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Online EIs

Important: Online Enlightenment Intensives have the same format and use the same contemplation technique as in-person Enlightenment Intensives. Yet, there are a couple of things, they cannot provide compared to in-person Intensives as created by Charles and Ava Berner. This page covers some aspects, that might help you to decide, wich format is the more suitable one for you as a participant.

Nevertheless, the most important thing is: talk to the master, who offers an Intensive. She/ he is the one who is responsible and will answer your questions.

Online Enlightenment Intensives

(First, unrevised version)

Online Enlightenment Intensives have the same format and use the same contemplation technique as in-person Enlightenment Intensives. Yet, there are a couple of things, they cannot provide compared to in-person Intensives. With this article we from enlightenment-intensive.net want to give you as a participant a chance to understand some of the differences and to then make a decision if you want to participate in an in-person or an online Enlightenment Intensive.

As always, the following information is not based on our personal opinion. We have asked experienced masters, to share their experience with us. Some of them have given online Intensives or participated in them, some haven’t. This is an attempt to sum up the feedback we got.

Up front there is one thing, that almost all seem to agree on: Online Enlightenment Intensives are not the same as In-person Intensives. Yet, there seems to be another agreement among most of the masters, who have given or experienced online Intensives and who have shared their experience with us, which is: Participants seem to go through the same processes in online Intensives as in in-person Intensives (sometimes perhaps not as deep or as intense, but it seems to be the same process) and some of the participants do have direct experiences (which – if you are new to this work – is the purpose of an Enlightenment Intensive).

Yet, to make a decision, it might be helpful to know a couple of things about the Enlightenment-Intensive, as created by Charles and Ava Berner.

So, the following information will be structured by looking at five questions:

What are essential parts of an in-person Enlightenment Intensive, that cannot be provided in an online Intensive in the same way?
What is important to know, if you want to participate in an online Intensive?
What are the advantages of an online Intensive?
What advice do masters have for you, if you are planning to participate in an online Intensive?
What else do the masters have to say about in-person and online Intensives?

Before we start, here is a basic and yet important thing: Whenever you participate in an Enlightenment Intensive – be it in-person or online – the person, who is giving the Intensive, called the Master, is the one you should talk to and ask all the questions you have. Only then will it truly be your own decision, if you want to participate in that particular retreat, or not.

So, let’s get started:

1) What are essential parts of an In-person Enlightenment Intensive, that cannot be provided in an online Intensive in the same way?

The Enlightenment Intensive, as created by Charles and Ava Berner, is an in-person retreat. While the technique, the format and the rules are the same in an online Intensive as in an in-person Intensive, here is an incomplete list of aspects that cannot be provided online in the same way as they can in a retreat, where the staff and the participants are in the same physical space. Which – as mentioned before – doesn’t necessarily mean, that the online version doesn’t work.

The staff (Master and Monitors) will take care of:

