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 Vipassana practice was warranted at the camp, or how it'll help with emotional equanimity or detachment. Maybe it does in long term but the practice would need to be done on faith. There is also the risk of getting caught up & unintentionally changing goals given this is a powerful meme! Enduring a challenging long task can give false sense of buy-in & accomplishment and belonging to the community.
Second post sharing my experience here.
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 Vipassana practice was warranted at the camp, or how it'll help with emotional equanimity or detachment. Maybe it does in long term but the practice would need to be done on faith. There is also the risk of getting caught up & unintentionally changing goals given this is a powerful meme! Enduring a challenging long task can give false sense of buy-in & accomplishment and belonging to the community.
Second post sharing my experience here.
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