Car Camping is Perfect for Spiritual Growth

This article will talk about what a meditation retreat is and how car camping is the perfect tool for spiritual growth.

 

In the book, If Truth Be Told, there is a story about a man named Om Swami. After creating a successful business and becoming a millionaire, he let go of his material possessions and embarked on a sādhanā. He secluded himself in a small shelter in the woods and meditated for a year, while facing hardships such as shoddy shelter, a strict diet, unrelenting weather, and wild animals. In the end, he became what is known as enlightened, all of his challenges developed him as a person, and ultimately, he found something amazing and rare: internal joy.

 

Monks do meditation retreats as a means for gaining insights about themselves and the nature of life. They challenge their comfort zone, self-reflect, and learn in an environment designed to help you concentrate on your endeavors. 

 

Retreats are as simple as a spending a weekend to meditate and journal to as radical as living in the Himalayas in a cave for a year.

Meditation retreats are found all around the world through various traditions, such as the following examples:

 

  • Yogic Sādhanā: a means for accomplishing a goal for realizing oneself.
  • Christian retreats: Large groups of worship, prayer, and learning.
  • Buddhist retreats: Occurs mostly in monasteries with group meditation sessions and teachers to guide the students.

 

However, monks with enough experience can do these retreats alone. Solo-meditation retreats are in my opinion the purest method for facing your deepest struggles directly. When you are alone, you can make the schedule what you want and your lesson is perfectly customized for you.  You do not have to accommodate for other people, and you can focus on your strengths and weaknesses as a human being. 

 

Are you interested in these retreats? Want to grow yourself and have an experience of a lifetime?

If you do, I want to share with you an opportunity that is sitting in your garage. . .

 

van on the road
Image courtesy of Max Pixel

A car camper is perfect for meditation retreats

 

The van life movement has taken popularity for the ability to travel and to live cheaply. Many van dwellers share their adventures on social media, YouTube, and their blogs. They explore their country from coast to coast, rock climbing, meeting new people, working on their computers, and surfing. This is all done in their refurbished vans with a full size kitchen, a TV, built in WiFi system and so on.

 

 

However, an overlooked benefit for living in a car or van is for spirituality.

 

For a monk, a car is a castle, containing all the tools needed for a sādhanā. It is not going to be as comfortable as a three bedroom apartment, but it is efficient, practical, and a monk would thrive in this condition due to its sustainable yet challenging nature.

 

Car camping is one of the available steps to create financial freedom and a perfect environment without distractions from what matters to you the most. If you value spirituality, if you are interested in becoming the modern monk, what many who see car living as trivial and inconvenient will become your greatest strength for self-growth!

 

  • You do not have to be like Om Swami and move into a shack in the woods.
  • Nor do you have to be a Tibetan monk who live in a cave in the Himalayas.

We all have obligations, whether that is a family, a job, or school. Car camping gives you the opportunity to seclude yourself and grow in concentrated sessions. Then, you can always come back home at the end of your retreat. 

 

A car is a modern shelter

 

If you have a car, you have the perfect shelter, capable of traveling and bearing any weather. Bearing the essentials, a car is safe, yet minimal. It not only limits you possessions, it also challenges you to break beyond your distractions and addictions. That is what a meditation retreat is all about, facing yourself, slowing down, and making you sensitive to the subtle joys of life. 

 

Behold the beginning of the car camper project!

 

I will share my own experiences about living in a car and how to use your very own car for not only financial freedom, but also to take your meditation retreats to the next level. Here are a few pictures of my car so far. I am thrilled to share more with you in the future, such as cooking, power, my schedule, and previous retreats.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, share your insights with us! – Justin

Car Camper driver seat looking at bedCar Camper bedCar Camper Back SeatCar Camper cloth shoe dressor

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