This silent retreat is offered for those who regularly practise meditation or those seeking to deepen their practice. It is a time to return to and honour the deep Silence ever present in our being. The retreat will be based on the model used at Bonnevaux – the WCCM Meditation Retreat Centre in France, where their silent retreats “provide a rare opportunity to benefit from the sustained silence and stillness of meditation over an extended period…these retreats offer a unique opportunity to join with other practitioners and go to a deeper and simpler place – together in solitude into the ‘great silence’.”

While the teaching for this retreat is based on Christian Meditation, those who practice others forms of meditation and contemplation, as well as experienced meditators from other recognised traditions are most welcome. The focus of this retreat is on how our intention and attention enable us to be more at home in the Silence, both individually and together in community. It is from this place then that we live our daily lives, ever attentive to the Divine Presence, the Spirit within us.

This silent retreat is for you if:
* you meditate regularly or have previous experience of meditation
* are seeking rest and replenishment
* are interested in deepening or reconnecting with your practice in a silent setting
* are inspired by spending time reconnecting with nature
* are willing to be challenged and be open to the healing experience of meditating with others

There will be an opportunity each day for you to meet with the retreat guide if you wish, to reflect on your experience in the Silence. A draft programme and some hints for the retreat follow.

Retreat Guide
Your guide for this retreat is Michelle Vass, Meditator in Residence at Campfire in April – May 2026. Michelle has a wealth of experience in retreat work, particularly silent retreats, and spiritual accompaniment. She is passionate about the recovery and recreation of new ways of meditation and contemplation based on the richness of the Christian tradition and also inclusive of the wisdom of other traditions. Silence and prayer are key elements of life for Michelle and she is keen to share her experiences with others.

Cost: Packages from $390 – $585

Price includes all meals and accommodation in a private room, for 2 nights ($390) or 3 nights ($585)

About the Deep Silent Retreat experience:

• After an introduction on the first evening we will enter into silence. Each morning there will be regular periods of meditation, times of contemplative walking concluding with evening prayer together.
• During a silent meditation retreat, we’ll find that our mind begins to slow down, to calm down, to become more clear and we begin to discover the natural state of the mind.
• During the silent meditation retreat, we will give up all use of digital communication – a digital fast.
• The most important element of an intensive retreat is silence. Firstly, the silence as the mind begins to settle down, becomes more clear and more manageable and secondly, the silence of the heart emerges – a silence beyond thoughts, beyond imagination.
• The intensive silent meditation retreat is also inviting us to enter more fully and simply into a direct experience that we have been entering in our practice of meditation for some time already.
• Participants are asked to read “What to expect from a silent meditation retreat” before attending an deep silent retreat or designing your own retreat.