The Quiet Heart

The centre of South Africa is a vast, silent, peaceful place. The Karoo’s clean air heals the body and its space unfolds mind and spirit in unexpected ways.

Silence - Solitude - Space

The Karoo, some say, is one of the quietest places on Earth. Allegedly, with the right equipment, you can record the faint scratching of the atmosphere against the planet. So still is it.

 This sprawling semi-desert with its dry clean air, bright stars and innate timelessness is ideal for anyone in need of healing for body, mind and spirit.

Back in 1897, scholar James Byrne put his finger on it:

“Powerful feelings affect the mind of the traveller in the Karoo. He ponders the self-sufficiency of nature, the insignificance of Man, the mystery of the universe as he moves across the brown desert in shimmering waves of heat…. The Karoo has a breathtaking beauty. A peculiar characteristic of this great inland plateau is that the scenery possesses a primeval solitude and silence… It has the primitive simplicity of a country just come from the hands of the Creator."

Dry spaces have long attracted spirituality. Perhaps it’s the undistracting, pared down elements that help pilgrims through an inner journey. Maybe distant horizons and stillness have a natural tendency to open minds and invite contemplation.

Stoep Zen

Antony Osler is a spiritual teacher, human rights advocate and author of the quirky and intriguing book Stoep Zen (“Lao Tsu meets Oom Schalk Lourens” reads one of the descriptions). He runs periodic meditation retreats at Poplar Grove farm near Colesberg.

 “Zen tradition usually involves sitting inside meditating while looking at the ground in front of you. But we don’t follow that monastic format. We practise being in the place we are, walking in the veld at sunrise and sunset, harvesting vegetables from the garden.”

Antony sees the Karoo’s space and tangible peace as the unseen Zen Masters, helping people find the still point, the spaciousness within themselves.

“People come here are usually out of touch with the natural rhythms of the Earth. Here they find a sky that is high, a silence that is deep, a horizon that is far. That brings healing.

“Then, on more immediate level, you’ll find no straight lines here on the farm. It’s all wiggly, and opening to that brings its own humour and humility.

“The Karoo is a restorative place. It puts the human world back into perspective.”

Just to Be

One of the country’s best known spiritual retreats is on the edge of the Little Karoo - Temenos Retreat and Wellness Centre in McGregor. It started as a contemplative garden, but now has become a healing physical and spiritual sanctuary.

Billy Kennedy founded the centre in 1997, choosing McGregor in part because it offers such distinct seasons.

“It helps people sense the seasons in themselves, a time to hibernate, a time to create, a time to be mellow. Also, in the Karoo, there are not many distractions, and people need to be themselves. The Karoo allows you just to be.

Unfolding Spirit

Jana Krejci, who periodically runs her Spiritual Safaris into the Karoo, finds the Huguenot Tunnel a particularly powerful symbol for a mental break.

“You travel from Cape Town through the Hex River Valley and then through the tunnel and out into the Karoo, from man’s land to God’s land. It opens up space in yourself.”

To her the Karoo is “a timeless space, where you can move from doing to being. You can do nothing – what I call a sacred idleness. Going to the Karoo allows a reconnection with the beingness where we all come from and are going to.”

“There is an unjudgmental openness about the Karoo that allows people to unfold.''

Words:  Julienne du Toit    *    Images: Chris Marais

• Some helpful websites: www.stoepzen.co.za; www.temenos.org.za and www.spiritualsafaris.co.za