Still sceptical but increasingly curious, I found myself flying to Ibiza for a silent retreat with Burgs. I had tried meditation classes before, so I thought I had a vague idea. I didnt.

The week was nothing like Id imagined. We didnt listen to dolphin choirs, visualise rose buds opening, swallow imaginary white light or anything of the sort. In fact, Burgs teaches a skill requiring intelligence and creativity. As he says, Just as you can kick a football clumsily, you can meditate upon the breath in a clumsy way. Or you can learn to do it with real skill and find out what your mind has to offer.

Guy Burgs is one of the country's leading experts in meditation

The courses consist of classes and meditation sessions, which take place in a large hall where each pupil is seated on cushions, chairs or stools. The classes were a revelation, like sitting down to a TED talk twice a day a compelling mixture of psychology, science, philosophy, spiritual teachings and even stand-up comedy. We were allowed to break our silence for questions during these, and there were also regular exercise sessions to split up the day. Eating in silence felt awkward to start with but it became blissful; you really notice how excellent the food tastes when you dont have to think about what youre going to say next.

As we learnt to meditate, it helped to have a taskmaster like Burgs watching our attempts. Dont just sit there having a nice little think, hes fond of saying. A week on his silent retreat begins with him making every effort to help your mind settle. Within days you become amazingly uninterested in petty concerns that you were fixating on during day one. The mind of an iPhone junkie is not easily stilled, but when it is you begin to become aware of the bigger themes controlling your life memories, insecurities, the need to be seen, and other drives that you might allow, albeit subconsciously, to control your life.

Imagine a reflection of the moon in a lake thats heavily disturbed, full of ripples and waves. If you didnt know it was the reflection of the moon it would look nothing like the moon, Burgs says. If we try to understand reality through a mind that is constantly disturbed, we continue to get a distorted sense of what is actually going on, which is why just trying to work it out in our heads doesnt always work.

Once uncomfortable feelings and memories begin to surface, Burgs teaches tools needed to release them. Many say they are able to cry for the first time in years. Five days into our retreat Burgs drew a diagram on his whiteboard to explain what was going on in our minds. If youre feeling awful, that means youre doing something right. One woman raised her hand and said, Im so glad that you explained that. I felt terrible yesterday I cant remember feeling so bad.

It works like a detox, explained Burgs. As soon as you stop bombarding the body with new stuff, its able to start clearing out the accumulated toxins. The mind works the same way. One of the reasons we seek stimulation is because we dont want to be with how we feel. We come on retreat to do this so your poor wife or husband doesnt have to be around while you throw your toys out of the pram!

By the weeks end I felt I hadnt been lighter since Christmas morning, aged six. I was startlingly aware of everything going on around me.

Some people have returned to Burgss signature healing meditation retreat twice a year since he began 15 years ago, and waiting lists for his retreats are growing year-on-year. Are we experiencing a reaction to the pressures of digital life?

More here:
The healing effects of total silence