"The brothers of wisdom retreat has had an everlasting effect on me since the day I left. These past few weeks, it feels like a part of my emotional mask has finally cracked. I feel all of these new parts of me that I had pushed down. I relinquished the false sense of control that mimicked power. I walked through my life pulling things by my teeth. I cried. I laughed. I felt all these basic feelings that I normally don’t let myself experience because “I’m so secure” when really I’m just avoidant. It was like watching the show I put on for others while I sat in the front row of my consciousness. It was the difference between getting up, and finally waking up."