Ever since I delved into spirituality and started practicing meditation seriously, I've noticed that I'm becoming more and more okay with not wanting to know everything. I used to remember I was so fascinated by parallel realities, afterlife, mystical realms, reincarnation and similar topics. However, this is how I see things now - I return to immortality anyways so why not be human for a change? Everything that I seek answers to will come to me after I leave my body. For an immortal being, life's a short blip anyway so why not be fully grounded? It has come to a point where I don't even want to seriously pursue any spiritual practice since it feels like I am in a meditative state without practicing anything, just being in nature works wonders. I don't want to sound like I've outgrown spiritual practices but that's definitely the gist of it. Has anyone else gone through something similar?
hi all, I have been meditating for few years, and gone to half a dozen sits and a dozen serving courses. vipassana has absolutely been transformational for me but it has also made me realize that I want a partner that does vipassana regularly as well. this want/need interferes when I plan for going to vipassana courses. there is always a hope to find a partner and I understand it's something that I need to let it happen if it does and not make it a reason. but I find it hard to separate the two. I unfortunately didn't end up finding anyone who I dated through the courses I went to. so what would you advice? did anyone go through this? should I stop going to course and just observe these emotions? or its ok if I keep it in balance?
I just finished a Vipassana retreat (Goenka teaching) and struggled a lot with tension headaches. I figured they resulted from me looking cross-eyed (with my eyes closed) trying to “see” the different body parts (which I still do), but they did go away after the retreat was over which caused me to think that it was also a mentally driven symptom (old sankara’s manifesting itself).
Now that I’m back to real life I however have the tension headaches again after I’ve sat for an hour and I feel like I still haven’t been able to scan my body without wanting to use my eyes.
I should note that I suffered two concussions before which mostly gave me headaches, but not these types of headaches as much.
Would love any advice on scanning my body without using my eyes.
Hi everyone i have recently done my 10 days course . It was a wonderful experience for me and at the end there was rakt pravaha in my whole body. I have been doing meditation at home from the last three days but not feeling that much level of sanvednaye in my body
It just feel like my mind has lost its concentration or idk
If anyone can help
Usually I meditate twice a day for 30 minutes to an hour per session. I would love to get more experience with longer sits with the goal of going on a real (10 day) retreat.
Is there a way to work up to this?
Hi everyone,
I’m going to Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri for a 10-day Vipassana course. After completing the course, I’m planning to do the Kalsubai Trek, since it’s relatively close to Igatpuri.
Do you think it’s a good idea to go trekking immediately after completing a 10-day Vipassana course? I’m wondering whether I might feel physically or mentally tired after the course, and whether it would be better to rest for a day before trekking.
For those who have done Vipassana at Dhamma Giri or Kalsubai Trek, I’d really appreciate your advice and experience.
Thanks!
After coming out of Vipassana retreat I had a renewed sense of wonder, some insight of the workings of my experience, that I am sure will deepen and change with time ,
but I am starting to think that two hours per day might be two much.
First of all I am trying to juggle too much , working 8 hours sleeping 7-8 combined with working out 1 hour and cooking protein meals.
Furthermore sending Cvs to find a better job i find myself not having time for all of it cause you all know that transitioning from one activity to the other while also living with family creates unexpected responsibilities that also take up time as such 24 hours are not much haha [crying inside jk ]
I am making my first steps as an engineer and currently if I had to make I priority list fnding an engineering job is the top priority and meditating two hours seems too much time.
I know that it is not wasted time but I am starting to think that finding the right job while also upgrading my engineering skills via a project on the side will provide my with more contentment and progress in life.
I know that the path is of great importance and weakening the ego is helpful but I am 24 I think that using and taming the ego to be of help to achieve some peace of mind jobwise and money wise and practicing more later down the line might be the way. Also I am young I don't think I am ready to let go of ego I want to experience life though it master it and when I am older go more into practice again.
Also I plan to continue practicing 2 times per day just for less time than one hour and trying to hold an intention thoughout my day to keep a part of attention to breath and body sensations.
Finally how much of progress do you guys think are from deep meditation sessions 1 or more hours per session and how much from continuity of practice,
I feel like I want to step out of practice a little bit to grow in this capitalist world and create a strong sense of self esteem and accomplishments.
