Alternative To Retreats

[Afonso]

Since I'm minor and I'm not currently able to travel, I cannot do any retreat at the moment. However, I'd like to invest some days to boost my meditation habit. What can I do? I was thinking of doing like 6 hours of SDS per day (divided in chunks of 60 to 90 minutes).

[Leo Gura]

@Outer Of course you CAN. The trick is, you won't. It's very hard to re-create a retreat environment at home, especially as a minor.

@Afonso What kind of excuse is this? You're a minor so you cannot travel? There are retreats everywhere these days. Probably some close to you. Many Vipasanna retreats are free. Do your research.

[OBEler]

How would this retreat environment look like at home? When I need to buy food in the supermarket, would this destroy my retreat?

 

I also plan a retreat at home. I dont like it to wake up so early in the mornig when I would go to a real retreat. furthermore I lke to have everything under my control. At home I have more control than on a retreat I think.

 

[Shin]

If you really can't go to a retreat, go out the all day into a forest or a plain, and only come home to eat.

The only limitation here is your own will.

[Arman]

I'm guessing your hesitation is because the retreats are saying 18+ ? Try e-mailing the centres, state a bit of your history and declare your willingness to commit and ask them if they can make an exception with the permission of your parents (which I'm guessing they would need). 

[Nahm]

There are buses, cabs, planes, Uber's,etc. If you mean you're short on the money for the travel, try camping alone for a weekend. Meditate by the fire alone, it can be awesome. I like to do this for a weekend now and then. Not saying a word for a few days is powerful for me. Also, you can say you're going somewhere, and then just sit on top of your house for a few days. Sounds silly, but no one will really notice you, and the elevated view helps with perspective, seeing all the ants marching, etc.