Questions
& Answers
This page has the key information you need to know before deciding whether to join one of our Enlightenment Intensives—including what to expect, how it works, and insights into the inner process many people experience.
What are Enlightenment Intensives?
Enlightenment Intensives are 3-day residential group retreats.
Their sole purpose is to give ordinary people the best possible opportunity for an enlightenment or awakening experience. That is, the direct inner experience of knowing ultimate truth.
Uniquely, they combine individual self-enquiry with deep sharing and listening.
Why take an Enlightenment Intensive?
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– the absolute Truth of who we really are, of what life actually is.
Everything about an Enlightenment Intensive is designed to support the possibility of awakening.
Our participants say it best ⎯
“The process allows you to be in touch with the purest part of you, and helps you realise you are more than your thoughts, words, language, beliefs, perceptions etc. There is as undeniable, unapologetic TRUTH that can’t be quashed or knocked or displaced. It simply IS, and allowing and opening to this truth brings me so much joy ! !”
– Manisha
“Not only did I fully understand that everything including ... myself was vibrating with Love, Energy, Light, call it what you will, but that everything I had ever read about a sense of Unity, in fine wise books, was true. But True in my heart, not just in my head. My heart had broken. It was like a giant peony rose exploding all its petals at once. Bursting for joy, not despair.”
– Frances
What do we mean by ‘enlightenment’?
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Enlightenment:
A momentary awakening of consciousness to the true nature of self or life. This is known as sudden enlightenment.
A steady state of cultivated peace, wisdom, and effortless action, increasingly attuned to the natural flow of life. This is called gradual enlightenment.
A complete liberation from human suffering, and cessation of the whole ‘cycle of rebirth’. In Hinduism and Buddhism, this is considered final enlightenment.
The focus of an Enlightenment Intensive is sudden enlightenment.
In Zen this is known as kensho or satori.
Other names include direct experience, spiritual awakening, and self-realisation.
The experience of sudden enlightenment is well known.
It is a timeless moment in which you suddenly, spontaneously, awaken to the way things actually are.
It is the inner discovery of ultimate truth ... not by reading about it, not by listening to people who teach about it ... but by finding it for yourself, within yourself, by direct experience.
It is simply a moment of true inner knowing.
A single enlightenment experience does not turn you into an instant enlightened being or saint.
But there is a relationship between sudden and gradual enlightenment. Experiences of sudden awakening light up the path and the lifetime work of gradual awakening.
As the 9th Century Chinese Chan master, Zongmi, put it:
☀️ Awakening to truth is sudden. Transforming into a saint is gradual. It is like when the sun comes out all of a sudden, yet the frost melts only gradually.
What is it like to have an enlightenment experience?
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What people experience in these moments of illumination is both universal and, paradoxically, unique to each person.
Common descriptions include:
A profound sense of having "come home"
An awe and reverence for life
Fulfillment
Unparalleled joy
Intense gratitude
Quiet certainty
A deep sense of Love
But above all they give an insight into reality that is absolute ... and hard to do justice with mere words…
"I laughed with sheer joy at the 'rightness' of it... No doubt you know the jubilantly satisfying 'click' one experiences when one finds the solution to, for instance, a complicated mathematical problem. Well, the experience I had was of a similar kind but carried to the ultimate. A king-size, super-hyper-Click!!! And with the feeling that I had 'come home'. It included the blissful awareness of unity, of being in all, and all being in me."
– Nona Coxhead
The Relevance of Bliss
“I learned truths, first hand. Truths that I have read in books over and over without understanding or being able to truly believe. That I am perfect, right now, just as I am, with all my neuroses etc - and so is everyone else!!! And that you will find the truth inside yourself. Seek and ye shall find / ask and it shall be given.”
– Tina
“It was during lunch that I had the most amazing experience of my life. There came a timeless moment at which I just knew who I was. It was as if I had always known it, but had simply forgotten. It was so obvious, yet so marvellous! I started laughing uncontrollably, until a passing Monitor got me to communicate it to her. As I did so, I understood why communication is the key to this process. In communicating, that moment of knowing returned, leaving me so awestruck and humbled by its reality that my rational mind could never deny the experience.”
– Barry
“...with the dropping away of the hope or desire to get it right, I caught a glimpse of something new; I sank into a direct if brief experience of who - or perhaps more accurately what - I am. It took my breath away. It moved through my body like fire and left ... me laughing with the sheer delight of being.”
– Oriah Mountain Dreamer
What is it like to participate on an Enlightenment Intensive?
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At the start of the Intensive, you are taught a simple contemplation technique using the question: “Who am I?”
You will be supported to contemplate this question throughout the three days.
This is part of what makes the process intense.
"It was one hell of a shock. The daily schedule ran from about six in the morning to nearly eleven at night, and it was "Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?" virtually all the way. No social chat, no alcohol or coffee, no wristwatch, no shaving or cosmetics – and nothing to do but contemplate a question. … I found myself, like everybody else, going through all manner of stuff during the three days—anxiety, amusement, boredom, frustration, happiness, grief. On the first day I was mostly affected by the orderliness of the situation—the lack of everyday distractions, like TV."
