About To Embark On 40 Day Consciousness Retreat

[Guest username]

It will be preformed at home.  I've managed to carve out 40 days for pure consciousness work. No technology, reading, etc.

 

 

My question is this-- what should I do? I've initially planned on Do Nothing meditation all the way, but I think it might be better to go the self inquiry route, or perhaps I should mix it up.

 

Thoughts?

[Leo Gura]

Have you even done a 4 day retreat?

You're not gonna be anywhere near capable of pulling off 40 days unless you have years of experience doing retreats.

This is not something you're gonna macho your way through.

[Loreena]

I have never been on retreats. Best of luck. don't forget to post about your experience here.

[Toby]

It's possible but how exactly should the structure (how many periods of meditation) be? How do you get food for that 40 days?

[Guest username]

@Leo Gura Am I in danger of pushing myself too hard, or is it just not going to be feasible to do consciousness work that long and probably result in failure?

 

Do you have any recommendations on how to make the most of the 40 days for growing my consciousness?

Would it be best to spilt it up into smaller retreats with breaks in between, or perhaps set aside time to do practical things and just up my meditation routine?

Edited February 28, 2017 by username

[Leo Gura]

@username Have you done any retreats at all?

[aurum]

I urge you to reconsider or at least test the waters first. I did a 10 day retreat and that was hard enough. I probably wouldn't have stuck it out if I didn't have a formal structure and other people.

 

 

[Guest username]

@Leo Gura Never done a formal one. I've just structured my own ones. I'm usually a full-time student and don't earn my own income, so I need my family's permission to do anything that would require travel or money. The only one near me costs money, so I'm just organizing my own one. 

 

So far my longest continuous practice is  10 hours, but I've meditated and self-inquired for a total of a couple hundred by now. I'm not sure if that's enough preparation.

Edited February 28, 2017 by username

[Leo Gura]

@username Start by planning a 4 or 7 day retreat. That will be hard enough for you.

[carlos flores]

I agree with Leo. I have never done a retreat myself, but to do a 40 day retreat all the suddenly would be extremely challenging. That would be like a person saying he is going to do a full iron man triathlon race with no training at all.

Edited March 1, 2017 by carlos flores

[JustinS]

@username Look up a nearby 10day vipassana retreats around your area. There's a good chance there's one nearby. I've done a couple 10 days now and they kick my ass every time! You will pretty much fail if you don't have any experience of a more structured/scheduled retreats.