Solo road trip retreat

[StarStruck]

I’m planning to go on a road trip and I was wondering if I could combine it with a spiritual solo retreat because I’m going lone gun anyway. Any tips? I still haven’t listen to all of the podcasts. Probably the rules I’m going to set for myself: no music, only podcasts. At least 2 hours of meditation and concentration exercises per day.

[Leo Gura]

Listening to podcasts is not a retreat.

A retreat is a serious undertaking. Don't turn it into a mockery. Otherwise you're fooling yourself by telling yourself you did a retreat when you were really just driving in your car and listening to podcasts.

Nothing wrong with driving or podcasts, but a solo retreat it is not.

[SFRL]

Not going to argue with Leo here about what it takes to do a good retreat. 

Nevertheless a road trip can be a very good experience. Very eye-opening. 

I suggest going to the USA on vacation and do a coast to coast road trip. 

• You will get a very good idea of the different flavors of the USA. The East and West Coast are much more liberal then the the middle. The Midwest. The so called fly-over states. If you want to understand the USA and it's political makeup you got to experience both. This is the very thing where many Liberals go wrong. They live in a liberal bubble. 
• The nature in the USA can be absolutely stunning. 
• In some ways the USA is actually more liberal then Europe I think. Especially the West coast, Colorado, and NYC. 
• The West coast got a very New Age, hippy, spiritual vibe. They also have Liberal laws towards weed and psychedelics. So does Colorado. I assume you would like those things. 

I suggest flying into NYC. Spend a couple of days there. Then drive to Seattle. 

• Directly West of NY is Pennsylvania. You should check out the place called Martinsburg. You will find some uncut Stage Blue people there. They are called the Mennonites. Similar to Amish. You can google it. Very friendly people. Very religious. Very interesting experience. 
• Then drive further west and cut South Dakota straight trough the middle from East to West. The West side of South Dakota is the most desolate place I have been to in my life. It's very backwards. It's like the frontier. The places got names like Bowman there. 
• Then go up trough Montana. I have not been there much. But it notoriously got some of the most beautiful woods in the USA. You sure will get some nice one on one with nature meditation in there. 
• Then go on to Seattle. They got a nontropical rainforest there I heard. It's on my bucket list. The city of Seattle I have been a few times. It's ok. It got that liberal vibe. And hey, Nirvana is from there. 
• Then drive down the West Coast first trough Portland. Very alternative. Also a lot of trees. Nice vibe there. Friendly people. 
• Then drive down to San Fransisco. It does not get much more liberal then that very quickly when it comes to big cities. 
• After that YOU GOT to drive via Sacramento to LAKE TAHOE. It is my favourite place on Earth. It's so beautiful. The lake, the mountains the trees. If you want to do some nice hiking, take the little hike to Eagles Lake there. Very cool. It's the wilderness. 
• Then drive to LA of course. I love LA. But of course you got Hollywood, Santa Monica, etc. Very Orange, very fake, with a twist of Stage Green. Still a lot of fun. 
• And then drive down to San Diego. San Diego is just a very nice city. It's like LA without the insane traffic. (A day or two of insane LA traffic is an experience of its own you don't want to miss). 
• Next go to Las Vegas. Vegas is....Vegas. it's a lot of fun ?
• Then drive via Colorado. Very beautiful mountains and I think they are the most liberal when it comes to weed and psychedelics and stuff. In case that's what you are interested in. 
• Then drive back via Nebraska and Iowa to NYC. Endless and I mean endless flat Earth and cornfields. All they play on the car station is Country Music. Gas is cheap over there. 

Also rent a decent car. In case you get cought in the weather or on those backward roads in South Dakota. 

You should give yourself at least a month to do this whole trip. Otherwise you will just be making miles and that makes it less fun. 

I love road trips. It's kind of a specialty of mine. You got more questions ask. 

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by SFRL

[SFRL]

One more thing if you get pulled over by the Cops you do this: You pull over and roll down your drivers side window and you stay seated in the car with both your hands on top of the steering wheel. If they want your drivers license and registration you say "they are in the glovebox can I get them". And you don't smartass or argue with Cops in the USA. They do not play. They are not like the Cops back in Holland. They don't have a sense of humor on the job. 

Also absolutely don't have any drugs in your car, or alcohol. Also make sure when you drive you are absolutely sober from alcohol, weed, or anything else. This goes for the Liberal states as well. Cops in the USA DO NOT PLAY.

Edited July 22, 2019 by SFRL

[Leo Gura]

I love road trips.

They just aren't retreats.

[cetus]

36 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I love road trips.

I once dreamnt of being a passenger in a car with Jim Morrison of The Doors driving through endless desert. We didn't say a word as just being in the moment was enough. At some point I finally asked: "So Jim, where are we heading anyway? And he replied with a glint in his eye: "We're already there".

