Day 8 at the Vipassana retreat. I’m sitting here on a weathered log, my gaze sweeping over the tranquil valley below. What wonder unfolds before me! The spiderweb of awareness has grown fine-tuned, enabling me to notice the delicate dance of nature—white and black butterflies tracing the air, the meticulous flutter of their wings, the ebb and flow of water nurturing the rich tapestry of green below.
The valley’s curvature, the steadfastness of the tree roots gripping the earth, preventing erosion, and the dappled shade cast by broad leaves that temper the sun’s glare—nature is a wonder. It’s a canvas I’ve looked at but now truly see. I feel nature’s pulse; an intimate connection has been sparked.
In our relentless chase towards the ‘next,’ we often forget to just be. Our minds, petrified of the quiet, constantly seek noise. Yet these ten days of Vipassana are a gift; they’ve rekindled the joy inside me.
The rhythm of the retreat brings its own surprises—a wet dream upon waking, another during a nap, a walk in tranquility, and a laughable tumble into accidental pleasures. But I’m embracing the full spectrum of experience, not shunning any part of it.
Observing is not numbing; the former is an engaged detachment, the latter a disconnection. Can we consider this practice a spiritual ‘brainwashing’? Perhaps, if by that we mean a thorough cleansing of the mental clutter.
A long meditation stretches before me, nearly 40 minutes, followed by a Shavasana that’s enlightening. Life feels altered—lighter, fresher—not just a superficial cleansing but an internal metamorphosis, rewiring my patterns, detoxing my psyche. A pause so potent it feels like the slow life movement in its purest form.
Pushing through the physical discomfort, I access deeper emotional layers. It’s intense, confronting the pain directly, but as I do, it begins to dissolve. All aches, sweat, and sensation evaporate, and I’m left floating in a boundless state of cosmic bliss. The journey is clear; through pain, we find transcendence.
As I practice the simultaneous body scan, I remind myself to foster wisdom, not desire or disgust. To stay balanced, aware of the impermanence in all things—Anicca.
My realizations are personal and profound. In severing the attachments to sensation, the addictions to pleasure and aversion—be it through alcohol, drugs, sex—we are often led to misery. These are Sankaras, multiplying endlessly, leading us back to suffering.
The way out is clear: OBSERVE. Sit passively on the bench of your mind and watch the river of life flow by. Cease creating new sensations, and the old reactions will dissolve as well.
This detachment, is it not liberation? By not creating what isn’t, and seeing things as they are, not as we might wish them to be, we open ourselves to true destiny.
My thoughts wander to the quest for a Vipassana center in India, the golden hall of +10k people. The mind, once weak—full of adversaries and lingering, unwelcome guests—must now empty, making room for fresh air to circulate.
The teachings are clear. Let them live their life, and you live yours, each free from the bondage of the other’s expectations.
Today’s meditation carves out a path for a peaceful existence, free from the seductive lure of transient sensations and the treadmill of reaction. I’ve glimpsed a beacon, illuminating the way forward, a journey of pure observation, profound understanding, and unwavering equanimity.
