Tips for first solo-retreat

[Matt23]

Hey.  So I'm about to do my first solo meditation retreat and am wanting some advice and tips.

Firstly, when psychological stuff comes up would it be better to deal with it (contemplate it, think about it, use exercises on it, "work it") or to keep on sticking with the meditations as best as possible?

Would you recommend sticking with certain types of meditations?

Would you recommend using one or multiple types of meditation and self-inquiry?

If you've done retreats, how have you structured them?

What were some lessons you learned from your retreats?  From failures or successes.

Thanks!

[Hellspeed]

Depends how much blockage you have in the body/mind. 

The point is becoming a superconductor and transparent with all reallity. 

If you are not there yet, then be prepared for heavy darkness backlash. 

The darkness backlash is really uncharted territory in reallity, the information around, when is discovered by the mind it translates in fear, until the body gets in harmony. 

Highest form of meditation is attention on breath and channeling that in the chakras. But this is not for everyone. 

The safest way at first is staying in the mind and use affirmations. Because only by breath the uninitiated or non-experienced will get very heavy energy, what we call ego backlash, a shuttering in the system. The point is that depression does not exist, those are just uncontrolled energy bursts in only a part of the body, usually in the head. 

So start by building bravery first, and accomodation to depression and pain. Depends on how much you fucked up until now. The process of fucking down is complex, not easy, not hard. Is arousing at first, Kundalini is, after depends how much you can digest that energy into 1st chakra and beyond. 

[PsiloPutty]

Awesome, Matt. I have a week-long solo retreat coming up next month myself. 

I would say that when psychological issues and heavy emotions come up, you just welcome them, allow them to be there and allow them to leave on their own. Some techniques would have you make them the object of your meditation, and that's perfectly valid. Other techniques tell you to notice and acknowledge them, and then go back to your breath or whatever your object is. Also valid.

Personally, I will likely stick with 1 technique the whole time, but if you have been interested in trying out a new technique, a retreat would be a good place to get it going. I mean, after 50 hours of doing it, it won't be a new technique to you anymore.   

The way I am structuring my retreat is starting at 6am, meditating for 1 hour, taking 1.5 hours off, but still remaining Mindful and present, then back to another hour of meditating, then 1.5 hours off, etc all day. That's 7 hours of formal seated meditation each day, and not any time spent without being mindful. I will pack in a cooler full of food and not see or talk to anyone the whole week, including text messaging. No internet no TV.  I rented a cabin in the middle of nowhere, so even though it's not a good time of year to be outside on hikes and such, I will at least be in a very private location. 

I'll be curious to hear how your retreat goes, so don't forget to start a thread about it when you're done!

[PsiloPutty]

@Hellspeed  Depends on how much you fucked up until now. The process of fucking down is complex

I love that part, brother. Well said. And yeah, I forgot to mention ego backlash. Matt, if you've never done a retreat before, you can expect some serious kicking from the baby inside of you. It's not going to like what you're doing, and it might take you a couple days afterward to get back to functional. I did a vipassana retreat earlier this year and was very thankful that I took an extra two days off afterward. I needed it. I mean reeeeally needed it.

[Space]

@Matt23 I haven't been on a solo retreat myself, but I feel that writing out some sort of daily schedule would be of use. Maybe you'll have to decide for yourself as i'm sure some people like to just go with the flow. But having a schedule of when you're sitting and when your breaks are might be good. Maybe have some time slots which are left open for you to decide in the moment. 

[PsiloPutty]

@Maximus  Yeah that's a really good point. There's a fine line between discipline and masochism. "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself."

[Sven]

How long will your retreat be?