I'm doing another meditation retreat

[UnbornTao]

3 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Today’s the big day, wish me luck!🍀 

Have some breakthroughs!

[Husseinisdoingfine]

I’m back!

[Michal__]

48 minutes ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

I’m back!

Nice. Do you have your strongest experiences written down?

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Dear Leo, if you're reading this, do you still stand by Strong Determination Sitting?

 

[Husseinisdoingfine]

3 hours ago, Michal__ said:

Nice. Do you have your strongest experiences written down?

I experienced states of jhāna, more than I've ever experienced before, but I did not write anything down.

The Bhikkhu told me that I did better than than I did in the last retreat, and that he was impressed with my increasingly improving ability to sit still for longer, as in not having to get up and move.

Even one of the fellow students at the end of the retreat told me that I was less restless and more still in this retreat than in the last one. The lead volunteer and retreat coordinator told me the same thing as well. 

[Michal__]

If it was twice as long you probably would've got a fruition. 

Edited December 28, 2025 by Michal__

[Michal__]

I remember hallucinating on my retreat one year ago and then taking LSD a few weeks after the retreat.

I am planning one soon. Hopefully I dont run out of modafinil because I am too lazy without it haha.

[UnbornTao]

32 minutes ago, Michal__ said:

I remember hallucinating on my retreat one year ago and then taking LSD a few weeks after the retreat.

I am planning one soon. Hopefully I dont run out of modafinil because I am too lazy without it haha.

How often do you take modafinil, and how much? What do you use it for? If I may ask.

[Michal__]

1 minute ago, UnbornTao said:

How often do you take modafinil, and how much? What do you use it for? If I may ask.

It has nothing to do with the hallucinations because I wasnt on it on my last retreat, if that's what you're asking. 

I am using it for work and meditation,  currently. 

Edited December 31, 2025 by Michal__

[UnbornTao]

1 minute ago, Michal__ said:

It has nothing to do with the hallucinations because I wasnt on it on my last retreat, if that's what you're asking. 

I am using it for work and meditation,  currently. 

I see, it was simply a general question out of curiosity. Thank you.

[Human Mint]

On 16/12/2025 at 5:09 PM, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Sincere question for experienced meditators and people who have done more than three retreats in their lives:

Do you recommend fasting during meditation retreats? If so, for how long? My retreat is 8 days.

Do you recommend bringing instant coffee? I like to start my day with a nice cup of joe. What about caffeinated tea? Such as black tea. 

I just did one 10days vipassana retreat, and I regret taking instant coffe and black tea every day. It ruined my sleep and the whole retreat was off. 

[UnbornTao]

11 hours ago, Human Mint said:

I just did one 10days vipassana retreat, and I regret taking instant coffe and black tea every day. It ruined my sleep and the whole retreat was off. 

How did caffeine influence your meditation? I notice I tend to get restless and easily irritable especially when combining coffee with fasting… and horny.

Edited yesterday at 01:31 AM by UnbornTao

[Human Mint]

28 minutes ago, UnbornTao said:

How did caffeine influence your meditation? I notice I tend to get restless and easily irritable especially when combining coffee with fasting… and honry.

Uf, being horny is a bitch in those retreats. 

But with caffeine I made the mistake of taking the black tea as the last beverage of the day, probably at 4pm and bed time being 9pm. Plus I was going to bed normally at 3am during that period of my life. So I literally had a lot of sleepless nights during the retreat. You wake up at 4:30am.

That's the reason I was reluctanct to do it again.

When I don't consume caffeine my baseline is a super calm state, perfect for meditation. 

So I would do it again, but prioritizing all of this.

[UnbornTao]

21 hours ago, Human Mint said:

Uf, being horny is a bitch in those retreats. 

But with caffeine I made the mistake of taking the black tea as the last beverage of the day, probably at 4pm and bed time being 9pm. Plus I was going to bed normally at 3am during that period of my life. So I literally had a lot of sleepless nights during the retreat. You wake up at 4:30am.

That's the reason I was reluctanct to do it again.

When I don't consume caffeine my baseline is a super calm state, perfect for meditation. 

So I would do it again, but prioritizing all of this.

 

Got it. To me it feels the same without caffeine, just a super calm state after a few days of quitting and going through the withdrawal symptoms. But I'm addicted!

Edited 21 hours ago by UnbornTao