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Vipassana: part 2

My first post on this  here . Vipassana was interesting experience. There were a few questionable theory and practices, but no reason to throw away the good with the bad! Observing breath took time for me to pick up. I experienced a really blissful focused session after nearly two full days of practice. This is a handy technique to quieten mind i.e. if there is awareness of unnecessary turbulence. I would recommend everyone to learn this. Becoming better at noticing changes in breath and sensations can also be useful in hopefully detecting strong emotions given they should result in some physiological reactions, like quickening of breath or muscle tension. Catching these feelings early may allow easier intervention and an opportunity for pausing and changing deep set reactions and behavioral conditioning. Maybe same approach also works with changing habits. I have not been able to realize any of these benefits and lack of practice makes it unlikely I'll figure it out anytime

Vipassana

Meditation and mindfulness are appealing for their claimed practical benefits even if you are not shooting for spiritual enlightenment. For more pragmatic motives, like mine, this course felt very long and still too religious. It had significant amount of discourse, devotion and unproven practices. Vipassana is likely a good candidate for spiritual quest. It has excellent moral principles & community but I'm not particularly interested in this aspect or sufficiently knowledgeable about alternatives to compare. First 3 days of practice was observing breath (Anapana meditation). This was helpful in focusing/directing attention & also calming mind. Camp's monastic routine likely amplifies the impact. Second part was observing sensations (Vipassana meditation). Goal was to maintain mental equanimity irrespective of pleasant or painful sensation. In my experience it did help manage pain, like sustain uncomfortable postures for much longer. It's unclear why 6 days of