This retreat concept that gets us going, we think: We got to do it properly! And that damns us all.

The mind already knows its intentions and purpose in coming; there’s no need to pop in extra energy.

It’s as though we’ve come on retreat and we’re going to start again, so we start to put in the effort. But if we’re practicing continuously or trying to, then it should be an extension of our practice and where we are.

But then we seem to think we need to put in something afresh. That gets us off balance.