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Lessons From My First Ten-Day Silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat
The surprising lessons learned as I sat still without moving
It was the third day of my first ten-day silent meditation retreat. Located in Kaufmann, TX, I had driven almost three hours here from Austin, where I currently live with my family, to learn Vipassana meditation.
It was hot outside, so I was looking forward to being inside the grand air-conditioned meditation hall where all the women and men were separated into neat rows, all of us in our designated spots, with our square cotton cushions and round pillows and blankets of our own choosing. My husband had gone only a week before, his second Vipassana retreat, and he had warned me to show up sooner before everyone grabbed all the extra cushions. I had shown up later and he was right. You snooze you lose. I had grabbed one of the remaining cushions that hurt my butt.
But three days in, I was beginning to get used to about 11 hours a day of meditating in silence. I was feeling proud of my ability to live like a Buddhist nun. And as an introvert with social anxiety, I was glad we didn’t have to talk or even make eye contact in the dorms, the main meditation hall, or eating area where they fed us free lunch. I had chosen the Hindi course because I heard the all vegetarian Indian food was…
