Newbie Solo Retreat Report

[Waves]

Hey guys, I finally decided to write a "report" of the solo retreat I had back in September. I'm going to start by telling you something about my situation, so that you get a better idea of who is behind this long text. 

 

Background

I'm a 21 yo college student who is into personal development and likes to read, swim, cook, meditate, play the piano,...

I come from a place of suffering and insecurity, which derives from a sense of inferiority and low self-esteem mainly caused by the fact that I had a late physical development  and also by how I was raised. In my teenage years I mostly played video games and football (soccer) while still doing pretty good in school. As you can imagine I was pretty shy, had low confidence and wasn't that much social. But I always had that idea of growth planted in me. I've always thought possible to improve myself and my circumstances, probably because I wasn't happy about the situation I was in. A friend of mine played a role in this by introducing me to the importance of self-awareness. This has been the key for me to start realizing that I have the power to do something with my life, to decide to be happy. I finally stumbled across Leo's video, which didn't get me in the beginning, because he was saying things I didn't want to ear. Some months later I started to watch them regularly and never stopped since then. It slowly changed my life. I've been meditating for a year now, 20 minutes every day with some exceptions. I started with the Do-Nothing technique and after 6 months changed to Mindfulness Meditation with labeling.

 

Why I did the retreat

I only had 3 weeks vacation from college, so, inspired by Leo, I thought it would have been a good idea to invest 7 days in doing this. I wanted to do this as an experiment, to isolate myself from distractions of internet, society, my family and friends, and thus to be able to get more in touch with my deepest desires and truths. This was also a perfect occasion to work on the life purpose course, since I put it aside months before in order to concentrate on the exams. Furthermore I just wanted to get serious about this journey.

 

Logistics

Although I was staying in an apartment I felt pretty isolated, thanks to the view I had on the forest and mountains. I had the occasion to walk in the forest, it was really refreshing.

Regard food I kept it rather simple: porridge with honey and berries for breakfast, vegetables with rice or potatoes for lunch and Leo's soup for dinner. I ate chicken once and had some eggs, no dairy though. I was hungry all the time and it really helped to have all kind of fruits, dark chocolate and mixed nuts around for snacks.

Rules: no internet other than Actualized.org material, no contact with people and no long hikes

 

What I did during the retreat

At the beginning of the retreat I made the assessment of my life, as Leo advises in the video "How to get started with Self-Actualization", it was a good session of journaling and cleared my mind, it really helps to put thoughts into written words.

I read "The Big Leap", I meditated for minimum 1 hour every day and worked on the course for as long as necessary. I also took notes on some regular Leo's videos.

Don't forget your body health. I made sure to move my body (taking walks and stretching) and not to sit for too long.

 

Insights and considerations

• Going on retreat gets you out of your usual environment, which is useful to receive new perspectives on your life. It also tests your cravings and maybe addictions.
• I noticed a certain sadness, emptiness or almost fear arising when I thought about the fact that I had nothing to do. Usually I cheer up in the present moment thanks to the things that will happen in the future.
• I have made progress in finding my life purpose, but I haven't been able to put it together. I think I need more time to elaborate what I discovered about myself and now, after 3 months, I'm going back to contemplate the matter.
• The retreat has been really helpful to set up the environment that allowed me to dig deeper into my soul, to clarify what I want to get out of life, to plan my future.
• I can say that it was the "official" starting point of my Self-Actualization journey, with the commitment to making it a priority in my life.

 

TLDR: I highly recommend to go on retreat. It will help to get good insights about whatever you want to investigate. If you get clear on the intentions of your retreat and if you put in the work, it will help you to grow a lot, it really is a catalyst! 

 

[Pallero]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you had some useful insights. Good on you!

[Leo Gura]

@Waves Good, but next time try to do it with zero internet or reading. Just 24/7 meditation. That's where your results will skyrocket a thousand-fold.

[Waves]

@Leo Gura Yeah, that's the next step, maybe after having tried some psychedelics 

It would be better to also bring the daily meditation to 30 minutes, then slowly up to 1 hour.

[Edvard]

Nice work. This is like hearimg my self. Late physical development, meditated for about 8 months, 21 yo, college(uni) holiday. Was planning to do a 3-5 day retreat next week.

And I'm also swimming, although gonna start training more again...

[aurum]

@Waves

Great work. The fact that you ever considered doing this says a lot.

Now go take some massive action. It's romantic to think about coming up with your life purpose suddenly over a week alone, but that's not really how it works. You've got to test your ideas in the "real world" and flesh it out over time.

Congrats on the start of your journey !

[Richard Alpert]

8 hours ago, Waves said:

@Leo Gura Yeah, that's the next step, maybe after having tried some psychedelics 

It would be better to also bring the daily meditation to 30 minutes, then slowly up to 1 hour.

From someone who has mediated last 2 years little over 1h / day on average i can tell you its not that much. Whenever i have time off on weekends and bang 3-4 hours a day whole weekend i see difference. Like Leo said, next time meditate 24/7, you will see a difference. 

[Waves]

@Edvard If you can organize the retreat easily, 3-5 days could help you to have some insights. But if you have the opportunity do it at least 7 days long, otherwise you won't be able to profit of the momentum you build. Keep up with the swimming, I'm enjoying it more and more with time.

@aurum Thank you for the input. I figured out the direction of my life purpose, but I haven't put it in a really concrete statement. That's where I was and still am stuck. I don't know, maybe I should just write down what I "discovered", just to have a starting point, then work and build on that. 

@Richard Alpert Thanks, I will try to implement that in the future, I just don't think now is the correct time to do it, since I'm trying to build a reading habit. I'll handle that first and then upgrade my meditation