After that practice to grow as a human and help with my resources my family friends and people all around me. Right now I am just practicing to be calmer and happier and more insightfull but mostly my heart wants to play the game of life and win maybe that is ego maybe it is the right path as meditation is a way to get away from normal life and not just a pure practice ,who knows!
also maybe I will get most benefits from always being aware in daily life and keeping a constant intension to look at breath and sensation seeing as training to hold intentions and introspectively knowing when you've wondered and going back to the practice is meditation.
Why can't keeping that intention be, to do what must be done: working out, eating correctly, focusing on work and writing and producing the best cover letter for that company be a practice as you are keeping a constant intension to do what must be done and keeping the distractions at bay!
Anyway those are some thoughts on the balance of life and practice and it's use in different life stsges,
May the collective consciousness of reddit help me and others!
Sending metta and provoking thoughts to all of you!
My father finished his 2nd 9-10 day Vipassana retreat 2 days ago, and unlike the first one, he returned in a very different mental condition than he left. Meanwhile this is probably a part of the goal, the way he behaved the previous 2 days is really concerning and other relatives noticed it too. He left 1 day before the closure of the event and along the 9 days he admittedly faced his biggest fears and had constant panic attack in the meantime. After a few days he had some kind of visions about my brother passing in an accident and spend 2 more days without knowing whether it’s real or not. When he left the retreat he asked my brother to not get in a car that day and he was also saying that something might happen to him on the way back home and he doesn’t know if he makes home at all.
After talking with him, he said that he had godlike experiences and if he wanted to summarise the whole event’s learning is that god really exists.
In the past 48 hours it seems like he had some kind of episodes which are very concerning, saying that it feels like that he had died multiple times during the retreat and the day after and it is actually the part of the path to enlightenment. Meanwhile it doesn’t seem that he can be danger to anyone, it was really scary when he called me yesterday saying that we are going to have an amazing life and he wants to show this to all of us since he maintained a journal during the retreat. When he heard that I got really scared because of his tone he kind of turned it down an we have a proper talk after ai got some relief that he is not broken. He was already really into spiritually and finding his way in life, believing in some kind of central creator energy, but now he is constantly referring to god and how it is guiding him and always lets him know what to do. What is strange that after these kind of outburst he does act normal. What scared me most is that my aunt called me today that she has the same feelings and she is very scared and the way my father was acting in the previous 1-2 days is really disturbing. Today he got all over the place saying that he mist write a book immediately as this is his faith.
Overall I know the human mind is capable of really extreme things after such a hard time, and since a have never attended a retreat I’m writing this to see whether someone else had a similar case and whether I should start making some steps. I’m really desperate and I don’t know whether he is broken or not. I really don’t want him to go crazy - meanwhile he says that he feels better than ever, I am really afraid that these lind kind of outbursts won’t stop/get worse and eventually they will make him do something really stupid or dangerous.
Thank you if you have read it until the end and I really appreciate your insights!
I had a question that I thought others might have insight into. During my commutes etc I sometimes try and feel a thumb or some such part of my body. Sometimes that finger just seems to be in "space" disconnected from the body not even present where it is supposed to be eg on my lap etc.
Am I then supposed to expand my scan to try and paint the whole scene or just ignore the thought as transient?
Sorry if I am not explaining this clearly
Hey. I was on a spiral of negative thoughts due to some mistakes that I made in the past. Despite intellectually understanding nature of impermanence and that I wasn't the one actually producing those thoughts, it still hurt and I wanted to get away from them. I couldn't just observe them while being detached.
I decided that there was no better moment for vipassana meditation. The goal was to observe the thoughts without preferences. No filters. Just seeing reality and not passing any judgements upon it.
So I tried that. I just started labeling every event that was happening. Thoughts, sensations, feelings. What ended up happening is that my inner monologue suddenly stopped.
Whenever I'm outside, going to the store, working out at the gym, washing dishes, I'm usually listening to an inner monologue. I like philosophy, so that's what I usually think about. Reality is often gray and boring, so my thoughts allow me to entertain myself.
