I Didn’t Say a Single Word For 10 Days—Here’s What I Learned

As the days turned I felt as if I was slowly sinking down through the depths of the ocean like a scuba diver. No movement, just observation, until eventually all my thoughts gave way to total darkness and boom, my feet landed on the bottom of the ocean.

Whoa, I remember thinking. I’ve never been here before. What is this place? It was there, at the bottom of the ocean, where I’d spend the next several days running a mental and spiritual marathon. Here's what I learned.

I STARTED LISTENING TO MYSELF
Looking back I realize now that this was the beginning of a new relationship, and it's this internal voice that I turn to today when I'm in need of guidance. I call it my "internal navigation system," and the good news is that we all came equipped with it.

I HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE HOW I REACT TO THINGS
One insight that hit me like a ton of bricks on Day 4 was the realization that every single moment of mental and/or emotional pain that I’d ever felt was the result of how I was responding to something or to someone.

EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THINGS CLEARLY, YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN
When I’m driving 50km/h and I look out the window, the view is a bit blurry. When I’m driving 100km/h, the view is extremely blurry. But when I stop at a red light and look out the window, things are clear.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THINGS CLEARLY, YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN
When I’m driving 50km/h and I look out the window, the view is a bit blurry. When I’m driving 100km/h, the view is extremely blurry. But when I stop at a red light and look out the window, things are clear.

My time with silence allows me to reflect, gain insight, and check-in with my internal guidance system. Silence is my secret weapon.

Complete article: https://www.menshealth.com/guy-wisdom/what-i-learned-after-ten-days-of-meditation

More info: http://www.dhamma.org/

My 10-Day Marathon of Total Silence

My 10-Day Marathon of Total Silence

Two months ago, I went for my latest vipassana course in a beautiful small village in Chengannur, Kerala. I was hesitant, not fully ready to undertake rigorous 14 hours of being seated in meditation in a closed cell or a humid hall, or just one meal a day, the voluntary work of cleaning dishes, toilets, and laundry. But then I needed mental strength, clarity of purpose and the skill to be emotionally unaffected while carrying on with whatever life required of me. So I pushed myself and was pushed by my husband, who has observed the difference vipassana brought about in me in the last year.

My apprehensions melted away as I made my way through the beautiful backwaters of Alleppy district and as I finally reached the centre, I was ready. I made my one last phone call home, handed over my mobile, books, pens and writing material to fully be with myself and my surroundings for the next ten days. I was quite happy as I came out of the dhamma mediation hall on the first night, having taken my vows to live a monk's life during my stay there. It's easy to do it under noble silence in those beautiful surroundings and moreover, they are simple and rational vows - I will not kill, steal, lie, imbibe intoxicants, and engage in sexual misconduct.

I sat at the doorsteps of the hall, looking onto the paddy fields and coconut trees which provided the backdrop for the love dance of the fireflies, feeling content. I followed this with a cold shower in the common bath area and went to my dorm and was asleep by 10 pm. I was to wake up at 4.30 am to start my journey within.

More Info: https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/my-10-day-marathon-of-total-silence-748213

More info: http://www.dhamma.org/

Kerala Center : http://www.ketana.dhamma.org/index.html

15 Crazy Things People Ask You When You're Going For Vipassana

15 Crazy Things People Ask You When You're Going For Vipassana

Vipassana meditation is a secular meditation technique based on the principles of Gautam Buddha. Vipassana courses are taught all over the world at various meditation centres at 10-day camps. The camps are pretty intense, and the meditators have to observe noble silence for 10 days (which means no form of communication at all) and continue meditation from 4:30 AM to 9:00 PM, following a strict schedule of sattvik diet and no food post 5:00 PM. Being a Vipassana meditator is difficult enough but sometimes, answering people's ridiculous questions when they realize where you're going, is tougher!

1. And you got leave?!

2. But what problems can you have in life?

3. Can you stay alone that long?

4. How will you survive without your phone or the internet?

5. Aren't you too young for such things?

... and more.

More Info: https://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/self/15-crazy-things-people-ask-you-when-youre-going-for-vipassana-230825.html

Clearing the garbage in my head at a 10-day silent retreat

Light-hearted description of a 10-day course at Dhamma Java, by a well-known Singapore journalist.


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I plan to go back in a few years. To have every hour of your day scheduled, from waking to bedtime, is liberating, not confining, I've found. I cannot say for sure if I am meditating correctly, but I can say that sitting for hours lets me clear out a lot of garbage in my head. I plan to sit still for at least a few minutes a day. I will, however, do it with back support.


