Welcome to Your 3-Day L.I.G.H.T House Retreat
Cheers! You’ve chosen the 3-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!
Pro Tip!
Although these videos are specifically designed for a 3-day retreat, they also serve as a great 10-session introduction to meditation. So feel free to watch at your own pace!
Choose How to Watch Videos
Online Streaming
The easiest way to access the first video of this 3 day retreat is to simply click on the “Day 1” 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 2 hours 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 14 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 from this retreat.
Print/Download the Blank Schedule
if you would prefer to adjust the session and break times and activities scheduled, 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!
Day 1
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 + Intro
In this welcome session, the monks help you get an understanding of what this 3-Day retreat is all about and how it will take shape over the duration of the next 10 sessions. There will also be a brief overview of how to meditate effectively which will give a framework that is expanded upon throughout the remaining sessions.
Posture + Sitting
How to align your body to be most comfortable while sitting is a topic that is often glazed over. However, since physical comfort is a foundational aspect of meditating properly, the monks spend significant time sharing 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!
Day 2
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.
Let’s meditate…
For these early morning sessions, we don’t want to burden you with any concepts. Instead of covering a new teaching, we will just go straight into meditation after a few words from the guiding monk. So let go of all worries, and enjoy this early morning calm :)
Nature of the Mind + 3 Meditation Tools
We are now getting into the core of the meditation practice. In this session, you will learn some characteristics of the nature of the mind to understand why it’s important to train it through meditation. In addition, you will learn 3 tools that can help you hone in on the proper level of awareness necessary for the mind to effectively discover stillness.
Coming Back to Neutral/Comfort
Although hard to identify, this session might be the most essential session to grasp the essence of how to meditate effectively. Maintaining neutral observation and mental comfort is the key to progress at every stage of the practice. So in this session, the monks will explain a number of ways the mind typically loses its neutrality, and they will give you some tools to slowly reestablish it each time.
Mindful Body Adjustments During the Session
Physical discomfort is one of the most common obstacles that newcomers—and even long-term practitioners—face in the practice. In this session, the monks share how you can find a middle way between being fidgety and pushing through persistent pain by making a mindful mid-session adjustment.
Day 3
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.
Let’s Meditate…
Again for this last early morning session, let’s release all theory and concepts. Let the freshness of the morning seep into your mind as you take a deep breath and just relax into that comfortable feeling.
Overcoming Sleepiness
Sleepiness is another very common obstacle that practitioners face in meditation. In this session, the monks will discuss the various factors that can contribute to sleepiness, what to be more mindful of before the session to prep the mind to be more alert, and some techniques to overcome sleepiness whenever it shows up inside of the session.
Mind Shower + Daily Practice
Now that the retreat is coming to a close, the monks will share some concepts that will help you integrate the know-how you’ve learned back into your life in a sustainable way. Using a very simple, relatable analogy about showering our bodies, the monks will share a perspective that can frame meditation in a way that helps us understand the necessity of daily consistency. They will then share some practical tips about how you can start a daily practice that actually sticks.
Wrap Up + Candlelight Meditation
Congrats on making it to the end! For this last session, the monks will share some key takeaways and paint a picture for the broader implications of what becoming a true practitioner of meditation means for yourself, others around you, and the world at large. 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 :)