I've never done a 7-day retreat-- 3 days is the most I've tried-- and although my experience was quite different than the one described here, it definitely was quite profound.
It seemed very familiar, at least the motions the author has gone through. On my first retreat, after one day, I was absolutely sure that I wanted to leave. Sitting was painful, there was a lot of sleepiness, and I was longing for daily joys such as listening to music. And the mind is very well able to snowball unpleasanties :). After that first day, when I had the first talk with the meditation teacher, he made a joke about my mocking, subtle enough to make me smile. The discontent quickly melted away, and it suddenly became clear to me that I was suffering because I was craving for pleasantness.
The following week had moments with intense joy, moments with intense pain. But it became easier to see them without clinging, giving a lot of peace.
It's something definitely worth doing. Though it doesn't hurt starting with tiny steps, rather than cold-turkey ;).
I've done a number of weekend retreats (and have a daily practice) but definitely plan on doing a 10-day retreat, when time permits, as I think the extended timeframe would be quite powerful.
I've done a couple 7 day retreats and have had some similar experiences to the author, though I'd already been doing meditation for a while so was more inclined to "just sit" from the start. The one thing that always impresses me is how much crap gets dredged out of your subconscious. Old fears, regrets, guilt, etc., would come to light and seem like an absolute crisis right in the moment. Then ten minutes later, I wouldn't be able to remember what I was so worried about. Definitely a worthwhile experience, and by the end of seven days, nothing could faze me, everything seemed carefree and effortless.
