Meditation Retreat Soon, Advice?

[MiracleMan]

Hey guys!  Im a pretty outsdoorsey person, but its been a while since I've done some serious backpacking.  My personal development has led me back to this old hobby, I've gotten some new gear and gone over checklists, now I'm just waiting for some nice weather.  The heat indexes out here in the old dominion have reached 105-110 on the weekends so far this year.  I've been practicing vipasanna for a brief time, and this is mostly the focus of my retreat, to just find a quiet isolated place to sit, which I'm super lucky that we have an abundance of protected nature preserves and national parks close by, so it shouldn't be difficult to do just that.  For folks that have done this before, any precautions or advice that you would give to the first timer?  Is solo the way to go or is going with a group much better?  Should I plan other activities or should my goal to be to get maximize my time sitting and focusing on the breath?  At this point in my personal development im looking to rid myself of addiction, anxiety, and depression, or at the very least, radical acceptance.  This is my immediate goal.  I've talked it over with my therapist and they think it's an excellent idea.  

Edited July 19, 2017 by MiracleMan

[Visitor]

@MiracleMan this may sound silly, but depending on your location, there could be dangerous wildlife discovering you during meditation. Where I live, has the worlds highest population of various venomous snakes. None that I know can detect infrared like the rattlesnake, so being still while a snake travels over you is the best thing to do. So perhaps while in a meditative state you may become aware of a venomous snake (or spider) DO NOT MOVE.

On the other hand, it is after about twenty minutes or more of stillness, all sorts of wildlife that comes into your area will most likely observe you as a curiosity. All sorts of birds, lizards, crawly creatures make themselves at home with you. When I lived in the bush, while still under a type of pine tree a black cockatoo above me would snap off cones and drop them on me. I thought it was coincidental so I relocated under another tree. Shortly afterwards the same cockatoo would snap off small branches and drop them on me again. They sure have a character.

Once my partner found a lush cool shady area to sit in for some meditation. She quickly screamed out because she sat in a patch of stinging nettle.

Once I got engrossed in painting my first (and apparently my last) outdoor landscape on top of a high gorge. After awhile I forgot exactly where I was. I stepped back to get an overview of my painting. Then it occurred to me that the gorge edge was nearby. I looked down at my feet and found my heels half an inch off the edge. I almost had a heart attack from fright.

So, though its been a long time since you've done backpacking, I thought I better remind you that it is not necessarily a walk in the park.

[MiracleMan]

2 hours ago, Visitor said:

@MiracleMan this may sound silly, but depending on your location, there could be dangerous wildlife discovering you during meditation. Where I live, has the worlds highest population of various venomous snakes. None that I know can detect infrared like the rattlesnake, so being still while a snake travels over you is the best thing to do. So perhaps while in a meditative state you may become aware of a venomous snake (or spider) DO NOT MOVE.

On the other hand, it is after about twenty minutes or more of stillness, all sorts of wildlife that comes into your area will most likely observe you as a curiosity. All sorts of birds, lizards, crawly creatures make themselves at home with you. When I lived in the bush, while still under a type of pine tree a black cockatoo above me would snap off cones and drop them on me. I thought it was coincidental so I relocated under another tree. Shortly afterwards the same cockatoo would snap off small branches and drop them on me again. They sure have a character.

Once my partner found a lush cool shady area to sit in for some meditation. She quickly screamed out because she sat in a patch of stinging nettle.

Once I got engrossed in painting my first (and apparently my last) outdoor landscape on top of a high gorge. After awhile I forgot exactly where I was. I stepped back to get an overview of my painting. Then it occurred to me that the gorge edge was nearby. I looked down at my feet and found my heels half an inch off the edge. I almost had a heart attack from fright.

So, though its been a long time since you've done backpacking, I thought I better remind you that it is not necessarily a walk in the park.

Thanks, the biggest threats out here are rattlesnakes and black bears.  The black bears usually only want food and scare easy, but I have a bear bag for food, and bear spray just in case a mother with cubs is threatened by me, or the rare case they are rabbid.  I'm more worried about biting insects, spiders, ticks, and snakes.  I didnt consider they might investigate me while sitting, makes me both curious and anxious.