Category: Participants’ experiences

Immersing yourself in total darkness reveals details we often overlook in the everyday rush. That’s exactly how it was described by a woman who has “three days in the dark, sixty hours to be precise” behind her. Right at the start of her account, she says it was “an amazing and interesting experience” for her, one she had wanted to treat herself to for quite some time.

A simple wish: rest and calm

She came to the space without light with a simple wish: to rest, catch up on sleep, calm down and be alone with herself for a while. At the same time, she was curious how DARKNESS THERAPY works in ordinary everyday activities. She enjoyed watching how she managed simple tasks without light, and she mentioned several times how fascinated she was by how quickly both body and mind adapt.

Music, silence and space for memories

For the first few hours she played music, and she livened up part of the retreat with an audiobook. Later, though, she chose a day of complete silence, because she was keen to find out what would happen inside her without any outside stimuli. It was the silence that opened up space for memories. She began replaying “summer camp songs” in her head, and even came up with a “memory test”, which she says surprisingly amused her.

A realistic view of time

She also shares a realistic view of time. She says she didn’t want to sugar-coat anything: “The time is long, you don’t sleep all the time.” At the same time, though, it was thanks to this that she reached a state she described as deep slowing down. Her thoughts slowed, her body relaxed and she began to perceive her own inner world with much greater subtlety.

Other people’s reactions and being ready

She also mentioned how people around her reacted. Before the trip, some tried to scare her: “For heaven’s sake, just don’t go mad in there.” Today she just smiles at that. In her view, there’s no reason to worry. All you need is a simple plan, a bit of music or an audiobook for company, and to allow yourself moments of silence too, as they bring the greatest realisations.

In conclusion: coming back to yourself

Her whole story shows that the DARK RETREAT brought her calm, a noticeable slowing down and, inside, several beautiful and surprising insights. For her, DARKNESS THERAPY wasn’t an escape but a return to herself. And that may be the greatest benefit for anyone who longs to set aside the noise of the world and let the silence speak.

Would you like to find out more about the guides into the darkness?

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you will find videos about the retreats and experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

For one of our guests, a dark retreat was an unusual gift from his wife. The main reason he set off into this environment was a need to clear his head and be alone somewhere new and different. He wanted to cut himself off from the outside world.

After three nights spent in the silent dark, he felt great. He felt calm and peace inside. He was rested, well slept and at ease. What made him try this darkness therapy was his heavy workload combined with his private commitments. Things kept piling up in his head and he was constantly dealing with problems. So he really welcomed being able to switch his mind off completely in such a unique setting.

Surprise and calm
Even though he didn’t know what he was getting into, he was pleasantly surprised. He had been afraid his head would keep “grinding away”. The opposite turned out to be true – his mind switched off completely. During the first half of the retreat, about a day and a half, he loved doing nothing at all. He gave in to the darkness, which made him just lie there. Surprisingly, he had no thoughts at all.

His fears of paranoia didn’t come true. He said he felt good mainly because he knew he could leave at any time, turn on the light, switch on his phone or open the door and go outside. He did none of these things; everything went calmly.

The dimension of time
Paradoxically, time flew by because he was always doing something. When he wasn’t sleeping, he was eating, showering or listening to music and audiobooks on an MP3 player. For example, he listened to the audiobook The Way of the Superior Man several times and took its ideas home with him.

Because he wasn’t in a hurry, he savoured everything. Making tea or eating takes longer so that you don’t spill or splash anything. But in this environment, the dimension of time disappears. You have no task, no meeting. Time doesn’t restrict you, and you can enjoy everything to the full. As he puts it himself: the only thing in life you can’t buy is time.

In the second half of the retreat, once he had rested, new ideas for his private projects started coming to him. That made him think that three nights might have been too few, because he had spent the first half just lying down and sleeping. He found that some of the problems that had been troubling him now seemed unimportant. Either they will sort themselves out or they won’t, and the world will keep on turning.

He understood a different dimension of time and realised that perhaps he won’t rush so much any more. This dark retreat was an extraordinary experience that he warmly recommends to everyone. He is already thinking about coming back for darkness therapy again.

We have put together the most frequently asked questions that people ask before a dark retreat.

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you will find videos about the retreats and experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

The word “holiday” suddenly lost its meaning. I realised that even where I rest physically, I don’t rest in my head. We’re always going through something, living through stuff, taking in experiences, so it keeps working away in there too. After three days on a dark retreat, I got rest on a whole different level. I don’t think I’ve ever been so rested and well slept in my life. I feel good, I feel light and just totally great. The rest and that kind of inner peace here is, like, completely different.

