Vipassana Meditation Six Months Later | A Little Adrift...Travel the World |

A Little Reflection…Vipassana Meditation Six Months Later

15 December 2009 Comments

Quite a few friends and blog readers have asked for a follow up post about the ten day Vipassana Meditation course that I took in Nepal…the journal chronicling my ten day Vipassana course was very raw and there was no room for reflection at the time…

Vipassana Meditation in Nepal

View from Meditation Center

I dubbed my time in Vipassana meditation as my “ten day stint in solitary confinement”- it’s how it felt at the time, and, in jest, I do still think of this intense mediation course as one of my wackier decisions. But now, more than six months later, I’m endlessly thankful that I was able to complete it, and come out on the other side.

In brief, a Vipassana Meditation course is ten days of very-specific meditation for ten-plus hours each day; and the real kicker is that you cannot speak, communicate (non-verbal/eye-contact/etc is a no-no) write, read, or even fully indulge in eating.

The course kicked my ass. I journaled my progress through the course, day-by-day, at the time, but I’ve had several questions wondering how it feels six months later.

Pride. I feel proud that I was able to complete the course. This isn’t perhaps the “normal” reaction, but that’s how I feel because it was, wholly and truly, not easy for me to complete. Growing up I was a dilettante – and while usually that’s one of the cornerstones of being a child, experimenting, learning, and discovering new interests, it actually severely impacted my personal self-views…I considered myself as a quitter.

The Women's section of the Yard - What a View!

Peaceful grounds of the center

Back in the day, I loved synchronized swimming, even won some state and national awards – then quit that and moved onto tap dancing. Tap wasn’t as fun as jazz, which then gave way to pottery…and then there was that brief stint in ballet followed by Irish dance. I traded Irish dance for several years of piano lessons…that lasted two years. I dabbled in art, more styles of dance, and went back to competitive Irish dance in high school which eventually took a backseat to theatre…the only thing I stuck with…until I didn’t (remember, I’m on hiatus with my LA acting career so I can travel?!).

Well all of that to say that on day four I wanted to quit, NEEDED to quit, and was persuaded to stay.

And in staying, I proved to myself that I was strong enough to honor my commitment (did I mention you sign a contract saying you’ll stay?!).

Now, let me assure that this personal lesson is not the point of Vipassana; but it was one of the things I proved to myself on the trip thanks to the course.

But all of this begs the all important question:

Do I still practice and would I take Vipassana again?

I have not practiced the specific Vipassana technique at all since the day I left the meditation center. Not once. I readily use pieces of the technique to (try) to control my anger, but I do not practice the one-hour twice daily recommended meditation.

But yes to the second part.

I would take it again if I had a do-over…and I would even consider re-taking the course many years down the road. I really jived the spiritual lessons (a lot of Buddhism with hints of Christianity and other religions too) that guru Goenka teaches via video tutorials each night and they gave me some clarification, peace, all of that happy spiritual-ness that I sought.

And do I understand the meaning of life, the universe, myself and all of that after my meditation course?

Nope. Not even a little.

The verdict on Vipassana Meditation?

The course "helper" - she was incredibly sweet

T his is NOT going to align well with every type of person – and India and Nepal offer so many other types of meditation retreats – fun ones, yoga ones, laughing meditation, couples retreats, exercise meditation camps…really just about a slice of something to appeal to anyone.

But on the flip side, there are very real and serious lessons behind the Vipassana teachings – solid theories and reasons for the ten days of focused concentration. I liked the course. And I even liked the aim of implementing Vipassana in personal life. But at the end of the day, it’s just not for me. At least not right now.

Read a day-by-day account of the journey your mind goes on over ten days in Vipassana Meditation.

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Wow...I think being proud of completion is wonderful...I wish for an opportunity too to experience this...surely words are hard to describe the experience...

ShannonOD

Thank you :-) As you say, it's really hard to articulate just what it was
like throughout the 10 days, and then harder to quantify what it may have
brought to my life 6 months later :-) Oh, and they do have tours in the US
(and all over the world for that matter) if you find yourself needing a
break :-)

Mary R

Sometimes I have fantasies about participating in this kind of class... but that may be because I thrive on being alone. I like it a little too much sometimes! Who knows, maybe I'll give it a try. I DO want to go to Nepal. Glad to read that there are all kinds of approaches there

ShannonOD

If you're interested and not scared away by all of that solitude then you
really should consider. They have Vipassana centers all over the world too,
so you find some outside of Nepal as well. :-)

Stephanie

I remember learning about Vipassana in an "Anthropology of Healing" course in college. I thought it was really interesting then and wondered if it was something I could get through. It's interesting to hear from some one who has actually done it and to read about your experiences. It's definitely something I have on my Maybe Someday list.

ShannonOD

Thanks Steph! I think it's good for the "Maybe Someday" list - in the
program that emphasize that you only find Vipassana when you're supposed to
:-) So, well, when you're supposed to take it you'll find your way into a
class! :-)

Stacey

Okay, never mind, I just started reading your Solitary Confinement post. Hypoglycemia trumps curiosity, and that early wakeup call is in exactly the wrong place in my sleep cycle. My head would explode by day 2.

Heavy-duty retreat experiments shall remain vicarious. Good on you for making it.

ShannonOD

Well, it doesn't take long to get twitchy, trust me, at times I was going
out of my mind! :-) Funny you should mention the hypoglycemia though, I am
too, that's why I made them feed me more food at night...and I refused to
surrender some protein and granola bars that I had brought - and they
agreed...I just had to promise not to eat in front of the others outside of
the set meals :-)

But yeah, unless you're really jonesing for something that intense, there
are other retreats that sound really amazing that don't involve so
rigorously affecting your food/sleep/body.

PS: They have Vipassana centers all over the world if you're tempted ;-)

Stacey

Reading that post makes the idea strangely tempting. Maybe it's the work burnout talking... I spend a lot of time alone since I work solo, so I might have a head start. I wonder how long it would take me to get twitchy.

Hmm.

Amy @ The Q Family

Wow! 10 days of no communication!! That's a really big accomplishment. I don't care if you don't learn the secret of the universe but you sure can be proud of yourself. Now, I will venture out to guess that you are a Gemini just because I married one. :)