“I have learned that the path to mindfulness and relaxation is not easy, but that it is worth taking. Especially as teachers are exposed to a lot of stress and challenges, a course like this should be an integral part of your studies so that you can learn early on and prevent bad things from happening!”

“I also took this away from the MBSR course: You can only help others if you are stable yourself!”

“The MBSR approach has helped me to really accept myself in my nervousness and to develop a real inner attitude of acceptance towards my nervousness and myself.”

“A retreat is like pressing the reset button: I realize again what really matters in life.”

“To be able to help others, you have to be your own best friend. Retreating to this magical place for 3 days is a great way to experience/encourage mindfulness and find yourself.”

“How loudly the birds chirp their song; the blackbird in the foliage detecting the wriggling earthworm; the buzzing mosquito lurking next to my ear; the scurrying voices behind the closed kitchen door or the seemingly endless, distant, muffled, barely audible sound of engines on the street. How loud silence can be if you let it. A warming hug to ALL who made it possible for me to stay in this place of inspiration and peace. May we all become our own mountain and trust the emergence (in reference to Tim and Maren).”

Two days of saying nothing, with no real distractions, just yourself and your thoughts. I haven’t had my cell phone with me or turned it off for so many hours in years. Will I be able to do that? Do I want to do that? I do it anyway and am open to something new, and I can recommend it to everyone to experience the Pauenhof in all its facets, to meet it and all the warm and inspiring people. No matter in what way, how deep or superficial, sometimes serious in retrospect… It will change you, something somehow very valuable. I wouldn’t have thought it either.”

“I went to Pauenhof to learn more about mindfulness and meditation. What I didn’t expect was that I would get to know each other. You come together in a group of like-minded people and, without knowing the names of most of them, you feel connected in a very special way. You find support and security together – despite the silence. Basically, we all want the same things in and from life. I have found my home through the Pauenhof. I am very grateful for that. Over the last few days, I have experienced a lot of emotions and felt many different things, but I have always felt good. I want to take this feeling with me into my everyday life.”

“Comparing – evaluating – identifying. This is what creates heaviness, creates illness. The retreat helped me to see and recognize this and to reconnect with my strengths/resources again and again. I was so connected that I found a common denominator even with a supposedly “disgusting” spider… We both want to enjoy the sun’s rays. And so we sat there together and enjoyed the warmth.”

“The concepts of mindfulness and self-regulation are fundamental pillars here that I would like to build on in my future.”