Five years ago I found out about darkness therapy, I think it was from some film. I said to myself back then: “Yeah, I want to try that.” It took me five years to actually get round to going. The decision just kept ripening inside me. This year, when I lay down in bed one day, I told myself: “Now’s the time.” I opened my laptop and the first thing that popped up was your Darkness. I called straight away, I didn’t want to overthink it. A friendly welcome, and we sorted it out right there. Originally I was thinking about a week, but I couldn’t fit it in time-wise. Three days were enough to get a taste. I know I’ll definitely be back.

A dark retreat brings a completely new way of perceiving. On the first day, for example, I totally forgot to drink. I had a bottle of water next to the bed, but I really drank very little. When I woke up after my first sleep, my eyes felt dry and itchy and I was tired. I thought, but I should be well rested. I found out I’d drunk just three decilitres the whole day. I suppose when you don’t have the drink in front of your eyes, you easily forget about everything.

As for the food, I managed brilliantly. I literally went by smell. It tasted excellent. I’m a chef and I’ve been doing it my whole life. So I could pick out the flavours beautifully and I identified everything you made for me. It was very tasty and I actually enjoyed absolutely all the food there. One of those wow moments was the kohlrabi, for example. I loved that I knew what it was and that it was really, really good.

What surprised me most was finding out in the dark that I’m not afraid at all. Of anything. I felt completely at home there. After just two hours I felt so comfortable that I even wondered whether I have any fears in me at all, or anything I’d be afraid of.

Before I went in, I was a bit worried that something would come up or that I’d feel some kind of fear. But I found out I’m not afraid of anything. I believe that if someone has something unresolved, or isn’t completely honest with themselves, they might run into it there and go through a bit of a gloomy patch. I didn’t have that. It was a big realisation that I was totally fine with the dark.

My usual way of looking for peace is cold-water swimming and meditation. But this dark retreat gives you a completely different dimension of inner peace. Everyone can leave or switch on the light at any time, so there’s no reason to be afraid. Darkness therapy is great for anyone who wants to sort some things out inside and find inner peace. If your head is full of thoughts and you can’t sleep because of it, it can clear your head perfectly.

Would you like to find out more about the darkness guides?

Also follow our YouTube channel, where you will find videos about the retreats and people’s experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

😊 When someone enters the darkness for seven days for the first time, they usually have no idea how much their inner world is about to change. That was the case for our participant, too, who shared his experience of darkness therapy. He went into the dark for personal growth, because he felt he needed to switch his mind off and catch his breath again. His mum gave him a voucher for the retreat for Christmas, and he was curious about what would happen, especially in the second half of the week.

🌙 From the very first hours, he described how his perception grew quieter and slower. The darkness gave him something he had long been missing – full attention turned inwards. He was surprised how quickly thoughts began to surface that never get a chance to come up in everyday life. Some were ordinary, others powerful, so powerful in fact that he felt he could easily lose them.

🎙️ And this is where something essential became clear. He had taken a voice recorder into the dark with him. Whenever something important came to him, he simply recorded it. Not in order to “work” or create, but because he knew how quickly a thought can dissolve in the silence. And he was right — some sentences would have lost their power within minutes if he hadn’t recorded them. Thanks to the recorder, he captured a stream of inner images, feelings and realisations that he would otherwise never have got back to after returning.

✨ He said that recording was the key moment of the whole retreat for him. After coming back, he could go through what had happened inside him in the dark all over again. Something kept resonating in him long afterwards, and the recordings helped him understand how his inner dialogue had been changing. He would recommend it to anyone getting ready for the dark — thoughts in such a deep environment have a completely different quality: raw, true and precise.

😊 During the retreat he learned to listen to himself. The darkness opened up a space for him without disturbance, without interruptions and without light to draw his attention away. Often he just sat, breathed and felt something coming together inside him. It wasn’t dramatic, more gentle, calm and gradual. And thanks to the recorder, he was able to keep it.

🌱 After seven days, when he came out, he felt that something had naturally shifted. Some thoughts stayed, others took on new meaning. Above all, he understood how important it is to create space for yourself, whether in the dark or in everyday life.

We have put together the most frequently asked questions that people ask before a dark retreat.

