Go Inside A Darkness Retreat Cave Where Aaron Rodgers Could Be Staying This Week
What exactly is this whole darkness retreat thing that Aaron Rodgers is going on this week, you ask?
As someone who has spent countless hours investigating Rodgers' relationship with Blu of Earth, the deep-thinking Instagram shaman who gives TED Talks and once confirmed that she's not a witch, I learned that Blu had gone on a darkness retreat into the woods of Oregon to find herself and gain clarity on life.
And wouldn't you know it, now Rodgers is supposed to go on his own darkness retreat for four days this week where he's expected to gain clarity on whether or not he should continue his NFL career.
One possible darkness retreat where Rodgers could be headed is the Sky Cave Retreats in Ashland, Oregon where Blu of Earth went on vacation in 2022. Sky Cave bills itself as "Offering solo dark retreats in purpose-built, off-grid, Earth-sheltered 'caves' in the Cascade wilderness.
Aaron Rodgers on a retreat with Blu of Earth / Awesemo
Blu described the experience as "not for everybody," and went further by noting that going into the caves "is not easy" while adding that "if you're looking for the easy way out, don't come here."
But, Blu says, the cave gets results.
"If you're looking for long sustainable change then this may be the place," she said after emerging from the dark. "It's put a whole new lens on embodiment and presence without any sort of label of what spiritual is."
Uh, OK.
You guys get the idea. If Rodgers is staying at the Sky Cave, he's going to go on a spiritual journey that you hear about from the Instagram deep-thinkers...who give TED Talks via podcasts...lots of podcasts.
So what's one of these darkness retreat caves (remember, we're not positive this is where Rodgers is staying...this serves as a disclaimer) look like?
Outside a darkness cave where Blu of Earth, reportedly Aaron Rodgers' ex-girlfriend, spent time in 2022. / Sky Cave Retreats
Inside the front door of the cave, visitors find the stove to keep the cave toasty during your darkness retreat. The property owners come in and stoke the fire. / Sky Cave Retreats
This is the opening where staff places food for guests. The door is closed and then the guests can grab the food without experiencing light. / Sky Cave Retreats
Let's go into the main darkness retreat cave room where guests will find the prayer area.
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
The tub, which has hot water, is next to the prayer area and in the main room of the retreat.
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
The all-important toilet is the only separate room from the main darkness retreat room. There is a light switch on the wall, but it has a cover over it so guests don't mistakenly ruin their darkness stay.
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
The sink. Self-explanatory. Good luck washing those hands after doing your business. It's all about remembering the layout of the room before turning out the lights.
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
The bed where you'll be spending much of your time. Sky Retreats says most guests will spend the first 24-48 hours of a visit sleeping.
via Instagram / Sky Cave Retreats
There's the front door, which guests will cover with some sort of towel to block light when the retreat owners come to bring food and stoke the fire. As you can see, the room isn't huge because you don't need a huge room when it's completely dark and you're about to go on a journey with your brain.
So what happens after you (or Aaron Rodgers, if this is where he's staying*) wake up from those initial 24 - 48 hours of sleep?
Sky Cave management says guests will start sleeping 1-2 hours per night.
"Heightened sensitivity and the opening of the subconscious can naturally begin to arise as early as the 3rd day of the retreat and continue to intensify as the retreat progresses," Cave management says on its website. "This is due to different neurochemical reactions that occur from various glands and hormones being both suppressed and/or stimulated from the light deprivation and the simple nature of the dark and solitude."
What will Aaron Rodgers eat if he stays at this retreat where Blu stayed?
Sky Cave promises to bring each guest "2 simple organic meals daily" and both means will be delivered in the evening so there's no chance of light infiltrating the darkness cave. Guests eat food from the retreat's gardens and fruit trees.
Blu of Earth after leaving darkness in 2022. / Instagram Story
What about sound at these darkness retreats?
The caves are sound-proofed.
"I think it’s going to be important to get through this week and then to take my isolation retreat and just to be able to contemplate," Rodgers said last week on The Pat McAfee Show. "All things, my future, and then make a decision I feel like is best for me moving forward and the highest interest of my happiness.
"I’ve had a number of friends who have done it and have had profound experiences. It’s something that’s been on my radar for a few years now, and I feel like it would be awesome to do regardless of where I was leaning after this season. It’s been on the calendar for months and months and months, and it’s coming up in a couple of days."
The talking is over. Now it's time to turn out the lights.
Enjoy the darkness, Aaron.