I attended a small dinner party of people with mixed Vipassana representation. We had a pair of serious meditators, a pair of students who had sat 1 course, and a pair of people who had never sat. There was no Vipassana agenda with this meeting. We simply enjoyed hanging out and getting to know each other. The topic of meditation wove in and out of conversation smoothly and casually, and it felt really nice.
Most of the time I find I’m either with a group of serious meditators or with a group with no knowledge or interest in the topic. In those situations, any attempt to bridge the two worlds feels forced and uncomfortable. On this evening, everyone was simply allowed to be themselves with whatever beliefs they carried. No one felt threatened and no one was forcing ideas upon the others. It felt so nice an natural.
I like feeling like a normal person, but too often I feel like this practice separates me from the pack. I’ve never felt comfortable choosing between Vipassana world and everyone else, so I’ve always felt stuck in the middle. As I’ve become more comfortable with who I’ve become, and more accepting of where everyone else is coming from, I’ve been able to relax and enjoy this division.
This was one special evening, but I hope it becomes more typical in my life. We all live in this world together with all of our vibrations intermingling. We might as well relax and enjoy the process. Time to meditate.
Living Vipassana 
Hey Ryan, you describe the evening so well I can feel what you’re saying. It sounds so natural and easy. It reminds me of an evening I spent during my time walking the Camino De Santiago. I found myself at the dinner table with people at different stages in their life; the host was an alchemist, there were two proclaimed witches, there were college kids and a mysterious man from Germany who seemed very spiritual to me. We all ate and laughed and shared stories. It was beautiful. I appreciated reading your post.