How precious it is to be able to retreat from the city/town/village and walk into the peacefulness of the countryside and the silence of the woods.  A silence only interrupted by the song of a bird or the movement of a squirrel. Breathing becomes deeper, the mind calmer as we are drawing in something very special, the beauty and silence all around.

We can liken it to retreating into our special meditative place, sitting, relaxing and focusing on something special, and then slowly those multitudinous straying thoughts will begin to float away.  The mind can be as busy as the noisy city, or less confused like life in the town, and calmer still – village life.  When breathing becomes slower and the mind calmer, we start to become aware of that growing silence within and the closeness of the Divine presence.

Satchidananda Ma