I've spent most of my life trying to figure out what I need to do to live a good life. The choice was always between this action or that action. Inaction looked like apathy so that wasn't an option. Meditation has shown me how much harm I do with my daily actions. By eating meat, I'm …
Category: Personal Experiences
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving weekend. I'll get back to this blog next week.
Fighting Out Of Fear
Vipassana has challenged me to let go of many things. I'm currently having a lot of trouble letting go of the desire to fight, compete, and stick up for myself. I was taught that these were the things that defined me and my success. I worked hard to do the best I could because it made me …
Incremental Progress
Growth and development from meditation is slow and steady with progress usually measured in weeks rather than hours. Like many activities, practice makes perfect, but if you don't practice, you're not going to improve. A new meditator interested in Vipassana is presented with the massive challenges of completing a silent 10 day meditation course to learn the …
Finding Support
This is such a unique path. It's so different from anything else I've experienced in the West, and the insights are so subtle. In the beginning, this can feel like a lonely path with little support. I was the first person in my family to take a meditation course, and 2.5 years later, I'm still the …
A Subtler And Subtler Reality
I'm amazed by how many versions of reality exist. Each person on this planet has pieced together their life experiences into their own personal truth. The strange part is that they're all true. I can't tell someone else that their personal experiences are false and no one can tell me my personal experiences are false. So …
Facing Conflict With Love
I might be discovering what this truly means for the first time. It's easy to mirror love with love, but what is the right way to face conflict? In the past I've used a modification of the fight or flight strategy. If someone was instigating conflict or bullying their way into getting something, I would …
Valuing People Over Everything Else
Thinking about my death is a useful tool when evaluating my live. There are many timelines to evaluate my goals and each timeline prioritize something different. On a daily or weekly basis it's easy to focus on our immediate goals: take care of all of my chores, get an A on that math test, go …
Navigating My Community Role
The most confusing and potentially useful aspect of integrating Vipassana into my daily life is learning how to interact with the individuals and communities in my life. Before Vipassana I learned that being extraverted and personable were important skill when trying to accomplish a goal. Communication channels need to be open in any calibration and if …
My Blogging Goals
I started this blog to help me process all of the thoughts and emotions I faced while when returning to the real world after spending time at the center. I didn't feel like I was having all of the conversations I needed to properly integrate this practice into my life so I decided to have …
Living Vipassana 