Impressions after 10 days of Vipassana meditation
In Israel, just a few kilometers from the Golan Plateau, near the border with Syria, on the edge of Lake Tiberias, there is a unique place: the Vipassana Meditation Center. I arrived at the beginning of the year, as a promise I made to myself, that of gathering myself, of being closer to myself.
I didn’t expect anything, I just knew I wanted to get there, anticipating nothing but the joy of a new experience, which I wanted enriching. And it was much more than that.
As soon as I stepped into the meditation center, things began to settle differently, externally and then internally. Upon arrival, I was greeted by Ziv, to whom I, with an open heart, extended my hand to introduce myself. Ziv brought his hands to his chest and bowed slightly in greeting. I understood that the rules are different, that I will get out of there differently…
What is Vipassana?
During the entire period of my stay in the center I kept noble silence, that is, complete silence. I didn’t interact with anyone, I didn’t direct my gaze to anyone, except the objects and nature I interacted with during the meditation breaks. I understood once again how important and necessary silence is and how much every word spoken, every sound emitted in the universe is worth. After ten days of intense meditation, nothing is the same.
Vipassana is a technique of disciplining our conscious mind that S. N. Goenka so beautifully calls, monkey mind…a restless, crazy mind that jumps and runs non-stop, from one idea to another, from an intention to action to another… Focusing the conscious mind by correlating it with every sensation in the body, helps you reach the subconscious mind, where the source of our reactions, called sankara, is located, whether they are reactions in relation to sensations of pleasure, lust, or in relation to feelings of rejection, hatred. In other words, whatever the stimulus for a reaction is, it remains a signal that you are not sufficiently connected to the fundamental law of nature, anicca: that what comes, goes.
What is not Vipassana?
Vipassana is not a philosophy, a religion, a sect, a current meant to gather followers or to convert man from one faith to another. Vipassana is strictly applying the law of nature to yourself in reality, without seeking to understand it, but only to feel it. Everything that comes, goes, anicca…
Vipassana is also not a place of recreation, a vacation center, where you go to disconnect or to be fashionable (as this meditation practice has become very widespread in the Western world). Vipassana is a way of being and living in acceptance of all that is.
What did I discover about myself?
Many things I already knew, they are part of my daily practice and what I convey through Relational Communication® to the hundreds of people I interact with in my trainings: to be responsible in everything you think, say, do, to take your part in contribution in exchange with the other, to distinguish the behavior of the person next to you from his own being, to give generously, to thank with gratitude, etc… there are many precepts and rules to follow in this meditation technique, to reach the dhamma, that simple truth that the Buddha imparted.
I rediscovered that silence is more than comfortable for me (yes, I know, it seems surprising to many, someone said to me: You, a communication person to be silent? the object of your work is taken away!!. I say that, on the contrary, the world still doesn’t understand, for the most part, that communicating doesn’t mean talking a lot but talking a little and well), that I like rules and discipline, I like to respect them, I feel good when I do it and it bothers me when someone doesn’t, and I don’t like the routine, in whatever form it manifests itself (I already knew all this, it was just confirmation). I will keep the rest of the discoveries about myself that I made private, but what is certain is that the revelations are multiple, for each person who chooses to live this experience. All I can tell you is that on the third day of class I said to myself, with a big smile on my face that I still remember: „God, what did I do to deserve this?” and I felt, once again in life, G R A T E F U L.
Why go to a Vipassana meditation center?
If your mind is agitated, if you think that your reactions are always present, regardless of the contexts in which you find yourself, if you develop attachments to people, objects, substances, contexts, then it is good to try to get out of the various addictions that you you created them yourself, with the help of your mind: greed, rejection and ignorance are reactions that do not allow you to be whole, but you are guided by your mind…you can learn to discipline it, with the help of this meditation techniques.
Why not go to a Vipassana meditation center?
Of course, if you think you can’t stay away from your phone or any other form of technology for ten days, if you imagine you’re a convinced carnivore and can’t feed your body only on fruits and vegetables, if you think you can’t survive no alcohol, tobacco or any substance you are addicted to, if you think that….it is better not to go, because your „monkey mind” believes that and you let yourself be guided by it…Or? Do you think that you can discipline it ?
For more information related to this meditation technique, you can go to www.dhamma.org and find all the centers in the world where it is practiced, there are also two centers in our country.
The pictures in the article are from my moments of gratitude spent in Israel, no pictures are taken in the center and I am very happy about that.
Thanks to the two beautiful people in my life, you know, who opened the way for me to this method and made it easy for me to access self-discovery on the spot.
If you want to know more about your Personal Development, I suggest you go to the Courses page that I support online and you will find the resources you need:
Autor: Antonia Noël, Consultant și Formator în Comunicare relațională®