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you will find videos about the retreats and experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

✨ Looking back on her experience in our interview, this dark retreat participant spoke above all about an inner transformation that began in the very first hours. She said that since coming out she “trusts herself more” and feels “more relaxed”. Before going into the dark, nervousness and uncertainty had the upper hand. She openly admitted that she “didn’t know if she’d cope”, but afterwards she added that she could have managed the retreat “for longer, too”.

🌿 Several times in the interview she mentioned that in everyday life she spends a lot of time on her phone and is always dealing with something. That is exactly why the silence and slowing down during darkness therapy were such a huge relief for her. She said that after coming back she wants to “find more calm” and give herself more space. The darkness was nothing frightening for her – on the contrary, she experienced it as a setting that lets you stop and breathe without pressure or interruptions.

✨ She also talked about how her perception of the darkness itself changed during the retreat. She said the dark “didn’t bother her at all any more” and that she gradually found comfort and a natural rhythm in it. Although she felt apprehensive before it began, she gradually grew confident and calm. She shared that in the dark you can perceive your own thoughts much more clearly, because there is nothing to distract you.

🌙 Her reflections on why such an experience makes sense carried a very strong message. In her words, a retreat will help “anyone” who wants to look “into themselves”. She spoke about how the darkness lets you be closer to yourself, understand yourself better and sense what you really need. She also repeatedly encouraged those who are thinking about such an experience. She said “there’s nothing to be afraid of”, because “you’re just alone with yourself”, and added that you “shouldn’t be afraid of yourself”.

😊 Her honest account beautifully shows how darkness therapy can offer space for trust, relaxation and deeper self-knowledge. We don’t look for drama in her experience – what we find in it is calm, courage and a return to herself.

Would you like to find out more about our dark retreat guides?

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you’ll find videos about dark retreats and experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

Sometimes you need complete silence and calm to touch what you can barely hear in an ordinary day. That is how a man who chose a dark retreat of several days describes his experience. Right after coming back he says he feels more relaxed than ever before – as if a layer of tension had fallen away from him that he hadn’t even been aware of for a long time.

He shares that in the dark he touched places inside himself that he doesn’t normally reach even in meditation. “It was intense,” he explains, “but at the same time natural. As if everything went quiet and opened up, both outwards and inwards.” He felt his heart truly opening to the world – not in a sentimental way, but as a deep experience of connection.

For him, the silence and darkness became a setting that allowed the boundaries of the ego to dissolve. Thanks to this he could go much further in his meditation processes than usual. He sensed his thoughts slowly fading, and the need to prove or control anything disappearing. He was simply alone with himself – with no way to escape, no distractions, no need to react to the world.

This space opened up a new sense of presence for him. In a few days of silence he lived through what would otherwise take weeks of meditation. He says that darkness therapy helped him see more clearly, feel more deeply and live more consciously.

Everyone who enters the dark brings a different story. But these experiences have one thing in common – a return to the calm that was always within us. 🌙

We have put together the most frequently asked questions that guests ask before a dark retreat.

You can also follow our YouTube channel, where you will find videos about dark retreats and experiences with darkness therapy. 🔔

The decision to step into the darkness stirs up a mix of anticipation and gentle uncertainty in her. She has known about darkness therapy for several years, but has hesitated for a long time. Then, at one moment, she feels that the right time has come. She shares that the moment when you voluntarily immerse yourself in silence and darkness offers a unique chance to be with yourself — with no distractions and no need to pretend anything.

She experiences the first hours in total darkness as strange and intense. Gradually her body and mind relax, and she realises how much she needed to slow down. During the dark retreat she learns to listen to her feelings and to her body. Silence becomes her friend and time loses its usual meaning. After a few days the darkness turns into a natural environment in which she finds inner peace and trust in herself.

Coming back into the light is a powerful moment too. She describes how the beauty of nature overwhelms her — the colours, the trees, the leaves and the first rays of sunshine. Every sound and every breath of fresh air feels incredibly intense. She notices how easily we overlook the little things in everyday life, things that hold enormous power.

Darkness therapy gives her exactly what she was looking for — space to stop, calm down and perceive herself more deeply. She realises that real peace doesn’t come from circumstances but from within. And although coming out of the darkness brings light, the brightest light is the one you carry back from the depths of silence.

Would you like to find out more about the guides into the darkness?