When my thoughts suddenly stopped, I realized how quiet it became. I looked at my hands and I was actually looking at them. There was no inner monologue, no commentary. I was just looking at my hands, I was just sitting on my sofa, I was just petting my rabbits. And all of it was experienced directly.
This state freaked me out because I was suddenly in front of that gray reality I usually try to avoid with my ruminations. Even though 5 minutes ago I was suffering from my thoughts, now I wanted them back.
I went to sleep and woke up several hours later, finding myself in a usual state of affairs when I was constantly thinking.
Is this what vipassana is supposed to be? Is it not? Did you have similar experience?
Hi! For some context, I am a young man looking at getting an LPC degree. I've worked primarily with children on the autism spectrum (ages 3-7), but I feel called towards counseling. I am open to other career paths as well, as long as they are human-centered, heartfelt, and focus on relationships.
I am also a committed old student. My first retreat was 2018. Since then, I've sat 5 retreats and served a few.
Goenkaji warned many times against mixing techniques and I know I do not want to do that. I seem to have developed some pessimism towards any modality that is not Vipassana. So I guess I am wondering what it might look like for a committed old student who is an integrated therapist.
Any therapists/counselors out there who love their work and feel no conflict between their practice?
On clinging to anything in the world, even at the conceptual level
In short, on clinging to the five aggregates, even at the conceptual level
Entrance to apāya, the underworld, the unbearable suffering
On a feeble magnitude of conceptual clinging (sakāyaditthi)
Entrance to the first and shallow realm of suffering
Where the gift of power, an enormous power
With discontent, and desire for more power
An instance when the existence of some kilesās
But when control over kilesas, a huge power, a deadly harm to the other side
Like with greed, accumulation of enormous wealth
But still no contentment, no satisfaction
Just a bit more clinging, the hungry ghost realm, with more discontent
Then, the animal realm and finally hell
If no gross conceptual clinging, but only a subtle one
Then, the destruction of the very root cause
At least the entrance to the human world, not if devas
Everything impermanent, along with body, mind, and possessions too
The sole reason for suffering, along with the bad actions time and again
For such possessions and the well-being of the same
In saṃsāra, the flood of clinging, everywhere personality
Every person, at least a demon, an Asura, in real, if not in hell
Vipassanā, the comprehension of dhātus as an escape
We are also looking for a good fit(In my family every one is vipassana meditator)—someone whom my family and I can wholeheartedly welcome, support, and treat as our own daughter. We believe that a beautiful relationship is built on mutual respect, understanding, kindness, and genuine care. We would love to have someone who feels comfortable being herself, and we will always do our best to make her feel loved, valued, respected, and truly a part of our family.
We are especially hoping to connect with someone who knows or practices Vipassana meditation, as this is something that is meaningful to us and reflects values of mindfulness, inner peace, awareness, and compassion. If you know someone who is a Vipassana meditator and may be a good fit, we would be grateful if you could connect us.
Hi all. I recently attended my first 10 day retreat. On the morning of the 3rd day, in the first group meditation session at approx 9am, I experienced what I can only describe as a non-sexual orgasm. I was in the kneeling posture with cushions under my behind. I was doing anapana and was going ok, not super attentive bit pretty good. I felt that there was space within myself where I could further relax into, and i remembered a quote from Goenka "take refuge in the buddha". I thought about this saying as I relaxed into this space within myself and immediately had the following experience:
I felt a sensation that began at the bottom of my spine and travelled up the spine to my head where it disapated. The sensation was exactly as a strong orgasm feels, except without any groin sensation. My heart rate shot up as is does, the afterward relaxation, everything was the same as a normal orgasm minus the fact there was no groin sensation or activity (not even an erection) and at no stage was i thinking any sexual thoughts.
I raised this experience with my teacher and he said that these sorts of things do happen and its just impurities coming out. I should have asked him to explain that a bit more but I didnt.
