Doing a 14 day solo retreat - Recommendations?

[DivineSoda]

I'm about to begin a 14 day solo retreat in my house. I'm also going to combine this with a water fast. Besides the obvious like meditation, no technology, stretching, yoga, etc.. are there any other recommendations to help schedule my days?

Is reading okay if it supports contemplation/self-inquiry? Should I journal? Is practicing guitar for an hour each day as a break okay? 

My intention surrounds life purpose/work and what I will be doing this year.

I appreciate any advice, thanks! ?

[Leo Gura]

How many solo retreats have you completed in the past? How many days was the longest?

[Vipassana]

Wow. It will be intense. Especially you're fasting so your journey on the initial few days will be tough. I mean you can try.. but don't feel guilty if you fail. Sounds like you have the next 14 days off so if this is your first or second solo retreat & you're struggling a lot then just detach from your expectations & begin to flow with the motions. 

For me personally, fasting alone is very difficult. I cannot even imagine being disciplined to follow a retreat schedule while fasting. My tendency while fasting is to distract myself when the cravings kicks in. 

I would recommend you do one thing at a time, if your aim is to fast then just commit to fasting without restricting yourself from anything else. If you want to do consciousness work then focus your attention on that without restricting yourself from food unless you naturally feel like abstaining from food. 

You need to learn to work with resistance before you commit to a radical endeavor however I am completely oblivious to your previous experiences so maybe you might be able to work it out without torturing yourself. 

[Moreira]

By making the retreat at home is easy to fall in distractions or stimulations. The best is doing it in nature. The time you arent in full meditative mode you can go hiking, running into the forest, whih is basically contemplation and is very useful.

[DivineSoda]

@Leo Gura I've done a 10 day Vipassana, 10 and 5 day fasts and a bunch of other retreats/journeys in between.

I hear what you're all saying, it's too much. 14 days is the goal, it could go shorter. Either way I'm looking to make the most of it.

I cannot afford to go in nature solo unfortunately. I'm in Colorado (new state) and the house I'm in is fairly new still so it's not super comfort zone to me yet. 

I appreciate the feedback so far! 

[Leo Gura]

@DivineSoda The fast may be too much. 14 days is hard enough by itself.

[Cocolove]

If you do that, it would probably not be harder than going from no retreats to your first retreat. Or from wherever to the first 10 day vipasanna. If you use the guitar, just make sure you don't let yourself stop being mindful. In my experience it's better to not push it. If you can do a ten day retreat with food, do that, and master that. You can get a lot out of it still. Let us know what you decide to do!

[joeyi99]

@DivineSoda You didn't eat for 5 days??!!

[DivineSoda]

@Cocolove Thank you so much, that's what I needed to hear. The reason I'm combining the solo retreat with a fast is for health reasons not mentioned here. The low energy I've had for years is affecting my life purpose and I want to do good things to try and heal from it. 

14 days is the goal but if it becomes too much I will of course end either one or both practices early. 

@joeyi99 I've done both a 5 and a 10 day fast before, yes. If you're not familiar with fasting it's a thing.. and can have tremendous health benefits. The body can actually go twice as long as I'm attempting here but I don't want to condone that for those who are not experienced. It's not something you take lightly. 

[tenta]

Yeah reading during the retreat is not a bad idea

[Leo Gura]

No reading on retreat!

The point of a retreat is to break your attachment to symbolic reality.

[Jonac]

@DivineSoda 14 days combining with fasting is pretty hardcore practice, although I wish you the best. And practicing guitar can be nice if done pretty mindful, as someone says abode. Would you make another post after your retreat to let us know how it went?

[DivineSoda]

@Jonac Absolutely. Thank you for asking, it's going to give me motivation to get through the hard bits. 

[Adam M]

Good luck, friend. 

 

I wouldn't practice guitar on a retreat.

The point of retreating is to be conscious of the present moment at all times.

Time practicing guitar is just time that you should have been meditating.

The times when you want to practice guitar the most are the times that you need more mindfulness and meditation.

 

Although I understand that it is possible to practice guitar mindfully, I don't see how you will be able to keep optimal mindfulness when you are shredding licks of ACDC or Pink Floyd.

 

Plus, the riffs that you practice will just get stuck in your head and replay over and over while you try and meditate.

[Meetjoeblack]

On 2020-01-06 at 4:57 PM, DivineSoda said:

I'm about to begin a 14 day solo retreat in my house. I'm also going to combine this with a water fast. Besides the obvious like meditation, no technology, stretching, yoga, etc.. are there any other recommendations to help schedule my days?

Is reading okay if it supports contemplation/self-inquiry? Should I journal? Is practicing guitar for an hour each day as a break okay? 

My intention surrounds life purpose/work and what I will be doing this year.

I appreciate any advice, thanks! ?

I met a cute yogi. She was dainty and petite. Very feminine. She loved crystals. I got told about one in San Fran.

[GrowthPilgrim]

@DivineSoda How did it go? I know from personal experience that motivation is hard to muster motivation during water-only fasting... let alone spending all of it meditating

Edited March 20, 2020 by GrowthPilgrim