It’s hard to know if you are really ready for a Setu retreat, but it’s worth some honest personal reflection to figure it out. While the topic of “end of life” can be intellectually intriguing, that kind of interest won’t take you far in this retreat. Folks who get a lot out of Setu are people who have somehow faced the reality that everything they have pursued externally is starting to fail them. This has often come through increasing debility or severe loss. They know they must start letting go of their external pursuits to find an inner reality.
This kind of turning inward can be pretty uncomfortable, so you need to really want it. Also, it helps to have a sense that you are ready to wrap up your worldly responsibilities and ambitions and seek to be of service in ways that are in the background or even invisible.
A Setu retreat will be quiet and contemplative – you will spend a lot of time with your practice and become more comfortable with your passages and mantram as your constant companions.
If you are still very active and engaged in many good activities, you may gain more from a weeklong online retreat, because it is really a retreat for those who want and need to engage their practice through action in family, work, and community.
If you reflect on this distinction between Setu and weeklong retreat in a humble way, we think you will be able to inwardly determine the best approach for you at this time. Many Setu practitioners actually rotate between attending Setu retreats and weeklongs – a nice balance between extending your spiritual schedule and honing your eight-point program skills.