Dark Retreats

Silicon Valley execs, celebrities, and athletes are trying out a new form of extreme meditation called “dark retreats,” which literally puts people alone in a dark room with no technology and only minimal supplies and amenities. 

• What it is: A person spends three or four days alone in a pitch-black room, cabin, or cave that has a bed, a bath, and a toilet. They receive three meals a day through a slot and can choose to speak with facilitators at two specific times a day.
• Why people do it: The first couple of days reportedly provide a deep rest that feels like sedation. That’s followed by a feeling of relentlessness and introspection. After that, attendees report having psychedelic visions or exploring altered states. Trippy.

While sensory deprivation has been around for thousands of years, that doesn’t mean it comes without major risks. While Dwight Howard declared it “the best thing I ever did,” Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (the 10th-biggest crypto), only lasted 12 hours in a dark cabin before running out scared. He posted on X that he felt “terrifying shadows gnawing at my soul, sleep paralysis demons, and [an] inability to breathe.”

https://news.futureparty.com/p/john-wick-for-kids

Dark retreats, dark forest.