Enlightenment Intensive

Enlightenment Intensives are modern group retreats designed to enable individuals to experience that which is traditionally known as kensho, satori, samadhi, or enlightenment in a relatively short period of time. The typical Intensive is just three days long. There are also longer Enlightenment Intensives (e.g., seven days, two weeks, six weeks) where the aim is to go for deeper enlightenment but using essentially the same format as a three-day. The enlightenment experience sought during an Enlightenment Intensive is described as a momentary change in the individual's state of consciousness in which the individual directly experiences (or becomes conscious of being) that which is absolute reality or ultimate truth - the ultimate truth of self, or of life, or of others. The overriding orientation is self-discovery, so religious teachings and philosophical concepts are generally avoided.

History

Enlightenment Intensives were devised by an American spiritual teacher named Charles Berner^[1] (1929–2007), also known as Yogeshwar Muni. A former teacher of scientology, Berner had been developing the use of interpersonal communication processes for personal growth during the 1960s. As he himself has explained it (see Noyes, 1989), Berner observed that those who tended not to make much progress in their personal growth would be those who did not actually know who they were - that is, they were "identified" with their false self-images or egos or personalities, unaware of their true inner being. Traditional techniques for experiencing self-realization, such as the ancient yogic method of self-enquiry using the question "Who am I?" (as taught in the Twentieth Century by Ramana Maharshi), were too long term for the average Westerner seeking personal growth.

The inspiration for Enlightenment Intensives came to Berner one sunny Spring afternoon in 1968.

I had four or five hours one afternoon with nothing to do. I was in the Santa Cruz mountains in California, staring at the trees in a nice quiet area ... Suddenly the whole idea of the Enlightenment Exercise occurred to me and moments later it occurred to me to use the format of a Zen sesshin [intensive meditation retreat], but to call it an intensive. So essentially the basic outline of both the Enlightenment Technique and the Enlightenment Intensive came to me at that time. And what source it came from I know not but it wasn't a process of sitting down and figuring it out. It occurred to me in one moment. I was just reflecting on this problem on this beautiful spring afternoon and suddenly it came to me: why don't we take the age-old question of 'Who am I?" which is at least 7,000 years old, and combine it with the communication techniques that I had learned? And thus was born the Enlightenment Intensive.^{[citation needed]}

The first experimental Enlightenment Intensive was held in the Californian desert soon afterwards. Berner went on to run dozens of Intensives over the next few years, gradually refining the format, the rules, the technique and so on. Having optimized the retreat for the "weekend truth-seeker", he also trained others to lead Enlightenment Intensives in the same manner. His 99th and last Enlightenment Intensive was held in Berkeley in 1975.

Enlightenment Intensives are now held in many countries around the world. There are also numerous derivations of the Enlightenment Intensive which include some alteration of the format or technique and go by different names. They may to be offered as a "stand-alone" process, outside of any tradition or movement or organization.

Structure

The format of an Enlightenment Intensive resembles a cross between a meditation retreat and a co-counselling workshop (see Chapman, 1989, for a first-person view of taking an Intensive). As with a Zen retreat, the Intensive is led by a person who is traditionally called the master, though some prefer the term facilitator. The master's role is to set up the retreat, ensure it runs smoothly, and provide the participants with appropriate information, support, and encouragement, both to the group as a whole and to individuals where needed.

The Enlightenment Intensive also has a set of monastic-style rules, designed to ensure that a singleminded focus on the purpose of the retreat is maintained.

A typical daily structure for an Enlightenment Intensive starts from awakening early in the morning and lasts until sleep late in the evening the day being filled with dyads except for periods for eating, washing, exercise, work and meditation. During each day there are ten to twelve 40 minute dyads where participants work on their question, often called their koan, with another partner. The most usual koans are "Tell me who you are" Tell me what you are" "Tell me what life is" and "Tell me what another is".The koan is chosen by the participant in agreement with the master/facilitator. The first and most basic koan is "Who am I?" which is asked as the question: "Tell me who you are".

Within the Osho tradition facilitators of 3 day Enlightenement Intensives which they call Awareness Intensive' and the longer 7 day group which they call 'Satori Group' work on an amended version of this basic question which is "Who is in?"

In all cases one partner asks the other partner their koan question and then listens intently to what is said without any form of response whatsoever. The talking partner looks inside themselves intending to have a direct experience of the truth of the answer to their koan and reports to their partner what comes to their consciousness as a result. This process of communication continues for 5 minutes before stopping in response to a bell or chime. The talking partner then becomes the listening partner for a further 5 minutes. After 40 minutes of such 5 minute dyadic exchanges there is a break before resuming these exchanges with another partner.

Some facilitators of Enlightenment Intensives including those within the Osho tradition include the possibility of further questions such as "What is love" What is truth?" and "What is beauty?"

When a participant has a direct experience of the truth in answer to their question they experience a profound change of state whereby a great clarity is found. This clarity can have a profoundly beneficial effect on one's relationship to oneself, life or other people. The participant presents his answer to the master/facilitator who uses his experience to determine whether the participant has had a direct experience of the truth to his question. The participant then either continues with another question or the same question. There may be a period on the last day of longer Intensives to support the integration of the experience into participant's daily life. There may also be a follow up meeting of the group participants after some days for sharing.

Further reading

• Chapman, J. (1989). Tell Me Who You Are. (ISBN 1-85421-026-2) http://www.enlightenment-intensives.org.uk/TellMeWhoYouAre(part1).pdf
• Noyes, L. (1998). The Enlightenment Intensive: Dyad Communication as a Tool for Self-Realization. North Atlantic Books. (ISBN 1883319730)
• Love, J. (1979) The 72 hour mirror, the Enlightenment Intensive Process. by Jeff Love. Guerneville, California: Inner Ed. Reprinted April 1986 by Origin, Star Route, Sattley, California. 59 pgs. (ASIN B000N6B0GY)

External links

• Enlightenment Intensives Masters' Manual
• Awakening to Truth - Enlightenment Intensives with Linda Robinson - Southern California
• Enlightenment Intensives based on the dyad approach.

References

1. ^ http://www.naturalmeditation.net/Design/about%20charles.html\