Ibrahim Jaffe Suffism – Why A Retreat is Great For The Mind

For Ibrahim Jaffe sufism is the reason that he takes followers off on retreats with him but he has spoken countless times about the power of a retreat into nature, no matter what it is that you believe. There is an abundance of benefits which you can count on when you go on a retreat into nature and no matter whether you have faith or not, this is a break which can really help your overall mental wellbeing and health. 

If you have never been on a retreat before then here are just some of the benefits which you will see when you do. 

Stepping Away 

Something which we so very rarely have a chance to do is to step away from our lives and stand back from it all to reflect. When you take a retreat this is exactly what will happen, you will be able to take some time away from work, away from the stresses and strains of your daily life and to simply take some time out to think, review, plan and learn. The difference between a retreat and a vacation in this regard is that a vacation can still be quite stressful, there are things to do and places to see, a retreat however is designed purposeful with the idea of reflection and not a great deal more than that. 

Back to Nature 

There has been so many scientific studies into what happens to the body and the mind when we get back in touch with nature and it has been proven time and time again that stress levels are massively lowered when we are surrounded by nature. It is for this reason that so many who live in a city can feel higher stress levels than those who don’t. The key aspect of this is a feeling of getting back to basic requirements of food, water and shelter. When we do get back to nature then we can often find that those things, the material things which we often focus on in our lives, really aren’t that important at all. 

Discussion 

Because of the fact that retreats are aimed at helping us to improve our mental wellbeing, there are often group activities which are held where you can discuss what is going on with you. This is often great because you are talking to strangers most of the time and there is very rarely any judgement going on, it is just about you speaking and letting your thoughts out. You can find that many have great advice and sometimes it can be healing to simply speak your mind. 

The point of a retreat is just that, to retreat from your daily life, to take stock from a stress-free place, and to use that to help you to be better and feel better when you do get back to your normal world. This is something which I would certainly recommend, no matter what you happen to believe in.