Here some precautions to take if you are doing a retreat in a remote location.
Any adventure, whether physical or spiritual, entails risk or it would not be an adventure. Wise adventurers are humble about their vulnerability and take precautions.
If that retreat is in a foreign country, take precautions. Nations that get most of their income from tourism often hush up and deny problems.
When a young person goes missing in a third world country that is popular as a tourist destination, especially if a woman goes missing, local authorities often blame the victim, typically writing it off as promiscuity or a drug deal gone wrong.
Places like this are also popular as spiritual retreats - lovely settings, cheap labor, cheap real estate.
So, what you do is establish your credibility before you go abroad.
Give your family or friends a copy of your passport.
Two, when arriving, register at the embassy or consulate before going to the retreat facility. This establishes your street cred as a responsible traveler.
If you go missing, you're taken more seriously if you're known to have registered at the consulate and if you have family and friends from home who are raising hell demanding to know where you are and who have a copy of your passport.
Who, What, When, Where .
Who is leading the retreat - names and phone numbers
Where is the retreat - location, name of facility, telephone numbers
When -- When is the retreat, when do you return, when are your friends or family to expect to hear from you --
WHAT your friends and family must do if they do NOT hear from you by a a specific time and date.
Have a friend or relative who knows where you are. Give them the name of the retreat facility and the contact information.
If they do not get a satisfactory answer, they should contact the local law enforcement authorities
Leave immediately if you discover any of the following:
They expect you to surrender your keys, your laptop, your passport.
This is not a retreat, this is jail. You've committed no crime. Does not matter if anyone there is your best friend, your mom, your fiance.
Any set up where they expect you to surrender these items -- RUN.
Does not matter if you'e already paid a ton of money.
Get the fuck out.
Which brings us to another important point:
Keep total control over your transportation, especially if you're going to
a retreat in a remote location. Keep your own car. Do not get guilt tripped
into ride sharing.
If you do not have your own vehicle, arrange with someone in the nearest town
to arrive and collect you if you discover you are in a bad situation and need to bug out.
Suppose you discover the retreat is creepy and you want to get away. If you've ride shared, you either do not have your own car, or if you do, you feel guilty
for sneaking away by yourself.
You owe no explanation for leaving. They may try to persuade you to stay.
Just keep mum, get someone to collect you and get out. If necessary, leave your
belongings.
Any adventure, whether physical or spiritual, entails risk or it would not be an adventure. Wise adventurers are humble about their vulnerability and take precautions.
If that retreat is in a foreign country, take precautions. Nations that get most of their income from tourism often hush up and deny problems.
When a young person goes missing in a third world country that is popular as a tourist destination, especially if a woman goes missing, local authorities often blame the victim, typically writing it off as promiscuity or a drug deal gone wrong.
Places like this are also popular as spiritual retreats - lovely settings, cheap labor, cheap real estate.
So, what you do is establish your credibility before you go abroad.
Give your family or friends a copy of your passport.
Two, when arriving, register at the embassy or consulate before going to the retreat facility. This establishes your street cred as a responsible traveler.
If you go missing, you're taken more seriously if you're known to have registered at the consulate and if you have family and friends from home who are raising hell demanding to know where you are and who have a copy of your passport.
Who, What, When, Where .
Who is leading the retreat - names and phone numbers
Where is the retreat - location, name of facility, telephone numbers
When -- When is the retreat, when do you return, when are your friends or family to expect to hear from you --
WHAT your friends and family must do if they do NOT hear from you by a a specific time and date.
Have a friend or relative who knows where you are. Give them the name of the retreat facility and the contact information.
If they do not get a satisfactory answer, they should contact the local law enforcement authorities
Leave immediately if you discover any of the following:
They expect you to surrender your keys, your laptop, your passport.
This is not a retreat, this is jail. You've committed no crime. Does not matter if anyone there is your best friend, your mom, your fiance.
Any set up where they expect you to surrender these items -- RUN.
Does not matter if you'e already paid a ton of money.
Get the fuck out.
Which brings us to another important point:
Keep total control over your transportation, especially if you're going to
a retreat in a remote location. Keep your own car. Do not get guilt tripped
into ride sharing.
If you do not have your own vehicle, arrange with someone in the nearest town
to arrive and collect you if you discover you are in a bad situation and need to bug out.
Suppose you discover the retreat is creepy and you want to get away. If you've ride shared, you either do not have your own car, or if you do, you feel guilty
for sneaking away by yourself.
You owe no explanation for leaving. They may try to persuade you to stay.
Just keep mum, get someone to collect you and get out. If necessary, leave your
belongings.