Also follow our YouTube channel, where you will find videos about the retreats and people’s experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

🌙 Sometimes a moment comes when the light outside is no longer enough. You feel you need to stop, grow quiet and look inside. That is how the decision for darkness therapy is born – a space where time loses its meaning and everything becomes simpler.

“The darkness simply called me,” says a woman who spent her dark retreat with us. She had heard about the therapy long ago, but only after several years did she feel the right moment had come. “Suddenly I knew it was time to go,” she adds, her voice calm.

In the dark her senses opened up in a different way. She recalls that she began to see the colours of her food, even though she was surrounded by total darkness. In her mind’s eye the tomatoes were a bright red, the broccoli patty turned green and every mouthful had its own story. “It was fascinating how I could recognise the smell and taste without seeing what I was eating. Everything felt more alive,” she remembers with a smile.

For her, the dark retreat was not an escape from the world but a return to herself. She realised that she does many things in life automatically, without real attention. The silence and the darkness showed her that she doesn’t need to see so much in order to truly perceive.

Darkness therapy offers space to slow down, find inner calm and get to know your own limits. Every experience is different, but they all have one thing in common – in silence and darkness, you meet yourself again.

We have put together the most frequently asked questions that guests ask before a dark retreat.

You can also follow our YouTube channel, where you will find videos about dark retreats and experiences with darkness therapy. 🔔

When, after several days, he opened the door and stepped outside, the light quite literally overwhelmed him. Everything around was unexpectedly bright, the moon was shining, the ground reflected its glow and everything felt almost unreal. “I thought to myself, that’s an awful lot of light for night-time,” he says. It took a while for his eyes to adjust. Everything seemed a little hazy, as if the world were being born again.

That moment, that passage from darkness into light, captures what darkness therapy can do. It is not just a stay in the dark, but a journey that transforms how you perceive. For a few days you grow quiet, stop rushing and stay with nobody but yourself. In the silence, layers of thought emerge that are otherwise drowned out by the noise of everyday life. “At first I felt I had to do something, somehow fill the time,” he says. “But after a while I relaxed. And then there was only calm.”

Gradually the darkness becomes a companion. A space opens up where thoughts slow down, the body rests and the inner voice begins to sound more clearly. During a dark retreat the boundaries blur between day and night, between what you do and who you are. Time loses its firm outlines. “Suddenly I didn’t know whether an hour had gone by or half a day,” he recalls. “But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I was there.”

Back outside, a wave of new perception arrived. Colours seemed richer, sounds clearer and the air had a strange depth. “It was like being born again,” he sums up. The experience of darkness therapy showed itself not only during the retreat but above all afterwards. It brought a calm that stayed. Everyday life slowed down, and with it came greater attention and gratitude for the little things.

Darkness therapy may look simple – just silence and darkness. But there is much more hidden in that space. Whoever enters it starts to hear their heart a little differently. A dark retreat becomes a return to yourself, to a balance that then carries over into ordinary life.

Would you like to know more about your guides through the dark?

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you will find videos about retreats and experiences of darkness therapy. 🔔

Sometimes the biggest change doesn’t happen the moment the light goes out, but only once the mind goes quiet. One of our guests who chose darkness therapy spoke about this very openly. He described how his first impulse after the retreat ended was not to rush outside but, on the contrary, to stay calm a little longer. The alarm went off, but his body and mind wanted to stay — in the silence, in the slowness, in the present.

During his dark retreat he created new morning rituals. He learned that nothing is slipping away. That even without light he can experience things fully. Before the retreat he was used to getting up at dawn, but here he discovered a different rhythm – natural, calmer and genuine. And that was exactly what he wanted to take with him out into everyday life.

When he talked about coming back out of the dark, there was humility and joy in his voice. He said he felt “a joyful motivation to keep going and do things that make sense”. It was not any kind of overblown enthusiasm, more a quiet strength and a desire to live more consciously. He found that even small steps can have a big impact – even just not rushing anywhere in the morning and giving space to himself and his inner voice.

For him, this dark retreat was not an escape but a return – to himself, to calm and to simplicity. He said that what he takes away from the darkness is gratitude for slowness and the realisation that everything has its time. And that it was the darkness that helped him sow a seed that keeps growing in the light too.

🌿 So darkness therapy does not have to be only about meeting silence. It can be about rediscovering your own light – not the one shining from outside, but the one that comes from within.

We have put together the most frequently asked questions that people ask before a dark retreat.

Follow our YouTube channel too, where you will find videos about retreats and experiences with darkness therapy. 🔔