If you are going off on a retreat then it is important that you understand exactly how to get the most out of it. There is a very big difference between a weekend in the woods and a deep retreat, so today we are going to discuss a little more about exactly how you can squeeze every bit out of your time away. For Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe Sufism is the reason behind his retreats and whilst not everyone needs to have a particular faith in order to take a retreat, he puts rules in place which are there to benefit everyone who takes one of his retreats. Inspired by those rules, here is how you can get the very most out of your retreat.
Disconnect
It is not just enough to physically remove yourself from your normal life, you also need to fully disconnect in terms of your phone too. Only in doing this will you be able to give yourself the best chance of completely escaping your normal life and then gain a focus on who you are and how you feel. When you take devices with you like phones and laptops, or at least when you are using them, it is impossible to truly disconnect. In reality this is the disconnection which we need to make way before we think about moving ourselves, as this is the place where most problems lie.
Open Mind
There are some who believe that taking things back to nature to learn and to process emotions is hippie ideology and the truth is that even if that is what you want to consider it as, it really helps. There are many who gain so much from a retreat into nature and that is why it is essential that you have an open mind. If you do not have an open mind then you are simply going to be tightened up and unwilling to allow yourself to think, to feel and to experience.
Honesty
There will be times during this process where you have to be absolutely honest with yourself, you need to be honest in how you feel and how you think, honest in what kind of emotions you are going through and honest in terms of where you are and what you are doing with your own life. It is only through this honesty that you will find any kind of solutions or solace, and it is only with this honesty that you are going to be able to really break the back of any issues which exist in your life.
Finally this is about understanding the difference between a nice weekend away in the countryside and a more spiritual retreat into nature. What marks the two as different is the level of relaxation and introspection which you can expect when you go on a spiritual retreat.
Follow these tips if you want to ensure that you are getting the absolute most from your retreat.