Inner Joy Vipassana silent retreat

Amid the serene winter embrace of Dharma Mountain, you will reconnect with the natural state of inner peace. Vipassana meditation helps release layers of stress and tension, allowing space for genuine joy to arise.

The retreat offers the time and guidance to observe your mind with depth and clarity. You may uncover insights into patterns, thoughts, and emotions that shape your life, creating opportunities for transformation.

Through consistent meditation practice, you will cultivate a calm mind and relaxed body. Vipassana is a powerful tool to reset your nervous system and reduce stress.

Meditating in a group over several days builds your capacity for sustained focus and sharpens your awareness. These skills naturally carry over to enhance your day-to-day presence and productivity.

Meditating in the shared silence of a group creates a powerful collective energy. Practicing together makes meditation easier and supports your inner journey. You will discover a new way of connection with others on a deeper level and with life itself.

This retreat offers a complete reset from the busyness of daily life. In the quiet and spaciousness of Dharma Mountain, creativity and inspiration can flow naturally, bringing fresh perspectives and renewed energy to your life.

Course fee in NOK:
5495,-

(NOK 4495 Early bird price until January 1st)

…

Accommodation and meals for 10 days:

• NOK 12 145 incl. shared room or single loft space
• NOK 15 145 incl. single room
  
  (NOK 1215 / 1515 per day incl. accommodation and 3 meals)

• 5 meditations/groups every day

• individual sharings with course leaders if needed/wanted

• access to our sauna

• use or our libarary of 300 meditation books

• use of creative room

• accommodation

• 3 meals every day: breakfast, lunch and dinner

• coffee and tea served the whole day

• transport to/from Dharma Mountain

• Bedlinen/towels (can be rented)

• Dharma Wellbeing's treatments; massage, reiki, Transmutation Therapy, Star Sapphire

The following rules apply:

If you need to cancel, there is the possibility of giving your place to someone you know

If you cancel more than 14 days before the event starts, you are entitled to a refund. We retain a cancellation fee of NOK 1000.

If you cancel less than 14 days before the start of the group/retreat, there is no refund. In this case you could check with your insurance company for a possible refund of your expenses.

If Dharma Mountain cancels the event, all payments will be refunded (including the cancellation fee). (Dharma Mountain does not cover travel expenses; you can check with your insurance company regarding this).

Vipassana meditation is an ancient technique, which came from Gautama Buddha more than 2500 years ago. It is very simple – we sit in silence, relax the body and just watch the breath coming and going. There is no effort involved in the breathing. At the same time we take a distance from everything that is happening – physical sensations, emotions and thoughts – just watching them without getting involved. In this way we can gradually become more silent, relaxed and present – simply resting and being with ourselves. At Dharma Mountain, we have a soft and friendly approach to Vipassana, no effort or force is brought into the practice. It is not about having the perfect sitting position – you can sit in a normal chair if you like. It is not about forcing the body to be still, or managing to stop the mind. Meditation is more an acceptance of whatever is here. By accepting, we can relax and find that we have everything we need right here and now, letting ourselves be nourished and renewed, for no external reason.

You don’t need previous experience with Vipassana to join the retreat, the technique will be introduced and guided.

Vipassana means to see things as they really are..

The program includes soft movement, soft yoga and active meditations to prepare and support the body for sitting.

There will also be free time for walks in nature, sauna (some days), sessions etc. and a room will be available for creative expression – writing, drawing or painting.

To be in a silent retreat at Dharma Mountain doesn’t mean just practising a technique, it’s a complete experience of silence and meditation. Here, meditation has been practised for more than 25 years, and everybody working here has meditation as a part of their lives.

There is no rule stating that exactly ten days are needed to learn Vipassana meditation and to receive benefits from it. Meditation is a journey of a lifetime. But a ten day retreat may give us the time we need to go through layers which prevent us from experiencing the silence and peace that are naturally there, inside of us, so we can have a deeper experience.

Our experience has shown that the first two to three days are spent learning the technique, getting into the practice and settling here. During the following days we face ourselves, our thoughts, sensations, feelings and moods. For some, this phase might be easy, maybe even a relief to just be with oneself. For others, it may be challenging. It is normal to experience restlessness, resistance and uncomfortable feelings. With patience and with the structure of the retreat, everything is invited to come up, and also to pass, in its own time. After these days of going deeper, things start to settle - just like sand in water takes time to come to rest at the bottom. Thoughts and challenges may still be there, but little by little we get a distance to them.

By giving ourselves as much as ten days, the silence will be more integrated and we can more easily bring the quality of silence into our lives.

For us at Dharma Mountain, meditation is not only a technique - it is the very presence and connection with the deep peace we all naturally have in ourselves. In a society where our attention is constantly pulled outwards and where all focus is on achieving and performing, many of us have lost the connection with the natural and peaceful place inside. Meditation techniques are available to help us and to allow us to practice coming back to the peace which is always there.

We can bring meditation into everything we do – into our work and our interactions with others. It is an inner resting place – a source of nourishment, no matter what is happening on the outside.

1. More calmness: Meditation activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers the heart rhythm and blood pressure.
   
2. Mindre stress: Meditasjon hemmer mengden av stresshormoner i kroppen og gjør den mer motstandsdyktig mot stress. Du blir bedre i stand til å takle hendelser og situasjoner i livet ditt. Meditasjon påvirker også stoffskiftet, som synker til et nivå som kan være lavere enn når du sover.
   
3. More joy: It is no coincidence that we call the silent retreat "Inner Joy". Meditation affects signal substances in the brain, making it produce more of the "happiness hormone" Dopamine. Meditation also reduces anxiety and depression.
   
4. More presence: Senses sharpen when you meditate. The practice of being present allows you to feel, taste and smell more fully the world around you.
   
5. More clarity: Forskning viser at meditasjon gjør hjernen skarpere og bedre til å huske og lære. Fordi vi hele tiden bringer oppmerksomheten til her og nå, blir det enklere å se ting klarere – fordi vi skaper en distanse til tankene og følelsene våre.
   
6. More creativity: Many people experience a boost in creativity when they start meditating. This is partly due to activation of a part of the brain related to creativity, but also due to more relaxation and less self-criticism.
   
7. More energy: Meditation is known to recharge the body. Excessive thought activity and stress requires effort and energy, and by letting go of this, we get more energy. We also become more aware of the body's natural needs, and thereby find a more healthy balance between rest and activity.
   
   (Various sources)