It was always one of those things I heard about from my real hippie friends (yes, even more hippie than me) “yeah dude, I totally just nailed a 10 day silent meditation and it was freaking soooo coooool maaaan.” Then they would fill my head full of spiritual enlightenment mumbo jumbo and how they found their inner peace. To me it just seemed like 10 days of not having any one to nag at you for not doing the dishes or taking out the trash, whilst sitting crossed legged on the floor with your eyes closed. And that was as far as I ever thought about vipassana meditation.
Then many, many years later I stumbled down the yogic pathway, or to be honest it was more like being dragged down the pathway kicking and screaming by my lovely dearest wife. But nonetheless I gave it a try, and low and behold I liked it…. No, I loved it!
Then many, many years later I stumbled down the yogic pathway, or to be honest it was more like being dragged down the pathway kicking and screaming by my lovely dearest wife. But nonetheless I gave it a try, and low and behold I liked it…. No, I loved it!
When one of our friends mentioned that she worked in the original vipassana meditation centre in Central India, and that she would be able to squeeze me in to the next course in 2 weeks time (apparently there was normally a 3 month wait to get in but it’s all about who you know wink wink) I thought, “Sure! I’ll give it a try, how hard can 10 days of silence be?”
After getting my self checked in and being relieved of my phone, wallet, jewellery, photos, books, pens and nail clippers ( ok not the nail clippers) I found myself in my lonely, damp, jail-cell sized box of a room. The next 10 days was a roller coaster of lessons, emotions and silence. My experience was simply that, MY experience. It was different to everyone elses and like wise theirs was different to mine. But at the end of it I found myself wondering how this experience would effect me in the real world. Would I be able to keep up what I have learnt.
And the painful truth is …. No I haven’t been able to keep up with it.
It's the same as my yoga practice. I had a plan to keep doing it daily no matter what happened. I even had an idea to take a daily photo of me doing yoga while we road tripped around OZ, but the truth of it is- if I’m lucky I will get maybe 20 minutes of time for it every few days, and that’s not taking into consideration bad weather, how I’m feeling or if I would prefer to have a cup of tea instead. But that doesn't mean I have failed. You see I still get to meditate or do some yoga, and even if it’s once in a while, well that is better than nothing at all. Furthermore, I know when I NEED it, or rather, Rob does and she will kick me out with my yoga mat.
In my one year since I did my vipassana I find myself wondering how much did I take from that course? Of course it’s not an amount that can be measured in cups or bags, but rather it is measured in my actions and thoughts. Things that used to leave me angry or upset for weeks, months or even years, I am now able to let go of straight after the fact. If I do get angry at something I cool down from it faster and I am able to reflect on my actions with a clearer conscience and know when I am right and wrong and if I am wrong to accept it and move on. I can now see that most people are who they are and nothing can change them, yet others only need the smallest of gentle nudges to get them moving. I am more aware of planting my own positive thoughts, and reaping the positive energy in return.
Pretty much all that hippie mumbo jumbo stuff my friends used to say, I’m saying the same thing….if they could see me now…
So a year later do I still think it was worth it? Doing ten days of silence? Yes.
And would I recommend it to every one? No… I think you need to know within yourself if and when the time is right for you. When you are left for 10 days to argue and talk to only yourself sometimes very nasty things can come up and you need to be in the right head space to be able to see the lessons within.
Would I do it again? Yes. I like the new me, but I think there is still room for more improvement.
After getting my self checked in and being relieved of my phone, wallet, jewellery, photos, books, pens and nail clippers ( ok not the nail clippers) I found myself in my lonely, damp, jail-cell sized box of a room. The next 10 days was a roller coaster of lessons, emotions and silence. My experience was simply that, MY experience. It was different to everyone elses and like wise theirs was different to mine. But at the end of it I found myself wondering how this experience would effect me in the real world. Would I be able to keep up what I have learnt.
And the painful truth is …. No I haven’t been able to keep up with it.
It's the same as my yoga practice. I had a plan to keep doing it daily no matter what happened. I even had an idea to take a daily photo of me doing yoga while we road tripped around OZ, but the truth of it is- if I’m lucky I will get maybe 20 minutes of time for it every few days, and that’s not taking into consideration bad weather, how I’m feeling or if I would prefer to have a cup of tea instead. But that doesn't mean I have failed. You see I still get to meditate or do some yoga, and even if it’s once in a while, well that is better than nothing at all. Furthermore, I know when I NEED it, or rather, Rob does and she will kick me out with my yoga mat.
In my one year since I did my vipassana I find myself wondering how much did I take from that course? Of course it’s not an amount that can be measured in cups or bags, but rather it is measured in my actions and thoughts. Things that used to leave me angry or upset for weeks, months or even years, I am now able to let go of straight after the fact. If I do get angry at something I cool down from it faster and I am able to reflect on my actions with a clearer conscience and know when I am right and wrong and if I am wrong to accept it and move on. I can now see that most people are who they are and nothing can change them, yet others only need the smallest of gentle nudges to get them moving. I am more aware of planting my own positive thoughts, and reaping the positive energy in return.
Pretty much all that hippie mumbo jumbo stuff my friends used to say, I’m saying the same thing….if they could see me now…
So a year later do I still think it was worth it? Doing ten days of silence? Yes.
And would I recommend it to every one? No… I think you need to know within yourself if and when the time is right for you. When you are left for 10 days to argue and talk to only yourself sometimes very nasty things can come up and you need to be in the right head space to be able to see the lessons within.
Would I do it again? Yes. I like the new me, but I think there is still room for more improvement.
