Questions
The nine we are asked before nearly every booking, answered the way we would answer them on the telephone.
Before you write
Questions we are actually asked
In the order they come up on the telephone, answered the way we would answer them on the telephone.
I have never meditated. Is this for me?
Yes, and Stillness Week was written for exactly that. Roughly half of every group has never sat before. Nobody is asked how long they have practised, and nobody who has practised for twenty years gets a better seat.
Do I really have to give up my phone?
Yes. It goes into a numbered box at the gatehouse and comes back on the morning you leave. We give the office number to whoever might need to reach you, and somebody answers it around the clock — in fifteen years it has rung eleven times.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough to walk up a slope. The moving practice runs at two levels side by side and you can change your mind about which one you are in on any morning. Our oldest regular guest is seventy-eight and does the six o'clock class.
What if I cannot eat something?
Tell us when you book and Yaw will work round it — allergies, coeliac, halal, vegan, whatever it is. What we will not do is run a menu, so if you want a choice at every meal this is honestly not the place.
Will I be the only one on my own?
No. Around two thirds of guests come alone. Nine people at one table for a week sorts that out by the second dinner, and nobody is made to introduce themselves to a circle.
Is the whole week silent?
No — only two hours each afternoon and the sittings themselves. The seven-night programme has one full day of silence in the middle, which is opt-in and which about eight people in ten take.
How do I get there?
We collect you from Kotoka, or from anywhere in Accra, at no cost. If you drive yourself the last four kilometres are steep and unlit, so come up before dark on your first visit.
Can we come as a couple?
Of course, and you will share a room. We will say gently that most couples get more out of it in separate rooms, and that the ones who have taken that advice have all mentioned it afterwards.
Can I bring children?
Not to a retreat week, no. Once a year in August we run a four-day family programme with a different timetable — ask us about it rather than about bringing a child to a silent afternoon.
Ask us the one that is not on the list.
Somebody who has actually taught here reads every message, and answers it themselves. It usually takes a day.
Come and be still.
Nine rooms, six dates a year, and a gatehouse ninety minutes out of Accra. Write to us and we will tell you honestly which week is yours.