Six more hours and I will be silent. I am off for what may be the biggest challenge in my life up to today: a 10-day Vipassana course.
I am so nervous.
Ten hours of meditation per day, getting up at 4 am, no talking, no reading, no writing, and only 2 vegetarian meals a day…. what am I getting myself into?
I feel super anxious about if I will be able to do it. I have never in my life not talked for an entire day, let alone for 10 days. Will I be able to cope with the boredom? I am a person who checks her iPhone the second I have a moment of downtime. I cannot sit still for 1 hour straight unless I am asleep. Won’t I get excruciating lower back pain from sitting on the floor day in day out? What if my stomach will make rumbling sounds in the meditation hall? How can I ever concentrate on my breath if the one thing on my mind is food!?
But most importantly: What if I don’t see the ‘light’ after the 10 days? Will I have failed then? When do I consider this to be successful?
And then there are random curiosities about practical stuff: Will I be sleeping in a dorm or have my own room? I hope the food is tasty and plentiful. What type of people will be in this course and how many will we be? What if I need to pee during a session? How to ask someone to pass the salt when I am not allowed to speak or make eye contact? How come I am not even allowed to write down my train of thoughts over the course of the 10 days???
But what the heck, I don’t have much to lose other than 10 days of my life. The course is donation-based.
Here is the daily timetable:
4:00 am Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions
11:00-12noon Lunch break
12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher’s instructions
5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
9:30 pm Retire to your own room–Lights out
Wow, going hard core Lu! Reaaaaally curious about your experiences… Good luck and happy thoughts!!!!!!
It looks like you can ask stuff over lunch time and in the evening though, right? You can always come up with some alibi questions just to have said something
But other than that, ewwwwww! The only form of exercise allowed is “walking”? Does anybody check on you during the 4.30 am – 6.30 am “meditate in your room” session? I might take my extra nap then
Good luck!
Wow! Respect. I am curious about your experiences!
Zet hem op, laat je niet gek maken!
Would love to try. Good luck!