Episode
I Went Silent for 5 Days: Lessons from a Mediation Retreat
- Podcast
- Heart of the Story
- Published
- Jan 25, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2026
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://nadinekenneyjohnstone.com/podcast
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Summary
232 Five days. No talking. No technology. Just awareness. Nadine shares her powerful experience from a five-day silent Vipassana retreat—and what emerged when there was nowhere left to escape. From boredom and resistance to unexpected joy, grief, and clarity, Nadine opens up about the emotional and spiritual breakthroughs that unfolded in stillness. She reflects on self-compassion, non-reactivity, and the freedom that comes from releasing expectations and the constant desire for things to be different. A moving loving-kindness meditation becomes the catalyst for deep emotional release and insight, revealing a simple but radical truth: happiness doesn’t live in the future—it’s available now. This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and discover what silence can teach us about presence, peace, and being fully alive. Get access to the full episode when you become a paid subscriber on Substack . Covered in this episode: Why she chose to do a silent retreat for the second time What was different (and disappointing) this time What it was like to renounce technology The rules she broke The breakthroughs she had The shocking vision that made her weep Reclaim your writing time with the following offerings in 2026: Revision Made Easy: A 3-Step Process to Up-level Your Writing Virtual, Feb 28 Revision Retreat: Craft Your Best Draft (In-person): Aug 2026, Madeline Island School of the Arts, WI About Nadine: Nadine Kenney Johnstone is an award-winning author, podcast host, and writing coach. After fifteen years as a writing professor, she founded WriteWELL workshops and retreats for women writers. She interviews today’s top female authors on her podcast, Heart of the Story . Her infertility memoir, Of This Much I'm Sure , was named book of the year by the Chicago…