There are a lot of positive reviews about the ancient Indian spiritual practice - vipassana meditation. Different people from different countries went through this 10-day "silent meditation" and had what they said was a very rewarding experience. What is vipassana and where and how to get this experience, we will explain in this article.
What is Vipassana?
Vipassana is translated from Sanskrit as "insight meditation", this is one of the directions of Buddhism and has many branches. The most popular and "applied" method today is the 10-day course of vipassana according to Goenke. Participants in these courses can learn a variety of meditation techniques: anapana (observing the breath), vipassana (observing the sensations of one's own body), and metta (empathy and benevolence).
In total, students meditate for 10 hours a day: from 4:00 am to 9:00 pm, and the ideal result at the end of the course is the ability to be aware of the sensations of your body as something constantly changing.
How and where can one learn Vipassana?
There are centers all over the world that accept free of charge all those who want to take this meditation course. Getting into the course is quite simple: you go to the official international website dedicated to Vipassana, choose the country and the city in which it is more convenient for you to do this practice, fill out an electronic application, and you should receive an answer within two weeks. If the course is already completed, you will be offered to sign up for another, later one, but if you are included in the list, in addition to confirming your application, you will be offered to familiarize yourself with a number of simple rules.
During the course, you cannot use communication means: a computer, mobile phone and others, you cannot smoke, drink alcoholic beverages and use drugs, do not carry or eat "your" food, do not read, write, do not meet your eyes with other course participants and also not to talk for 9 days. The discipline is quite harsh, as is the meditation schedule, but there are very few violations. Yet this is not a pioneer camp, and people who go to Vipassana understand why they need it.
What does Vipassana give?
In fact, it is impossible to determine exactly what the silent "insight meditation" can give - for each person the results are very individual. However, there are still some similarities: people who have completed the course tell that it was a revelation for them to hear what "noise" they have inside.
With intensive meditations, strict discipline and a daily routine, organized in such a way that even in a group people are left to themselves, it becomes possible to look into their soul and consciousness and analyze all those things that are suppressed by the mechanisms of denial in ordinary life and hide very deeply and interfere with life …
