A Little Introspection… What it’s Like to Take a Vipassana Meditation Course

Last updated on August 21, 2023 by Shannon

I’m on other side of my ten-day Vipassana meditation course. It was intense. Looking back, I still can’t pinpoint why I decided to take this spiritual boot-camp, of sorts. For those who undertake the ten-day course, that’s essential what a Vipassana meditation retreat boils down to.

Before my Vipassana retreat, I had never meditated in earnest—a few short sessions here or there. Dear friends had shared the benefits of meditation in their lives, so I was curious but not well-versed.

The Women's section of the Yard - What a View!
This was the women’s section of the yard at our Vipassana meditation center located on Begnas Lake near Pokhara, Nepal.

And maybe I enrolled in a Vipassana meditation course exactly because I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I signed up. I had read one woman’s hilarious and intriguing recounting of the course in her memoir and from there I knew that it was something I wanted to incorporate into my round the world trip.

The Basics: Rules and Schedule at a Vipassana Meditation Course

The details of the Vipassana retreat, and what it would take for me to complete more than 100 hours in meditation—well that realization only bubbled to the surface as I signed the contract that first day at the Vipassana center.

I scribbled my John Hancock on the line and agreed to stay for the entire ten-day course.

A Vipassana contract also outlines the many restrictions that go along with the course, including “Noble Silence” and no writing. I joked with myself—in my head of course—that I had volunteered for solitary confinement.

Reaching the peak of our Poon Hill Trek in the Himalayas required stamina and endurance. A Vipassana meditation requires an entirely different type of stamina, endurance, and mental fortitude.

Ten-day Vipassana meditations are rigorous courses on the mental level, rather than the physical level. I had hiked through the Annapurna Circuit of the Himalayas the week before my Vipassana course. I was strong. I was confident. I totally cracked on Day Four. But I stayed, and I learned. And I’m glad for it. Let’s journey back across those 11 days at the Vipassana center outside of Pokhara, Nepal.

The Rules at a Vipassana Meditation Course:

All ten-day Vipassana courses follow the same set of rules. Abiding by these rules is a hard and fast requirement of taking a course. The rules read benign enough at first, but which rule challenges each of us depends on our own unique personalities and mental resistance.

Participants sign a contract stating they will stay for the entire course. “Noble Silence” means no spoken or nonverbal communication with anyone except the server and teacher.

Dhamma Hall at our vipassana meditation center.
This is where the magic happened at our Vipassana meditation center, Dhamma Hall. All of the dorms fanned out across the hills on either side—men on one side of the hall, and women on the other.

Noble Silence also means no reading and writing; these are considered both a form of communication, and a meditative activity. Since communication and outside meditation techniques are verboten, you will need to abstain from both of these things as a part of your Noble Silence.

There are also Five Precepts to which all abide: No killing of any living creature. No lying. No stealing. No sexual activity. No intoxicants. And finally, participants are asked to suspend all religious practices such as prayers, mantras, and rituals.

Food is restricted. Former students take lemon water at the evening tea break—new students receive a small dish of fruit or puffed rice, and milk tea.

Although they prefer you to abide by these food rules, they can often accommodate some health issues. I requested an additional snack to handle my hypoglycemia; they obliged by serving me milk and biscuits at 9:00pm, just before lights out.

The Schedule:

4:00am                           Wake Up Bell
4:30 – 6:30am               Meditation
6:30 – 8:00am               Breakfast
8:00 – 11:00am              Mediation
11:00 – 1:00pm              Lunch and teacher interviews
1:00 – 5:00pm                Meditation
5:00 – 6:00pm               Tea-break
6:00 – 7:00pm               Meditation
7:00 – 8:15pm                Video teachings with Goenka
8:15 – 9:00pm                Meditation
9:30pm                           Lights out

vipassana meditation beginners

My Vipassana Meditation Course Journal

This journal was constructed from brief, jotted words on a paper throughout the course that would allow me to remember moments. I did not write or journal during the course since that is against the rules.

