6 day silent retreat - to dorm or not to dorm?

17 hours ago 6

Howdy!

I'm signing up for a 6 day silent retreat at Kripalu in MA, and very much looking forward to it. My question for those experienced with silent retreats is should I share a dorm space or get my own private room?

Some points I'm considering:

  • Yes, I'm on a budget but COULD stretch to get a private room if I think it would significantly improve my experience.
  • The dorms are shared with people who are NOT on the silent retreat but are doing other programs or are there for general r&r.
  • My goal for this retreat is to give my nervous system and mind-body connection space to re-set after a challenging few years, so I anticipate doing a good amount of embodied processing (aka crying, laughing, dancing, jumping around, maybe screaming into a pillow, whatever my body needs as it needs it). While I wouldn't let a shared dorm deter me from the above, I anticipate the experience would be different in a shared dorm vs a solo room.
  • I'm very good at sleeping. Not worried about noise or light in a shared room.
  • I hold a narrative that a solo room feels more luxurious.
  • I also hold a narrative that I may build deep relationships with my dorm mates, even in silence.
  • This is my first silent retreat but I have a fairly rigorous contemplative practice, so I'm not nervous, I'm just curious and excited to experience whatever arises.
  • The part I'm most nervous about is making the "right choice to maximize impact" re: the dorm room (which, as I write it, I realize is something I can let go of as the right choice will be the one I make 😁)

For experienced silent-retreaters, do you have any recommendations for other considerations I should be taking into account? Specifically as it relates to the boarding question?

Thanks so much!

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