How amazing and powerful would it be if we could all get together in person and spend some time doing exactly what we're doing here?

Yes, but it would be too powerful, so we've all sworn not to do that.


____________
okay, okay. Seriously, it happens from time to time. And Bruno set up an online meditation room where individuals curate a period of time and it's been, imo, excellent. That started in September.

I was thinking it might indeed be too powerful, might not get nearly the repeat business that the other retreat centers get

You mean we would all get enlightened after the first time?

actually, the model used by alan chapman and friends, where they stage a self-organizing un-retreat, such as the one recently in vermont, is a model we might consider emulating

basically, they get a relatively small group of friends to gatherr somewhere and create their own schedule and assign cooking duties, etc., and do a retreat-like thing the way you might do a vacation with friends or a family reunion

Yeah! I have construction there now, too, and perseverating on this and whether it would be ready to host by next summer. I hope so.

Meantime, what you set up with the g-hangout is incredibly helpful to me and the company there: I see how much "mental musculation" I lose/build between retreats, how the day changes with a good a.m./p.m. practice with friends from anywhere. It's great. Thank you.

Dear Daniel,
Thank you for your response. It is very helpful.

Just for your information, there is something wrong with this website. I was subscribed to this thread,
yet I got no email notification when you replied. I am also subscribed to other threads, and there I do
get notifications.

This un-retreat is very appealing to me. Meditation became the centerpiece of my life in Jan 2012. My
teacher recommended a traditional 6 monthes retreat with his teacher, sayadaw Vivekenanda of the
Mahasi tradition, in Lumbini, Nepal. I was too scared to go and instead started a self-retreat in my
mother's home in Israel, which I've been doing ever since (almost 2 years now).

Alan Chapman's model, which you consider reproducing, also came to the minds of myself, and my
dhamma friend Toby Sola. We are both students of Shinzen Young. We have tentative plans to do such
a retreat in his parents' large house in rural vermount. I believe I speak for the both of us when I say we
will be happy to have other serious practitioners with us.

Do you have Alan Chapman's Email? May I have it please?

Metta
Tomer

naturally, I will not come all the way from Israel to the US for a 2-weeks-retreat. It will have to be longer than that.

also considering being an 'Anagarika' in Ajahn Brahm monastery.

I will see what I can do to get in touch with Alan.

It might even be fun to try to do something jointly with that group, as they seem a fun bunch.

I will be doing a meditation retreat during 2014 at my parent's house (near Lisbon, Portugal), and I would be happy to have guests stay over. I also considered to have some kind of internet feed, in the style of the DhO meditation room, so people could join through the internet, too.

The retreat will last at least March - July, but maybe it will last much longer (like two years or so) and I can probably host two, maybe even four, guests at a time. This is of course considered on a case-by-case basis, and I still need to check with my parents, who visit the property on weekends; and people would need to pay for heating (gas bottles) and food.

I will have more to say in a few months.

Great !
I will stay tuned...

This is very interesting Bruno... I'll be looking forward to hearing more

On this same happy note - everyone is lovingly invited to join my wonderful retreat here in Israel for shared exploration, discovery, peace and bliss!

Hey Bruno,
I love Portugal and would love to see if something could work out. Feel free to email me with any updates : tom(at)ouray.org

Tom

Will do ---

Here's mine: tomer_b_t(at)yahoo.com


(If I go to Portugal, I'd also like to visit Mooji and Tamera)

I got in touch with Alan Chapman, who said in an email to me:

"More unretreats would be great, and certainly the more the merrier at the next one me and my friends organise. I can keep you in the loop as to details (at the end of the last one there was talk of Cape Cod next year, but whether this will transpire is up in the air). The great thing about the unretreat is that it's not possible to have a dominant teacher, tradition, agenda etc as the sessions are determined by the unretreatants and each person is free to attend whatever takes their fancy. As a decentralised approach, I'm not sure why I've not heard of more unretreats taking place - it's not like anyone requires permission or even any money, and being open to all and scalable, there is no reason hundreds couldn't attend a mass unretreat. However, the necessary role reversal from teacher to student that must happen outside of the teacher's slot (attendants must necessarily spend most of their time as peers), and the fact attendance to a given session depends upon what the students find interesting/useful, it seems likely the unretreat format would sit uneasy with many Big Shot teachers. ;)

For those interested in putting on their own unretreat, it really is best to learn from actually doing one. Get some friends, use a free house or even rent a place, cook food for each other, and create a schedule for each day by proposing a session you would like to lead, or even nominate someone else (they are free to decline of course). Regular events or sessions should be discussed and decided (e.g. 3 x 1 hour silent meditations sessions a day, meals etc), as well as conditions such as silence (we've found 'functional silence' in the mornings good, but the nature of the unretreat appears to encourage talk and good times, at least among my friends). If you don't want to do a session, simply don't turn up (there have been a few individuals who have turned up for activities they know in advance they will not enjoy, and then have proceeded to complain about it both during and afterwards. The unretreat format is very simple, but it is worth repeating the rules to those indoctrinated into the usual retreat format).

The unretreat approach is adaptive and flexible, and we have found the schedule for the week to change each day to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. (Interesting note: a number of folks freaked out on the run up to the first unretreat as they simply could not understand how the unretreat schedule could come together each day, and how it was possible to practice and practice well without requiring a regimented predetermined schedule ironed out weeks in advance). There is no such thing as 'getting it right the first time', so I would encourage anyone interested to simply have a go, experiment, change things around, have some fun.

I don't have the inclination or time to do forums these days, but if you find the above thoughts helpful by all means pass them on to the DhOers."

I did find them helpful, so have passed them on here.

Dear Bruno,
I'm curious: IF you're interested in a traditional retreat, why do you prefer a self-retreat over a regular group retreat?

Reasons why I prefer a self-retreat:
1. Its cheaper.
2. I have full control over my diet.
3. I don't have to put up with idiosyncrasies or dogmatic crap.
4. I can decide for myself what techniques to use.

Stuff I'm missing out on:
1. The guidance and experience of a good teacher.
2. Not having to take care of cooking.
3. Other people meditating around me would give me motivation, I expect.


I'm sure both lists are incomplete.