Can any seasoned practitioners shine a bit of light on what I experienced? It only happened the once and I did fall into the predictable trap of trying to make it happen again for the next day or so haha....but yeh. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Hi
I feel I'm repeating pattern in relationship, i develop commitment issue after failure of a relationship, i feel when someone comes close it gives me stress and when they go away i get anxious. I'm not able to hold onto any relationship and its been difficult. I'm stressed and in anxiety all the time. Its happening since 2-3 years. I did vipassana in 2023 July 10 days not sure how can i cure this and free from this pattern
If someone has an advice please
Thanks
Can anyone vouch for either of these courses/have first hand experience doing the meditation instructor course, or offer any alternative options?
I have also looked at longer term options such as the 12 month course with Oxford Mindfulness Foundation, which is double the price. Not within my budget currently but if something like this is a worthwhile investment for my needs I would consider saving. Any insights on the value of something longer term and more comprehensive would also be much appreciated from anyone with experience
I am looking to do an online course, to the UK is not necessarily the only option. Accreditation recognised throughout Europe would be desired
Thank you
Im thinking of doing a 3day meditation by my self, and i wonder how Vipassana is done.
How long/many are the sessions on a day?
How is the session finished timewise? Setting an alarm would perhaps be stressing? So would having a clock, i think.
I appreciate advice, thanks.
Edit: to clarify, i have not done any retreat yet.
edit 2: guys come on. the bookings are always full and i would like to do some meditation at home and not just wait.
Im not asking for specific details or secrets, just these two simple questions So i can practice at home. I understand you recommend the 10 days, im still interestd in it. Thanks
I finished my vipassana 4 days ago and wanted to share how I got on and where my mind is at. For context, I'm a dude in my 30s that never mediated before going. I've worked in hospitality for 15 years and have always smoked weed, drank and done many, many drugs. I am very ADHD and have always struggled to sit still.
I had huge troubles whilst on the course with lack of human interaction and on day 4 I broke down, and I very nearly left. I was lucky I did it at the centre in New Zealand where the food was incredible, the vibes were strong, and the center and surrounding areas were beautiful. (It even had walking tracks through the forest to a waterfall with so many beautiful birds) Also lucky I had a private room. I spoke to the manager and the teacher and they put my mind at ease about my worries.
After learning the true way to meditate through vipassana and the observation of sensations, I finally unlocked the ability to sit at hours at a time, not moving a muscle, and focusing all my attention and energy inside. I no longer needed to seek stimulation from the outside world, I could just go hunting around my body using my mind, finding tender spots, sitting with the pain, and making it dissolve with time, with the help of all the guided mediation. It was tough, but I was hooked on it.
I was uncovering pains from my childhood.... The exact spot in my head I used to get migraines as a kid and feeling the weird sensations in the bones I have broken throughout my life. Absolutely insane stuff.
By day 9 I couldn't wait for it to end. So restless. With the feeling that I had "got it" I just wanted out, so I could spread the word of this incredible gift that I was lucky enough to learn. Thankfully they give you a day at the end to speak with people on the course and share views, I found it super helpful in getting me "back to reality"
Since then I was just wanted to spread positivity. I've found such joy in every little chat I've had. Throughout my time inside I told myself that I would create a YouTube channel to try and promote this, and I have. It's called BetterWithMetta for anyone that cares. :)
I am so glad that I made it through and I've had such a positive experience, but after a little research online it sounds like that's not the case for everyone. Everyone's experience is different, but I just wanted to share mine, hopefully it's helpful to someone.
With Metta
TLDR: It was hard but now I feel great. ❤️
I'm visiting the Dhamma Hitkari Vipassana Centre in Rohtak next week , this is my first time trying out Vipassana
I am 27M , I've been into meditation for a 2-3 years now but have never been consistent with it , at max I do like 15 mins of meditation (I've sometimes tried 30 and 45 mins as well but never really been consistent)
And I'm at a really vulnerable state of mind as of now , bcoz I've left my job 2 months ago , and I just want to take a break , try out new things and try to get back re-energised
But this way of life is kind of exhausting and I feel demoralised most of the times these days , I'm not able to think clearly at all as of now
So I thought , finally attending a Vipassana which I always wanted to do , would maybe help me get some clarity of thought
What should I expect from my Vipassana experience? And also if anyone has been to the Vipassana centre in Rohtak please help me with your feedbacks :)