Healing requires that we get the mind into the present moment.
This is why meditation is such a profound therapeutic tool.
What is a Vipassana silent retreat?
Vipassana is an ancient tradition that extends all the way back to Buddha.
The teachings have been passed down through many generations, and in 1969,S.N.
Goenkabegan teaching Vipassana in India.
What can’t you do on Vipassana?
Use your existing meditation practice.
Attending a Vipassana course requires discipline and commitment.
Participants are asked to refrain from killing, stealing, any sexual activity, dishonesty, and intoxicating substances.
Look outside of yourself for a distraction.
Physical contact is not permitted at all, and the male and female spaces are separated.
Women are required to remain in the spaces designated for women and men in the spaces designated for men.
What’s the daily schedule like?
The daily schedule on Vipassana retreat is pretty simple.
You wake up at 4 a.m. Meditate.
Teacher’s discourse (this is where they show videos of Goenka teaching).
Go to sleep at 9:30 p.m.
The meditation sits range from one to two hours.
Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea are served daily.
The meals are simple and vegetarian.
Fasting is not allowed.
Students are not allowed to consume any intoxicating substances during the courseand this includes sedative medications and tobacco products.
What kinds of meditation technique do you do on Vipassana?
Technique is integral in Vipassana meditation.
Vipassana is a practice of self-observation, and the technique helps you to cultivate a sense of equanimity.
It is understood that the root of all suffering is the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
Vipassana is not actually taught until the fourth day of the retreat.
The first three days are about mastering the mind by observing the dynamic nature of reality through the breath.
After three days of this, the mind is calm and students are taught Vipassana.
Vipassana meditation is the practice of observing the subtle sensations throughout the body without reacting to them.
You scan the body with your attention, noticing the sensations arise and simply watching them.
If a sensation is pleasurable, you observe it and let it pass.
If it’s uncomfortable, you observe it and watch it pass.
Neither is superior, and both are impermanent.
What are the benefits of a silent retreat?
I attended my first Vipassana in 2018, and it was life-changing.
I let go of my judgments and found a deeper sense of presence than I had ever experienced.
It has remained with me.
Recognizing that thoughts create suffering.
I saw how I created my own suffering with my thoughts.
When I entered Vipassana days earlier, I was not upset with my partner.
This conversation happened weeks ago.
Nothing had changed except my thoughts.
I saw how my thoughts affect my feelings and my feelings drive my (re)actions.
This woke me up deeply, and nothing has ever been the same.
The bottom line.
When you sign up for a Vipassana retreat, you are committing to 10 days of silent meditation.
