What is enlightenment? In essence, enlightenment is the direct experience of the Absolute, of Truth. Technically, it's a "non-dual non-experience". It's a change in state of consciousness in which you are not so much experiencing anything as simply being at one with the way things actually are. For a fuller exploration of what this means, try this What is an Enlightenment Intensive? An Enlightenment Intensive is a residential group retreat providing a way to experience a moment of what is traditionally known as self-realisation or enlightenment—in other words, providing an opportunity to discover one's own truth by way of direct experience. The standard or 'model' Enlightenment Intensive format is three days long and was carefully evolved in the 1960s-70s. There are also longer Enlightenment Intensives (e.g., seven days, two weeks, six weeks) using essentially the same format to go for deeper enlightenment, but the standard three-day version suits most people. What is the format of an Enlightenment Intensive? The essential EI format includes the following elements:- Purpose The sole purpose of the retreat is to facilitate a group of participants to seek enlightenment, their own direct experience of truth. There is no other purpose. Orientation The overriding orientation is pure self-discovery. There are no 'teachings' about what the truth supposedly is, or discussions about what it might be. Technique The method used to seek enlightenment involves contemplating a question (such as "What am I?") throughout the retreat. This is combined with one-to-one communication exercises, or dyads, during which all participants sit in pairs and take turns to communicate to each other whatever occurs as a result of their contemplations. Within every dyad, while one partner contemplates and communicates, the other partner listens attentively but makes no response. The whole contemplation-communication technique is carefully explained at the start of the retreat. Schedule The retreat has a full daily schedule from early morning to late evening in which periods of silent contemplation (including all eating, resting, walking and break periods) alternate with dyad communication exercises. There is a mid-afternoon rest period and each night is a sleeping period. Rules The retreat has a set of rules designed to ensure that a single-minded focus on the purpose of the retreat is maintained and, as far as possible, participants do not get into conflicts or collusions with each other. In particular, no participant may try to influence or express judgements of any other participant. Master The retreat is led by a person who accepts full responsibility for ensuring that the retreat runs and that the format is adhered to. The leader's role is called "master"—not as in master/slave or master/student, but more like the "master of the ship". He or she is someone who has acquired the knowledge and skills needed specifically to help participants in their efforts to seek, experience and assimilate the direct experience of truth within the EI format. The master provides appropriate information, support and encouragement, both to the group as a whole and to individuals where needed. Where do Enlightenment Intensives come from? EIs were devised by an American named Charles Berner, who had been working with communication techniques for personal growth during the 1960s. He had noticed that people who tend not to make much progress in personal growth are those who do not truly know who they are (i.e., they are identified with their egos or personalities). So he wondered how ordinary Westerners might be able to experience actual self-realisation in a relatively short period of time. The inspiration for EIs—combining the zen sesshin format with the yogic question "Who am I?" and modern communication techniques—came while he was on a retreat in 1968, and the first, experimental EI was held in the Californian desert soon afterwards. Berner went on to run 99 Intensives in all over a ten-year period; he also trained several others to lead EIs in the same manner. Who runs Enlightenment Intensives? Ordinary people who have been inspired by their own experiences of truth by taking Enlightenment Intensives themselves and who have usually gone on to take the special EI masters' training course. There is no controlling organisation behind EIs, just a loose network of inspired individuals. None of them (to the best of my knowledge) runs EIs as their primary source of income. Quite a few of the current masters are counsellors or psychotherapists by trade. Where are EIs held? They are most often held in hired retreat centres or growth centres. People generally prefer to run them in quiet, natural settings with plenty of walking space. However, many EIs have also been successfully run in modern hotels, suburban houses and inner city venues. Are all EIs the same? Yes and no. Strictly speaking, any retreat that is called an Enlightenment Intensive should conform to the standard format (above). There are similar retreats more-or-less based on the EI but with significant variations (e.g., the purpose isn't solely enlightenment, or the rules allow for interpersonal conflicts). Generally, these variants are not called 'Enlightenment Intensives', which is wise. There are some variants which do still use the name, however. To the best of my knowledge, all EIs referred to in the Calendar section on this website use the standard EI format. Any deviations will be specified. Are EIs part of any tradition, movement or cult? No. They do not belong to any organisation or promote any particular spiritual path. Nor are they presided over by any authority figure (even Charles Berner). Given the overriding orientation of self-discovery, it is important for EIs to function independently of any philosophical, psychological or spiritual teacher or organisation. Participants are never required or expected to 'buy into' any belief system. (If the master happens to be a member of a particular organisation or following a particular path, this should not 'feature' as part of the EI.) What is the enlightenment technique? The core of the technique is contemplation. This is combined with dyad communication exercises. The contemplation technique is an introspective process which uses a question as a focusing tool. If it is your first EI, the question is normally "WHO AM I?" Other questions are "WHAT AM I?", "WHAT IS LIFE?" and "WHAT IS ANOTHER?" Throughout the entire three days you contemplate the same question. This means: Focus attention on oneself [or life or another]. Intend to have direct experience of that. Be open and allow anything to occur as a result. In the silent contemplation periods, this process is simply repeated again and again. During the dyad communication exercises, however, participants sit in pairs facing each other and take turns to communicate whatever they experience as a result of doing the contemplation. The two partners swap roles every five minutes over a 40-minute period. So while one is actively contemplating-communicating-contemplating-communicating..., the other is silently watching and listening, receiving everything that is communicated without judgement or response. The purpose of communication is to "clear out" whatever is triggered by the contemplation. If the mind were always clear as crystal, enlightenment wouldn't be such a struggle. As it is, any attempt to contemplate one's own truth will inevitably trigger mental, emotional and even physical associations which tend to grab the attention. However, communicating these occurrences in complete openness and honesty has the effect of letting them go. What is the schedule? Click here to see a typical Day Two schedule. Note that Day One starts differently and Day Three ends differently. What are the rules? Click here to see a full list of rules. Are you guaranteed to have a direct experience? No. Statistically, on a typical three-day Intensive, about 25-33% of participants will have a direct experience. Sometimes there are more; sometimes there are none at all. There is no way of predicting, and no way to force them to happen. However, not doing the technique is one way to guarantee that you won't have a direct experience! What happens if you have a direct experience? If you have a direct experience of, say, who you really are, then the master will encourage you to communicate it faithfully to your partners so that they get it and in the process you bring it more and more into your ordinary level of consciousness. Expressing your truth is an essential part of the process of assimilating an enlightenment experience. But there is definitely no prize-giving ceremony! Is there any follow-up support for participants? Because Enlightenment Intensives are a "stand-alone" technique, they are not embedded in any long-term system of personal or spiritual growth. However, the master is normally available for post-retreat "counselling", or a good chat, whatever is needed. It is better for you (in terms of making the most out of doing an EI) if you have a regular practice of some sort to support you in your growth and integration—meditation, psychotherapy, yoga, sufi groups, whatever. The master should be able to recommend suitable daily or weekly practices, or at least point you in the direction of further information.

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