Is 10 days vipassana retreat a good idea if i do not have much meditation experiance

[Kmehta13]

Hello guys 

I want to experience 10 days of vipassana meditation retreat. I was doing my research and I'm fascinated by how cool and transformative it can be. but at the same time, i do not have a stable meditation habit. so is it worthwhile to go and join a retreat even if I'm a total newbie or it is sensible to maintain a consistent habit first and then go join? 

thanks 

 

[Space]

Anyone can do it, even if you don't meditate much. But it''ll be hard in the beginning if you're not comfortable or used to doing hour-long sits.

Saying that, you get used to the long sits pretty quickly. After the first day or two you get into the routine and it becomes pretty easy.

The hardest part is dealing with the boredom and addiction detoxes you have to go through. 10 day retreats are a complete and total removal of all stimulation and distraction. There literally nothing to do except meditate, eat and sleep. The meditation stuff is fairly easy IMO, although that too gets pretty repetitive after day 6 or 7 lol.

I'll probably be attending another 10-day in April or May. I need to get back on retreat and do some serious meditation again.

[Kmehta13]

thanks, @Space for your reply 

so now definitely im gonna book my retreat, can you please explain further about addiction detoxes and how is it feels like ( for example like an ego backlash), so that i can brace myself for what comes my way

thanks

 

[Razard86]

2 hours ago, Kmehta13 said:

thanks, @Space for your reply 

so now definitely im gonna book my retreat, can you please explain further about addiction detoxes and how is it feels like ( for example like an ego backlash), so that i can brace myself for what comes my way

thanks

 

1. Wanting preparation is ego. 2. Wanting to know more is ego. 3. Wanting to physically act or think about something is ego. 

You have a habit of identifying with the ego so your biggest obstacle during meditation is going to be able to observe the thoughts and sensations you feel without identifying with them. Just remember that the thoughts and sensations are created, try to notice that which is always there. That which allows you to feel the thoughts and sensations is the background. 

Think of a piece of paper and drawing you have, you can erase and redraw any of the pictures, but those drawings come and go but the background remains. Eventually if you go deep enough even that which observes will be discovered to also be a creation as well but you discover that when you get to it. Eventually all phenomena falls away and you can recognize that even without all sensory experience, complete unconsciousness, you can actually still be conscious. That is when the boundary between consciousness and unconsciousness breaks and you realize they are the same. 

What you call life is just game of consciousness and unconsciousness, the unconscious is never touched where the conscious experiences everything. All awakening is, is connecting to that unconscious which can awaken through you. 

[Space]

@Razard86 Chill man, he's just asking for practical info about how to go on retreat. 

13 hours ago, Kmehta13 said:

so now definitely im gonna book my retreat, can you please explain further about addiction detoxes and how is it feels like ( for example like an ego backlash), so that i can brace myself for what comes my way

Honestly I'm not sure how to explain how it feels. Ego backlash might come afterwards, but personally i think that term is overused a bit. I used to eat a bunch of junk food after my retreats as a way to comfort myself but only for like 1 meal. I didn't keep eating junk food for days on end. 

The other main addiction detox is from the internet, social media, youtube, news. It's just an uncomfortable, uneasy feeling not having any of that immediately at hand. You end up just sitting around literally doing nothing, which most people can't do easily and don't know how it feels. So that just takes some time to get used to IMO.