Thursday, April 14, 2011
Dharamsala - 10 day retreat
Yesterday ended the 10 day meditation-retreat and I am glad I can move freely again, communicate and have my own space. During the past 10 days all students followed a very tight and strict program starting at 4:30 am and lasting until 9:30 pm with short breaks for breakfast, lunch and a little rest. We spent about 10 hours a day sitting and meditating in a big hall learning different techniques while we lived the rest of the time in an monastery like environment in small huts or rooms for two or three persons. Basically the meditation-course was about purifying several levels of the mind by concentrating on the observation of one´s respiration or body-sensations. The fact, that according to the rules we were not allowed to communicate, read, write or do any other activity apart from meditating and satisfying our basic needs helped a lot to calm down the mind and improve it´s capacity of concentration. After a few days I managed to sit for one hour without moving at all, staying present, focusing on the changing sensations of my body. I don´t want to go much into detail here about what the meditation and what it is or is not because it is very difficult to explain something which is rather an experience than a theoretical concept, but I am happy to explain in more detail to those of you who want to know more as soon as we meet in real life again…
The experience of sharing one´s life with about 100 students of different social, cultural and geographical backgrounds had it´s surreal and funny aspects. The lack of movement and the two rather heavy meals (containing beans, peas, milk, chai…) per day had their consequences on the digestive systems of the students. So at times I started doubting if I was attending a meditation course or a fart-camp ;) The hilarious thing about the situation was the fact, that due to the rule of "noble silence" - no communication what so ever - nobody was supposed to react or say anything about the bio-chemical attacks of his neighbors, so some people toke advantage of that and ventilated their bodies in a shameless manner. By the 10th day I could identify the originator of a given fart or eruption by it´s sound and I started wearing ear- and sometimes even nose-plugs ;)))
Before and after the retreat I had the opportunity to explore the mountains around Dharamshala together with other travelers. We found some magical spots by accident climbing around some mountains… I leave you with some impressions. See you soon in real life. Big hug
PS. I know I am asking a lot, but I would really love to know who actually reads this… the only way for me tho find out is when you post a comment. So please don´t be shy, just imagine you are on Facebook and leave me few words or lines ;)))
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Hi Bro, wenn ich mir vorstellen müsste, auf Facebook zu sein, dann würdest du von mir nicht so viele Kommentare lesen ;-) Ich freue mich sehr, dich bald wieder real zu erleben und bin schon gespannt auf deine Erzählungen. Big hug, Lio-sis, die deinen Blog stets verfolgt ;-)
ReplyDeletehi volker!
ReplyDeleteschoen wiesder von dir zu hoeren! ich freu mich, wenn ich dich ganz bald in die arme schliessen kann und noch mehr von deinen erlebnissen hoere! die letzten bilder beim schuhmacher und in den bergen sind sehr toll! geniale plakate!! bis ganz bald! pass auf dich weiterhin gut auf, big hug little-sis
lol, the bio-chemical hazards and the nose-plug!
ReplyDeletena gut, nach so vielen bitten poste ich auch mal was! :-)
ReplyDeleteich schau mir auch immer brav die bilder an und beneide dich darum, dass du so eine laaange reise machst und ich im büro sitze!
lg aus wien!
Riki
FYI : I've read all your posts
ReplyDeleteand seen all your pics ... btw, you
could use some new T. Shirts guapo
lol / just kiddin + u got those when
in Bangkok with me so I know why you cherish them so much jejeje...
Can't wait to see u in real life! I'll be off to Germany on the 13th then Paris on the 19th but I'll
see u b4 that anyways! Can't wait.
Big Abrazo!
Hallo Volker,
ReplyDeleteich hab dich grad bei Wetten, dass... angemeldet - die waren begeistert, als ich ihnen von deinen 'fart identification talents' erzaehlt habe.
Bis bald im Skype,
Bernhard
jeder hat so seine ungeahnten Talente )))) Freu mich schon auf diverseste real life Meetings!!! Benhard, bei uns beiden wird's derweil halt noch Skype sein ;) Auf bald, Big hug.
ReplyDeleteHey Arnaud, these t-shirts are part of my personal identity ;))) Anyways I hope to find some cool stuff together in rebajas ;) Big hug
ReplyDeleteciao vol
ReplyDeletei wish i could be in india right now. coming back to ordinary life it's so hard for me. enjoy the best you can!
shanti
Simona
Thank you Simona! My trip is about to end as well, so I will face the challenges of everyday life also. How ever I am confident that everything will work out just fine ;))) All the best to you, big hug
ReplyDeleteHey, Volkiiiiiiii!!!! Estamos engalanando (¿a qué has perdido parte de tu español y no sabes qué significa esta palabra? ;P) Madrid para tu llegada!!!!
ReplyDeleteQué poquito te queda yaaaaaaa!!!!
Besito!
Pat
Llego tarde a tu post pero dejo una nota: tengo ganas de que me cuentes tu experiencia no teórica. un abrazo
ReplyDeletePat ))) ...gracias a las raíces también latinas del alemán creo entender esta palabra ;) en este caso me pondré guapo también y vestiré seda y colgantes, jeje. Muchos besos...
ReplyDeleteHola Guzman, si todo va bien, iré a Yoga mientras esté por Madrid, así que tendremos oportunidades de tomarnos algo y contarnos experiencias ;) Un abrazo
auch ich lese deinen blog, hab die letzten zeilen mit angefügter bitte aber erst heute gesehen, als ich mich auf die suche im world wide web nach bestätigung deines von dir angegebenen rückreisetermins gemacht habe.... so long aber nichts gefunden :( jetzt scan ich noch flicker und facebook nach etwaigen flughafenfotos, aber schau ma mal. hoffentlich bis morgen, lg
ReplyDeleteWolfgang