditation retreat with my teacher Shanti Gowans. Shanti has been my teacher for over half my life and to spend time with her and the other participants was wonderful All were experienced practitioners so there was a lot of silence and stillness during practice. No talking at all during meals, free time etc. and most people avoided eye contact. It was a magical opportunity to turn inwards, I felt such a sense of familiarity and belonging there. Shanti emanates peace, complete acceptance and non judgement with everything that is, including us who might have looked like Buddhas meditating but inside was a different story. Spending time in the presence of a highly realized person can't help but lift you up - it's not just what they say and don't say, but how they live. So many of the things we get caught up in, wound by by, really don't matter. A shift in awareness changes everything.