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> Have you been on a retreat? If so how was it and would you go again. If not and you are interested in one - what has prevented you thus far? I haven't been o

by _Nat_ 7y ago

> Have you been on a retreat? If so how was it and would you go again. If not and you are interested in one - what has prevented you thus far? I haven't been on one. I'm not really interested in doing one so much as curious about why other folks do. I mean, don't get me wrong -- meditation itself is an incredibly powerful, basic tool that a lot of people need. This is, it's kinda like a hammer or screw driver in that it's simplistic-but-essential. I guess it sounds sorta like a book club to me -- like, why join a book club rather than just read your own selection of books whenever you want? And I guess it's because there's a social element to it that people enjoy, perhaps moreso than the actual activity itself? That said, in a book club, people can talk about the contents of the book afterwards. What might people share of meditation, given that it's such a personal experience? --- To note it, I suspect that the answer to my question is that meditation retreats can help introduce people who don't normally meditate much to the basic practice, sorta like a quick-start class. But I'd be interested in what people've done them before have to say of what they took from it.

dangus 7y ago
I agree on the idea of these sort of things feeling like a "book club." A recent example that worked for me: I took a short vacation by myself. I went to one event I wanted to see, and then for the rest of the time I had zero plans. Basically, I walked around the beach, walked around town, ate food, and that was it. Was it mindful meditation? Not really. But the effects were the same or similar. I think some people should really just take time off work more often (mandatory paid leave in the United States, please!)
- asark 7y ago
  > Was it mindful meditation? Not really. But the effects were the same or similar. I do have a suspicion that a not-small portion of the benefits of a meditation retreat is more about the retreating than the meditation. I'd probably feel "OMG I haven't felt this good in years" amazing after 10 days away from electronics and family & work obligations, even if I just read books and napped and took nature walks the whole time. Meditating instead would probably work too.
  - jessepepper 7y ago
    It (10-day Silent Goenka-style Vipassana retreat)'s meant to be an experience like being alone. No eye contact, no talking, gestures etc. To me the retreat aspect is a way of getting huge blocks of time with all your needs (including cooking) taken care of. Its so conducive to serious meditation and removing obstacles and distractions. It's often challenging coming home and trying to meditate due to the distractions that are around.
  - ghthor 7y ago
    There's no reason that reading books, taking naps and nature walks couldn't be meditating as well. Meditation is about consciously moving your awareness into your higher self. And while some styles of meditation are good at teaching you what this looks and feels like, they are not the only way to achieve the "meditation" state of mind. The highest level meditation is one that creates no separation between the physical reality and the higher self. A completely open stream of consciousness that allows the physical self to be happy with whatever physical reality is, at any given moment in time. That generally doesnt look like a retreat, instead it's a relaxed advance, an acceptance of what is, an engagement with the world around you, be that a good book or a nice walk through the earths natural creation, or a nice refreshing nap with a trip to the dreamlands.
mbrock 7y ago
One way to put it is, why do people go to church rather than just praying at home? Well, many reasons. And praying together isn't just like praying alone plus a bit of socializing afterwards—it changes the praying itself.
lewispollard 7y ago
The most experienced meditation practitioners in the world regularly do retreats, so it's not about just connecting beginners with practice. It's about immersion. Are you going to learn French better by reading some books, or by going to France and living there for a while, using the language for practical purposes all day every day? > What might people share of meditation, given that it's such a personal experience? This is a question of phenomenology. If you can accurately describe your perceptual experience to someone who's very experienced, they can offer guidance. There are many common experiences to people practicing similar techniques (of which there are many). Those experiences tend to follow a pretty well defined pattern within each tradition. Generally speaking, if your practice involves building a very strong, relaxed, equanimous type of concentration, and using that concentration to deconstruct your survival mechanism of the experience of self and world, doing that for 8-12 hours a day every day while maintaining silence and doing basically nothing else besides walking and sleeping is going to be more conducive to that than practicing less intensively at home, with all of the distractions that regular life has built in. That's not to say it's impossible to do that on your own, but a retreat is built for it.

by _Nat_ 7y ago

dangus 7y ago

I agree on the idea of these sort of things feeling like a "book club." A recent example that worked for me: I took a short vacation by myself. I went to one event I wanted to see, and then for the rest of the time I had zero plans. Basically, I walked around the beach, walked around town, ate food, and that was it. Was it mindful meditation? Not really. But the effects were the same or similar. I think some people should really just take time off work more often (mandatory paid leave in the United States, please!)

asark 7y ago
> Was it mindful meditation? Not really. But the effects were the same or similar. I do have a suspicion that a not-small portion of the benefits of a meditation retreat is more about the retreating than the meditation. I'd probably feel "OMG I haven't felt this good in years" amazing after 10 days away from electronics and family & work obligations, even if I just read books and napped and took nature walks the whole time. Meditating instead would probably work too.
- jessepepper 7y ago
  It (10-day Silent Goenka-style Vipassana retreat)'s meant to be an experience like being alone. No eye contact, no talking, gestures etc. To me the retreat aspect is a way of getting huge blocks of time with all your needs (including cooking) taken care of. Its so conducive to serious meditation and removing obstacles and distractions. It's often challenging coming home and trying to meditate due to the distractions that are around.
- ghthor 7y ago
  There's no reason that reading books, taking naps and nature walks couldn't be meditating as well. Meditation is about consciously moving your awareness into your higher self. And while some styles of meditation are good at teaching you what this looks and feels like, they are not the only way to achieve the "meditation" state of mind. The highest level meditation is one that creates no separation between the physical reality and the higher self. A completely open stream of consciousness that allows the physical self to be happy with whatever physical reality is, at any given moment in time. That generally doesnt look like a retreat, instead it's a relaxed advance, an acceptance of what is, an engagement with the world around you, be that a good book or a nice walk through the earths natural creation, or a nice refreshing nap with a trip to the dreamlands.

mbrock 7y ago

One way to put it is, why do people go to church rather than just praying at home? Well, many reasons. And praying together isn't just like praying alone plus a bit of socializing afterwards—it changes the praying itself.

lewispollard 7y ago

The most experienced meditation practitioners in the world regularly do retreats, so it's not about just connecting beginners with practice. It's about immersion. Are you going to learn French better by reading some books, or by going to France and living there for a while, using the language for practical purposes all day every day? > What might people share of meditation, given that it's such a personal experience? This is a question of phenomenology. If you can accurately describe your perceptual experience to someone who's very experienced, they can offer guidance. There are many common experiences to people practicing similar techniques (of which there are many). Those experiences tend to follow a pretty well defined pattern within each tradition. Generally speaking, if your practice involves building a very strong, relaxed, equanimous type of concentration, and using that concentration to deconstruct your survival mechanism of the experience of self and world, doing that for 8-12 hours a day every day while maintaining silence and doing basically nothing else besides walking and sleeping is going to be more conducive to that than practicing less intensively at home, with all of the distractions that regular life has built in. That's not to say it's impossible to do that on your own, but a retreat is built for it.