Meditation on Vipassana

First blog of the new year, back after 10 days at the Vipassana meditation retreat.

First let's start with the elements. Can't complain with the amenities and accomodations if they're free. And in fact, they were quite nice, much nicer than I expected. Three beds with shower in a heated suite the size of my room ain't bad (especially if you had the un-bunked bed like mine). Heating was key, as it was quite chilly in Joshua Tree, one often wakes up in the morning discovering new patches of ice on the sandy grounds. The desert surround was ideal environment for meditation. I hiked up to the foothills discovering that there was literally nothing around the center at least a mile or two around. Other than the occasional freeway noises you hear absolutely nothing except for the birds, the wind, and the gongs. The course was timed nicely progressing through the up phase of the moon, ending on a full moon. At night the moonlit desert looked like sandy beaches and the Joshua trees looked like malnurished palm trees. The food, oh the food. I would say that its pretty good, refraining from using superlatives because my enjoyment of it was perhaps due to augmentation by diminuation, the 1-meal-a-day effect (besides the mostly bland oatmeal breakfast). Vegatarian with plenty of soy and occasional dairy, I can remember soy steaks, ginger fried rice, potatoe soup, lentil curry, chick pea curry, patthai (hmm), kale with penut sauce, veggie lasagna, bean and rice mexican, some Greek (which I doubt) lump mixed with corn and soy which wasn't half bad. Other than the flatulence and the twice daily shits, I was always satisfied after lunch and only mildly hungry at night.

Let's save the meditation for tomorrow. I'm dead tired now.