Enlightenment Intensive Retreats with Tom Tiller

Do I need to prepare anything?
No. Yet, as there isn't any alcohol, nicotine or caffeine during the retreat it's advisable to stop smoking, drinking coffee and tea and having alcoholic beverages a couple of days in advance. Otherwise you risk having withdrawal symptoms during the retreat.

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Is there any kind of long term commitment?
No. Enlightenment Intensive Retreats are no religion and no institution of any kind. For the days of the retreat -as good as you can- you conform to the rules and you agree o stay till the end even through rough phases. The path you take during the intensive will confront you with all parts of your life and that might be unpleasant at times. The whole journey only works if all participants and staff contribute to creating a safe and trustworthy space. And that only works by sticking to the rules and agreements for the time of the retreat. Yet, after the retreat there are no further obligation or any calls or newsletter (unless you want to stay informed).

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How does it work?
For three days you sit across different partners and give each other the instruction: "Tell me who you are!" (or "Tell me what you are!", "Tell me what another is!", "Tell me what life is!" - according to your question). The one who receives the instruction contemplates and communicates the results of the contemplation to his or her partner. Every five minutes the partners change roles.

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What does the schedule look like?
The EI retreat has a very strict time schedule, similar to a Zen Sesshin. And the EI retreat only really works, if every participant sticks to this schedule. To understand, what this means for you, please read the schedule carefully and ask yourself the question, if you can stick to a strict schedule like this. If you have any doubts or questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

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Isn't this quite an intense method?
Yes, in a way it is. One reason is that most of us have a strong and healthy everyday-self. To get to a place where enlightenment (or an experience of "the truth" or of God, ...) is possible, we have to ask our ego to step aside for a while. What we are trying to achieve is to get a taste of a state, that others only achieve after years and years of meditation in solitude. For this we need a technique and a structure that provides a "fast track". The method may be intense, but it works. And as we ask our everyday-self to only step aside for a short while it will come back after the retreat. As opposed to other methods that some modern teachers and spiritual leaders offer, we don't try to "kill" the ego. From this point of view the Enlightenment Intensive is a rather "soft" method.

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Are there any prerequisites?
No. Charles Berner has developed this format for people who were looking for who they are and for their true nature - independent of any religion, believe or meditation practice. In a way it might even be helpful not to have any experience at all. Ideas, what enlightenment looks or feels like stand in our way when it comes to directly experiencing the truth. Why is that? Because truth presents itself in a different way to anyone in any given moment. To "know" what the truth looks like often leads to a situation where people miss the moment of directly experiencing it, as the truth always is different and new. "Not knowing" is the so called "beginner's mind" in Buddhism and a good starting point when searching for your true nature.

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What about my own meditation practice?
A regular meditation practice is helpful in many ways. The experiences you make in an Enlightenment Intensive retreat are only made possible through the support of the other participants and you probably won't be able to repeat them the same way on your own afterwards. Yet, the experiences you make during the retreat give you a direction in your own practice and can be deepened through it. And a regular meditation practice will help you to integrate the experiences from the retreat. Still, it's important to know, that during the retreat you only use the EI technique and don't mix it with your own practice. The EI technique is so condensed, that mixing it with any other technique would distract the direct path of you and the other participants. That's the reason why one rule of the EI is to only use the EI technique.

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What are the rules that apply during the retreat?
During the Enlightenment Intensive retreat several rules apply. When we start the retreat you accept to stick to these rules during the time of the retreat. Here are some of these rules:
- No communication except during the contemplation phases.
- You only use the EI technique and don't mix it with other techniques.
- No nicotine, no caffeine, no alcohol, no drugs of any kind.
- No jewelry, no make up, no shaving.
- No Sex.
- No contact to people outside the retreat (more about this below).
- No telephone, no computer, no internet.
- No books, no television.
- No watches, no alarm clocks.
With respect to outside contact during the retreat: please make sure -before the retreat starts- that people in your care a taken care of. The staff is more than willing to support you during the retreat for example by making calls for you, so you can stay with your contemplation without distraction.