Arrival Day

What a gorgeous spot for a Vipassana meditation retreat! Even after spending last week hiking around the Himalayas, the nature here still wows me. Taxi driver drama ensued on the drive out to the center—he wanted to charge us more than our agreed price, which I had verified was a fair rate for the journey.

I’m rarely agitated by the daily travel dramas like that, but I was worried that I would miss the orientation and be booted from the entire course before it had even started.

We made it in time. My cousin, friend, and I all shared the cab since we were traveling together—once they heard that I was taking the course they signed up as well. And we plopped our butts into the seats surrounded by about two dozen other people.

I’ve heard that some classes have a few hundred students, but our center doesn’t look like it’s capable of holding that many. So it’s just this ragtag group: A handful of other foreigners, and then a large contingent of Nepali and Indian participants too.

I’m not sure what I expected, but since the materials on the website were all in English, I suppose I thought there would be more Westerners representing.

The Teacher took control once we had all arrived and began to explain more about the course expectations and what we were looking at for the next ten days of our lives.

Ten days had sounded short a year ago, when I decided that I would take a Vipassana course. I had sat in my bedroom dreaming about my yearlong trip around the world. “Why not attend a Vipassana course,” I had thought on a lark.

Now, we have just 45 minutes until Noble Silence begins. Like looking down the barrel of a shotgun, I am staring into the abyss of my innermost thoughts, fears, and feelings. I’m wigging out. I fear the unknown and uncertainty of these coming days.

Can I handle a dozen hours a day of looking inside my own head? In ten days, will I recognize my brain? How much can I learn in ten days?

Those ten days loom on my horizon like an albatross blotting out the light from the sun. But then, ten days is also a just this small chunk of time on the continuum of my life. In any given year, ten days seems insignificant.

And yet the clock is ticking toward the beginning of what promises to be the hardest voluntary experience of my life. The inability to take back this decision is rattling me.

Mere minutes until Noble Silence. And so it begins.

Vipassana Day One: So Many Thoughts

The gong startled me from sleep at 4am, and within the hour I learned that I had just one task for the day: Focus on the air entering and leaving my nostrils.

For ten hours and forty-five minutes I set my mind to this single goal. My mind raced with thoughts, each thought jammed and jockeying for space in my mind like rush-hour traffic squeezing into the streets of Los Angeles.

My mind wandered. As I pulled my focus to my nostril, suddenly one thought would leap from the window of my car and race through the traffic on a mad dash. I’d careen through time, passing a car filled with memories of my childhood.

As I raced past another car, I glimpsed snapshots of every event large and small. Throughout the day, Teacher instructed us to simply pull our focus back to the breath each time our mind wandered.

It became one run-on sentence of a day. No periods, just a chain of thoughts that I would pull away from to refocus on my breath.

Visions of the pretty scenes from my trek filled my mind a lot on Day One of the meditation. Because we had just finished hiking, it was all fresh and memorable.

There I am eating a peanut butter sandwich at nine-years-old—man, I used to love those, with that thick, gooey feeling on the roof of my—wait! Breath, air, nostril—is that an itch on my nose—OK, whew, got rid of it, kind of like that time I had a cast on my arm… man, did that thing itch to high heaven, but I had read those horror stories of people getting gross infections and so I never—GAH, the breath, right.

I need to recenter.

Air coming in, air exiting slowly, too slowly: Alert the troops, Left Nostril is working overtime because Right Nostril is only taking in about 20 percent of the breath—am I getting sick or is this a normal thing that I’ve just never noticed before . . . is it even possible that Right Nostril just doesn’t show up to work every day?

And so this litany of thoughts continued. Sometimes, instead of listening to the traffic report, my brain would flip to a music station. That’d be fine if it was good music, but instead I have the Nepali trekking songs stuck in my head. I jammed out to Chhati Ma Mero while attempting to keep my focus on the breath and barely succeeding.