Monitoring all the participants closely, supporting all participants in their process and in learning and mastering the contemplation technique:
When participants and staff are in the same physical space, there are various ways for the staff to get information about all the participants and their situation at the same time. So, whenever a master or a monitor sees, hears or senses, that someone needs support, contact or encouragement, they can respond immediately. This might concern participants needing support with mastering the technique, as well as being irritated or distracted by something or someone. The staff will, for example, make sure, that distractions or the (often unintentional) behavior of other participants don’t compromise the safe space, by immediately responding to it. In an online intensive, all this information can only be gathered by the staff, when they are in the same virtual room with a participant, and it’s only mainly visual clues, they can rely on. While in an in-person Intensive there always will be at least one staff member in the room, staying in contact with and keeping an eye on the participants, this is not the case in an online intensive – especially, when participants have to move away from their computer, for instance, when they prepare food or during breaks. Another example for not being able to check on the whole group at the same time are the contemplation phases. During these phases, only two participants are in the same virtual room. So, while a staff member is monitoring these two, he or she has no way of gathring any clues about what is going on with all the other participants.
Being in Contact with and proactively supporting all participants in crises and hard times in their process, or whenever they need support.
One very important thing in an Enlightenment Intensive is, that the master and the monitors are in constant contact with participants and support them proactively, when they are hitting a crisis or needing any kind of support during a hard phase in their process – even without a participant having to realize him or herself that this is the case. In an online intensive, this is possible, too, but in a much more limited way. There, the way to be in direct contact – especially during a crisis – usually comes with being with a participant in a private virtual room and not being able to “monitor” the other participants at the same time. This might mean, that participants have to realize themselves, when they need support in a crisis and call for a staff member. Or the crisis might even remain completely undetected.
Making sure, participants can focus on the process of contemplation a hundred percent by creating a disturbance free environment and by taking care of all “everyday needs”.
In an in-person Intensive, you as a participant have to only take care of your contemplation. Everything else is taken care of. Even the temptations and distractions that our everyday life bring. No Clocks, no cell phones, no extra food, no internet, no chit chat, … In an online Intensive you are in your everyday environment, where usually all these distractions (Coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, internet devices, clocks, …) are at hand all the time. And there is no one to support you in not falling for it.
Holding the space and creating a supportive atmosphere in the room.
This is an integral part of the job of the master and the monitors. One powerful way to do this is by their physical and embodied presence. This is part of their training. In a shared physical environment, there are much more ways to create and keep a supportive atmosphere than online.

You as a participant amongst other things say yes to:

Being part of and holding and experiencing an embodied group field, that supports all participants in their individual effort.
You, taking you enquiry seriously, doing the contemplation and the listening as good as you can, sticking to the rules and everything else you do, contributes to a very supportive group field. And likewise, not going for it with your full intention and as good as you can, will somewhat weaken this field. In both, the online Intensive and the in-person Intensive, the staff will support you as good as they can in making this effort. Yet, in an online Intensive, as soon as you are not in front of the screen (for example while preparing your meal, eating, being on a walking contemplation, sleeping, …) it’s completely upon you, to hold up this effort. And there is no one “around” to support you in that.
Keeping eye contact as long as you are a listening partner in the Dyad and the other one is contemplating and communicating.
Again, one of the crucial aspects of the EI contemplation technique is, that half of the time you are listening to your partner without judging or doing anything with what he or she is communicating. You will see, how important and powerful this kind of attention is. To do this, you will keep eye contact all the time and be in a clear, non-judgmental presence as good as you can, while you are the listening partner. Sitting across someone in the same physical space seems to make this much easier for many of us, than doing it in front of a computer in an online setting for up to 18 hours a day – looking at a screen is much more tiring than looking at a person across you. As is being present.

2) What is important to know, if you want to participate in an online Intensive?

In an online Intensive master and monitors simply cannot take care of, and take the responsibility for many aspects, that they take care of in an in-person Intensive. So, you as a participant, have to make sure that these things happen.

If you participate in an online Intensive, you will have to be able to:

realize, when you need support by the master or a monitor in doing the technique and get their attention.
realize, when your partner is doing something in the dyad that compromises their or your process or safe space and be able call a master or monitor so they can support you and your partner in changing this.
realize, when you are hitting a crisis, or when you are in one already and get the attention of the master or a monitor to support you.
be able to sit in front of a computer screen for three days and holding the focus on your process and on contemplating and listening for up to 18 hours a day.
make sure, you are in a safe physical environment and make sure, that you are in a space, where others don’t interfere.
make sure, you don’t talk to anyone between the dyads, neither in your physical space, nor online.
make sure, that you have healthy food at hand and you don’t use eating to distract yourself from your process.
make sure, that outside disturbances (post deliveries, unannounced guests, …) are handled quickly, while staying in your contemplation process.
make sure, you have an environment, where you can stick to the rules and make sure, that you really intent to stick to them (including no phone, no in-person or internet-based communication or information, no coffee, no alcohol, no clock, and so on).
catch the slightest sign of your body, mind and emotions, that you need contact and support by a staff member and get their attention.

