Our Naikan Retreats promote contemplation, deliberation & exercise. Join our individual & group therapy, release and free yourself.
Our Naikan Retreats promote contemplation, deliberation & exercise. Join our individual & group therapy, release and free yourself.
What have I received from ___?
What have I given to ___?
What troubles and difficulties have I caused ___?
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
This unique introspective process will help you increase gratitude, self-realisation, self-respect, self-control, and promote inner peace. Our emotional, mental, physical and spiritual health will improve dramatically.
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
"Love is rooted in gratitude, it’s rooted in appreciation, and it’s rooted in not forgetting all of the things that are done for you by others every single day." -- Dawa Tarchin Phillips from the article, Love Grows With Gratitude
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
The practice of Naikan adds back colour to what so easily fades into the background. It is such a simple practice in many ways yet offers untold practical benefits. Gratitude is one of them, as is appreciation and kindness. Side effects worth having.
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
What is NAIKAN Psychotherapy?
Naikan is a Japanese word that means “inside looking”, “introspection” or “seeing oneself with the mind’s eye”. This structured method of self-examination and reflection can help people understand themselves and their relationships with others. The practice of Naikan is based upon answering three basic questions and reflecting on the nature of relationships with various people in our lives.
Naikan Therapy Meditation gently transforms our way of thinking through a spiritual journey, illumination and enlightenment based on Jodo Shin Buddhist teachings which can be used by students, teachers, doctors, nurses, businessmen, homemakers, and so forth.
Naikan Therapy is a psychotherapy and counselling method for those suffering from marital conflicts, juvenile delinquency, drug or alcohol dependency, criminal behaviour, neurosis, depressive disorders, and other psychological problems.
At our Naikan retreat centre based in sunny Portugal, rest assured that your journey will be safe and discreet. For specialised addiction treatment we have your needs taken care of.
“To live a life of gratitude is to open our eyes to the countless ways in which we are supported by the world around us.”
― Gregg Krech, Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection
Why Practice NAIKAN?
Naikan Therapy gives the client an opportunity, through meditation, to examine life events and associated thoughts and feelings objectively. As a result, the client is able to reinterpret and change their perspective toward the significant relationships in their lives. The client is able to release narrow-minded and self-serving points of view, and instead cultivate a deeper understanding of self and become rooted in gratitude and an awareness of interdependence. This discovery can be profoundly trans-formative, leading to the resolution of problems and to the improvement of disease.
As Jodo Shin Buddhist followers, through reflecting on our relationships with others using Naikan themes, we attain insight into the basic notion of Jodo Shin Buddhist teachings based on the works of Shinran Shonin (1173-1263) including how our life is supported by others through “interdependence” (engi, jinen), the absolute grace of tariki or “other power,” liberation from ego-centered existence and realization of “no-self” or “non-ego” (muga). These insights into interdependence, other-power grace, and selflessness in turn generate deep feelings of gratitude and appreciation for others, feeling of repentance for causing pain to others and feelings of “compassion” (jihi) for others.
The practice of answering the three Naikan questions can be applied to any relationship. Many choose to examine their relationships with their mother, father, and/or significant other. Clients can even attend Naikan retreats during which they spend a significant amount of time reflecting and meditating on the answers to these questions (Krech, 2002). The value of this process can be a deeper understanding of and appreciation for relationships, and the fundamental nature of being human. In Naikan Therapy, more value is placed on discovering truth and being of service than on feeling good. A desired outcome of Naikan Therapy is that people come away with a more accurate self-image and understanding of reality.
Ask us for more details about our dedicated Naikan therapy for addiction treatment.
“Open your eyes and see how many gifts there are to unwrap. Notice the presence of your presents. It’s not your life that is disappointing: it’s your mind.”
― Gregg Krech, Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection
Each room is served by its own terrace, sun lounger and shade
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Recently refurbished, our pool and deck is a great place to contemplate and refresh (Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Dining alone or with the group, mindful eating is the norm here
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Breakfasts are healthy and wholesome ensuring you are well nourished
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Each double room is themed. Enjoy an en-suite bathroom and private terrace access
(Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Our 9 hectares of land and its wide sweeping views are well maintained for you to enjoy (Europe's favourite Naikan retreat and addiction treatment meditation centre)
Gratitude is the new attitude!
During this week of self-reflection you have a chance to examine the details of all the care and support you have received throughout your entire life. Many people are struck by how much they have taken for granted. And too often we miss what is being done for us because our attention is caught up in feelings of selfishness, resentment or self-pity.
What Happens During the Naikan Retreat?
Imagine you went away to a quiet and secluded retreat centre, a place where your needs are taken care of. You rise to birdsong and you sleep under starry skies. Zero phone calls, social media nor other digital distractions. There is no small talk, and due to honouring noble silence, there is little noise. There is nothing to do each day other than to observe your life's movie. You will learn a lot about your life? At the end of the week, when you return home, filled with an expanded knowledge of how you have lived, how will you live from this day forth?
What actually happens during a Naikan Retreat?
Participants (called naikansha) begin by reflecting on their mother. usually from the time of our birth through age six. Then they continue to reflect for three year periods (age 6-8, age 9-11 and so on). In this manner, their entire life can be examined in relation to their mother on a period by period basis. The naikansha then examine the relationship to their father, siblings, spouse, children, teachers friends and co-workers. During the retreat they will have an opportunity to reflect on those whom they may resent because of difficulty in the past. At the end of each period of reflection, usually 90-120 minutes, someone (the mensetsusha) meets with the participant to listen to his or her Naikan reflection. The role of the mensetsusha is to listen attentively and suggest the subject for the next period of reflection. Little dialog takes place since Naikan is self-reflection and what there is to be learned, is learned by searching and examining one’s own direct experience.
There is usually a daily work period (20 minutes), time for a shower, sport and three meals. Otherwise, the entire day, from 5:30am to 9:30pm is spent in quiet reflection. The naikansha are able to sit and mediate in their bedrooms and other designated areas.
Naikan participants are encouraged to spend about sixty percent of their time on the third question--what troubles and difficulties have I caused others? This question is most challenging because relatively little attention has been directed toward it previously. More attention has been focused on how others caused the naikansha difficulties. Now the naikansha must look at themselves through the eyes of another. Every two hours, or so, the Naikan guide (mensetsusha or shidosha) comes and gives the participants an opportunity to report out what they have remembered about this period of their life. This process continues steadily as the participant gradually examines the details of their life and conduct towards others.
Throughout you will receive healthy, vegan / vegetarian meals and get some exercise during the work period. You will spend your time contemplating your life in the presence of orange and fig trees, organic kitchen gardens, farm animals, sparrows, wagtails, finches and hoopoes within the rolling Alentejan hills of Portugal.
"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
- Carl Jung