Near the end of “Day One: Vipassana vs. Shannon,” Teacher allowed groups of two to four people to approach and ask questions. I had some serious concerns, pressing issues of utmost importance. “Teacher, I can’t stop falling asleep, what do I do?”

Teacher responded, “Yes, you are rather fond of sleep aren’t you?”

Dining Hall at the vipassana meditation retreat
Local women prepare the food and serve it to you in the dining hall. To help enforce the rules of silence and no communication, all of the chairs face the wall, instead of sitting across from people. This is from our first day, so everyone is chatting in anticipation of Noble Silence.

Hah. I thought I had gotten away with it. Between bouts of song, traffic, and breath focus, I couldn’t always stop my head from doing that jerky head-bobby thing as I fought to stay awake.

Teacher told to focus harder on the meditation, double down on my curiosity and attention to detail in the breath. When I did that, he said, I would stop falling asleep. Well, we shall see.

Vipassana Day Two: Goodbye Cousin of Mine

Another pre-dawn wakeup call and then hours of meditating, but this time the morning meditation included a soundtrack to supersede the one created by the Nepali trekking songs stuck in my head.

Goenka’s slow, measured voice fell into the room like a trickling stream of pebbles. His voice is gravely during the changing and I’m having difficulty staying level and measured. Each time Teacher starts the recordings, I shudder a little and try to block it out while I attentively study the nasal cavity.

Oh yes, we graduated from the nostrils, and now can observe our entire nasal cavity. Left Nostril is still laboring alone, with Right Nostril not even pretending like it wants to show up to work. For hours I pulled my thoughts to the nasal cavity, using this focus and time to simply observe the breath. Nothing more, nothing less. Just the breath in my nasal cavity.

The mental traffic continues—there is no beginning or end to my thoughts, they are a stream of babble narrating my every waking, silent moment. Only upside (barely) is that my internal soundtrack changed. I fight to keep it all quiet and meditative in my head, but Madonna’s Like a Prayer sounds across my consciousness in the rhythm of my breathing.

My cousin left the vipassana course on day 2
My cousin, in the center, left the Vipassana Course on Day Two. Cara (left) and I (right) stuck out the entire 10 days, even when it got dicey there for a while!

After a full day of sitting yesterday, I am stiff and I was likely a better meditator because I was just too tired to move. Instead I plopped into my place during the evening discourse, trying not to notice that my cousin left earlier that day.

She broke my Noble Silence by talking to me, but all I did was blink and sort of shrug in response when she told me that she was returning to Pokhara. I try not to dwell on the fact that she left. Part of me yearns to also go to Pokhara and gorge on food and walk the streets and chat with locals. But I want this—I want to finish this course.

Vipassana Day Three: It Never Ends

The days are interminably long. Just me, in a hall, on a lake, in Nepal. All day I sit there and focus on my breath. We’ve expanded our task again: Focus on the sensations in the nose area.

Yippee. My enthusiasm wanes and I considering going on strike, just like my Right Nostril, which still isn’t functioning as an air intake hole for my face.

With my cousin gone, I wonder if I should just leave too. I’ve quit so many things in my life—dance, piano, acting. What’s another thing on the laundry list of partial accomplishments? And yet… there is progress. If I’ve done nothing else, I have mastered my ability to focus and easily stay awake. My mind is a steel trap of focus, attentiveness, and awareness.

And yet, my back pain today was intense today. It’s been a couple of years since I last threw out my back, but this could do it. I spent hours just shifting, trying to alleviate the shooting pain pulsing in my butt and back. All the while, I return to my breath. Shooting pain. Sensations in Left Nostril. Numbed ass cheek—oh right, wonder what’s going on in my nasal cavity.

It’s all fun and games over here. I am loving this, really.

Begnas Lake, Pokhara - Before a Storm
Begnas Lake was a pretty spot as the setting for my Vipassana course. This was my view each day from the door to our Dhamma Hall.

