A colleague told me about the darkness

Here is the story of a man who decided to find out first-hand what absolute darkness does to a person. When he came to us, he was carrying lots of questions and a head full of unresolved things. Maybe you’re going through something similar right now and wondering whether an experience like this could help you find the calm and strength you’ve lost. Read how he himself experienced this intense time and what coming back into daylight gave him.

How it all started

I first heard about this a few years back. Even then it sort of caught my interest, but I didn’t really think about it any deeper at the time. I did tell myself I might give it a go some day, but I left it at that. It was only recently that this changed. I was chatting with a colleague at work and somehow the subject came up. At that moment I started really thinking about it, with the idea that I’d actually do it. It didn’t take long before I told myself I wanted to try it. My colleague hadn’t been in the dark himself, he just gave me the nudge I needed to make up my mind. He told me that someone he knew, or a friend of his, had been on a dark retreat and shared his experience. So I thought it might not be a bad idea.

Looking for calm and deep regeneration

I suppose my head was full of unresolved things and I was looking for some peace. I needed a break from everything so I could sort my thoughts out a bit. I also longed for regeneration, which I really felt strongly once it was over. Overall it was a deep, deep regeneration – physical, mental and emotional. I simply got a rest from everything. In the end I spent three nights there, which is really about two and a half days.

Fear gave way to an awakening

The only thing I was afraid of beforehand was that I’d be afraid. Once I’d paid and the day was getting closer, I was really scared. I kept thinking, I just want it to be here already, and I was very afraid. My thoughts were racing far too much. But to tell the truth, the moment I stepped into the darkness, the fear somehow fell away. I just told myself I could handle it, and the fear was basically gone. Suddenly there weren’t so many thoughts, it all just sort of settled. I didn’t quite have those feelings while I was actually in the dark, it was more after I woke up. It was a kind of awakening from the darkness.

What coming back into the light gave me

When I came out into the light, I think I felt full of love. I started telling myself I’d like to somehow pass it on and give the world love, I suppose. Those are exactly the feelings I had. Based on all of that, I’d recommend people at least give it a try. There’s probably nothing to be afraid of. Maybe it varies from person to person, but I myself had a really huge amount of fear beforehand. They were such baffling fears that I didn’t even understand them myself. Now I know that the second time I wouldn’t be afraid at all.