Is it July already? Vipassana's Sacredly Activated

Summer, Blessed Summer is here! I am a Leo baby ( August 1^st ) and always feel my best in the summer!

I have some lovely experiences to offer you this week and sincerely hope you’ll join me: Holistic Peer Counseling Thursday, Temple of the Open Heart for Women Friday, Brianca’s amazing video on Saturday and Wicked Strip on Sunday! Sex Positive Community and Emotional well being for everyone, Hooray!

I am freshly mentally flossed from my 12 day Vipassana meditation retreat. Vipassana is a very pure, simple form of meditation which is believed to have come directly from the work of Gatama the Buddha.

My dear friend Jude went with me and we spent 10 days doing a rigorous routine that went like this: awake 4am * meditate 4:30-6:30am * breakfast 6:30 free time until meditating again 8-9am * meditate again 9am-11am * Lunch 11am-1pm * meditate 1-5pm * tea & fruit at 5pm * meditate 6-7pm * discourse video with S.N. Goenka 7-8:15pm * meditate 8:15pm-9pm * questions with teachers * lights out at 10pm Sleep. This was my schedule for 10 days. Oh yes and did I mention you cannot talk except: 1)to ask the manager for something when you have an emergency need such as a flashlight or 2) to have a private or public question with the teachers. For the first three days you are simply focusing on the natural flow of your breath in the small triangular space between your upper lip and around your nostrils. This is called anapanna. On the 4^th day you actually learn Vipassana which is focusing on physical sensations and becoming neutral about whatever cravings or aversions arise in your consciousness. On the 7^th day there begins a focus called “fierce determination” where for an hour on three separate occasions you attempt to not move your arms and legs or open your eyes.

I learned a LOT about how my mind works. I learned without doubt about all of my physical addictions and my overall levels of fear, desire, love and self-acceptance. I had one long experience of ecstatic bliss accompanied by a vision and physical shaking. I had many more hours of distraction and disappointment with my inability to focus on reality. I experienced my ability to overcome physical sensations and distractions. I got crystal clear on my flaws and my strengths.

I also enjoyed my amusing, bizarre and creative mind. There is quite the juke box in my head. I wrote a comic book, made up new Podcasts, redesigned my website, and came up with lots of new workshops. Such is the nature of desire in a human form. And hey, I survived and I feel really strong, maybe even a bit invincible, (anybody else hear a Helen Reddy song in there, geesh!).

I also had a wonderful time visiting my family in North Ridgeville, Ohio and deeply took in the 3 day Andrew Harvey workshop in New York. I am going to write about it all in more detail, so be ready to check out my blog again after a 2 month hiatus.

I’m glad to be back to my Seattle life. I am taking a deep look into my desire to have a stronger sense of family and thinking about intentional community again.