Resting in the Rockies
By Cynthia Goldstone
I vividly remember my first Residence Course. My mother and I were new Meditators, fresh with enthusiasm for our expanded perspective on life. When we heard about a course in Estes Park, Colorado, we were eager to see what it was all about.
Arriving at the mountain retreat, we settled into our rooms and then went to join the group for an introduction to the weekend’s schedule. No campfires, no canoeing, no hiking—this weekend in the mountains would be spent in extended meditation. Our meditations were punctuated by delicious meals, restful walks in the clear, high air and inspiring videotaped lectures from Maharishi.
All this rest was a little foreign to us, but the course leaders explained that deep rest was the best thing we could do to remove the stress we had built up over the years. During that first course my mother must have removed a lot of stress. “I was so relaxed I kept falling asleep,” she recalls.
My mom remembers how alert and alive she felt during the drive home and the days that followed. She says, “My senses, being rested, were so keen and alert, and life decisions became effortless. I was infused with peaceful confidence and delight in life. I wanted to go on a residence course every weekend.”
We did go to another one not long after that—and we’ve enjoyed many more in the years that followed.
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