Darkness Retreat in Alicante, Spain, Europe
Please note that at this stage we can't find a way to make providing darkness retreats financially viable, so we do not accept bookings for darkness retreats for the time being. Stay tuned until we update this page if darkness is of interest you. Sorry for any inconvenience!
A New Day Retreats also offers the possibility to retreat into darkness. You might wonder what that even is? Darkness retreats are not so common in Europe, so you might not have heard about it before. It is as basic as it sounds - you are in total darkness for 3 or 4 days (we no longer offer more than 4 days of darkness), just you, your body and your thoughts.
But .... why?!
When you spend days on your own in the dark, your body and mind finally have some time for healing and recovering from the daily stresses of your life. Do you feel that you often go to bed too late, and that your alarm clock goes off too early? Do you feel stretched and stressed? Darkness is a unique opportunity to heal from exhaustion and having over extended youself for too long. Some claim it can help on depression, disease and trauma (see reading further below). In my personal experience it feels deeply healing and restorative on a physical and mental level, it allows you to connect with yourself and realise what is truly important to you. Darkness has a way of distilling information to portions that help you to fully integrate it.
Also, if you are unable to take or not interested in plant medicines, then darkness may have a similar impact in terms of physical and emotional healing from a stressful life or trauma. People experienced with both psychoactive plants and darkness may enquire about combining the approaches (not at the same time).
Darkness lets you find your inner light.
How does it work?
You go into a dark room, which at A New Day Retreats comprises a bedroom, a small area with food and a bathroom (see this page for pictures and a video of the space). The whole space is completely dark. You start on Day 1 before sunset, say a Friday, and for a 3 day retreat you come out on Monday afternoon. We will bring you food every 24 hours.
The food is a big part of your body's healing during the retreat: It will be raw, vegan food, such as leafy greens (baby spinach, lamb lettuce, lettuce), fruits (apples, pears, melon, whatever is in season), vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.). There will be no stimulants (coffee, tea), spicy food, nuts, seeds, salt, ferments, garlic, onion and similar. We cater to allergies and food preferences.
It isn't only the food we bring, though. We also bring support. Being by yourself in darkness isn't fun and games, it is challenging and there are moments when it isn't easy. When we bring food, we also bring conversation and emotional support, and I want this to be a healing, transformative and overall positive experience for you, as it has been for me.
Isn't it scary?
I thought it would be scary, but in fact I have rarely felt safer. Safer, for example, from society's judgemental gaze that we are constantly under as we go about living our lives.
In darkness you are free to be who you are and you can feel what you need to feel. There is a deep freedom in allowing yourself to sleep when you are tired, eat when you are hungry, cry when you are sad or overwhelmed, meditate when you need to calm your mind and laugh out loud when you realise how grateful you are for your life and everyone in it.
If you should find that darkness isn't for you, the answer is super simple: You just walk out the door. Nothing is holding you back. But once you are in there, I believe that you will feel the calm and you will surrender to the darkness in a liberating way. People who are normally scared of the dark can feel totally calm and safe in darkness.
Who is it for?
If you think to yourself, "No way am I going into a pitch black room for days on end!", then it probably isn't for you. Or not yet.
I you feel that you could do with some deep rest, deep healing and deep restoration, then it might well be for you. Get in touch if you would like to know more.
Is it safe?
Yes, it is totally safe. You will have a call-button that you can press without seeing any light, and I get a call on my phone to indicate that you need support, and I will be with you as soon as possible. I live about 800 m from the premises. (Please note that I cannot guarantee support between 22:00-8:00, but I will come to you as soon as I get up). Also, if you feel the need to at any time, you can literally just walk out the door or switch on the light, but I do aim to support you in the darkness as much as you need.
Further reading and listening
The podcast where I first heard about darkness retreats and that immediately made me want to retreat into darkness myself (that is a clickable link):
A book and a blog about retreating into darkness with a wealth of information (that is a clickable link):
What can you hear while in darkness?
Most of the time it is very quiet. The house is located in rural Spain and you will hear mostly animals though you might hear some human voices once in a while. There is a horse on the field next to the house, some of the neighbours have dogs, there are a couple of donkeys and a flock of geese a few fields over. You may hear a particularly aggressive sounding vehicle from the road higher up. The house is located on a dead end dirt road, there is no through traffic, and most of these sounds are only audible when the window is open. But do be aware that the retreat isn't silent. I personally do not find that the sounds you hear interfere with the inner work that you do during the retreat, but if you are looking for a silent as well as dark retreat, this is not suitable for you.
What do you do in the dark?
You slow down, you sleep as much as your body asks you to, you consciously nourish yourself with healthy food, you might want to actively meditate or maybe do gentle floor exercises, if that thought attracts you (I can give you a list of some exercises that maintain whole body strength while being safe to do in the dark). You allow yourself to feel whatever comes up for you, and you sit with yourself, by yourself through it all. Darkness is mainly about the body finally taking time to passively heal itself, and the mind is along for the ride. You surrender to the flow of your own rhythm, unconcerned about the time of the day or other people's needs.
Why do you only come every 24 hours?
Retreating into darkness is a lot about facing yourself without any distractions. Your sense of vision is removed, your food is super basic so it doesn't "keep you entertained", there is no music or interesting auditory input, and we come only once a day to bring food, so you can really have that time to yourself to do the inner work that you came for. If we brought any more distractions than this, I feel that you wouldn't be able to really face whatever it is that you came into darkness to face.
Is it ventilated?
Yes, a system of ventilation that you control yourself has been installed. You ventilate as you deem necessary, I will give guidelines for a healthy indoor climate when you arrive.
What is it like to return to the normal world after darkness?
There honestly is no feeling like it! I feel SUCH a hunger to return to my life after darkness, I miss connecting with the people in it, eating a variety of food, being able to see the beautiful world we live in. Coming out of darkness brings a deep feeling of vitality and desire to do the things that I normally take for granted, like reading a book, drinking a cup of coffee, feeling the sun on my skin, the wind in my hair, touching my loved ones. Every sensation is heightened and appreciated in a way that I cannot describe. Come and experience it for yourself.
Please note, that just after exiting the dark room, there is some disorientation, maybe some dizziness, that soon wears off as you get used to the sensory input again. And then it hits you - just how amazing the world is.
How much is a darkness retreat?
We offer a 3 day dark retreat for 300 euros and a 4 day dark retreat for 400 euros, which includes all meals prepared for you and daily support as needed (please note that we cannot guaratee support between the hours of 22:00-08:00). I recommend starting with 3 days. (See FAQs for an overview of services and prices.)
*To make mental healthcare more accessible to the wider public, I have decided to use a tiered payment scale (that is to say reduced prices) for people who are not affluent enough to pay the full price. Please see the FAQ section for more information, if you struggle to make ends meet but feel the need to experience darkness, feel free to enquire about attending on a lower tier).
How do I book a darkness retreat?
There is a booking calendar seperate from the plant medicine retreats on the page Contact/Book, find 3 or 4 consecutive days on the calendar that suit you and get in touch via email (ditte@anewdayretreats.com) or the booking form. For any questions about darkness, feel free to get in touch!