Vipassana Day Four: Desperate to Leave

Like a cosmic joke, Don’t Stop Believing blared through my head. The lyrics bounced around my head, echoing in the early morning quiet.

Journey was always the song I used to get pumped up for a night on the town, and now it’s like my mind decided I needed this motivation as I learn the actual Vipassana technique today.

Up until now, we were preparing our minds and bodies for the real work of Vipassana. Three times a day we will now be asked to sit perfectly still for one entire hour. We should refrain from shifting, itching, or any movement of any kind.

It was torturously painful and I never made it to the hour mark before succumbing to the urge to shift and release the tension and pain in my back.

Machhapuchare Mountain from the vipassana center
On a clear day, the Vipassana meditation center actually has a clear view of Machhapuchare, one of the most distinguishable peaks in the Himalayan range, particularly from the Pokhara region.

I was ready to get the hell out of here by the day’s final session, just before the evening discourse. But when I voiced my desire to leave to the woman serving our course as a volunteer, she indicated that I should talk to Teacher before making any decisions.

She also added that I am in the middle of a mental surgery and it’s not safe for me to leave in the middle of the operation.

Each evening, after the final video discourse, we have the opportunity to discuss any issues or problems with Teacher. I waited my turn and then blurted out: “Goenka’s singing is slowly killing my soul.” I pleaded with him to let me go and save me from the urge to kick puppies that comes every time I hear Goenka’s voice.

Teacher, unperturbed by my outburst, asked, “So you want to join your cousin, yes?”

I sputtered, focusing on the fact that I have these violent thoughts careening through my head when I sit for the hourlong Vipassana sessions. His didn’t even pause, he just told me to get sleep, then he grinned when I dragged myself from the question cushion and crawled across the floor in dejection.

Machapuchare and Bengas Lake
Machapuchare and Bengas Lake make a pretty companion during the days of meditation, when we have no choice but to just notice and appreciate the world all around us.

Vipassana Day Five: Resigned to Continue

I made a desperate plea to leave again today, but Teacher effectively shut down all of my arguments. I even brought the teachings of His Holiness Dalai Lama into the discussion. Ultimately, I couldn’t come up a rebuttal for his final question: “How can I say that Vipassana meditation is not for me after just four days of a ten-day course?”

Teacher pointed out that I am only partway through a process that I had committed myself to learning five days earlier. And he has a point. So I stayed. Here I am.

I am struggling through it. Bad memories and past pains geyser from my subconscious during every session. The Vipassana technique is meant to relieve layers of grief and suffering we’ve built over the years.

We build these layers of suffering as we pass through our lives and create attachments and aversion toward all manner of things. By practicing the technique, we learn how to peel back those layers no longer hold that suffering within us.

But it’s painful. Even the discourses offer little relief; talk of the afterlife and death remind me of the unfathomable loss of my brother four years ago. All of these hours every day. And so many days left in the course. Thoughts of Bruce fill the moments when I’m not desperately trying to scan my body and focus on the sensations. Any thoughts are better than dwelling on his death.

Vipassana Day Six: Relieving Tedium

Today we were instructed to continue observing sensations in our body, both pain and pleasure—but to cultivate a non reaction. By default, many of us observe things in our lives and immediately attach a viewpoint of craving or aversion toward that observation. But the Vipassana technique is teaching us to observe equanimity.

In practice, this means that if I observe intense pain shooting through my leg and pulsating across my butt, I should observe the sensation but not wish for it to go away—that would be showing an aversion to the pain. And if a cool breeze enters the hall and flutters my hair across my cheek, I should not wish for it to blow again, but instead observe the sensation without attaching craving to the observation.

And so, I sit. And I observe pain. And my mind drifts to visions of me starring in a kick-ass karate movie. I leap from my spot on the floor with uncanny grace. Then I serve a roundhouse kick to the ninjas surrounding the silent meditators.

With their eyes closed, they are unaware of the looming danger. I alone have discovered the dire situation and I alone can save us all. Through an impressive series of flips and punches, I intimidate the ninjas and they flee, leaving the mediators in peace.

