How to do retreat  & what to do After

While in retreat I realised many people can experience many negative emotions & reaction. Bluntly to say, people can go crazy from the Wrong Self-Programming, especially alone. I think many problems with mind recovery & mind altering practices can lead to the wrong path, if people entering retreat without proper knowledge. How it really works on psycho scientific level.  How does this work? 

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When we are first born we don't talk, or comprehend either visual or verbal terminology. We are taught all of these by other people: parent's siblings, relatives, friends

& enemies. Through all of our lives, if you think about this.

 

You can not know anything unless somebody else will

teach you. How you see the world will depend on your surroundings & people in it. But we also do the same for them. We teach them back. How to take care of us, how

to raise us, how to stay patient, etc. Life is a constant process of verbal & visual interactions.

 

Our brain responses primarily depend on these interactions. This is how we gain & grow our intellect.

So, when a person or a child gets traumatised, for one reason or another, physically or emotionally, he has to

re-program himself. Sometimes coping mechanisms force us into silence, and sometimes, into excessive outer self-expression. Both can be emotional & physical. People

can get violent or silent.

 

So, when in retreat they use alternative methods, sometime in the foreign language, in order to rewire

their brain for more positive response to trauma & recovery. However, beginning to read ANY text requires comprehension of what you are reading. Not necessary why, but definitely what. This is where it gets tricky.

Mind has a tendency to get stuck, on both the positives

& negatives, & , sometimes, this prevents the further progress, by creating very dangerous alternative reality

for the person. It's like feeling of orgasm, you are trying

to repeat, but keep getting wrong partner to try it with.

 

People can get addicted to feeling calm & completely detached from everyday reality. It can simply affect their formal private lives in a negative ways, as well. 

 

The best way to get the most of your retreat is to find the suitable & safe location. Of cause you can just do retreat

by camping, but when you doing it in the organized community it is much safer. Make sure you feel comfortable staying in this location for the whole time. Otherwise, what they call, "cabin fever" may set in &

you can "snap off the handle".

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Make sure you like the setting you are retreating in.

Hotels & resorts can be a great setting to retreat, if

you can, of cause, afford it. Walking along & across

the Central Park, for example, can be simple, cheap & fantastic way to relax  & enjoy nature in the busy city setting. 

After you come back from the retreat, depending on your faith you should continue to practice, at least a little, in

your every day reality. Listen to the spiritual music that makes you elevated, avoid too much stress or connections with things or people, that cause you emotional distress, that lead you to retreat on the first pace. Do not be afraid to cut all ties & start fresh, without looking back. Otherwise you will never truly recover. Keep your mind free of past mistakes gutter & move on.

 

Also remember the main goal & purpose of ANY CHURCH or RELIGION? To make you feel less that what you are.

To degrade you, "in order to get over pride", while actually attempting to control you. Your pride is nothing but uncured trauma. Once you realise what happen to you, pride will no longer be needed. So, do not dwell on what

the book had told you to do, if this does not fit your reality. You do not need a building with a bunch of monks to have

a faith. 

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Final & The Most Important thing to remember, no matter what level abuse you had to encounter, no matter what emotional struggles you overcame, remember the most Important fact: Your Mind is the Light that Illuminates

this Reality. It is All Up to You. 

Do not go into retreat because it is popular or "your friend just went." Retreat is not a fashion statement. It is a heavy mental work. On yourself. Make sure you are ready & doing it for the right reasons.

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Don't allow yourself to lose control of reality & mistaken

the enemies for a friend. Just because someone is smiling does not meat he lost his knife. Sometimes people express their aggression in a "very joking way",  but this aggression unfortunately does not vanish, & will, one day, manifest

as a "fist on the face, rather then back." Sometimes people lose their minds in retreat & "assume they have a special abilities, like "transferring their minds into the cats & lay on the laps of their female partners" (end of quote). It is always good to check your own sanity state. Stay aware.

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I grew up with couple of strong family phrases that stick around and influence subconscious, but they helped me

in life more that anything else:

• "Keep your friends close, but your enemies, closer"

•  "Friends ~ are the time thieves"

• " When I eat ~ I am deaf & silent"

• "My home ~ is my  Fortress"

•  "Quality vs. Quantity"

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When you meditate on your past traumas the most important thing is to never concentrate on the "Why?" Rather think how to act different, considering how you

feel now, what emotions you feel when you are in the same setting, how & what you feel in the current situation in your life. Otherwise, if you constantly keep going back to "why"

~ you will go crazy. It will make you re-traumatised daily. Worst possible path to recovery. Best balance is:

don't dwell too much on the past, but don't go too far into the fantasy of future. The world did not change, but you did. 

 

 

Make sure you plan ahead for possible weather changes.

Get supplies you need for an Emergency, including extra battery, shut off cell phone & compass with light & heat.

It does not matter if you retreat in a tent or a dorm, this

will never hurt to have. As long as you are capable of not touching cell phone, unless it is an Emergency.

 

Get a set of clothes for all seasons.  I thought Arizona does not have a snow. I was wrong. It snowed & got below 30, in Chino Valley, AZ in November, 2013.  I was in the "15 Days Vajrakilaya Drupchen" when it happened.  Not the best weather for a summer tent.  Be prepared for unexpected.

Some people use traditional items while others prefer personal spiritual tools. If you follow specific tradition I

am sure you know where to get these things. 

 

These are many online places, were you can buy an affordable traditional tibetan amulets & accessories.

 I have a list of the most authentic or beautiful HERE.

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