Oakwood Retreat Center « Yellow Brick Road: Your Path to Heart & Health

Birds at Oakwood

By Debra Basham, on November 5, 2022

The 8-day silent meditation retreat will take more than one Yellow Brick Road to share with readers. Day One included 22-month old, Jackson, our great grandson, being air-lifted from the hospital in Chattanooga to Vanderbilt after he had a seizure in the parking garage following discharge.

Day Eight is complete with nurse Linda diagnosing […]

Hearing, Sitting, Touching, Breathing

By Debra Basham, on October 14, 2019

For those who believe, no words are necessary. For those who do not believe, no words are possible.

~Attributed to Saint Ignatius in Think of an Elephant : Combining Science and Spirituality for a Better Life (2007) by Paul Bailey, but earlier attributed to Franz Werfel, Philippine Studies (1953) by Ateneo de Manila, p. […]

Hey Ma Durga

By Debra Basham, on October 16, 2018

I wrote this poem a few days ago while I at the 2018 Deep Spring Meditation Center retreat at Oakwood Retreat Center.

Vipassana

V-vast are the stories I-incessant the grasping, clinging, and aversion P-passing away; what passes away A-and where does “it” go? S-Silence, stillness, smiling or sometimes sobbing S-Sitting, stepping, satiating A-Ananda, Hey Ma […]

Retreat Reminiscence – Friday

By Debra Basham, on October 12, 2018

Phenomenal Retreat is the review of Oakwood Retreat Center in the fall of 2015.

Oakwood Retreat Center is a wonderful property, and one of my most sweet memories is hearing the migrating song birds as they gathered in the woods near the meditation hall.

Being able to spend time in nature is one […]

Jesus Loves Me!

By Debra Basham, on November 12, 2016

Twenty years ago, the Friday after Thanksgiving, I ended my formal relationship with the organized Christian church. It would be too simplistic to say that happened over the curriculum of the Sunday school class I was getting ready to teach. A contributing factor for sure was pain related to a friend’s death from AIDS, and […]

Bells!

By Debra Basham, on November 7, 2016

While it may not immediately make total sense to everyone, my silent insight meditation retreat week was made much richer just because on Monday when we arrived I signed up to be the bell ringer for Saturday.

Let me begin by sharing these comments from my meditation teacher, Barbara Brodsky:

Another way we create […]

The Whole Show

By Debra Basham, on October 31, 2016

Regret & Remorse

Regret & Remorse Are photo-shopped Pixels of fragmented False memories. Reboot. Enjoy the whole show.

Francie Lynch, June 6, 2015

This is one of those lessons I hope I can remember to benefit from for the rest of my life.

I love scarves. Seeing a perfectly chosen scarf as the pièce […]

Yellow Brick Road: Your Path to Heart & Health