Going on a Retreat for Spiritual Development May Be an Illusion

Main subjects

AVAlexander VolchekSpiritual development and the spiritual pathSpiritRetreatMeditation practice and techniqueChildren, parenting, and family life

What is said here

• 00:00You need to understand that the very idea of going on a retreat for spiritual development is an illusion. That does not mean you should not do it.Children · Meditation · Retreat
• 01:30Can it be relaxing? In theory, yes. In theory, yes. But I know few people who experience it that way. I take it calmly.WHOOP · Children
• 03:05The ultimate paradise. What else is it? What else is it? What I see in front of me now is obviously the ultimate paradise. An ultra-paradise. Does that necessarily mean I must be in a state of recovery?Retreat · Las Vegas
• 04:37Clearly it could. Obviously. It depends on what we mean by it. Let us look up the word “retreat.” Let us look at it now. I often refer to this: what is a retreat?Retreat
• 06:04Modern science sees life as routine, so you need a break from that routine. There is routine, and then there is some little diversion.Spirit · Meditation
• 07:36Retreats are often held in the countryside, in the mountains, or in other places far from civilization. And off it goes: dark retreats, all kinds of different retreats, prayers.Silicon Valley · Silicon Valley as a business environment · Meditation
• 09:04That is the point of expanding perception. Having the impulse to ask, “How can I maintain this state all the time?” is not a bad impulse.Expanded perception · Spirit
• 11:26He can, can’t he? I am at home now, and I just walked through the house. He was watching The Fixies. Their cartoons might explain something about math.Children · Spirit
• 17:15But these are products applied from outside, and some organic compounds do more harm than chemical ones—what people call “chemicals.” I am not a great expert in this, so I will not go into it.Meditation · YouTube · Retreat
• 21:09“You were not asleep at all for an hour and forty-five minutes.” He said, “Oh, right, I lay down then, but first I decided to look at my phone. Oh, of course, I made two calls that evening.”Time · Spirit

Claims made here

Individual claims identified in the material: who said them, when, and what kind of thought they express. Each timestamp opens that point in the video.

• 00:51

  Because it understands meditation according to the way people generally think of it today.

  Alexander Volchekcause

• 05:39

  So what matters to people is that it is an organized event, which is a complete abstraction.

  Alexander Volchek

• 10:40

  I organize trips and meetings like this myself, hold sessions and many public meditations, lead groups, and answer a huge number of questions because it is an opportunity for a person—a major opportunity.

  Alexander Volchekcause

• 12:15

  But people are ignorant—completely ignorant—of what the spiritual world is. They know nothing about it, have absolutely no understanding of it. So all you have to do is put up a sign, and they come running.

  Alexander Volchekcause

• 16:14

  People grab everything because they perceive those products as better than what is in the store.

  Alexander Volchekcausecomparison

• 17:15

  But these are products applied from outside, and some organic compounds do more harm than chemical ones.

  Alexander Volchekcomparison

• 18:30

  But there is a big difference between what we are talking about—expanding perception—and a little recovery.

  Alexander Volchekdefinitioncomparison

• 20:10

  People tell me, “Oh, I hardly need any sleep. I am doing so well.”

  Alexander Volchek

• 20:27

  A person can see whether they actually slept or merely thought they had rested.

  Alexander Volchekrecommendation

• 21:39

  But when I started wearing different devices, it turned out that, by ordinary standards, I did not just have no problems: my sleep was excellent. I was mostly at ninety or a hundred percent.

  Alexander Volchek