personal stories
REFLECTIONS FROM PAST RETREATANTS
The dark has become my most beloved teacher and a space where I am in an ever-deepening connection with Eternity.
I tend to spend the majority of my time laying down, welcoming all that appears, as I soften and rest into the simplicity of being.
Scott
"Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."
- Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki
The closest thing I can come up with relating the darkness retreat to is being in the process of labor and giving birth to new life.
The challenge of meeting each intense moment is there. The overwhelming waves are there. The unfolding mystery is there. What feels like grace is there. What feels like primordial Mother Space holding us all is there. It’s incredibly profound and hard to relay the experience in words.
Jill
I’d recommend Sky Cave to anyone who feels called to do a solo dark retreat, who has the willingness to blend with discomfort that arises, and who’s ready to witness the unknown and unseen in themselves.
My body unwound so much that weeks later, I’m still integrating the spaciousness that the unwinding left behind.
Bo
I had an amazing experience in the darkness retreat! My goal going in was to raise my level of awareness, and that it did! I became hyper-aware of how food affects my mind and body, and my thoughts were front-and-center, allowing me to deal with them and move beyond them. I would love to do it again.
Ephi
This was the most transformative experience of my life. Secluded in wilderness in a comfortable room made of earth made me feel safe while I was able to open at a deep level.
Scott provided amazing support by not only dropping food but also by listening as I moved through tough periods. When I came out to the world, I reintegrated in wild nature and met a warm kind community that showed me a happy sustainable way to live. All I have is gratitude for this experience.
Varun
I have been to Sky Cave three times for darkness retreat.
It is difficult to explain how it has impacted me in words, it seems too simple. All I can say is that I have stopped searching. I have everything I need - I am everything that I need.
I plan on returning to the dark once a year. The healing that my body undergoes without the pressures of light, sound, movement and time are indispensable. I am extremely grateful to Scott, his family and everyone who helped build the SkyCaves. They have created a space that is safe and comfortable for people to heal themselves.
Jess
" I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being. "
- Hafiz
"We're all just walking each other home."
- Ram Dass
I used to see your videos and not really understand what those people were talking about. Now, not only do I get it, but I feel it in every corner of my being.
It’s so great to see myself in such a vulnerable position. Brings back the experience as if it happened moments ago. Thank you many times over for what this has given me.
Tim
"It is so simple and obvious that the grasping for it obscures it."
- Tony Parsons
My dark retreat provided me a space where, due to the lack of any external stimulation, I could realize that the whole of my experience occurs within. A grand reminder that this is all there really ever is anyway and that transformation is accessible in one’s own heart.
The darkness presented me with the opportunity to remove the filters that I have in place in my daily waking life, to open to the immensity of the internal landscape, and to begin the unpacking of the backlogs of unprocessed information that could been seen precisely and addressed effectively within the spaciousness of the dark.
This was the deepest time I ever had with myself, nowhere to go, yet surprisingly compelling.
Forest
"It is Truth that liberates you, not your effort to be free."
- Krishnamurti
"Eventually we must give up trying to be something special."
- Chogyam Trungpa
Six months later and I am still learning and growing from my time with you. It has forever change my life for the better. I have learned to soften, accept, and surrender.
It is so cool to hvae an experience where I loose and gain so much all at the same time.
I left so many defense mechanisms and built up "armor" in that room. I myself more open, honest, vulnerable and real.
This retreat was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and also the most rewarding.
Candy
" Instead of searching for what you do not have, found out what it is that you have never lost."
- Nisargadatta
I got to be with myself so entirely.
It felt like a giant reset button where I stopped doing everything.
I came to realize that I wasn't going to fix anything by doing something actively or by trying. I just had to let go and let go over and over again. And stop trying and stop everything completely.
I learned to simply to be.
Jen