Vipassana Meditation

I practice Vipassana meditation. I found Jack Kornfield and his books/audios very helpful in my understanding of what the east teaches. He was an American graduate who went to Thailand/Cambodia and became a monk there for a time before coming back to the states and begin teaching. He has some short guided meditations with silence interspersed throughout that are really great to start your practice in his book "Meditation for Beginners".

Here is a description of what Amazon has for it:

Here is a link to the book. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591799422/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1564558673&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1EFTJPGHN8W0S4FV60KF"]Amazon.com: Meditation for Beginners (9781591799429): Jack Kornfield: Books[/ame]

I've been practicing for about 3 years. It's hard to put into words the changes I have experienced in myself due to this concept and principles. They are profound and I am very grateful for having been introduced to this type of meditation. I had tried others over the years and there is nothing to compare with this.

I will say only this: You practice and practice and just like any skill you might not notice the subtle changes in ability. Then one day you wake up and low and behold - you have got it. Each new ability builds upon the last and goes on and on.

" May you be at ease and free from suffering."

And yes Wyote is right about it also being a method the Christians use as well. Jack talks about that in his meditations and book. Buddhism is not a religion, nor a philosophy. It is direct practice with direct results.

Namaste.

 

The transformative effect of Vipassana is the focus of a lovely film titled The Dhamma Brothers. I recommend it.


cheers,
Ian

 

I saw this movie, and now I strongly feel I want to attend a Vipassana retreat at least once before I die. Thanks for recommending the movie.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA8XFEyeMi8"]YouTube - The Dhamma Brothers Trailer[/ame]

 

Well, the other day I ordered the book mentioned by K-gal. For a long time I have practiced Western defined meditation. For the last couple of years I've had this sense that Eastern style mediation would be very beneficial for me. But I've never been able to stick with it long enough to notice any changes. Just curious, has any one noticed a decrease in social anxiety since beginning Vipassana meditation?

 

Thank you NAI. I know on an intuitive level that I should be meditating. But that doesn't seem to be enough to motivate me to stick with it. Guess that's why I'm asking questions. Hoping that maybe logic will have a better chance at battling my ego. When I told my acupuncturist about my struggles, she said that it was my ego that didn't want to give up control. When did you first think that meditation would benefit you? Was it difficult for you to stick with it at first? Hope I haven't hijacked this thread. Sorry if I have.

 

Norwich and Resistance

Hey [MENTION=2716]Norwich[/MENTION].

You sound as if you are really pushing yourself hard - and naturally your ego is pushing back by making you feel anxious about this little adventure called insight meditation. Please consider relaxing about it for a while.

From my experience there will be some amazement at what you discover about your outer layer self - like how your body feels when you breathe. What it is to experience how the shampoo likes to adhere to your hair. Stuff like that. Then there will be some depression or other type of mood distraction because your Ego is not real sure about what's going on and it resists. Then you'll finally decide to start practice again because it just makes sense. I figure it'll happen again - but maybe not in that order. I'll know - though - that it's the pattern of me - and I'll pick it back up where I left off.
I can say - like neverami - that you begin to see an effect on your behaviors and emotions. You'll start to see some equanimity - an evenness (is that a word?) - in your logical thinking and your non reactionary mindset will increase.

Perhaps you can view this next learning experience with curiosity and a sense of adventure. As if you decided to go on a picnic at a state park in a beautiful setting along the lake. This adventure is packed with possibilities - both negative and positive - yes? It could be blue skies and a cool breeze. It could be rainy and cold. You don't know - do you? Yet - you plan the picnic with a little bit of the anticipation of having a good time - right? You could view your meditation tryout the same way.

At any rate - I hate to see you worrying about your "non motivation", as you say, to do meditation. Actually - I think it's said that you will get what you focus on and for the most part, in my life, I have found that to be true. So be careful what you're "berating yourself for " these days. That's a sort of a focus - yes?

Kick back for a bit.

It'll happen.

 

[MENTION=2578]K-gal[/MENTION];

Thanks for the encouragement and insight into your experience.

I'm not feeling anxious. Excited yes. Honestly, I just love to analyze behavior. Because I am my most accessible subject, I'm forever contemplating what motivates me to do the things I do. So it isn't that I'm worrying about my "non-motivation." Intrigued by it, yes.

I am. I love adventure and after reading this thread I'm even more curious.

 

Been busy reading Mindfulness in Plain English and just started the book K-gal recommended.

[MENTION=1779]NeverAmI[/MENTION]: Thanks, I just checked out this link.

Fascinating. Are you familiar with Neurofeedback? It's a therapy which involves "training" frequencies with in the brain using a visual or auditory reward. My daughters have utilized this type of therapy in an attempt to get their beta waves down within normal ranges. If you ever come across a study talking about how meditation effects beta waves, I would very much appreciative it if you forward it to me.

[MENTION=251]Wyote[/MENTION]: you mentioned in your blog that you started meditating as a child, age six I think. Did your parents meditate? Growing up did you notice a difference between how you reacted to things as opposed to your peers?

 

I haven't tried either of those forms of meditation, but the first one especially sounds really cool. Thanks for the link. I'm going to check it out.

 

Wyote, you must have the world's coolest parents. We could definitely use you at the congregate facility.

 

How cool! I would love to attend one of those workshops. For a while I was very interested in Centering Prayer. Left several messages with the Center for Lay Contemplatives here in my area. No one ever returned my calls.