[Leo Gura]

@cetus56 Haha

Wherever you go, there you are

[Angelite]

@Leo Gura the key is : No attachement

Or 

FULLY attached to EVERYTHING . Everything. 

It's like when you're filming. You can focus on details or you can go broad and defocus everything and flow. 

 

Am I right?

 

It's good to be living in both world though. To be a pro at both. 

 

[Leo Gura]

@Angelite What does that have to do with retreats?

When doing a retreat, be crystal clear about what you're doing and what the parameters are.

Don't be jerking off in your Mom's basement and calling that a retreat. A retreat is when you're meditating/inquiring 24/7. Or in the case of psychedelic retreats it's back to back days of deep tripping.

[Angelite]

@StarStruck  sorry it's random.

But something comes to mind when it comes to road trips & travel.

You don't get attached to the places you went to. It's a fleeting moments. You can only keep it in your memories in the end. 

And you keep travelling to new places and the ones you left simply remains in your memories. 

 

You will have a problems if you get attached to any places. You can revisit whenever you wan't but it will never be the same. 

Everything is different. It becomes something new. 

 

These days when I travel, I will enjoy each places to the fullest. As if it were my last. 

But don't get attached to any. 

[Angelite]

14 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Angelite What does that have to do with retreats?

When doing a retreat, be crystal clear about what you're doing and what the parameters are.

Don't be jerking off in your Mom's basement and calling that a retreat. A retreat is when you're meditating/inquiring 24/7. Or in the case of psychedelic retreats it's back to back days of deep tripping.

I just had a 10days retreat with a guru last week. He teached me a lot. 

I travelled to a different city to meet him.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Angelite

[StarStruck]

13 hours ago, SFRL said:

One more thing if you get pulled over by the Cops you do this: You pull over and roll down your drivers side window and you stay seated in the car with both your hands on top of the steering wheel. If they want your drivers license and registration you say "they are in the glovebox can I get them". And you don't smartass or argue with Cops in the USA. They do not play. They are not like the Cops back in Holland. They don't have a sense of humor on the job. 

Also absolutely don't have any drugs in your car, or alcohol. Also make sure when you drive you are absolutely sober from alcohol, weed, or anything else. This goes for the Liberal states as well. Cops in the USA DO NOT PLAY.

I’m going east Europe. 

[StarStruck]

6 hours ago, Angelite said:

@StarStruck  sorry it's random.

But something comes to mind when it comes to road trips & travel.

You don't get attached to the places you went to. It's a fleeting moments. You can only keep it in your memories in the end. 

And you keep travelling to new places and the ones you left simply remains in your memories. 

 

You will have a problems if you get attached to any places. You can revisit whenever you wan't but it will never be the same. 

Everything is different. It becomes something new. 

 

These days when I travel, I will enjoy each places to the fullest. As if it were my last. 

But don't get attached to any. 

Thanks for the advice. I’m planning to see historical places. Live as cheap as possible although I have the means to have a luxurious travel. And try to live as a poor person although I will be driving around in a BMW. LoL. 

[StarStruck]

15 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Listening to podcasts is not a retreat.

A retreat is a serious undertaking. Don't turn it into a mockery. Otherwise you're fooling yourself by telling yourself you did a retreat when you were really just driving in your car and listening to podcasts.

Nothing wrong with driving or podcasts, but a solo retreat it is not.

That is what I thought. I already thought I couldn't combine solo retreat with a road trip. 

[Forestluv]

1 hour ago, StarStruck said:

 I’m planning to see historical places. Live as cheap as possible although I have the means to have a luxurious travel. And try to live as a poor person although I will be driving around in a BMW. LoL. 

This sounds like an opportunity to experience and expand, yet not really a “retreat”.

When I’ve traveled, the most important thing in terms of consciousness expansion is to dissolve the story of “me” and the character I play in life. Most importantly, to distance myself from all the subconscious reinforcements of my story, beliefs and assumptions (which are mostly subconscious). Getting off social media and technology is a top priority. As well, avoiding communication with others that involve talking about “me” and my story. The whole story of where I’m from, what I do, things I need to do, what I want or need in life etc.  I’ve found extended time in nature to be helpful. It’s trickier to do around other humans, yet I’ve found it possible with the right mindset. 

Once identification and immersion of the personal story dissolves, a form of liberation arises. A Beingness without the chains and restrictions of “normal life”. An ineffable freedom arises. Once this place is “reached”, interactions with life is transformed into a purity and there a form of magic that arises. At this point, I can engage with other humans and who/what arises is magnificent. It becomes dream-like, yet also more real than the story I had assumed was real. 

This is what keeps calling me back to solo travel. Ime, when done with intention, effort and mindfulness, solo trips can be highly effective in consciousness expansion and awakening.