7 Day Darkness Retreat in the Black Forest

The EvoDARK 7-day retreat, hosted in a private center in the Black Forest, is the only group darkness retreat in the world. It offers a unique experience with 4 days, 5 nights in complete darkness, supported by 24/7 professional facilitation as well as a preparation and integration phase.

Through this experience, you will uncover your deepest, most tender places in a radically honest and compassionate way – by submerging into complete darkness. Here you will reintegrate your shadows, gain clarity about your true purpose, and reconnect with yourself, others, and life with one of the most intense ancient practices out there – all without the aid of any external substances.

At the heart of this journey is a seven-day retreat, meticulously crafted by the Evolute Institute. The retreat center is hidden in the wonderful Black Forest, offering a relaxing and private atmosphere with ideal conditions for undisturbed deep work. We will offer fresh and healthy drinks and vegetarian food cooked by our private chef.

To maximize the benefits of the program, in addition to the time in the Black Forest, our program also includes one week of Preparation (part-time, virtual) and one week of Integration (part-time, virtual).

The Retreat Experience
The Journey Unfolds in Three Phases to maximize the benefits from the program:

I. Preparation (1 week, part-time, virtual)

The better you are prepared for our intense darkness incubation, the deeper your experience will be. You will get to know your fellow program participants and the facilitators.

The idea of the preparation phase is to learn what's important for the upcoming weeks. We cover important aspects such as intention setting, the importance of set & setting for a fruitful journey, and what scientific research can tell us about what happens with our minds and body under prolonged darkness.

II. Incubation - Darkness Phase (7 days, on-site)

For our time in our darkness retreat center in Southern Germany, we prepared a curriculum for you that gradually increases in intensity, prepares you for the descent into darkness, and eventually brings you back into the light.

Our carefully crafted program focuses on conveying you the techniques for dealing with darkness and all its potential forms of manifestation (such as anxiety, fear, boredom, impatience, ecstasy, blissfulness, emptiness...), exercises around resistance, radical acceptance and compassion, as well as capacity building for dealing better with inner tensions and the paradoxes of being human.

You will experience intense altered states first-hand through prolonged darkness and breathwork. We will offer daily check-ins while you are in the dark and are available 24/7. There is also space for contemplation and journaling to get more clarity around values, vision and purpose.

You will engage in challenging but highly rewarding individual and group exercises to better understand yourself and your special gift to the world. We will use the last 1.5 days after you come back from the darkness to start the integration process together.

III. Integration (1 week, part-time, virtual)

After you return from the darkness incubation into your day-to-day life, it’s essential to cement the insights you've gained and start applying them in both your personal and professional life.

You’ll have support from your fellow participants as well as from our coaches. Additional one-on-one coaching can be booked.

You’ll also be welcomed into a community of individuals - our Alumni - who share your values and are there to support you while holding you accountable to the commitments you’ve made to yourself.

What's Included in This Package
6 nights accommodation
3 daily delicious and nutritious meals
Water, tea, coffee served throughout the day
The medical-psychological screening
The complete 7-day on-site program including the support by expert facilitators for a small group of 6-8 people
A well-balanced variety of group exercises appealing to the physical, emotional and mental level to build your emotional, somatic and relational intelligence
1:1 sessions / personal coaching throughout the program (at least 4 individual sessions for each participant)
24/7 support during your incubation in darkness
Two virtual group sessions for preparation and integration
Access to an alumni community of like-minded and like-hearted people interested in personal development and consciousness work