And I settle back into my seat in the middle of the female side of the meditation hall. And I remember the task at hand. Oh, how could I forget it. Instead of escaping on a cloud of happy, kick-ass visualizations, I focus on my breath and the sensations in my body. Which are pain, so much mental and physical pain.

Vipassana Day Seven: Not too Bad, Actually

vipassana meditation views
It was just me and the mountain views for days on end. Ten days feels like a lifetime when you’re acutely aware of every single second.

During today’s morning Vipassana retreat session I discovered that I no longer cringe when I hear Goenka’s singing. What once grated too heavily has become a pleasant addition to the gentle sounds of rain pattering on the meditation hall each day.

We’ve learned of Anicca these past days, the idea that everything in life is impermanent. Nothing lasts forever, no situation and no feeling. It’s because of the very fact of impermanence that we are learning to cultivate a pattern of non-reaction in our lives.

If all things are transient in our lives, from pain to joy, then we should not react with craving and aversion—it’s that reaction that creates the suffering. If we crave joyous events, and they don’t happen, then we suffer. Instead, if we observe and move through the joy and pain in equal measure—observing both as impermanent experiences in our lives, we are better able to cultivate a balanced reaction to life.

Each day has bled into the next, with our schedule fixed and never-changing. And yet, life is unexpected and gifts the strangest experiences. The Spanish woman who shares my dorm room—she talks and guffaws in her sleep, which is not a part of this story, but funny nonetheless—walked in on me naked today.

The lock on the shower door is faulty, so even though I had it locked, it didn’t stand up against her tugging. She was looking down brushing her teeth while I stood stark naked in the tiny, square shower stall.

Because of my vow of Noble Silence, I refrained from speaking and instead cleared my throat. She squealed and threw the door closed. Minutes later, when I was dry, clean, dressed, and ready to exit, I realized that she had locked the stall from the outside!

With not much else to do, I knocked on the door. After about five minutes, she rushed to the shower stalls and when she opened the door we both just burst out in laughter. It all has nothing to do with Vipassana, but it was the humanest of moments in the midst of all this silent introspection.

meditating in grassy field no vipassana
This was about the extent of my meditation practice before the Vipassana course—a joke pose in a pretty pasture. After the 10 days, however, I have a serious awareness and respect for the practice.

Vipassana Day Eight: Feeling Pretty Good

Teacher’s stern face warned us today that we should work very, very seriously in these remaining days in the course. All of the students took this to heart and there is a renewed sense of focus in the meditation hall during our hourlong sittings of “strong determination,” where we try not to move for an entire hour.

I have to admit, this whole thing has gotten easier. Either that, or some part of my consciousness finally caught up with my decision to stick out this course to the end.

I find it easier to now sit for the entire hour. Finding the right sitting position has been key to making it through the sessions. If you had asked me three days ago, I would not have foreseen a day that I could sit in this hall for 11+ hours each day without desperately craving a distraction.

And yet, it’s all just not so looming and huge in my head now. I’ve accepted the fact that I am here and my brain is finally focus on the task a hand.

And without the raging thoughts of desperation about leaving the course, a certain balance is creeping into my thoughts. I kinda like it! I don’t know if everyone else feels the same, but I’ve felt a lightening this past few days that have me smiling as I go about my day.

Day Nine: The Home Stretch

Chatting it up on Day 10 with the Annapurnas Behind
On the final day of our 10-day Vipassana course, the air over the mountains cleared and we had the most remarkable views from Begnas Lake. All I could think about on Day Nine was chatting with all the other people!

Today is more “very, very serious” meditation and I am containing the impulse to dance through the center. Just one more day left. I’ve grown to like the technique in these past few days, and the evening discourses offer intriguing perspectives on life, suffering, and happiness.

I wish I could journal all the swirling thoughts, but it’s forbidden. They slip away on the breeze instead, as I refocus on the sensations in my body.

