Humans talk, a lot. The average person utters around 15,000 words every day, and 860,3 million words in a lifetime, according to a journal published by the Scientific American. That’s a never ending cycle of conversations, orders, arguments, requests, and repartees we are forced to maneuver in our daily life, a barrage of noise that deafens our sense of calm.
It is perhaps the reason why more and more people are joining the quiet revolution. In pursuit of silence, silent meditation techniques, from the monastery-like Vipassana, to handy mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace, are now taking over the world -- not by the storm, but in a hush.
Famed Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh calls this the power of quiet; how humans naturally yearn to find a path to cultivate calm, to discover who we are and what we truly want, to be able to listen to the call of beauty and respond to it.
I felt the yearning, too - as a journalist on the go who more often than not tends to get a kick out of chaos, noises, and people - I figured that it’s time for me to have some brain recalibration. So when I was given a chance to ‘experience’ the power of quiet, in the most beautiful of places, I didn’t think twice.
The sanctuary is called Bali Silent Retreat, beautifully nestled in the heart of Tabanan’s rice terraces in central Bali, at the base of the holy mountain Batu Karu. This idyllic eco-community has been around since 2013, founded by Patricia Miklautsch and Sang Tu, a visionary duo who was looking to build a silent retreat center dedicated for prayer and meditation in a dogma-free environment.
Ubud, the cultural capital and artisan district of Bali. With cafes, restaurants, shops and yoga studios left right and center, Ubud over the years has become a mecca for yogis, holistic travelers and most of all - foodies.