- Barry
"Never before had I spent such a concentrated time looking into myself, my 'essence' if you will. Feeling at once exhilarated and scared, I asked the question "Who am I?" continuously for three days. By the end of the third day... I felt for the first time in my life I had experienced the transcendent truth.”
— T.R.
At the heart of this process are partnered contemplation exercises called dyads.
Sitting in pairs with other members of the group, you take turns to communicate what's happening in your contemplation.
Talking with others in this way is not like having a normal conversation.
You listen and are listened to with full attention but what you say is never commented on. No advice is given, no judgements made.
“I learned what it takes to be honest. To find the courage to reveal oneself no matter what it is. I realised the true commitment required, and felt that this grew stronger as each day passed. I learned its important to be a good listener and how this truly helps in the sharing of yourself with another.”
— Maxine
The safety of the dyads gives you incredible freedom and promotes ever increasing openness.
Each day alternates between these partnered contemplation-communication exercises and periods of silent contemplation, including walking, eating and gentle physical exercise.
Trust, courage and great heart build up within the group. You are not alone in your quest.
“It is a huge relief to remove the social masks I wear….I put so much pressure on myself to be somebody else. Now I can see how to be me – without barriers!”
– Joe
"Seeing others taking risks to say what was really going on for them was, for me, incredibly inspiring, and I began to feel very close to several in the group, despite the formalities. That second day was the noisiest - there was screaming, shouting, hysterical laughter, yet all the time we remained sitting respectfully in our neat rows!”
- Barry
How is a breakthrough possible in a few days?
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This, added to the focused self-enquiry, radically speeds up the process of getting past everyday thoughts and concerns, dis-identifying from one’s social persona, and opening up to what is ultimately real.
“I have learned the true power of really listening, and of being fully open. There is no way I could ever have discovered what I did without this openness and connection during the intensive. … It was when I began to give everything to both the listening and the sense of trust and connection that things began to really open up for me.
– Sean
It is the combination of continuous contemplation and communication with others that is responsible for the speed and intensity of the process - And for enlightenment experiences to occur in this relatively short time.
"Using the technique over and over through the weekend, I was able to cross through my self-dislike and self-admonishment, and brush up against utter beauty. The utter beauty of myself, just the way I am. And the utter beauty of the absolute truth and its transformative power. Those sound like grand words but the exquisite, extraordinary delight I felt at those moments will change my life."
– Emily
What are the effects on one’s life?
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... Really - from wishing life would end to now being fully self expressive and passionate about every aspect of life.”
⎯ Stuart
Each person's journey of awakening is unique. However, there are common themes which include:
An infusion of new meaning and inspiration in your life
A core of 'knowing' which isn’t dependent on how you feel or what anyone else says
Increased reality and authenticity in relationships.
A deepening sense of spiritual connection.
A single enlightenment experience is not a magic bullet which will solve your life and ensure your happiness forever. Whatever you discover to be true already ‘was’ and ‘is’; you just didn’t know it before.
But the knowing of it opens up new choices.
The effects of this, described by many people, include:
Deepening self acceptance
Increased compassion for themselves and others
Greater ease in being themselves
Increased trust in life
Greater clarity about their life's direction
We would like to inspire you with the very real possibility of discovering what it could mean for you.
“I realised that underneath all of my mind and all of the distractions I get caught up in, there is a truth that underlies and underpins every moment. All things are born out of this fundamental truth. I can choose to place my attention there or not. I am a perfect expression of life and this fundamental truth.”
⎯ Anthony
Does everyone have an enlightenment experience?
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Sometimes more, sometimes less.
This is a build-up-and-break-through process, and for some it can take more than one Intensive to reach that breakthrough.
The build-up comes from spending all those days immersed in truth-seeking, honesty and trust.
“At my first two Enlightenment Intensives I didn't have a direct experience. I got rid of so much baggage though, by managing to express thoughts and feelings and fears that I had never before felt able to express, in an atmosphere of complete and unconditional acceptance.
– Sally
Spending three days immersed in sincere inner seeking, heartfelt honesty and openness to truth is one of the most powerful things you can do for your spiritual and personal development.
Taking part in an Enlightenment Intensive produces a wealth of insights, awareness and new perspectives on you and your life. This is so whether you have an enlightenment experience or not.
“If I have given myself fully to the process, it's as if I have had my internal lenses cleaned. I experience myself being washed out by my moment to moment ordinary truth. I see both myself and others without the filters and pain that builds up in day-to-day life. This process is deeper than a breakthrough or not. I will keep taking intensives because whatever happens – enlightenment experience or not – being in truth with myself, opens the door for deeper contact with myself, reality and the people I love.”
- E.Y.
Our Enlightenment Intensives also include a period of integration work which is designed to enable you to take what you have learned and experienced during the Intensive into your everyday life.
“Probably the most powerful experience of the retreat for me was after the intensive was finished, on the ‘integration day’….I felt proud of all of us for how far we had come and the struggles which we had been through….I had learned many things, but the most important thing I had learned was to love myself, which would help me to love other people more fully.”
