The Institute of Reflection
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Credos

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Sanctuary

The Final Room

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Room Four

Sanctuary

A room set apart. Not for reading — for experiencing. Enter, slow down, and let the noise recede. This is a space for stillness, sound, and the kind of thought that only comes when you stop rushing.

“You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

Franz Kafka

Room Four

A space set apart
for stillness

One idea in Western-style meditation is to become more grounded in oneself — as opposed to trying to transport oneself out of one’s skin up to a Great Beyond. The Sanctuary exists to help you do that.

It is for each individual to find the backdrop that allows their personality to emerge. The loftiest thoughts can come when you are in a place that puts you at ease — a cathedral, a garden, a quiet room.

Composed for the institute

Reflections

By Alla Sorenko

An orchestral piece composed especially for the Institute of Reflection — written to accompany a session of quiet thought. Let it play as you read, as you sit, or as you simply let your mind wander where it will.

Reflections

by Alla Sorenko

THE FOUNDER’S VOICE

Justin Glass speaks on
Western Meditation

In conversation with Scarlett Deva Antaloczy, Justin Glass talks about what prompted him to found the Institute, what Western Meditation means to him personally, and how a regular practice of reflection has changed the way he thinks and lives.

A good ten-minute listen. Best heard in a quiet room.

Scarlett Deva Antaloczy Radio Show

by Justin Glass | Interview

For the wandering mind

Driifloat

A visual and meditative experience for those moments when words are too much and you simply want to drift. Driifloat offers a gentle, ambient accompaniment to the wandering mind — conducive to the kind of unfocused reflection that often produces the most interesting thoughts.

The ersatz sensation of being active — but simply sitting, as in a train looking out at passing scenery, can induce a meditative mood.

Open Driifloat

A Selection

Music conducive to reflection

MUSIC PLAYER

A personal practice

Create your own
sanctuary

A sanctuary is any place you think is a sanctuary. You can design it for yourself. The most important thing is that it puts you at ease — and that it is yours.

People who are sensitive to surroundings can choose the backdrop for reflection with care. The loftiest thoughts can come in the most modest settings, provided the conditions are right.

A domestic shrine might be minimalist table ornamentation. A regular chair by a window. A walk taken at the same time each day. The form matters less than the intention.

  1. Choose your space
    2. Find a place that is consistently yours for this purpose — somewhere the mind associates with stillness. It need not be large, elaborate, or even particularly quiet.
  2. Manage the sound
    3. Choose music or silence deliberately. Ambient, unhurried sound tends to support reflection. Dramatic or rhythmically insistent music tends to disrupt it. How often do we hear these days that old saying: 'Silence is Golden'. There are a myriad examples of the fact that silence can 'speak' in a wordless language — for instance the Two Minutes Silence that forms part of the ceremony at the British cenotaph on Remembrance Day. Read: Silence is Golden →
  3. Establish a ritual
    4. A small act of transition — making tea, lighting a candle, putting the phone face down — signals to the mind that this time is different from ordinary time.
  4. Begin without an agenda
    5. The most productive sessions often begin with no fixed destination. Benevolent feelings, an open question, a single image — these are better starting points than a problem to be solved.
“A sanctuary is any place that you think is a sanctuary. You can design it for yourself — but you are welcome to drop in on ours.”

The Institute of Reflection