100 hours of meditation, no speaking and no communication (what so ever) for 10 days…
I touched the trunk of this one tree everyday, I observed the slow expansion of the moon, I said goodnight to my favorite plants every night and I saw a different color green, more vibrant, than before. If you didn’t think it already you probably now think; “What a freak you are Martine. What were you on?”
But there was nothing to interfer with my concious in my body, not even coffee. And actually these kind of experiences happens to everyone during Vipassana. When you deprive yourself from outer entertainment, you tend to be seeing quite “normal” things in a different way.
Vipassana has been introduced in prisons in India and Brazil with great results. It has gotten the level of violence significantly down. There are leadership-courses in Scandinavia sending CEO’s to Vipassana-retreats, also with great results. It might not work thoroughly for everyone and you can think whatever you want of the meditation-technique, but I believe everyone should give at least ten days of their lives to the sake of this mindful experiment. In the west you are regarded sucessful according to how much stuff you manage to do in one day. “We’re so busy at work, we’re having guests tonight, and I play tennis everyday”. In the east it is somewhat opposite. Devotion and hard work is absolutely recognized, but often with a focus inwards. Our problems does not arise because of something outside of us, it arises because of our own reaction to it.
All our lives we’ve learnt how to be extrovert. What happens when we go introvert? We have for years and years traveled and explored the outside world. What happens when we give two weeks of our time to travel through the inside-world?
Oboy, where to start… Well, first of all I’m out. I am again aloud to speak, look people in the eyes, smile, read, write, listen to music, check e-mails, use my phone and eat and drink whatever and wherever I want. We have lived a life as munks and nuns, but now the 10 days in complete silence surrendered to the technique of Vipassana is hereby complete. I need to absorb it all for a while, but my initial thoughts are: I have dissected myself into pieces for then to have built myself up again. I have doubted the technique and myself, hated the chanting and the wake-up bell at 4 am, I wanted to kill the burp-lady and the fart-men, I wanted to escape and run away, but I have also thought it was the best and most important journey I have ever made. Why?
More will follow.
This one is taken on the day we were let out. Half way enlightened?
A room with a view? Nah.
A bucket a day for bathing.
Signs were everywhere! Voluntarily imprisonment.
I realized that I had unintentionally smuggled in 5 Strepsils. So, I started taking them secretly as my countdown calendar; day 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!!!
A typical meal. Namnam.
Not much room to hang out in. This was the female area.
Early morning meditation in the Dhamma hall, starting at 4:30… Brrr. Hated that wake-up bell.
My personal meditation cell, nr.74 there is.
And lastly my best lovely buddies for the ten days, Mr.trunk and Mr.plant. By the way. An average person probably recognizes over a 1000 logos and signs but have difficulties naming 10 different types of plants. Maybe we’re all freaks?
