Poker player bets $100k he can last 30 days in pitch black solitary confinement

Re:Poker player bets $100k he can last 30 days in pitch blac... by getpost on Thursday January 10, 2019 @10:09AM (#18874327)

Dark retreat is a traditional practice in Tibetan Buddhism and Bön[0]. The usual guidance is that a dark retreat should be done only when the meditator has attained stability in the Natural State. Not many Westerners are in this zone, but seem able to benefit nonetheless [1],[2]. There are mental health risks[3], as in any other meditation practice. One claim is that sustained darkness stimulates the production of endogenous DMT.[4]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_retreat

[1] 3-week Darkness Retreat in Guatemala. https://imcb.dharmaseed.org/teacher/424/talk/51886/

[2] Dawning of Clear Light: A Western Approach to Tibetan Dark Retreat Meditation (2003) https://www.amazon.com/Dawning-Clear-Light-Approach-Meditati...

[3] https://www.mindful.org/willoughby-britton-the-messy-truth-a...

[4] https://www.universal-tao.com/dark_room/enlightenment.html

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Re:Poker player bets $100k he can last 30 days in pitch blac... by smileypete on Thursday January 10, 2019 @11:00AM (#18874779)

Reminds me of this recent post to HN, about the unexpected risks of long term meditation.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18792327

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Re:Poker player bets $100k he can last 30 days in pitch blac... by ptah on Friday January 11, 2019 @04:25AM (#18882012)

traditionally, there are separate practices for laymen/householders and monks/ascetics. it looks like translating to modern western society is losing the distinction and is causing problems

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