I booked my place on the dark retreat around February this year. Back then I had lots of plans for everything I’d figure out in the darkness. How I’d sort out my career, get clear about what I actually want to do, sort out my relationships so that I could finally meet the right man, sort out my relationship with money so that I’d finally stop pushing it away, and generally put my whole life in order within a single week.
Fear of the dark retreat
At the same time it was also a challenge for me in the sense of overcoming my fear of the dark. But as the months went by, situations came my way that forced me to put my life together as I went along. And then September came, and the time to leave. My only goals by then were simply to rest, get a proper sleep and last the whole week in the darkness. I spent the evening before I left with my boyfriend and his friends, which turned out to be a very good move, because on Saturday I felt so rough and was so tired that the stress of switching off the light never came, and I was really looking forward to that moment.
In the darkness I slept for the first few days
I slept through the first two days and then I was more or less bored. I kept waiting for something to come, and nothing came. In the end it arrived in the form of a dream and of working through that dream afterwards. Tomáš helped me a lot with it, thank you 🙂 after that came a few more moments of truly taking in things I already knew, but knowing something and living it are two different things.
Before the end of the dark retreat I felt sick
The evening before I left I was hit by a huge fear: what if everything is different when I get back home, and it came out in my body a lot. I felt sick, I was trembling…
The transition into the light was hard, my head was spinning a lot, and I didn’t get back to “normal” until about one o’clock in the afternoon.
The dark retreat and food
And a few more words about the food 🙂 it was absolutely excellent. In the darkness flavours are very intense, and on top of that I didn’t let anyone tell me what surprises were in store, so my taste buds were literally exploding under the onslaught of wonderful flavours. And for this I thank Lenča very much 🙂
Thank you both
Irča