– Ben
"I am far less apprehensive about taking steps to move on: I feel more dynamic and positive about taking responsibility for that. In fact I'm actually excited about finding out what move to make next and going for it."
– Claire
“The process and reflection and time out of life have given me the things I need to forge bravely on.”
– Mary
Is this process a ‘short cut’?
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“The structure was held so beautifully that when I really had no idea of myself I felt totally safe to fall to pieces.”
– Amala
Although this technique can be many times faster than traditional methods, it is not a short cut.
There is a reason why they are called "intensive”. If you give yourself whole-heartedly to the process it will challenge you.
Your fears about yourself, old ideas you have taken on, preconceived ideas about reality - these are likely to come to the surface.
In seeking to know truth, we inevitably encounter our own resistances to it.
In her 2005 book What We Ache For, Oriah Mountain Dreamer describes her experience of participating on an Enlightenment Intensive in the US:-
"As a student and teacher of spiritual practices for many years, I began by giving what I thought were pretty insightful, lucid, erudite answers. Then I moved through a vast range of responses: boredom, annoyance and irritation, ... the desire to entertain, trying to reach for profound insight (usually followed by increased boredom and irritation). Finally I simply had to give up wanting to look or sound like anything in particular. Eventually I just didn't care anymore whether or not I was sounding profound or stupid, attentive or bored, polite or rude. All the ideas I have about who I am, all the stories I tell myself, had been told, and they all rang pretty hollow."
All genuine pursuit of greater spiritual awareness involves meeting one's personal inner barriers. Enlightenment Intensives simply accelerate this meeting.
They encapsulate both the grace and the grit of true seeking and true finding.
What enables you to continue in the face of your inner barriers is sharing your inner journey with other participants. This lends a tremendous amount of support and encouragement.
The closeness and camaraderie which develops within the group is one of the striking features of an Enlightenment Intensive.
"All voices became my voice; all sorrows echos of all the troubles I have faced, and somehow as the talk softened in the long afternoon, I began to see everyone as part of myself, and myself in everyone. And they were all beautiful."
– Frances
“Speaking and expressing the truth is truly transformative and leads me closer to my heart’s desire: closeness with others, authentic contact, self-acceptance and oneness. I experienced that death leads to life. In healing my grief at the loss of my son, I have a new journey and direction to undertake if I choose to. There is a blessing in all things if we are open to knowing the truth that lies at its heart.
– Anthony
Are these retreats associated with any teaching or philosophy?
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The intensive format is similar to a Zen meditation retreat. And the questions used for contemplation (e.g. “Who am I?”) are similar to the self-enquiry method used in Advaita Vedanta.
But the only thing you are taught is how to do the contemplation technique.
You are not required or expected to buy into any belief system whatsoever.
There are no teachings, no philosophy, no religion.
There are no discussions about what the "answer" is or might be.
It is purely and simply about self-discovery: you finding out for yourself through your own experience.
Can anyone participate on an Enlightenment Intensive?
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“One of my first thoughts was, “My God, if I can experience this then anyone can!” I just wanted everyone to be able to experience this for themselves.”
– Emma
You do not need any prior experience of meditation, spirituality or psychotherapy to participate on an EI.
And you certainly don’t have to have resolved all of your issues or life problems.
The only prerequisites on your part are –
a sincere desire to know Truth;
an openness to the possibility that you can realise yourself directly, at an absolute level.
What happens afterwards?
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The schedule becomes lighter and the focus turns specifically to making use of your insights and new perspectives. There is time to reflect on your journey and any changes you may want to make in your life.
Most people remain in a more open and expanded state for several days following the retreat. Inevitably, as the rhythm of ordinary life resumes, some of that openness fades. We offer several ways to support your continued cultivation of the openness, authenticity, and self-discovery fostered by this work.
These include:
A regular free Online Dyad Group
In-person Dyad Days
Courses in Surrender
Training in this work
Anyone who has participated in one of our Intensives is always welcome to be in touch with us.
We’re always open to staying connected and to supporting those who wish to continue exploring this work
Where are your Enlightenment Intensives held?
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It is easily accessible by public transport:
Bristol airport is one hour away and Heathrow an hour and a half.
Trains to Bath Spa from London (Paddington) take approximately an hour and a half.
There are good taxi and bus services from the train station to the venue.
Bath
Bath itself is a small, beautiful city in the South West of England, renowned for its natural hot spa waters, Roman baths and elegant Georgian architecture.
At the EI venue:
You will be well looked after with light and delicious vegetarian food being served four times a day.
Accommodation is in shared rooms.
There are always plenty of cushions and chairs to ensure you can contemplate comfortably.
The house is five minutes' walk from an expanse of National Trust countryside and farmland, ideal for contemplative walks.
See our Photo Album for a selection of photos of the venue and its environs.
"I felt utterly safe, cared for, and truly inspired by the lectures. The house and surroundings added to the pleasure of the overall experience."
– Christine