Orbs – Darkness Retreats

A Week in the Darkness – Silvie Dymáková

import — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 15:20:03 +0000

In the Czech Republic, ‘Dark Therapy’ as it is known there has become incredibly popular in recent years. By all accounts there are at least 15 providers of Darkness Retreats in some shape or form, ranging from a relatively basic hut on someone’s private property, to more specialist and sophisticated clinics, some of which have been featured on this blog.

Word got around that a prolonged stay in darkness could be highly beneficial, and as such many of the facilities are booked up for months in advance. In 2014, news of this phenomena caught the attention of Czech television company ‘Česká televize’, who decided to send one of their reporters, Silvie Dymáková, to do a Darkness Retreat for herself, and record it all using a thermographic camera.

The video below starts on Silvie’s third day, because she pretty much slept for most of the first two. This is common for most Darkness Retreat participants. It is in Czech with English subtitles. (See video summary below)

To begin with, the programme introduces some of the history behind times spent in the dark, including where it all started in Tibet, when monks would spend up to 7 weeks in complete isolation and silence in darkness, to promote self-discovery and spiritual growth, as well as to prepare for their journey to the next world.

Dr. Andrew Urbiš then speaks about some of the physical benefits people might experience – he was the person who introduced this practice to the Czech Republic. It was with him, at his clinic in Celadna – the Beskydské Rehabilitation Center – that Silvie did her 7 day retreat. It begins with a series of tests to assess her mental wellbeing and exhaustion levels, which show her to be highly stressed.

The documentary highlights that it is important to be fully committed to your Darkness Retreat and to go into it with the intention to get the most from your stay, otherwise it can feel like you are a prisoner, and may not be a positive or beneficial experience.

Before Silvie’s retreat formally begins, she is shown all of the facilities with the light on, so that she can acquaint herself with where everything is and how it all works with regards to food, personal hygiene, daily support from Dr. Urbiš, what to do in an emergency etc.

Having spent most of the first 2 days sleeping, Silvie has lost any real sense of time, especially as her food is being brought at random times throughout her stay. By the third day, the darkness is starting its ‘repair’ and Silvie is beginning to experience lucid dreaming, and has stopped perceiving reality. It gives her a bit of a wobble, because she’s uncertain if what is happening is real or imagined, so feels a bit scary.

As her time in the darkness increases, Silvie starts to sense the presence of other beings in her room, though after a while this begins to feel the darkness getting friendlier, although still thinks she is not alone. Her subconscious is doing its work, giving her flashbacks from childhood,plus she is experiencing light phenomena, that is also quite common. Once she gets through the initial crisis of anxiety, she then feels like her stay in darkness is the best form of regeneration, which can awaken creativity and be a huge source of energy.

At the end of her ‘Week in the darkness’,Silvie is most looking forward to the sun, music and seeing the people she loves, as well as to having the best pasta in the world. She leaves her room at dawn, for a gentle reintroduction to the light. Many people have a highly emotional reaction to seeing the light again, and Silvie is no exception.

At the end, she says she has more energy, feels calmer and her digestion is better. Her dreams remain in her memory, as vivid as ever, but she’s still not sure if they were real or imagined…

Silvie later received the Czech Lion Award for Best Documentary Feature for this programme.

Tangible Soul Energy During the Darkness Retreat (Videos)

import — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 15:40:40 +0000

During Darkness Retreats, my guests usually have intense spiritual experiences, including them often being able to physically see their own soul energy with their own eyes. We have been fortunate enough to capture some of these experiences on film, and deeply thank our guests for giving us permission to do so.

At the end of one of my client’s Darkness Retreat, I (Bharati) guided him to the Temple Room. The light flashes that could be seen by my guest during his time in the darkness were still visible even in the light, and could be recorded too. When I started chanting the mantra “Arut perum jothi, arut perum jothi, thani perum karunai, arut perum jothi” the lights seemed to get even stronger.

(There are various interpretations of what the mantra means in English, but in essence it is saying “Vast Grace-Light, Vast Grace-Light, Supreme Compassion,Vast Grace-Light”. Indeed, it certainly seemed to have the desired effect!)

Here, we see a participant who actually spent a total of 49 days in the dark. In her case, visible soul energy (also called orbs) could very clearly be seen too – just see how many orbs there are and how fast they move. Incredible! Recording this energy of the soul was truly an extraordinary and moving moment.

Sophie’s Experience in a Darkness Retreat

import — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 15:32:22 +0000

Many people have participated in our Darkness Retreats, whether in India, Columbia, and now at our wonderful retreat centre ‘Source of Power – Spiritbalance Sadhana Ashram’, in the beautiful Black Forest region of Germany.

We are proud to present a number of videos where some our clients talk about their personal experiences, and how Darkness Retreats have affected their lives. This is Sophie’s story. Enjoy!

(However, if you prefer, there is also a summary of what Sophie talks about below the video)

Sophie is from Mexico and she said it was a very, very fantastic experience for her because it was like being reborn for her. She has a lot of fears and she experienced a lot of transformation in relation to her “inner woman”. It’s like in the Darkness Retreat, you meet your soul and you can trust and let it go; now she feels like she has lost 13kg. She feels very light.

She ate a raw food diet in the retreat, which she doesn’t normally have, and she couldn’t believe how good she felt on it, so thinks she will change how she lives, she feels so great. It’s an experience she recommends for every one, because you really find the light inside you.

Daniella’s Experience in a Darkness Retreat

import — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 11:42:22 +0000

We are proud to present a number of videos where some our clients talk about their personal experiences, and how Darkness Retreats have affected their lives. This is Daniella’s story. Enjoy!

(However, if you prefer, there is also a summary of what Daniella talks about below the video)

Daniella is from Monterey in Mexico, and it was her first Darkness Retreat. She didn’t know what she was going through and found it very challenging, though she also said it was great. Some fears came up, that she was already aware of but didn’t know they were so big. One of them was fear of the dark, the second one was of being very silent, though she said she learned to empower herself through this experience. There were a lot of people in the (group) retreat, so she learned to be tolerant, respectful and loving, because everyone was passing through different experiences, some great, some difficult yet it was easy to find support from all of the people in the group.

She said she became a family with them, that she loves every one of them, and she took a little piece of their hearts with hers. Also, Balakrishna (Martin) and Bharati were two loving souls, very supportive, without them it wouldn’t be so good. Yesterday when they got out of the dark it felt like everything was in 3D, nature bursting with colour and she was filled with joy. Then today when she woke up she said she had never felt this joy before. She was laughing and felt very good.

Daniella is not sure if she’ll do it again, though she hopes so and recommends it to everyone. She said “You understand the need to be in the dark, to see the light in your heart and your world in a different way”.