Drinking coffee is very widespread these days, and in the Czech Republic people drink 8 cups of coffee per person per week.
A dark retreat and craving coffee
If you are one of those people who drink coffee every day, and several cups a day at that – perhaps 5 or even 10 cups a day – you may be worried whether you can get through a dark retreat without coffee. So you often ask us whether we can provide coffee for you, say 3 times a day. We try to humbly explain to all of you that we do not run a hotel but dark retreats, where our options are limited.
You see, coffee is not like chocolate, which even more people are hooked on: participants can simply bring chocolate with them, but they cannot make coffee themselves during darkness therapy.
Getting to know yourself through a dark retreat
This is one of the intentions participants mention most often. That is why the overwhelming majority of you, even if you drink coffee or even smoke, tell yourselves you can manage a week without your habit. It is great when the inner warrior speaks up and whispers that you can do it. The whole point of a dark retreat is truly to get to know yourself – inside, your inner self – to see your patterns, limitations, desires and addictions. If you crave chocolate and run straight to the fridge, you learn precious little about yourself. But if you wait a while, take a few conscious breaths, feel the emotions and impulses and then consciously decide whether to have some or not, you learn a little more about yourself.
White knuckles during darkness therapy
So, to sum up: we are not saying you shouldn’t drink coffee, smoke or drink alcohol – that is entirely your own business. What we are saying is: indulge your desires and addictions as much as you like 🙂
During a dark retreat you learn a little more about yourself, and overall you will find it much easier to “let the craving pass”. That is the message even heavy smokers report:
“It occurred to me in the sanctuary that I hadn’t smoked for 4 days, but I really didn’t feel like it!”
In the same breath we add that, for your dark retreat to go smoothly, there is no point white-knuckling it over a “craving for something”. So if you cannot bear the craving, please tell us – we will happily pop to the chemist for nicotine gum, to the petrol station for coffee or to the shop for chocolate.
If at all possible, try to work with your desire and craving; if not, we will gladly help and get you whatever you need.
