WinShape Retreat Center, Rome, Georgia

The term retreat has several related meanings, all of which have in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment in order to become immersed in a particular subject matter. A retreat can be taken for reasons related to spirituality, stress, health, lifestyle, or social or ecological concerns. Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality Increasingly, organizations hold retreats to focus board and staff members on key issues such as strategic planning, enhancing communication and collaboration, problem-solving and creative thinking. Creativity is a mental process involving the generation of new Ideas or Concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts

A retreat can either be a time of solitude or a community experience. Solitude is a state of Seclusion or Isolation, ie lack of contact with people or love In biological terms a community is a group of interacting Organisms sharing an environment. Some retreats are held in silence, and on others there may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the understanding and accepted practices of the host facility and/or the participant(s). Silence is a relative or total lack of audible Sound you can not hear a thing it is quiet Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either privately, or at a retreat centre such as a monastery. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism.

Spiritual retreats allow time for reflection, prayer, or meditation. Human self-reflection is the capacity of Humans to exercise Introspection and the willingness to learn more about our fundamental nature Purpose and Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness They are considered essential in Buddhism^[1], and are also popular in many Christian churches, including evangelical Protestantism, Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs

References

See also

• Enlightenment Intensive