I have half packed my bag. I have ticked off my 'to do' list, leaving only this post to do before I set off on another Vipassana adventure, my first on Living Vipassana. Tomorrow I shall be serving at Dhamma Dipa, the main centre in the U.K, about four hours from where I live in London. …
Making Friends
I've been wondering about the concept of making friends. I've moved a number of times, and each time I actively went into the world and made friends by engaging strangers. Basically, I would be giving parts of myself and seeing if they wanted to take it. After engaging a whole bunch of strangers through a …
To Georgia, with Love
I just spent the better part of a summer in Georgia. There are a lot of peach stands down there. A lot of train whistles. And a lot of bugs I have no name for. My life had come to brief standstill between jobs and all I wanted to do was practice, so I signed …
Accepting Others Today
On Friday I wrote about accepting and loving my weaknesses in the present moment. The logical extension of this is to accept other people for who they are in present moment. Unconditional love is revealing new aspects of itself every few weeks. Previously I would have tried to love an imperfect person because I thought …
Increasing Presence deliberatly, outside of Meditation
I came across Ivan Campuzano recently, a blogger who shares perceptions based on personal experience, and the integrated teachings of: J. Krishnamurti, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Paramahansa Yogananda, Samael Aun Weor, and A. H. Almaas. He reminded me of how I used to attempt self-observation before I found Dhamma. As …
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Know Myself
I've always been open with myself about my weaknesses and areas I could work on, but it has always been for that purpose. I've considered growing every day to be a cornerstone of my life, so as long as I believe I can grow past it, acknowledging a weakness isn't so bad. But this way …
A Shifting Perspective
Over the last week the last deeply rooted sankara of fear and anger towards an individual has dissolved which has change my entire perspective. While I was harboring this fear and anger, I could never fully open up and feel unconditional love for all beings. Part of me was afraid of being hurt by opening up, and part …
Can Meditation cause too much Introversion?
I like to regard myself as an ambivert because relative to my loved ones, I fall on either side of the spectrum about half the time. Yet, in relation to the cultural ideal I probably fare more as an introvert. What I've seen happen since starting a regular meditation practice, is that I don’t feel …
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Decision Making
Life is full of complex layered choices. One choice can have a ripple effect throughout our lives and the lives of the people around us. Timing can be just as important as the decision you make. By listening to my body through Vipassana I'm finding the ability to navigate the right path for me. Everyone is …
Thanks Guys
Cenk, Trygve, John, and Patrick have decided to stop sharing their stories on this blog so they can focus on their personal lives. I just wanted to take a moment to thank them for their contributions to Living Vipassana and with them good luck moving forward. I know they've all helped me in my personal …
Living Vipassana 