Thursday, February 21, 2008

Meditationorama and the Single Life

Feb 6, I dropped Heza off at the HK Vipassana cntre, which wasn't quite a "centre" but a "temporary centre". That means that the place was pretty rough on the edges. The "buildings" were more like tarp shelters. While H filled in some forms i got a quick tour and realized i needed to get outta there before H saw what she was dealing with.

While she was on her 10 days course, meditating 10 hrs/day, i felt really tuned in to her experience and the course. i sat 1+ hrs each day, attempting to sit in alignment with the course schedule when possible. i often checked my watch to see if H was sitting or eating or sleeping. Consistently my heart would go out to H and her fellow meditators thinking, "God they're meditating again!" And i could barely handle my 1 hr/day. Also i knew for the 1st few days or so she would hate the hell out of it. H digs her creature comforts, and this place had little to offer.

In the meantime i was off solo, and was surprisingly not very social. i barely drank or partied the whole time. Partly 'cause i was trying to get healthy, but mostly 'cause i just didn't feel like it. I did enjoy doing my own thing, 'cause i did lots of stuff that wouldnn't fly if i was w/ Heza.

-i went to new places and wandered around w/ all my stuff, hoping to find a bed

-i spent 2 hrs looking for a veg restaurant i thought i saw somewhere

-i stayed in a couple dirt cheap low-end rooms

-i planned as little as possible.

So that was all good, though running around solo i was still wondering about what H was going through the whole time.

We met up on day 11, and when i saw her, i was surprised to see that... she looked a few years younger! Another woman had made the same observation, H told me. It was like she was more innocent or something.

Anyhow, after a miserable few days at the centre, she got on board, and worked really hard on her meditations and made good progress. i have so much admiration for her efforts. She says that she now has a better understanding of me and my minimalist aspirations. And it's clear that she now has a better understanding of herself and of her ego. Good stuff.

You can read it straight from the horses mouth at heza's blog post.

Kudos to her on her work. And i've bn inspired to kick my own sporadic sits into regularity again. i'm also planning to do a course or 2 in summer, in India. i too have ongoing ego-issues etc that i should deal with sooner or later.

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