About Vipassana / Insight Meditation
There are many ways to practice meditation. While they will all bring benefits of calm and focus, they do not all work directly on the subconscious mind, thereby reaching the roots of our issues. It is the focus on physical sensation ~personal, irrefutable and elemental~ that forges a bridge between the conscious and subconscious. That said, there are many ways to focus on physical sensation. Once we understand the practice, we can meditate on the sensations of sitting, walking, eating, bathing, doing Tai-Chi/Yoga... Anything that we experience on the level of physical sensation.
Nature is forever offering us the opportunity to experience our lives. Situations and relationships play out over and over until we understand how, and are willing, to embrace them. Denying or suppressing one's feelings will not make them go away. Neither will self, or prescription, medicating. While most of us have developed these strategic habit patterns, more or less, to navigate our challenges, the reality is: No matter where you go, (or try to hide away), there you are.
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Vipassana is a method of discovering and loving yourself, completely.
What Vipassana is not
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A ritual, religion, or belief system based on blind faith - Vipassana is reportedly the technique taught by the Buddha, but one need not be ‘Buddhist’ to benefit from its practice. As an observation of one’s own experience, this practice is inherently non-sectarian. All human beings share the same unbalancing effects of craving, aversion, and ignorance, and the technique which can eradicate these problems is universally applicable. Those affiliated with many different religions, cultures, and belief systems have found Vipassana beneficial without detracting at all from their faith
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Easy, a vacation or an entertainment
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What you think it is before trying it – be prepared to open and change your mind
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Complicated or patented – this is a simple technique that can be tailored to your life and is available to all
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Targeted toward the treatment of a singular malady or illness, (although many diseases are eradicated as a side-effect of this practice)
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A method of avoiding pain or other aspects of life
What Vipassana is
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A simple and ancient meditation technique practiced by millions around the globe to promote peace, balance, compassion, wisdom, clarity, emotional stability and purification of the mind, allowing us to transcend suffering
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An exploration into truth/immersion into reality
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Strengthening, and developing control of one’s own mind
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Based on experiential and scientific natural law - understood through, and affected by, direct personal observation
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A resource for healing one’s life on all levels- physically, emotionally, socially and globally
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Universally effective when practiced correctly. Not effective at all when it is merely read about/speculated on, and not practiced.
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A method of eliminating the three causes of all unhappiness: craving, aversion and ignorance
What can I expect of Vipassana?
Those practicing Vipassana consistently and properly receive many benefits from their practice:
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Release from addiction and desire
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Reduction or alleviation of chronic pain and/or mental/physical illness
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More balanced and effective relationships with others
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Reduction or elimination of the need for drugs and medical interventions
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Increased clarity and confidence
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Vipassana for meditators and non-meditators
While often not 'easy', Vipassana is simple to practice. It can be done while sitting, walking, eating, practicing Yoga or Tai Chi ~ It is simply the focused attention to physical sensations on the body, and compassionate acceptance of whatever sensations arise.
We each walk a unique path and can only start where we are. If you are not prepared to sit still for an hour, there are still certainly ways to improve your life through this practice. The technique in itself is a study of who and where you are...not a challenge to do or be something else.
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The videos below offer guidance in 2-minute to one-hour meditations. If you are experienced in meditation and want something longer than that, this site ~ https://meditationselfcourse.org ~ offers a complete ten-day meditation self-course template.