Blog

Value for Value

Posted on by dredman

Today we changed our pricing model to a Value for Value model. This means you can download our retreat kit for free today and use it for non-profit purposes with no other limitations.

If you find it valuable to you and you would like to support this project and future projects like it just come back to our website and chip in whatever you choose.

We won’t email you and ask you to contribute and your license will never expire. Please note though if you are using this in a for-profit setting, please contact us to arrange licensing.

Please also be aware that all past coupon codes have been expired as they are no longer necessary.

Bodhi House Retreat (Value for Value)
Download now!

Is an at Home Retreat for Me?

Posted on by dredman

You may be asking yourself, “Is an at home retreat the right thing for me?” Here are a couple questions you can ask yourself before you give it a try.

Have ever attended a structured retreat? If you have been on a retreat before, an at home retreat will be much more comfortable in most cases. You will be able to plan a day that makes sense to you but that follows a structure you may be familiar with. If you have never been on a retreat but still want to give it a try you may want to ask someone who has been on a retreat to help you plan out your personal at home retreat. Maybe you could even invite them to “attend” with you.

Can you put away your phone? If you can’t turn off your phone for the length of your retreat it will be very easy to get distracted. Any level of concentration, focus and calm you might have developed will dissipate with that first bzzzzzz bzzzzz.

Will you be able to be left alone? Will you be in a setting where friends, family, or roommates will know that you are on retreat and to leave you alone? If not, well, you know how it is going to go. Maybe you could all do the retreat together, or you could get one or two friends and retreat at one of your houses with strict rules that you are not to be bothered. For some people the motivation to stay focused on the retreat might be increased if you are sharing the retreat with others.

Can you let go of your expectations? Your expectations may be a big hindrance. If you are expecting complete calm and peacefulness and a mind of pure bliss you might be disappointed. Instead try and be with the experience as it is without desiring the retreat go a certain way in order for it to be “good.”

In the end you really don’t know until you try. Start small, maybe two hours broken up into 1/2 hour sessions of moving and sitting meditation and see how it goes. Then next time go a little longer, maybe four or six hours. Before you know it you may be able to retreat at home all day.

Why a Home Retreat?

Posted on by dredman

Let’s be honest here, there is no replacement for a retreat away from the distractions of home and daily life.  One day, three days or a week away can strengthen one’s meditation practice and provide a great springboard to re-energizing your daily practice and life in general.

The truth is sometimes it is hard to get away.  Even if you have the desire there may not be a retreat that meets your particular constraints of time, location, or cost.

Maybe you have a weekend free, or even a day or an afternoon that you can dedicate to your practice.  In this case you can plan on sitting for several hours, do some walking meditation and maybe listen to a recorded talk or guided mediation.  But that does not always go as planned.  Especially if you are always watching the clock and thinking about what to do next.

With a retreat kit it is like having a retreat leader in your own home.  They announce each section of the retreat.  There is no need to look at the clock or even a schedule once the retreat starts.  You press play once on your computer, phone, or tablet and the rest of the day’s activities unfold for you just as if you where on a leader led retreat at a retreat center.

If this sounds good you may want to consider purchasing and downloading our Retreat Kit.

Meditation Retreat Kit Available

Posted on by dredman

We are happy to announce the immediate release of our first meditation retreat kit, Bodhi House Retreat.

More details and information about the kit can be found on this website.  You can order directly from our shop now and for a limited time you can save $2 using the coupon code 2dollars at checkout.

This kit is designed to provide you the components you need to hold a meditation retreat in any setting without needing to have an  experienced or designated leader during the retreat.  All it requires is some basic technology such as an smartphone, computer or tablet and a little bit of time planning and formatting your retreat.

The kit is made up of distinct sound files that you can assemble in any order to create the retreat experience that best meets your needs.  There are tracks that announce activities like silent or moving meditation, tracks that announce the length of the upcoming session and even tracks to announce breaks and meal periods.

Some instances where these kits may be helpful include:

  • You are going on vacation and would like to dedicate anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days to silent contemplation.
  • You want to spend a day at home in meditation, but find it hard to stay focused without some guidance.
  • You have a small group that would like to hold a retreat but no one is comfortable leading the retreat.
  • You really need a retreat NOW, but there is nothing close by, affordable, or that meets your schedule.

There are three main components to this kit:

  1. The Basic Retreat Kit. This kit has fewer options and is simpler to organize.  This is perfect for a personal retreat.  Since there are fewer options to choose from it will allow you to create a retreat quickly with minimal effort. This kit contains 18 audio tracks.
  2. The Advanced Retreat Kit.  This kit has more options but requires you to plan out and arrange, in detail, every aspect of the retreat.  This kit offers you maximum flexibility to build a retreat that meets your exact needs and preferences.  It is very important for the person creating the playlist to double and triple check the order of events to ensure they make sense and will flow smoothly for the participants.  This kit contains 64 audio tracks.
  3. Singing Bowl Meditation Timers. These can be used for personal meditation and in conjunction with the retreat kits.  Each of these timers begins with fifteen seconds of silence, then three chimes of a singing bowl, followed by silence and ending with three more singing bowl chimes. These are perfect for your daily meditation practice.  There are tracks for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minute meditations.  These meditation timers may be downloaded separately for free here.

If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us but please allow for up to 48 hours for a response.

Photo by Erik Brolin on Unsplash

First Retreat Kit Nearly Complete

Posted on by dredman

We are putting the finishing touches on Bodhi House Retreat.  A collection of audio files that will allow you to create the experience of guided meditation retreat in the comfort of your own home, while on vacation or in a group setting.

Using this kit in conjunction meditations and talks that are freely available for download on the internet you will be able to sit for a couple hours, a whole day, or longer and be guided through the experience of a mediation retreat.

While nothing may replace the experience of a retreat lead by a skilled teacher, sometimes time, money, and family commitments make it hard to set aside time, or find a retreat that meets your busy schedule.  This kit will allow you to pick  when and where you choose to “retreat” no matter how busy you may feel.

We hope to have this retreat available for download soon.  Until then check back for updates.  If you have question contact us using this form.