Noble Silence ends tomorrow in the late morning, and we will have discourse for the rest of the day. It’s hard to believe that there are a finite number of hours left in this Vipassana meditation course.

I’m proud of myself for sticking it out. I’m ready to leave, but I’m also so glad that I stayed and worked through the self-doubt, the fear, and the desperation to leave.

Vipassana Day Ten: A Breath of Fresh Air

Vipassana Group — We Survived!

Our chatter echoed in an a strange cacophony across the lake this morning. Once we were able to break Noble Silence, our thoughts burst forth like a damn releasing its crushing load of water.

Although we will still make our sittings of strong determination throughout the day, we’re also looking outward at how the technique has been used around the world to help eliminate suffering.

The documentary on implementing Vipassana meditation at Tijar Prison, one of India’s toughest prisons, proved fascinating. As a technique and tool, Vipassana focuses on a taking personal responsibility for your suffering.

Implementing it in the prison was a calculated move to help the prisoners gain control over their reactions. The program at Tijar turned out to be a surprise success. Many prisoners found solace in the practice.

By using this tool, they were handed a structured and specific way to deal with situations out of their control.

Is a Vipassana meditation course worth it?

Craving and aversion are the root of personal suffering. Since nothing in this world is permanent, Vipassana meditation is a way to develop the mental control that stops suffering at its root.

Learning to control your reactions to life allows you to control your personal suffering. Vipassana has given me a technique that I can hone that reprograms my default mental processes responding and reacting to the world around me.

I have found value in learning the grounded theory behind Vipassana meditation, the rules of practice, and also stories of how it’s changed the lives of others.

advice for taking a vipassana course

As we chatted, we were all proud to make it through the course and to have learned this valuable tool. Where we all go from here—whether any or all of us continue practicing each day—it’s an accomplishment to have committed the ten days to learning the technique.

Tonight as I journal this experience these past days, I feel lighter and able to cope with both positive and negative situations in a balanced way. I have a few more days traveling Nepal, and I hope to continue my travels with an eye toward cultivating equanimity in my life.


Considering a Vipassana meditation course? 

What to Read

Download the Beginner’s Guide to Vipassana Meditation—it has all of the practical advice and information you need to decide if you should take a Vipassana meditation course, as well as what to do to prepare. The book is offered as a pay what you can model so it’s accessible to everyone and those who have the means can offset the price for those who do not! Also available on Amazon Kindle.

Prepare Before You Arrive

Other Online Vipassana Stories:

Best Books About Vipassana Meditation:

These books all either cover Vipassana in depth, or they are the breezy travel reads that include the author’s experience in a course.

Also, this post shares my analysis from six months and 10+ years later, as well as other recommended readings for anyone thinking about taking a Vipassana meditation course.

22 thoughts on “A Little Introspection… What it’s Like to Take a Vipassana Meditation Course”

  1. Thank you for sharing. I’m living by Begnas lake now and while contemplating doing the course in December, suddenly got doubtful and scared, looking for some insight from someone who has done it. Your experience encouraged me, although I have no doubt it’s not going to be easy.
    Namaste.

    Reply
  2. Hi Shannon,

    Thanks so much for writing this. I’m currently in a hotel in Kathmandu, having just walked out of the Vipassana centre on day 5. Your experience of the first half is near identical to mine. I wonder if I had read this before I went if I would still be there right now.

    I think, however, leaving – this time at least, was the right choice for me. Mentally I had checked out, and I don’t believe I have the same fortitude to have bothered to get it back. The evening teachings, however, will stay with me, and I will practice the art of the body scan so that I can develop my tolerance to it. Perhaps one day I’ll try it again, this time more secure in the knowledge of what I’m actually signing up for.

    Reply
    • I think you have to be true to yourself and know your limits. Vipassana will always be there when and if you’re ready to sit for another course.

      Reply
  3. Hi Shannon,

    thanks for the article, I enjoyed reading it. I like to read other peoples experiences.