Complete Article: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/clearing-the-garbage-in-my-head-at-a-10-day-silent-retreat

More Info: http://www.dhamma.org/ 

What is Vipassana Meditation? - Benefits of Vipassana Meditation

You have the power of experiencing yourself subjectively – you have the power of healing and destroying. Using your power for healing will backfire and bring you only happiness.

And what is so perfect about this, is that meditation is not based on any dogma or religion. You can practice meditation without interfering with any of your other habits. You can do it anywhere, at any time, for how much you like. In fact, I can guarantee that you will feel so good, that you will not want to stop.

The healing of the mind is accessible and universal. Think of it like medication. You see? They even sound almost the same – medication helps you heal your physical body, and meditation helps you heal your spiritual body – your mind, your soul. They are both scientifically proven, only on different levels.  Also, the only side effects of Vipassana meditation may include: peace, harmony, compassion, joy and happiness.

Full article: https://www.curejoy.com/content/what-is-vipassana-meditation-benefits-of-vipassana-meditation/

More info: http://www.dhamma.org/

Know thyself

Vipassana is a method of introspection that is more about doing and experiencing than talking or telling. When I try to write about it, I become acutely aware of the shallowness of my words.

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The obvious result is the readiness for acceptance. The moment to moment acceptance of reality through introspection results in improved relationships, increased efficiency, positive thinking, positive living, and a better ability to deal with everyday stress. It makes us the master of our emotions, our deeds, and of our lives as a whole.

Complete Article:

https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/archive/88405/Know-thyself%0D%0A 

More info: http://www.dhamma.org/  

An accidental journey into insight meditation

The first time I learned about SN Goenka and Vipassana meditation, I was a clueless backpacker staying in a hippie retreat on the Thai-Myanmar border. A woman arrived at the retreat a few days after I did. During a conversation with her I noticed her eyes looked so peaceful, so happy, that I could not stop staring. Partly it was admiration, but I was also more than slightly jealous.

Why didn’t I have that? I did yoga. I was nice to people (most of the time). I wanted that calm, that joy. What was it? Where could I get it?

So, I asked: “Why are you so happy?”

She explained that she had just finished a 10-day course of silent meditation. At that time I had no idea about meditation. I also doubted that I could be silent, even for an hour. But still, she tore off a small section from a nearby piece of paper and wrote down a website – www.dhamma.org. “When you are interested,” she said, “check it out.”
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Which is probably why when I first heard the news of his death this week I was not at all sad, just curious as to what he experienced before passing on, and what all that meditation and merit will mean for those of us left behind. His passing made me reflect on my own journey through Vipassana, on how much further I have to go and how little it is that I know. Some of my happiest and most hopeful moments have occurred while sitting silently in some of the many meditation centers Goenka has left behind, listening to his deep, kind voice encourage me, and all the other meditators, to “just remain aware, just remain aware” – to never get discouraged or depressed if the meditation is not going well, and most of all to never give up.

Rather, as Goenkagyi would say, simply “start again”.

Complete article: https://www.mmtimes.com/national-news/8470-an-accidental-journey-into-insight-meditation.html

More Info: http://www.dhamma.org/ 

Mind Surgery: Changing the Habit of a Lifetime

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Sitting for eleven hours a day practicing Vipassana was painful. My back hurt. My legs were in agony. My buttocks went numb. My mind was filled with aversion, distraction and frustration. I willed for the sessions to be over. I underestimated the time remaining. I couldn't imagine how I'd get through the hour, let alone the next five days. But slowly, slowly, I persisted and my attention increased and sharpened so that eventually I became totally subsumed in the present moment and I surrendered to "reality as it was, not as I wanted it to be". And the pain... It evaporated. Having taken baby steps to train my mind, I found that my senses became elevated and my environment radiated with beauty. I found myself in a state of peace and I felt compassion towards the people around me and a gentleness towards myself I've always lacked.

I believe I learned more about the nature of the mind and the art of living in these ten days than three years studying psychology and philosophy at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. How funny, I thought, that the most renowned Western philosophers contemplate consciousness by dreaming up alternate possible worlds sitting in their armchairs while their counterparts in India experience the actual world sitting cross legged on the ground.