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What are these rules good for?
As mentioned before one of the reasons that this contemplation technique is so efficient is, that we ask our everyday-self (also called "social self" or "ego") to temporarily step aside so we can get to a place, where enlightenment can happen. All the things that are excluded from the retreat by the rules mentioned above are typical strategies of our everyday-self to ensure our everyday survival. In everyday life these strategies are necessary and very helpful. During the time of the retreat we manage to build an environment where the ego can let go of it's task to ensure our everyday survival by applying these rules. This only works if everyone, the participant as well as the staff stick to these rules. And that has to happen on an absolutely voluntarily basis and has to be agreed on before we start contemplating. As soon as the retreat is over you can let go of all these rules immediately and return to your usual lifestyle. Yet, many people have the desire to stick to some of these rules for a while after the retreat. As hard as they may seem in the beginning, these rules might turn out to be very helpful and supportive after a while.

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Can I come with my partner?
Yes you can. Yet there is a little restriction for couples in the EI retreat: you are not allowed to contemplate together. And the rule not to talk or be in contact outside the contemplation phases applies to couples, too. That might be a bit hard at times. The staff will support you in this. Which also means, that you let us know before the retreat, that you are a couple. And talking from my own experience: the time after a retreat that you attended as a couple has a very own quality. It's definitely worth it

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Is this a hidden religion or believe system?
No, quite the opposite! Charles Berner, who has developed this contemplation technique has done so explicitly because he was convinced, that anyone should be enabled to search for an underlying truth in there own way. He also was convinced that any predefined or given image of truth will rather distract people from this search. That doesn't mean that an Enlightenment Intensive doesn't work for you if you are a religious person and believe in god or gods. The Enlightenment Intensive will support you in finding your own way to your god and in exploring this path. As mentioned before: all this contemplation technique offers is a way to encounter your own truth. What this means for you is upon you to find out.

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I am sceptical! Enlightenment in 3 days?
Please be sceptical! By all means. Three days won't bring the same deep quality of directness, that someone might reach after years and years of meditation and contemplation. But it is the same truth that you touch. Yet, an Enlightenment Intensive doesn't replace a regular meditation or contemplation practice.

Also, enlightenment is not part of a personality that you can build. It is a state you can be in and you can "fall" out of again. The good news: even being in that state of union for a very short time will give you an orientation. When the retreat is over you will sooner or later (experience is: rather sooner) return to the "normal" state of being.

And you should know: there is no guarantee that you get into the state of directness or union or enlightenment in an Enlightenment Intensive. The contemplation technique can bring you to the place, where enlightenment can happen. But most of us can't willingly "force" to become enlightened. Yet, even if you don't reach the state of enlightenment your efforts weren't in vain. Every step that brings you closer to a direct experience is a step further in your personal development.

Should you be sceptical, because you have made the experience that there are always people in these kinds of retreats who have a lot of experience and always seem to already know everything and seem to make a competition out of personal growth: be assured that the EI retreat and technique works for everyone equally. To know a lot might help you to "understand" your experiences better after the retreat. But knowledge and memories of experiences are not the experience itself. It is the beginner's mind, the state of not-knowing that brings you to the place, where directness is possible. Charles Berner was convinced of exactly this when he developed the Enlightenment Intensive.

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What else is important to know?
The space, that the Enlightenment Intensive offers is a very secure environment. Directly after the retreat you return to your everyday environment which doesn't offer the same safety. It might help to be aware of this and take your time on the way back into the "normal" state. If possible take some days of after the retreat.

And: Please attend an Enlightenment Intensive only if you really have made this decision on your own. Should someone else have send you, ask yourself: am I participating for this person (to do him/ her a favor, because I think he/ she likes me more if I do so, ...) or do I participate, because I want to? I really recommend you to participate only in the latter case.

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