    It also made me smile for a number of reasons, I too used the term ‘Spiritual Bootcamp’ on my first Vipassana. Also that you had a song play in your head, I have heard that some people have had a playlist of songs every day, one person I spoke to had three songs a day throughout the retreat. I unfortunately had no songs. ;)

    I am on my third vipassana this September, hope to see you at one one day.

    Anthony x

    Reply
    • Aw shucks, no soundtrack for you. Perhaps that means you have less “traffic” as they called it vying for your attention as you meditate. Wishing you happiness on your September course! You may see me there one day soon :)

      Reply
  4. Thanks for your sharing, Shannon. I’ve been checking out Vipassana-related sights and am pondering if the ten day program is the right choice. I experience extreme anxiety at times (technically diagnosed PTSD and on medication) and deal with it by keeping constantly occupied with my mind and body. Often I am a human “doing” instead of a human “being,” and hope to improve that. Thanks for providing your personalized, realistic view!
    Susan

    Reply
    • So glad it resonated Susan. If you get to the point of finding a course you might attend, I encourage you to email them and ask about your situation. They have guidelines in place to help those taking the course but who might need special dispensations—letting them know your situation ahead of time is a good idea!

      Reply
  5. I am starting my course next week…was a bit skeptic about the whole process and wanted to understand more, fortunately came across your journal and yes this helped me and now I have set the expectations for myself! Thanks for the details.

    Reply
    • So glad you found it helpful and I hope it’s everything you want when you do your Vipassana course. And as they say, be happy. :)

      Reply
  6. Oh my, reading your funny diary about the Vipassana course, made me remembering mine. You made me laugh out loud often. Belief you me, I know everything about those trucks, the songs, the racing of thoughts… But I am so glad I stayed – it was the best meditation course I ever did. I am still doing it, unfortunately not on a regular basis. I am such a distracted person – I only can do it when I am in a quite space. You've chosen a much more beautiful place to do it, though. Maybe next time in Pokara. Oh yes, I seriously contemplate taking an other course. Am I nuts?

    Reply
    • Good for you that you're still practicing! That takes some real discipline –
      and I definitely don't think that you're crazy for wanting to take on again
      – I will probably do another one at some point in my life. If you feel like
      you need it then you should definitely go back – the world is so much
      clearer after a Vipassana! :-)

      Reply
  7. Funny Post. When I first starting reading it, I thought that it would be something I might be interested in doing, but afterwards, I think I will leave it to you. I don’t think I could go without speaking for that long. Congratulations on sticking it out.
    I loved the way you described everything, every time I try to meditate, songs go through my head, I am uncomfortable and yes, my nose always seems to stuff up too! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • I wouldn’t want to have convinced you from doing it!! But it was really intense and not exactly for everyone…I’m glad to hear that I am not the only one with the catchy songs floating around during meditation!

      Reply
  8. Congratulations. Considered adding it to the bucket list, but in hindsight thought the better of it. It would be interesting to hear if this has changed you 6 weeks later.
    Kim

    Reply
    • You know, I have been considering adding a follow-up post and so I just might do it now that I see people are interested :-)

      Reply
  9. I love you more than ever! Hysterical! And honestly enlightening! Laughed and winced with you at every moment – and want to see this movie! I am SO proud of you! Personal responsibility, huh? What a concept!

    Reply
  10. Wow Shannon. Good for you on sticking with it! And good for Teacher for making you stick with it :). I loved reading your discriptions of each day. You had me laughing out loud picturing you sitting there trying to meditate with the Red Lobster Birthday song playing in your head. Too funny.

    Reply
  11. There is nothing wrong with “Don’t Stop Believing!” That should have been a rockin’ awesome song to have in your head during meditation :)

    Wow, I am proud of you. I really didn’t think you would make it :) But I am glad you did.

    Miss you!

    Reply
    • The soundtrack to your course sounds pretty cool actually. I think that should be your meditation tape :)

      Seriously tho, congradulations

      Reply

Leave a Comment