Category: Participants’ experiences

I never thought that a few days of a dark retreat could change my outlook on life so fundamentally. When I signed up for the dark retreat, I was full of expectations, but also of worries. What if I can’t handle it? What if I don’t like it? Now, looking back, I am immensely grateful for this experience.

The first day of darkness therapy was tough.

The darkness surrounded me on all sides and I felt disoriented. Thoughts were racing through my head like wild horses. Memories, worries, unfinished business – it all came flooding in on me. But gradually, as the hours and days went by, I began to feel calm.

Without visual stimuli and everyday distractions, I could finally focus on what really matters. I began to realise how much time I had spent worrying about things that actually have no importance at all. Instead, I dived deep inside myself and began to discover my true desires and ambitions.

Surprised by myself

I was surprised how many things I didn’t know about myself, or had been suppressing. In the dark I relived important moments of my life, reconsidered my decisions and realised what I really want from the future. It was as if I could finally hear my inner voice, which had long been drowned out by the noise of the outside world.

When I saw the light again after several days, I felt reborn. I was clear about what I want from life and what really matters to me. I realised that for a long time I had been living up to other people’s expectations instead of following my own dreams.

It won’t happen by itself – the dark retreat showed me that

This experience gave me the courage to make several fundamental changes. I rethought my career and some of my relationships, and started spending more time on things that truly fulfil me. The dark retreat showed me that when we stop and listen to ourselves, we can find the answers we have been searching for for a long time.

It isn’t always easy to face your fears and uncertainties, but the freedom and calm I found are worth it. Now I know that life is too short to live it according to other people’s ideas. Thanks to the dark retreat, I have finally found the courage to live my life according to my own ideas and expectations.

After my dark retreat I realised a lot of things that helped me change the way I look at life. After coming back I started changing some habits, although I still struggle with them sometimes. One of the most important things darkness therapy showed me was how often I see trivial things as huge problems, when in reality they are no tragedies at all.

During the stay I had a bit of a battle with my sense of time – it felt as if I had spent a month there instead of six days. But what went on in my head and body (above all the emotions) was indescribable. Twelve years after my divorce and the psychological terror, I thought I would need long-term treatment with a psychiatrist. And suddenly a dark retreat cleared away my doubts and blocks within a single week. I realised that some relationships in my life are superficial and just bring fun, while others have deep meaning and value.

Darkness therapy: I recommend it to everyone

If anyone is dealing with any kind of problem or looking for a way back to themselves, I recommend darkness therapy. Even if you don’t last the whole week, the stay will give you a great deal. After coming back I started seeing the world completely differently – every day I take joy in little things like trees, colours or moments with my children (even if they are sometimes far too naughty). I value life and what I have more.

How I decided on a dark retreat

I first heard about darkness therapy on the TROJtečka podcast and then at a workshop with Jiří Charvát. Several people recommended the stay to me, so that same day I visited the website and within a month I had booked a date. It was the best decision I could have made – not only for myself, but for the people around me too.

What the dark retreat gave me

For the first week after coming home I had trouble falling asleep in complete darkness, but that soon passed. Now I go to bed earlier and feel more rested than ever before. Thanks to the daily conversations during the stay, I found the strength to keep going every day. Your care was wonderful and I thank you very much for it!

The dark retreat changed my outlook on life and helped me find joy in everyday moments. If you are hesitating about this experience, don’t hesitate – it’s worth it!

Jana

Birth

“It’s as dark as a badger’s arse in here,” I said to myself when I opened my eyes. I couldn’t see a thing, and that was the sixth day in a row. Still, I repeated the sentence to myself again, as a kind of private joke, a reminder of the bizarre circumstances.

Every now and then I find myself in a situation where I think: “How the hell did I end up here?” And this was one of them. In this case the answer was fairly simple. I had booked myself a week-long dark retreat. I had been toying with the idea of shutting myself away in a dark solitary cell for a little over two years. It seemed like a good way to take a break from the world and, in a way, from myself too – more precisely, from my rushed self. A friend of mine, familiar with the ways of the dark at least by hearsay, told me that being alone with yourself in the darkness might not be that easy. Apparently you can meet your own chimeras in there, and they can take on almost real dimensions. That made me all the more interested – I like finding things out about myself.

But I still felt bad about “throwing away” seven free days. After all, I could go to the mountains instead, to the cottage, make something, fix things, and so on. So for a long time I kept putting it off indefinitely. But the seed of the idea had been planted and it was sprouting. It was watered quite regularly by my talent for swamping myself with work, obligations and hobbies. Then the seed got a hefty dose of fertiliser as my wedding date approached. I decided it might be a good opportunity to rest before such a big step. And to have a proper think about myself and about how to answer the question in the wedding hall to the best of my knowledge and conscience.

Read more at https://fbti.blog/2024/12/07/sex-tma-a-rokenrol/