Ever wondered what happens to your mind when you cut it off from all outside stimuli for a week? Every story that unfolds in our cabins carries its own unique mark of courage and self-discovery. Read the account of a man who set out to explore his inner world and found that the biggest challenge wasn’t the darkness itself, but himself. His journey to cleanse both body and soul shows that darkness therapy isn’t just about the absence of light – it’s about a deep calm we have all but forgotten in the everyday rush.
A week-long journey, Friday to Friday
Now that I’m out, I feel strange, really strange. But at the same time I feel an incredible calm – I’m relaxed and completely at ease. My dark retreat lasted exactly seven days, from Friday to Friday. I’d wanted to do this for a long time, but my wife was really scared of it. She kept refusing to let me go, because she was afraid I’d simply snap in there. She was sure I’d go mad or end up in a psychiatric ward. But I believed that an ordinary, healthy person could handle it without any lasting effects. It’s a challenge where you put yourself to the test, and on top of that you can leave whenever you want. In the end I made it, and found there’s nothing about it that can’t be overcome.
A cleanse, alongside a fast
To make the experience even more intense, I added a fast to it. I wanted to cleanse my body and soul at the same time, and I believed it would help me get closer to myself. I think it’s important to be honest with yourself. I didn’t do any complicated rituals or processes during those days. I just prepared for the fast and let everything flow freely. Darkness therapy let me cleanse myself from the inside and simply be, which you can’t really do in everyday life.
Endless time between Wednesday and Thursday
The most critical moment for me was the stretch from Wednesday to Thursday, which felt like the longest day of my entire life. In that total solitude I felt as if time had stopped and real infinity had begun. That was when I understood what the word actually means. But I got through it and held on. Then suddenly something shifted. I’d been waiting for Thursday like a gift from heaven, yet paradoxically it turned out to be the shortest day here. As soon as I knew I’d finish on Friday at six in the morning and get my alarm clock, my brain reset itself and the rest of the time flew by incredibly fast.
Thoughts and breath as a cure for boredom
You might wonder whether you’d go out of your mind with boredom in there, but the thoughts start coming on their own. All you have to do is quietly ask for the right things to come to you, and they do. When time started dragging too much, I simply did some exercise or some breathing work. Thanks to that, it wasn’t nearly as bad as people on the outside imagine. Darkness therapy gives you the space to stop like this and focus only on what’s happening inside you.
Back to a world full of colour
Today, when I stepped out into the fog, it wasn’t quite as perfect as I’d dreamed, but even so I see colours completely differently. It’s a strange feeling, and it takes a while for your eyes to adjust and start seeing the world the way they used to. For me it was a new and really interesting experience. I didn’t have any specific expectations that I had to reach some depth of consciousness or achieve anything. Maybe that’s why I’m happy now – it just suited me exactly the way it was. I let life flow and don’t plan anything ahead. If you’re thinking about it, don’t be afraid, because the only thing you can be afraid of is yourself
We’ve put together the most frequently asked questions that people ask before a dark retreat.
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