One of the things that produced a distinct “Awww nuts!” reaction in me was the suggestion that as a Vipassana meditator, I would do well not to mix this technique with anything else. Too bad, I thought. By day 8 of the course, I was SO excited by the possibilities and could not wait to …
Continue reading Thinking Responsibly: Never Mix, Never Worry
Sometimes I have these meditations when I’m tired then miraculously regenerate my energy, as though I've just had a full night’s sleep! My whole body will start to feel cocooned, sometimes a foot or a hand feels curled up in a weird way or in a different place than it really is. I continue to scan the …
How do you get people to change without using force, fear, guilt, bribery, or some other negative action? In many social situation one person, whether it's your boss, parent, teacher, landlord, or social leader, carries the social power so we do what they say. Meditators have all of these social tacts taken away from them because …
Living Vipassana! What a wonderful aspiration! Over the past year, I’ve found serious challenges to my own intentions to live that life, but just recently I’ve re-affirmed the value of that aspiration and the practice itself. I’m happy to have the opportunity to share this with others who may benefit from my experiences. ______ As …
I'm the wrong person to ask how to introduce others to meditation. I've successfully introduced a handful of people to Anapana and have yet to convince someone to sit a full 10-day course. Part of the reason is because in the past I would convince people to participate by getting them excited. If I could get their adrenaline pumping …
It's hard to believe in something better. Life gets muddy, confusing, complex, nasty, harsh, and overwhelming over and over again. When I was an overlogical kid I understood one thing: that life is finite. I figured, there's no way to know what happens after I die and once I'm old I'm going to be unable …
I’ve been doing Vipassana for just under a month now and it has changed my life. The most dramatic experiences occurred while I was at the meditation centre and in the first week or so after leaving; I felt like I had tapped into my superhuman side….for a bit. As an assistant teacher assured me …
For most of my life I’ve been living as a survivor, trying to take care of myself, heal myself and seeking to get what I could from life. Only over the last few years have I come into a place where I want to serve others. It started with me becoming more and more attracted …
Two things that I've discovered are necessary for long-term happiness are living with companionship and truth. The tricky part is you can't always have both. Living the life of a meditator, especially in the early stages, brings this challenge to the forefront. Almost everyone who sits a 10-day course know they've experienced a deep truth, …
Trusting dhamma is tricky because sometimes it's illogical. Many times life has presented me with a foggy path meaning that I can't see clearly what's ahead of me. I can see the next step which is safe and logical, but the 3rd or 4th steps are completely blind. To make things more confusing, if I …
Living Vipassana 