All of this and other things are monitored closely and provided proactively by the staff at an in-person Intensive and are mainly your responsibility in an online Intensive.

3) What are the advantages of an online Intensive?

We also asked the experienced masters, what the advantages of online Intensives are in their opinion. Here is a summary of their answers:

Lower costs and no travel effort for participants. So, people, who could not afford to participate in an in-person Intensive can still have the benefits of an Enlightenment Intensive. And online is definitely better than not doing it at all.
One of the absolute basic parts of the Enlightenment Intensive is the Dyad. Dyads seem to work online as well as they do in person.
People have direct experiences on online Intensives.
It can provide a continuous practice for people, who already have a strong grounding in in-person Enlightenment Intensives.
When working online, you are in a virtual room with only one partner during a dyad. So, you are not hearing all the others in the same room, which might make the contemplation more focused.
Going through a process of “opening up”, as it usually happens on an Intensive or having a direct experience of the truth and actually being at home, could make these experiences much more valuable and “real”, than experiencing all of this in a retreat room and then going back to your everyday environment afterwards. This way, the integration of the experiences in an Intensive into everyday life can already be part of the process on the Intensive.

4) What advice do masters have for you, if you are planning to participate in an online Intensive?

There are various kinds of advice, that experienced masters have for you, when you are planning to participate in an online Intensive. Especially – but not only – if it is your first Intensive and you haven’t been in an in-person Intensive yet.

Participate in an in-person Intensive first, to get an idea, what the Intensive is meant to be and to have the most supportive environment to learn the technique and get into the work.
Participate in both, an in-person and an online Intensive, to get an idea, which one suits you better.
Get a master or a monitor in a one-to-one setting, to teach you the technique before you attend an online intensive.
Try online Dyad days and other short formats first, to see, what it feels like to contemplate in front of a computer all day, before you decide to do it for three or more days.
If you cannot set aside – literally – everything else in your life for three days in your home environment, then rather participate in an in-person Intensive, as you will not only weaken your own contemplation process but also the group field and hence other participants’ processes.
Tell someone you trust and who has an understanding of contemplative processes what you are doing, and ask them, if you can contact and meet them, should you need in-person one-to-one support in a crisis.
Ask the master of the online Intensive, what he/she thinks about requirements for participating in an online Intensive and what he/she suggests for you.
Ask the master, how many beginners and how many experienced participants will be in the online Intensive. The more experienced participants attend, the more focused the online group field usually is.

5) What else do the masters have to say about In-person and online Intensives?

For most of us it’s impossible to be in a process and monitor yourself in that process at the same time. That’s the reason, why in-person Intensives are safer and more effective, as participants can solely focus on their process, while everything else is taken care of by the master and the monitors. In your home environment you (as a participant) have to take over various roles, which might not only weaken your process but also lead to irritation and to a false idea of what the Intensive is.
Probably, emotional, physical and psychological issues will arise during an EI. While in an in-person Intensive the master is present and will realize when they occur and is trained to handle them, in an online Intensive, these issues might be overlooked, when they occur and the participant might be left alone with them.
The Enlightenment Intensive is a precise method, and its power lies in this precision. On an online Intensive some of the elements cannot be provided, so the precision is compromised.
Online Enlightenment Intensives are a derivation of the original and they are still in a developmental stage. Yet, they seem to have potential.
On an online Intensive people are continuously exposed to EMFs (as the WIFI is always turned on). In an in-person Intensive all the according devices are switched of. For sensitive people this might make a difference.
Perhaps, if it’s online, it shouldn’t be called Enlightenment Intensive, as so many basic things, that make the Enlightenment Intensive so special are simply missing. Why not call it something else?

We from enlightenment-intensive.net would like to thank all the masters, who responded to our request and shared their experiences and opinions. We hope, we could give you an idea of what the differences between in-person and online Intensives are, and by that could offer some support in making a decision, which form suits you the best.