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

Vipassana meditation retreat in Maryland

A few years ago, Yetka Zarrinkafsh was at a crossroads. She says her life was extremely busy and she needed somewhere to be quiet. That somewhere was a special meditation retreat where they practice the ancient Buddhist technique of Vipassana, meditation in complete silence.

The retreat lasts all day long, every day and with a silent break for meals and sleep. No phones. No TVs. No reading. No writing.

ABC7 was allowed unprecedented access inside a retreat held on Maryland's eastern shore. It was attended by people of all ages, races and backgrounds.

To watch video, visit http://wjla.com/news/health/vipassana-meditation-retreat-in-maryland-88941

Mid-Atlantic Vipassana Center: https://www.midatlantic.us.dhamma.org/

Interview with SN Goenka

How is vipassana different from other forms of meditation?
Vipassana is observation of truth. Not the apparent truth. Not your face or your arms. You feel what is happening inside you. The mind becomes very sharp in three days. In those three days, no words are used. Nobody asks you to chant Buddha’s name. Just observe the truth, the breath coming in and out of you. Experience the truth as is the law of nature. From the fourth day, you are asked to observe the whole body, to get different sensations, pleasant sometimes, but mostly unpleasant. A lot of negativity amd impurities well up in their minds. Then they realise what they are doing. They realise they are harming themselves and they start changing. This is how the change comes, with their own experience.

More Information : http://www.awaken.com/2013/03/interview-with-sn-goenka/

Goenka Vipassana Meditation Course: 5 Benefits of Daily Practice

by Rohi Shetty
Goenka Vipassana meditation courses include instructions about how to apply Vipassana in daily life and the 5 important benefits of daily meditation.

More Information: http://suite101.com/article/goenka-vipassana-meditation-course-5-benefits-of-daily-practice-a347474

S.N. Goenka Vipassana Meditation Course: Seven Special Benefits

by Rohi Shetty

Vipassana, a scientific meditation technique, helps to develop mental strength, insight and metta. Vipassana meditation retreats have seven great benefits.

More Information: http://suite101.com/article/sn-goenka-vipassana-meditation-course-seven-special-benefits-a250387

Goenka Vipassana Meditation Course – Five Enemies of Meditation

by Rohi Shetty

Vipassana meditators learn to recognize and overcome the five enemies of meditation: sensual desire, aversion, agitation, doubt and lethargy.


More Information : http://suite101.com/article/goenka-vipassana-meditation-course--five-enemies-of-meditation-a366110

Goenka Vipassana Course: 7 Rewards of Breath-Meditation (Anapana)

by Rohi Shetty

In a Goenka Vipassana meditation course, meditators start by observing their natural incoming and outgoing breath and gain seven key benefits.

More Information: http://suite101.com/article/goenka-vipassana-course-7-rewards-of-breath-meditation-anapana-a360617

How Silence Benefits You in a Goenka Vipassana Meditation Course?

By Rohi Shetty

S. N. Goenka Vipassana meditation courses are becoming increasingly popular not only in India, but throughout the world. One of the unique features of the Goenka Vipassana course is the rule to observe “noble silence” for the first nine days of the course. Noble silence means that course participants do not communicate with fellow meditators for the first nine days of the course, neither verbally nor by gestures.

Many applicants find this requirement of total silence daunting. Though they want to “sit” a Goenka Vipassana retreat, they hesitate because they are not sure if they can zip their lips for ten days.

However, much to their surprise, most course participants find it surprisingly easy to follow this rule once they gather the courage to join the course. There are several reasons for this.

More Information: http://suite101.com/article/how-silence-benefits-you-in-a-goenka-vipassana-meditation-course-a322749

3 Reasons Why You Don't Join a Goenka Vipassana Meditation Course

by Rohi Shetty

Vipassana meditation is a simple and scientific meditation technique to develop mental strength and insight. It is taught in ten-day residential courses by Mr. S. N. Goenka and his assistants.

However, some people who wish to join the course are intimidated by the strict rules and timetable of the Vipassana retreat.

There are three main reasons why people hesitate to join a Vipassana course:

More Information : http://suite101.com/article/3-reasons-why-you-dont-join-a-goenka-vipassana-meditation-course-a325264

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

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.

