Aatma Dhyana.
Five nights of seated meditation and self enquiry, for people who already sit. Long sittings, short teaching, and the assumption that you do not need posture explained. If you want a retreat that talks less, this is the one.
- Length
- Five nights
- Setting
- Partner properties, Bali. Other locations by arrangement.
- Group size
- The smallest group we run. Enquire early.
- Silence
- Held from the first evening, broken only for enquiry sessions
- Experience
- An existing practice assumed. Not a first retreat.
- Method
- The four movements, weighted to awareness and surrender
- Dates and price
- Set per property and season. Ask and we will send the next dates.
People who sit already.
Experienced practitioners are badly served by most retreats. The schedule stops for explanation, the group is mixed, and the sittings never quite get long enough to be interesting. Aatma Dhyana removes the beginner accommodation entirely.
Self enquiry runs alongside the sitting: the question of who is doing the noticing, worked properly rather than mentioned once. It asks more of a guest than The Sacred Return does and gives less scaffolding while doing it.
If you have never sat a retreat, The Sacred Return is the right first step and this will still be here afterwards.
How the five nights run.
Four sittings a day, lengthening through the retreat. Everything else is arranged around protecting them.
Arrival and settling
Afternoon arrival, phones handed in, one evening sitting. Silence begins that night and holds until the final morning.
Establishing
Four sittings, moderate length, spaced across the day. Light movement between them for the body rather than as practice. The first enquiry session in the evening.
Lengthening
Sittings extend. The gaps shorten. Most guests hit resistance here, and the schedule deliberately does not soften to meet it.
Enquiry
The heart of the retreat. Long sittings held against a single question, worked one to one with the facilitator as well as alone.
Closing and return
A final long sitting at dawn, then speech returns. A short session on holding this in daily practice, then departures after lunch.
What the retreat holds.
- All sittings and enquiry sessions across the five nights.
- One-to-one enquiry work with the facilitator.
- Accommodation and all meals, single occupancy, served in silence.
- A follow-up six weeks after departure.
Whether now is the time.
- Long sittings in silence surface things. If you are in acute grief or crisis, tell us and we may suggest waiting.
- There is little social contact. Five days of your own company is the actual offer.
- The schedule does not flex. Guests who need to take calls should book a different week.
Ask about the next dates.
Groups are small and fill from the enquiry list rather than publicly.
Host this retreat.
Low guest count, high rate, and almost no facility requirement beyond a room that holds silence and a kitchen that serves on time.