Continuation of my journey at the Vipassana Center...
Forgot to mention yesterday that at registration, I requested a chair for so I'm able to meditate, somewhat more comfortably. I bought a meditation cushion, specifically for the retreat, but noticed that it didn't help. I actually practiced meditating on the cushion (for 5 minutes at a time. Five minutes to prepare for 2 hours of meditation at a time, hahaha) but quickly realized that it didn't help at all. On the contrary, while practicing, my hip started hurting. And even now, it still hurts. Anyway, I asked if I could get a chair and they said I'd have to speak to the Resident Manager. I'm 42 years old, I have a bad hip and my knees are pretty shot. If I sat and meditated for 10 hours + a day, I wouldn't be able to walk for a long while. I eventually spoke to the Resident Manager and she wrote my name down.
At about 8:00 pm or so, they started calling names at the Meditation Hall and gave us our spot. Every spot had a big cushion with a small pillow for our buttocks. I was given a spot and a chair, to see which was more comfortable. I chose the chair. I was right in front of the door, so I had a pretty good view of everything. Females were on one side, and males on the other. I'd say about 90 people in 1 room, plus the Assistant Teachers. The meditation started with with a recording of S. N. Goenka chanting. I've never experienced anything like this, so the chanting took a little getting used to. I think we meditated for about half an hour. We walked out and I said excitedly, "Wow, that was pretty cool!" No one said anything. I guess they started practicing Noble Silence right away. Fine, I get the hint lol.
Day 1
First day of Noble Silence. No communication of any kind. No looking at each other, no physical contact, nothing like that. It was really interesting sharing a space with 7 other ladies and not looking at their faces. We shared 3 sinks, so sometimes 5 of us were there to brush our teeth at the same time. If I had a sink, I'd step aside and let someone else use it. Others did the same for me. All the while, without looking at each other's eyes. Always looking down.
The schedule, roughly:
4:00 am Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions
11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break
12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions
5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out
This is what's on their website, but the formal schedule is a tad bit different. Maybe tea and fruit was at 5:45 and not 4:45. Hmm...
Anyway, for breakfast we had pretty much the same thing: oatmeal, some kind of rehydrated fruit (could have been prunes, not sure) marinated in some kind of light syrup with cinnamon sticks and sliced oranges. Cornflakes, granola, yogurt and Ezekiel bread. Butter, jelly, tahini, peanut putter and Smart Balance for our toast. Raisins, sunflower seeds and fruit (mostly bananas, apples, oranges, and peaches). We had whole fat milk, 2% milk, rice milk and almond milk. Very vegan friendly. We had 8 different teas to choose from.
Eating breakfast on the first day of Noble Silence was quite the experience. I've had all this food before, but it tasted different. We all sat in silence and just ate. We sat there and enjoyed, I mean REALLY enjoyed our food. Without distractions. Wait, you mean cereal with raisins and bananas actually have a taste? Normally I eat at my desk at work. Or in front of the tv while watching Breaking Bad, or something. You can't really taste food that way. So there we sat. We ate slowly and enjoyed every spoonful. We all had tea, too. Anthony asked if I brought anything back from the retreat, what would it be? Tea. Definitely tea. We all made it a habit to drink tea after our meals. It was like a sign to our tummies that we're finished. So yes, I do have tea for at least 1 of my meals.
This post is getting a little bit longer than I had anticipated. Lunch was also really yummy. All vegetarian or vegan with the ocassional gluten free meal. I can't recall what we had when, but one of the days we had Penne Pasta and the sauce had lentils and spinach. Man that was good. I always had a salad with their crack Sunflower Soy Dressing. Man, that stuff was insanely good. I always added chickpeas. We had our choice of white or brown rice. I always had brown rice. Always ended my meal with tea.
So this is the Walking Path I was on every single day. Little did I know that this path would not only provide exercise, but much contemplation and deep realizations that brought me to tears several times.
#pictureoftheday #herewegoletsdothis #walkthisway
Also, if anyone is interested in the Daily Discourse, I'll post them here, too.
This is the discourse on Day 1. -
10 Day Vipassana Course - Day 1 (English) - YouTube
Shoot, I almost forgot. The discourse for day 1 kind of scared me. Goenka said that there were things that needed to come up to the surface if we were to learn this path. Things that have been embedded deep that have been blocking us from moving forward. Shit. I really don't want this stuff coming up, it's too painful. But they did. And I cried. Several times.