Inner Work with Steli Efti

I recently attended a dark retreat. I was in complete and utter darkness, alone, for an entire week. It was one of the most intense things I've ever done and I haven't really shared much about it with anyone until now.

In this episode, I will share the physical experiences of living in true darkness for five days, how my experience evolved as the week went on, and some of the initial learnings I’ve had about myself in darkness.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep144

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

I recently attended a dark retreat. I was in complete and utter darkness, alone, for an entire week. It was one of the most intense things I've ever done and I haven't really shared much about it with anyone until now.

In this episode, I will share the physical experiences of living in true darkness for five days, how my experience evolved as the week went on, and some of the initial learnings I’ve had about myself in darkness.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep144

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

Recently I spent a week in complete darkness at a dark retreat. And very soon, I was faced with something I didn't expect: Anxiety. I wasn't even halfway through my first day of darkness, and out-of-control anxious thoughts kept appearing, and I had no idea how I'd make it through a week of darkness.

Until eventually I realized what the cause of all these anxious thoughts was, and how I could transform all that nervous energy into peaceful presence.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep143

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

Recently I spent a week in complete darkness at a dark retreat. And very soon, I was faced with something I didn't expect: Anxiety. I wasn't even halfway through my first day of darkness, and out-of-control anxious thoughts kept appearing, and I had no idea how I'd make it through a week of darkness.

Until eventually I realized what the cause of all these anxious thoughts was, and how I could transform all that nervous energy into peaceful presence.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep143

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

I’ve been pondering a story for the last couple of days that I want to share with you. It’s a story I first heard at an ashram a few months ago about a young monk, a tiger and a barking dog. While it didn’t really move me at first, it’s been recently popping up in my mind, so in this episode I’m dissecting the metaphors and exploring it’s many meanings.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep142

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

I’ve been pondering a story for the last couple of days that I want to share with you. It’s a story I first heard at an ashram a few months ago about a young monk, a tiger and a barking dog. While it didn’t really move me at first, it’s been recently popping up in my mind, so in this episode I’m dissecting the metaphors and exploring it’s many meanings.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep142

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

I just spent a week at a darkness retreat - all day and night for an entire week, I was alone in a room in complete darkness. It was a very intense experience - it felt like climbing Mount Everest with your mind. I knew returning to “normal” life after would be an adjustment, particularly since the work week ahead was going to be a very challenging one.

I decided to start the week with a small experiment to ease myself into work, and I discovered some surprising learnings as a result. In this episode, I share what I did and the importance of taking mindful breaks to do some inner listening. There's a lot that can be learned from the inner echoes of our own minds.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep141

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

I just spent a week at a darkness retreat - all day and night for an entire week, I was alone in a room in complete darkness. It was a very intense experience - it felt like climbing Mount Everest with your mind. I knew returning to “normal” life after would be an adjustment, particularly since the work week ahead was going to be a very challenging one.

I decided to start the week with a small experiment to ease myself into work, and I discovered some surprising learnings as a result. In this episode, I share what I did and the importance of taking mindful breaks to do some inner listening. There's a lot that can be learned from the inner echoes of our own minds.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep141

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

An important point that I need to keep remembering is that it’s truly a miracle how adaptable we are. The capacity of a human being to heal and transform and overcome obstacles is tremendous. We are always healing, fixing and overcoming.

We need to remember that no matter what difficult situations or feelings we’re experiencing, we aren’t alone - millions of other people have or will also experience the same thing as you. Don’t let the “I should be better” syndrome creep in and create unnecessary fear and tension in your life. At the end of the day, everything in life can be fixed or changed.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep140

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/

An important point that I need to keep remembering is that it’s truly a miracle how adaptable we are. The capacity of a human being to heal and transform and overcome obstacles is tremendous. We are always healing, fixing and overcoming.

We need to remember that no matter what difficult situations or feelings we’re experiencing, we aren’t alone - millions of other people have or will also experience the same thing as you. Don’t let the “I should be better” syndrome creep in and create unnecessary fear and tension in your life. At the end of the day, everything in life can be fixed or changed.

Shownotes:https://steliefti.com/ep140

Connect with me:

https://steliefti.com

https://twitter.com/steli

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steliefti/