More Information: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/claudia-bicen/mind-surgery-changing-the_b_2639560.html

Dhamm Dipa: https://www.dipa.dhamma.org

The Realm and Rewards of Vipassana

by Raji Lukkoor

I dread committing gaffes. There—I said it! Until a few years ago, I wasn’t even aware of my fears or of the simmering, underlying dissatisfaction that fueled their existence. A surge of awareness has since developed, helping me become increasingly mindful. Today, I acknowledge and accept failures and limitations as a gallant step toward positive mental health. This is just one example of the many gifts vipassana meditation has given me.

More Information: http://www.buddhachick-life.com/1/post/2012/04/special-feature-the-realm-and-rewards-of-vipassana.html

Vipassana Meditation Helps Addicts Stay Clean

Prisoners and rock stars are among those who praise meditation's ability to aid recovery.

Vipassana—a form of meditation in which practitioners train themselves to observe bodily sensations without reacting to them—has a growing reputation for helping addicts. "I nearly walked out three times during my first course," Alex, a former heroin user from England, tells The Fix. "It was so painful to observe all the negativity I had stored away inside me." But the results were impressive: "Cravings do not effect me like they used to. If I have a craving, I just observe it and it passes away." Vipassana teaches the mind not to react to the emotions and thoughts that result in harmful behavior; adherents claim that with enough practice it's possible to become permanently free of all negative behaviors—addiction included.

More information: https://www.thefix.com/content/vipassana-meditation-addiction9914

A Little Reflection… Vipassana Meditation: Was it Worth It?

In the months and years since I took a ten-day Vipassana Meditation course in Nepal,  friends and readers have asked me to share my thoughts, now that I have distance from the experience. I jotted a few sparse notes during the course, and journaled on Day Eleven to chronicle my ten-days in a Vipassana course. Those entries shared the raw thoughts and feelings as I processed each day of meditation and course teachings. During the course, I was deep in the middle of the pain and difficulty. There was little room for reflection.

What the Heck is a Vipassana Meditation Course?
I dubbed my time in Vipassana meditation as my ten day stint in “solitary confinement.” It’s how it felt at the time. And even in retrospect this intense mediation course as one of my wackier decisions. It’s one of the most structured and regimented forms of meditation. The rules are strict and the entire process is tightly control. This course was the hardest thing I have ever voluntarily chosen. More than six months later, I was endlessly thankful that I was able to complete it, that I had the support and stamina during the course finish. And now, seven years later I still look at that course as a formative foundation on how I approach life.

A few of the strict rules:

• You cannot speak or communicate (non-verbal communication like eye-contact is a no-no)
• No reading or writing
• Food is restricted after the mid-day meal
• You must adhere to the meditation schedule of 10+ hours of meditation and an hour of discourse in the evening

More Info: http://alittleadrift.com/vipassana-meditation-course-nepal/

Main website: https://www.dhamma.org

Nepal Center: https://pokhara.dhamma.org/

Meditation may fine-tune control over attention

Everyday experience and psychology research both indicate that paying close attention to one thing can keep you from noticing something else.

However, a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that attention does not have a fixed capacity - and that it can be improved by directed mental training, such as meditation.

The new study, which appears online May 8 in the journal PLoS Biology, examined the effects of three months of intensive training in Vipassana meditation, which focuses on reducing mental distraction and improving sensory awareness.

The research group found that three months of rigorous training in Vipassana meditation improved people's ability to detect a second target within the half-second time window. In addition, though the ability to see the first target did not change, the mental training reduced the amount of brain activity associated with seeing the first target.

Read more: http://www.news.wisc.edu/13762

Sitting still: Boot camp of quiet self-discovery

This season some regional business people will elect to spend 10 days of their annual vacation time this way: in silence, eating just two meals a day, sleeping in a dorm, and meditating for most of their waking hours from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

They won't have anything to read or access to the Internet or television. They won't be able to snack between meals.

And while they're usually busy business people, they won't be able to answer e-mails or go to meetings or write memos or make phone calls.

In one sense, nothing will happen during those 10 days. In another sense, the people will emerge transformed.

..........When cut off from constant entertainment and input, and required to do something that seems as simple as watching the breath, the mind can suddenly start to look like a upended cauldron of memories, desires, frustration and anticipation. The center's boot-camp environment is structured to support people as they wade through the deluge, and out the other side.

"It's facing those internal reactive habit patterns that we carry around with us day in and day out, learning to face our own reactions with a balanced mind, that's what's a challenge," Crutcher said. "This is an intensive practice where a lot of deep turbulent stuff comes welling up, and sometimes it's more than a person can face at the moment."

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2006/07/03/focus2.html

Info regarding center: http://www.kunja.dhamma.org/