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This seems like a trend tailor-made for South Africans, because, well, Eskom.

In the never-ending quest for health and happiness, we have seen some truly bizarre trends emerge, so perhaps the simplicity of darkness could solve our social media-induced depression. What the hell, it beats blowing steam up your backside.

Darkness Retreats are not new, and have been around for more than 40 years according to one of the foremost ‘practitioners’. Taoist master Mantak Chia is seen as the ‘pioneer’ who has recently re-popularised dark retreats through his revival of ancient Chinese practices.

The Taoist claims that extended darkness gets folks to an incredible natural high without having to resort to psychedelics or rituals. Chia has facilitated dark retreats for more than 40 years and claims that the inspiration comes from observing wild animals.

According to Vice Magazine, he says ‘when animals get injured, they hide in a cave to heal themselves and rebuild their bodies.’ Based on his observations, he believes many people also experience impressive transformations “after spending some time in the dark alone with their inner selves”.

“When someone goes into the darkness, all these things that were important to them, like money, fame, power, status and being worthy, become insignificant and meaningless. In the dark, all you have is the present moment.”

That and the boogeyman in the closet. Indeed, darkness has never been a comfortable experience for most of us, and even some adults find the absence of light unnerving.

Perhaps it’s part of our ‘collective unconscious’ that remains after we emerged from our caves. Back then, the darkness meant predators and stubbed toes, and even in modern times we still worry the scary chick from The Ring will crawl out of our closet when we switch off the light.

Bliss Haven Retreat Centre near the southern coast of Mexico is one of the go-to places for a six-day darkness experience. Wellness bro’s have been flocking there since fellow wellness gurus and NBA player Aaron Rogers started raving about better health and greater happiness after the experience.

‘Patients’ are housed in a spartan, yet spacious, hotel room with windows covered to keep out the light. It’s furnished only by a single bed and a stool, which sits next to a small window where twice-daily meals are served in Tupperware. An aircon is pretty much the only way to keep you from feeling like you are in solitary confinement.

For the next six days, you are left with darkness and your own mind. To some, this sounds as horrifying as the ghost in the closet, but most people come away with a sense of calm and renewed energy. Somehow, the solitude and absence of distractions helps them ‘reconnect’ with their ‘inner selves’.

According to someone who has done the retreat, it “kinda feels like your candy flipping on a low dose of MDMA and LSD, rather than DMT which tends to deliver an intense, short-lived high.”

Chia also theorises that darkness may effectively convert sexual energy, which he refers to as jing, into life force energy, chi.

This seems much healthier than some of the celebrity-promoted quackery we have read about before, and if you don’t have kids, simply switching off your phone and letting Eskom do its thing makes this a very easily accessible retreat for most of us.

[source:vice]