Should I Do 10 Day Silent Vipassana Retreat?

[Hafiz]

There are slots open near my dhamma center.

My biggest concern is giving up 10 days of income from my job.

[ThinAir]

As long as money is your biggest concern then absolutly.

Any mental problems?

Edited October 14, 2017 by ThinAir

[Hafiz]

@thinair I don't think so. I mean, going down the rabbit hole of enlightenment kind of shines a lot of light on just how neurotic I am. I have some addictions and soft addictions for sure, that get in the way of my life, but not enough to warrant medication. I used to be an alcoholic, and I am now clean. I'm in a pretty stable life situation.

[Nahm]

@Hafiz when you’re old and dying, you’ll be so glad you got that money.

?

 

[ThinAir]

@Hafiz go for it, u wont regret that personal and spiritual growth you'll get… wich money could never buy

Edited October 15, 2017 by ThinAir

[Richard Alpert]

Go for it, it will probably be one of the best experience in your life.

[Nexeternity]

Dont think of it as not making that money, think of it as spending that money on something that will make your life way better.

[ajasatya]

@Hafiz don't do it. it's slow and boring.

[Forestluv]

On 10/14/2017 at 7:48 PM, Nahm said:

@Hafiz when you’re old and dying, you’ll be so glad you got that money.

?

 

IKR. When we are young, we spend so much time, effort and money accumulating things. Then when we are old we wanna get rid of and give away all that crap.

[Nahm]

@Serotoninluv lol for sure. The plight of youth is ‘can I do it’, the plight of the aged is the awareness that there was enough time to do anything, if you started young. 

[Hafiz]

UPDATE:

I am signed up from Nov 29 - Dec 10. 

The most important thing I think right now is to change my daily 15 minute meditation to 25-30 minutes, to build up some sort of momentum going into the retreat. 

I don't know how I will get through the strong determination sitting.

[Adam M]

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT

ITS FUCKING AMAZING

IVE DONE 2 RETREATS AND I CANT WAIT TO DO MORE

 

[Mike G]

22:34 - 23:04

Edited November 1, 2017 by Mike G

[Elisabeth]

On 31. 10. 2017 at 7:26 AM, Hafiz said:

The most important thing I think right now is to change my daily 15 minute meditation to 25-30 minutes, to build up some sort of momentum going into the retreat. 

1

Oh yeah. If you lack motivation to do that, look at my experience

I don't want to scare you, I just think building momentum is a really good idea. 

 

[Heart of Space]

On 10/31/2017 at 1:26 AM, Hafiz said:

UPDATE:

I am signed up from Nov 29 - Dec 10. 

The most important thing I think right now is to change my daily 15 minute meditation to 25-30 minutes, to build up some sort of momentum going into the retreat. 

I don't know how I will get through the strong determination sitting.

I'm going on a retreat during as similar time.  I'm also building momentum up to a solid 5 hours a day before I go on it.  I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but I'm just trying to give you perspective.  You don't need to build up to 5 hours a day, but I'd say 1 to 2 every day for a few weeks before the retreat would really help you.  25 minutes, as you'll find, is almost nothing in comparison to what you'll be doing on the retreat.  The less you build up, the more pain you go through.  But pain is good for you, so good luck haha.

Edit:  Another quick recommendation is to switch your diet to vegetarian 3 or 4 days out from the retreat.  The diet change causes a change in your body that could be conceivably uncomfortable.  Trust me, you'll hear people's bellies make funny noises days 2 through 4 for this very reason.  

 

5 hours ago, Elisabeth said:

Oh yeah. If you lack motivation to do that, look at my experience

I don't want to scare you, I just think building momentum is a really good idea. 

 

You left on day 2, so you basically never even started.  You have to get over the hump of the first 3 to 4 days.  If you can consistently hit about an hour of meditation a day I'd say you're ready for a retreat.  

Edited November 1, 2017 by Heart of Space

[Elisabeth]

4 hours ago, Heart of Space said:

You left on day 2, so you basically never even started.  

 

Yeah, sure. Didn't even learn the technique properly. I also wanted to give perspective - the whole post is a bit of an antidote against the unquestioned "meditation retreats are great" which is heard most often on this forum. It's also a bit of processing a traumatic experience. Meditation retreats may be great, but they do have prerequisites. I'm not sure why some teachers are happy to invite beginners directly to a retreat.