One of the first observations at a 10 day retreat is that you're not in control of your own mind. It wanders in and out of thoughts and fantasies without a single concern for what you want it to do. It's so easy to talk about the analogies of training a puppy, horse, or elephant but …
Social Pressure
Sometimes it's difficult to navigate between what is generally accepted and what is true. Peer pressure is real and it's often painful to stand alone. We don't always have the luxury to just evaluate what is right or wrong, true or false, important or unimportant without worrying about how other people will respond to our …
Insight And Mindfulness Meditation Communities
I've been sitting with a group of Vipassana meditators that have been trained by other teachers or who haven't been trained at all to help motivating me to sit twice a day. I wasn't sure if our goals were the same and I was pretty sure the techniques were slightly different but it didn't matter …
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Contributing To All My Communities
I've rambled in several posts about self-confidence issues, feeling disconnected and isolated with my practice, a desire to connect with people, and confusion about why things seem different since learning to meditate but I haven't been able to clearly pinpoint the core agitation. I'm not sure I've reached the core yet but I think I've taken …
Technology Is A Distraction
I left Dhamma Patapa a little over a month ago and the most dramatic shift I've noticed is the number of distractions available to me. Now that I have access to all forms of technology I've discovered that my samadhi (concentration) has taken a huge step backwards. I started thinking about my childhood growing up …
Taking Action
I got tired of school in college because it seemed like all we were talking about things and I wanted to take action. What better organization to join than Americorps who's slogan was "Getting things done." I've joined many organizations and groups to promote positive change with mixed results. Sometimes I felt like I made a …
Prison Courses
Prison courses are awesome. There appears to be an unlimited upside and very little downside to teaching prisoners how to meditate. Our prisons are incredibly overpopulated and the "lock them up as punishment so they change" model isn't working. In 2002 the first 10 day course was held at Donaldson Correctional Facility, a high security …
Tell Me About Yourself…
First impressions our important. They can be the difference between making a new best friend and looking like a weirdo so when someone says to me, "Tell me about yourself," I want to have a good answer. I want to be open, honest, and interesting without appearing too strange, different, or disconnected. Being too equanimous can …
Controlling The Adrenaline
10 days ago when I hosted my first group meditation I noticed that some new distractions entered my mind. Instead of concentrating on my own practice I started worrying about whether I was being a good host. I wondered if it was too hot for people. I was concerned that the Goenka recording might malfunction. …
No Gurus Allowed
One of many unique aspects of this tradition is that there is no guru to tell you how to live your life. If you've never taken a 10 day course it may appear that Goenka is the guru. He might even come across as a controlling guru because he doesn't even trust his assistant teachers …
Living Vipassana 