More Information: http://www.thefix.com/content/vipassana-meditation-addiction9914

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

Soul Train -Vipassana Meditation

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills, an Art of Living.

Mary Lou visited the Vipassana Centre at Pomona and spoke with Anne Doneman the Area Teacher for Queensland.

More Information: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/03/soul-train-vipassana-meditation.html

Meditation: A Compass and a Path

An Interview With Dr. Paul R. Fleischman which gave answers to following questions.

• How would you define meditation?
• Can you share what the purpose of meditation is from your perspective?
• The common perception of meditation is that it is a very personal experience, and in recent times the emphasis seems to be on its utilitarian value. What are your thoughts?
• Can you say more about these moral attitudes?
• Can this skepticism actually play a helpful role in one's progress?
• What is the role, then, of logic vs. inner experience?
• What is the role of detachment in meditation? How does detaching help us become generous?
• Can you start by describing what actually happens when someone tries to meditate?
• So then how does watching that kaleidoscopic activity help you engage more effectively with life?

More information:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/viral-mehta/what-is-meditation-_b_1366194.html

Radio Interview about Vipassana Meditation

Piers Messum, an assistant teacher to S.N. Goenka, recently gave an interview to Zone One Radio about Vipassana meditation and what people can expect when coming to a course. To listen, you can follow the link here:
http://soundcloud.com/gunitp/vipassana-meditation-interview

Yoga Rockford: Learning meditation

 By Jennie Williford

 Yoga students often ask me about meditation — whether I teach it or where they can learn it. My answer is always the same: find a Vipassana Meditation Center and find the time to take a course. Learning this technique of meditation could be one of the best things you could ever do for yourself.

More Information:  http://rockrivertimes.com/2012/02/29/yoga-rockford-learning-meditation/

Liberate yourself with Vipassana

Swati R Chaudhary

Are your thoughts spinning out of control? Do you experience overwhelming anxiety and restlessness? Vipassana can empower you to take stock of your life.

Thankfully, meditation techniques like Vipassana can help people take stock of their lives. It can empower them to de-clutter their minds and experience real peace and happiness. There is accumulating evidence that meditation offers a host of benefits - both psychological and physical. Meditation is known to calm the agitated mind and help the meditator find peace and solace. Vipassana meditation, as taught by S.N. Goenka, not only offers psychological and physical benefits but also helps them take concrete steps towards liberation - liberation from misery, defilement, bondage and ignorance.

 

More Information:  http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-04/new-age-insight/30620441_1_vipassana-meditation-happiness

The Dhamma Brothers (2008) freely available on Hulu

An overcrowded, violent maximum-security prison, the end of the line in Alabama's prison system, is dramatically changed by the influence of an ancient intensive meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence live 1,500 prisoners, many of whom will never again know life in the outside world. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding program of silent meditation lasting 10 days and requiring 100 hours of meditation. The Dhamma Brothers tells a dramatic tale of human potential and transformation as it closely follows and documents the stories of the prison inmates at Donaldson Correctional Facility as they enter into this arduous and intensive program. The film has the power to dismantle stereotypes about men behind prison bars.
Watch movie: http://www.hulu.com/watch/255596/the-dhamma-brothers

What is making them spiritual?

Not just senior citizens, many youngsters, who are otherwise dismissed as reckless in their lifestyle and behaviour, are taking to meditation and spiritual healing to beat the stress in their daily lives. Of late, a healthy number of teens have been registering for vipassana courses not just in their own city, but in far off retreats as well. While some see it as a “different” kind of holiday, there are others who claim to having actually benefited from such exercises.

 

More Information:  http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/others/what-making-them-spiritual-283

Meditation vacation

The guru looked troubled. A spry 75-year-old, who could have passed for 60, he usually wore an expression as pure as his ivory robe. Peering into my cell, he watched as I wept harder than I could remember, for a reason my mind could not fathom. Then he beamed. “You are very lucky,” he said. “This is a very big sankara leaving your body – perhaps it was an illness that even a doctor could not cure.”
Perplexing as his words sounded, their meaning would become clear later. All I could grasp then was that the Indian meditation master believed that my mysterious meltdown had taken me a step closer to enlightenment.
Read More: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/a5e3476e-2a36-11e1-8f04-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1jC7Pxdba