Do you think you can go 10 days without speaking to anyone? In person and without your phone? Not scrolling through social media for 10 days looking at people's brunch posts? I recently completed a 10 day silence and meditation retreat near Barrie, Ontario and was it ever a wild ride.
“Why would you do this?” “What’s wrong with you?” “I wouldn’t last.” These are a few of the reactions I got when I was telling people I would be out of touch for 10 days.
In fact, not speaking to anyone wasn’t even the hardest part. Not having dinner and not being able to do pretty much any other activity other than meditation (no reading either!) is what made it one of the more difficult things I’ve ever done. There wasn’t even coffee (obviously bacon and a latte were the first things I indulged in upon return).
I have a few amazing friends and mentors who have completed the Vipassana Meditation course in the past and their consensus was that it was the hardest thing they've ever done, but they recommended it and would do it again themselves. That intrigued me so much. Highly valuing their experiences and recommendations, I signed up. I needed to see what this was all about.
I’ve done simple meditations in the past, using apps such as Headspace, and not to take away from their impact because they really are wonderful apps, but they’ve got nothing on the wild beast of Vipassana Meditation. Visualizations, soft music, breathing while day dreaming for 15 minutes at a time - isn’t this what meditation is? Ha, I wished.
Vipassana is far more rigid and requires ridiculous self-discipline. Silence for hours at a time. Heck, for the first 3 days our only instruction was to focus on how the breath left the nostrils and hit the upper lip. Gah, how was I going to survive 10 days here? I looked forward to my favourite part of the day which was the theory lesson every night, based on Buddhist principles and ancient Indian and Burmese teachings. Intellectual entertainment - yay! I soaked it up like a big sponge.
The theories that resonated with me most are as follows:
1. Anicca - The Law of Impermanence
So in retrospect (always easier) I can say that the question shouldn’t be if you can give up 10 days of your life without your phone or speaking to anyone. Ask yourself if you would give yourself 10 days to invest in changing the habits of your mind, which I guarantee will immensely impact you for the rest of your life.
If you have any questions about the retreat and are interested in attending, feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to provide some more insight.
Bhavatu Sabba Mangalam. {/May you always be happy.}
n*
(This was part of the walking path in the meditation grounds. The heart was carved into the tree by a beaver. Photo taken when I was picked up and reconnected with an iPhone.)