Homemade retreat recipes

On this forum many emphasize mostly practice that one can do at home, as part of a normal lifestyle. But, we want to maximize our time under the "treatment" prescribed by Dr. Folk. I wonder how best to implement a retreat one can participate in from home.

What kind of "retreats" do you do at home, alone or with others by taking advantage of Skype and other Internet technology?

Here's a couple I've done, or thought about doing:

4- or 8-hour retreat with a partner(s) on Skype:
hour 1: pairs noting
hours 2-8: each hour, pairs noting for 20 minutes. The remaining 40 minutes can be spend however you like, meditating, or just being mindful doing chores, socializing, eating, reading dhamma stuff.
Benefits:
* keeps your momentum and concentration up all day (I like experiencing normal life in this enhanced state)
* partner helps provide fellowship, encouragement, and accountability
* you don't have to completely shut down your life. Your family time and errands still can happen.

I once did an 7-hour retreat with a partner over Skype. We did pairs noting for a full hour every other hour. I was surprised I could note that much on one day. This could also be arranged with multiple noting partners.
Hour 1 - pairs noting
Hour 2 - noting solo
Hour 3 - pairs noting
Hour 4 - noting solo and daily life chores, eating, etc.
Hour 5 - pairs noting
Hour 6 - noting solo and daily life chores, eating, etc.
Hour 7 - pairs noting

Nice. It really can be motivating to work with others. I often do "mini-retreat" with my husband on one day of a weekend, which usually means we meditate three or four times during the day (30-40 minutes each sit).

I have found hooking up with a Skype or phone partner for a weekend retreat like zemi suggests works very well. What has worked with the rest of you?

Jack

Where do you find people to do pairs noting with for a whole day? Was it here at KFDh?

I found someone to do pairs Skype noting at KFD. We do it 1 hour every day and 3 hours Saturday morning. Have been doing this for a little less than a year.

Jack

I did a full-day retreat just once over Skype with a friend who told me about KFD, but he doesn't post here. I have one partner I note with regularly, and two I note with sporadically.

The thing is, even if you have a few regular noting partners, what if they don't really want to do a full-day retreat? Or, what if no matter how much they appreciate you and hold you in high esteem, they don't want to spend an entire day noting with just one person (you ?

I remember Kenneth and Vince held a teleconference workshop last fall. Several times during workshop I was paired up randomly (to me) with different partners for 10 minutes. I found this very energizing and a satisfying connection with other yogis.

I think an full-day retreat during which I spend 5 hours noting with 5 different partners would be energizing and productive.

I wonder if there would be enough people interested in planning a virtual retreat using some of the schedules above, or some other variant? Perhaps scheduling sites like www.tungle.me would help organize it. All you'd need is an even number of participants who commit to specific pairs noting sessions, and Skype. I think it could work well, as long as participants try out pairs noting before hand, to be sure they like it and can commit to doing it a lot in one day.

I agree. With enough prior notice I think a project like this is doable.