We go on retreat to experience a shift in consciousness
Ok we may have a great time along the way; meeting new friends and learning some interesting stuff. But the real reason is for the PERMANENT shift that happens.

I began holding retreats seven years ago and opened a retreat centre five years ago because I have experienced this shift over and over again myself, and wanted others to also witness what was possible. The memories of the details of the retreat begin to fade BUT the shift never does; it is like a stepping stone towards ultimate liberation, and once you have felt it for even ONE SECOND you can NEVER ever go back. Something in your heart just opened, and this kind of shift means that the door can never close again; simply experiencing it ONCE is enough, for you have proof now.

It’s like when you take up meditation and think,

“I can’t do this, my mind is too busy. I’ll never experience stillness”

And then at some point
You do
Your thoughts part
JUST FOR A SECOND
And you drop into bliss

Now remember that nobody can EVER take that away from you
And it is not something that you can describe, put into words and do justice to
It is FELT

But you now have evidence that it is possible
And this is when the journey get really really exciting
Because now there is a momentum
YOU BELIEVE
And therefore a fire in your belly for more

At this point I kind of became a little addicted to meditation
It felt so gooooooooood to escape my (then crappy) life for a few minutes each day
And those few minutes became longer and longer as I realised that actually because of the time on my cushion, my life was shifting andeverythingwas getting easier.

It is the same with retreats
On a much larger scale though
For you have surrendered your ‘normal’ life for 48 hours or more, and plunged into a higher reality; how could you ever be the same again, with the experience it offers?

Perhaps the feeling will seem to wear off, but it’s an illusion, it actually HASN’T
– this is called plateau
And it can be a dangerous place
Because wethinkthat we’ve reverted back to where we were
But we absolutely haven’t
WE’VE SIMPLY GOT USED TO THE NEW VIBRATION

This can be said for our energy post-retreat, or post-substance addiction
It’s easy to forget how bad it really got, and relapse at this stage
Which is why meditating, journalling, accountability and community are so vital to help us stay not only on track, but with eyes open to what is REALLY going on.

In the graphic you can see the steps we take on our life journey
The vertical lines are shifts in consciousness
The horizontal lines are plateaus
So you can see that sometimes the plateaus go on for an age, which is where we can begin to feel stagnant and stuck. A retreat will propel you into one of the very large ascending upward thrusts

BUT

We need to be prepared for when this levels off
And not get tricked into thinking we are stuck
Or
Have even gone backwards
For we haven’t
As the diagram shows, we have NOT gone down; only across

Nobody in life can keep on going up up up up up, with no flatness ever!
It’s impossible!
So
You have to be READY for the plateaus of life
And not allow them to pull you off your ultimately upward course

Now you know
When will YOUR next retreat be?!