psychedelicpsyd on Nostr: In 2018, only 5 days after getting married to the love of my life, I embarked on a ...
In 2018, only 5 days after getting married to the love of my life, I embarked on a 10-day spiritual journey on my own whereby I maintained noble silence in a practice called Vipassana. This ancient Buddhist practice, open to anyone with any religious background, is held at meditation centers across the world.
I was one of approximately 100 people; the men and women were segregated but came to the same hall everyday to meditate. I averaged about 11 hours of meditation per day and ate vegetarian throughout my time at the center. The premise revolved around meditation and internal work, so no talking, writing, reading, working out, or any other distractions were performed so as to stay within and get the most out of the experience. Three one-hour daily sessions were guided by S.N. Goenka in recorded videos with profound lessons in each.
This experience really tipped my spirituality over. I had already been interested in tapping deeper into my spiritual self, but this really blew that out of the water. I realized so much about myself in those 10 days by watching where my mind would go, by seeing what narratives would surface, and by reflecting on what it meant to be in this human experience. A big reflection, however, was realizing just how much I was driven to these types of mind challenges. I am naturally drawn to any type of self-developing solitary activity that challenges my mind in one way or another. And I will say, not speaking to anyone for 10 days straight was definitely a challenge!
Because I was training my mind to be present at any given moment, I became so observant of the smallest details around me. The food tasted better and I ate it slower, the energy of another person sitting beside me exuded brighter, and the walks to/from my room to the pagoda hall were increasingly more intentional. I still get a lovely flashback of the fresh air anytime it rains where I am now; the rainy scent in the air really stuck with me and created a deeply ingrained memory.
It was incredibly positive all around. Would you do this type of experience?🧘🏼♀️
I was one of approximately 100 people; the men and women were segregated but came to the same hall everyday to meditate. I averaged about 11 hours of meditation per day and ate vegetarian throughout my time at the center. The premise revolved around meditation and internal work, so no talking, writing, reading, working out, or any other distractions were performed so as to stay within and get the most out of the experience. Three one-hour daily sessions were guided by S.N. Goenka in recorded videos with profound lessons in each.
This experience really tipped my spirituality over. I had already been interested in tapping deeper into my spiritual self, but this really blew that out of the water. I realized so much about myself in those 10 days by watching where my mind would go, by seeing what narratives would surface, and by reflecting on what it meant to be in this human experience. A big reflection, however, was realizing just how much I was driven to these types of mind challenges. I am naturally drawn to any type of self-developing solitary activity that challenges my mind in one way or another. And I will say, not speaking to anyone for 10 days straight was definitely a challenge!
Because I was training my mind to be present at any given moment, I became so observant of the smallest details around me. The food tasted better and I ate it slower, the energy of another person sitting beside me exuded brighter, and the walks to/from my room to the pagoda hall were increasingly more intentional. I still get a lovely flashback of the fresh air anytime it rains where I am now; the rainy scent in the air really stuck with me and created a deeply ingrained memory.
It was incredibly positive all around. Would you do this type of experience?🧘🏼♀️