You know how sometimes you come across a thought or an idea and it’s something you became intensely interested in at one point but then completely forgot about and now you are even more enamoured of it and you wonder how you could have ever let it drop in the first place? Yeah? Me too.
A couple of years ago, my then massage therapist told me of a silent meditation retreat about 2 hours north of Chez Badass, called Vipassana. I was intrigued and looked it up. And I kept returning to the site and tried to imagine partaking.
- 10 days without speaking
- 10 days of eating only 2 vegetarian meals per day
- 10 days without reading or writing or being connected to the web
- 10 days of being alone with your thoughts
Number 3 freaked me out the most, I will confess – followed closely by Number 2. For whatever reason(s) – probably because I was neck-deep in home renovations and MBA shit at the time – I dropped the idea and it was forgotten.
Fast forward to today: I am in the middle of reading an excellent book, called Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment, by Robert Wright. (You had me at science, Bob.)
And guess what, ol’ Bob here is all about the Vipassana Retreat! The dream has been re-awakened!
I’m no longer as concerned about items 2 and 3. I think I can handle it, she writes with more confidence than she actually feels.
I have added another concern to the list, though:
5. 10 days of sitting on a cushion on the floor for hours at a time.
Last night I tried meditating – cross-legged on my bed – for five – only five – minutes, and my body complained LOUDLY the whole damn time. Who knew you had to get into shape to sit still? Hehehehe.
Realizing my Vipassana dream is still a few years away, I have decided. I don’t think it is something I will apply for before retirement from work. But I know now that it is something I WILL do.
Rock on,
The WB
OK, now we’re sharing a damn brain. Meditation is on my list to write about this month too. Have you read the 10% happier book? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18505796-10-happier He went to one of those retreats, just like the one you described. It was excruciating. And so rewarding. And terrifying. And now I want to do it too. But it terrifies me. 10 days! Eeek!
Just added the book to my Want to Read list, thanks Reticula!
Tried to find a shorter retreat (like 1 – 7 days) but they are pricey and usually far away. The place I am interested in is free, believe it or not. Well, they do accept donations. Maybe we could just shut the door, unplug the wifi and not talk to anyone…hehehe. Kidding! (Talk about terrifying. Actually now I AM kidding – sounds like the perfect day to me, except for the no wifi part.)
It appears that you are still having challenges with comments on your blog. I will try again – hopefully with success this time.
As you can see, I am very far behind in my blog reading and trying to catch up!
I used to work with a guy who did these retreats every year on his vacation. He tried to tell me about them once and I couldn’t wrap my head around some of the stuff you outlined in your post.
omg – 10 days alone in my own thoughts? There would be very scary!
Yep, still having issues.
Alone with my thoughts is not so much the issue for me – I’m alone with them a lot and I like it. But 10 days without reading, or writing about what I’m experiencing??? That’s scary to me! And sitting for hours? I have to move a couple of times during a 30 minute meditation – my legs and feet go dead, otherwise. I am in training to sit still, hehehe.
… and yes, I have to agree with all of that.