Welcome to your 1-Day L.I.G.H.T House Retreat
Congrats! You’ve chosen the 1-Day Retreat…
so now what’s next?
Learn How to Host a Retreat
The manual below will break down all the tasks to complete and decisions to make both before, during, and after your retreat to ensure a smooth and transformative experience for you and your guests. Click the link below to download, print, or just view and read the manual that will enable you to become a super-powered retreat host for your friends and family!
Choose How to Watch Videos
Online Streaming
The easiest way to access the first video of this 1 day retreat is to simply click on the “Videos” tab at the top of the page and click play on the first video. You will have to click play twice for the video to start, but as long as you have good internet connection, the video should play without any issues! You can enter full screen by clicking on the expand button in the bottom right corner of the video.
Download for Offline Viewing
If, however, the internet connection is not so reliable where you plan to run your retreat, you can download all of the videos by clicking the button below (please only access on a computer not your phone). After clicking the download button on this page, the first message shown below will show up in your window. Click “download” and then “download anyway” in the next window that pops up (also shown below). This could take up to 30 minutes or more depending on your internet connection and device. Once the file is finished downloading, double click the .zip file and it will open up to a roughly 3.63 gb folder. So make sure you have enough free space to save this large of a file folder onto your device.
Choose a Schedule
Print/Download the Pre-filled Schedule
The schedule below includes a time-table that closely parallels a system that has proven to work over years of application when running retreats in Thailand. If you would like to adopt this specific set of times and break activities, then you may download, print, and/or send a copy to any friends who you want to invite to give them an idea of what they can expect to learn during this retreat.
Print/Download the Blank Schedule
If you would prefer to adjust the times and activities conducted during each break, then feel free to download and print the schedule below that has blank spaces underneath each activity and within each break row so that you can customize it to your liking. After adjusting the schedule, you can send a copy to any friends who you want to invite to set their expectations properly.
Supplement Your Retreat
Meditation Journaling
Meditation journaling is one of the most powerful ways to deepen your practice as you get the opportunity to build your own specific roadmap to effective meditation. The journal entry below provides you with a great framework to observe your practice properly. You can print this entry and give to your guests, or you can provide them with access to the fillable E-journal below that allows you to journal electronically on your device and explains the benefits of journaling in even more depth. Enjoy!
Access Other Resources
The page that is linked below will provide you with access to other meditation resources that can prove very helpful for you and your guests during this retreat and beyond. Some of the resources will include: monthly, multiple month, and yearly habit trackers; a worksheet where you can write down all the reasons why meditation is important for you; explanations of how to be a good accountability partner for each other, infographics of how to meditate effectively, and more!
Submit pictures, videos, and/or testimonials of your retreat experience for a chance to be featured on Venerable Nick’s YouTube to inspire others around the world!
1-Day Retreat
Each video description will provide more details about each teaching topic. Although it may not be stated explicitly, each video will include a guided meditation.
Setting Tone + Sitting Posture
In this welcome session, the monks help you get an understanding of what this 1-Day retreat is all about and how it will take shape over the duration of the next 3 sessions. In addition to how to practice effectively, the monks will share how to sit with good posture, what you can sit on, and what accessories you can use to support your body. On that note, to all facilitators: make sure you have prepared enough blankets, pillows, and other such accessories for this session so your guest can experiment to find what is most supportive for them!
3 Tools + Coming Back to Neutral/Comfort
The teachings of this session contain the heart of the practice and will elaborate on the balance of comfort and awareness essential for effective meditation. The 3 tools that you will learn will help you discover the proper level of awareness while the methods of how to come back to neutral observation at all times will help you discover the proper level of mental comfort for stillness of mind to arise.
Review + Nature of the Mind + Candlelight Meditation
Congrats on making it to the end! For this last session, the monks will give a summary of everything covered today, share about the nature of the mind and some tips to start a daily habit, and leave you with some ending sentiments to inspire your continued journey. This will be followed by a candlelight meditation to close off this retreat in a very special and sacred way. So make sure to prepare some candles and get ready to have a beautiful last session :)