Wow, this is a very powerful revelation of your spiritual journey. When I saw you shortly after your ten day meditation experience and asked you how it had gone, you did indeed call it life changing. I realized then that you needed time to process, and also that the answer would be more involved than a casual conversation could convey. I found your story riveting. Some of the details are puzzling to me, such as exactly what you experienced in meditation. An experience so personal is hard to translate. I think I know what you mean. I can only go by my own experiences, and although I have the sense that this one is unique to you, somehow I can still relate. I absolutely enjoy your writing style. It is very focused and introspective. It is also lively. This thoughtful piece has made me think about my own life path. Thanks for sharing.
Usually group sittings (8AM, 2:30PM, 6PM) open and close with a couple minutes of the teacher's chanting. Instruction takes place at 10:15 and 3:45 ish and there's usually some at 8:30. But most sessions it's like a few minutes and you're left to practice in silence the rest of the time (until more chanting at the end).
Hi Michael, you don’t know me but I follow you on IG and followed the link you posted on your story. I had a very similar and spontaneous experience when I first started meditation, at the time I was spiritually cynical so it took me by complete surprise. Based on your description it sounds like you have experienced the first Dhyana or Jhana. This is a fairly rare experience for people new to meditation from what I can tell from talking to various teachers, so you may have a natural propensity towards it. If you’re interested in exploring this aspect of meditation practice in more detail, learning to control the experience and finding new deeper states of consciousness (there’s 7 more!) I would highly recommend Leigh Brassington’s book called Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. It’s a very down to earth explanation of what it is, the method to learn it as well as pointing you in the direction of insight methods once you have mastered it. After my first experience of Dhyana it happened again on a retreat but I didn’t learn enough to progress with it in the time available. After the retreat, I got very hung up on getting back into that state and paradoxically caused me to be unable to do so (so beware of that). I later attended Tejananda’s ‘Dhyana Through The Body’ retreat at Vajraloka in North Wales and it gave me a great deal of practical advice as well as time to practice and I was able to make my way through a number of the other Jhanas, at least 7 of them, the last one I am not sure about. The good news is you don’t need to go to North Wales for it, because there is a recorded version of the retreat on YouTube. That being said, you might have better luck in a real retreat environment rather than self study, especially with teacher feedback. Pretty sure Leigh Brassington is still teaching in the states if you wanted something more local. Anyway if you want to talk about your experience to help you put it into context or give you tips for going further then you’re free to contact me. I know these things can be a challenge to process, especially once you’ve left the retreat. Don’t worry I’m not a crazy hippy that’s going to sign you up to a cult or anything. I came to your blog thinking I’d find bicycles but here we are! Take care, Matt
Wow, this is a very powerful revelation of your spiritual journey. When I saw you shortly after your ten day meditation experience and asked you how it had gone, you did indeed call it life changing. I realized then that you needed time to process, and also that the answer would be more involved than a casual conversation could convey. I found your story riveting. Some of the details are puzzling to me, such as exactly what you experienced in meditation. An experience so personal is hard to translate. I think I know what you mean. I can only go by my own experiences, and although I have the sense that this one is unique to you, somehow I can still relate. I absolutely enjoy your writing style. It is very focused and introspective. It is also lively. This thoughtful piece has made me think about my own life path. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve always wanted to do a vipassana retreat. I wanna hear the new age cliches! 🥹
Was there instruction throughout the group sittings?
Usually group sittings (8AM, 2:30PM, 6PM) open and close with a couple minutes of the teacher's chanting. Instruction takes place at 10:15 and 3:45 ish and there's usually some at 8:30. But most sessions it's like a few minutes and you're left to practice in silence the rest of the time (until more chanting at the end).
Hi Michael, you don’t know me but I follow you on IG and followed the link you posted on your story. I had a very similar and spontaneous experience when I first started meditation, at the time I was spiritually cynical so it took me by complete surprise. Based on your description it sounds like you have experienced the first Dhyana or Jhana. This is a fairly rare experience for people new to meditation from what I can tell from talking to various teachers, so you may have a natural propensity towards it. If you’re interested in exploring this aspect of meditation practice in more detail, learning to control the experience and finding new deeper states of consciousness (there’s 7 more!) I would highly recommend Leigh Brassington’s book called Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas. It’s a very down to earth explanation of what it is, the method to learn it as well as pointing you in the direction of insight methods once you have mastered it. After my first experience of Dhyana it happened again on a retreat but I didn’t learn enough to progress with it in the time available. After the retreat, I got very hung up on getting back into that state and paradoxically caused me to be unable to do so (so beware of that). I later attended Tejananda’s ‘Dhyana Through The Body’ retreat at Vajraloka in North Wales and it gave me a great deal of practical advice as well as time to practice and I was able to make my way through a number of the other Jhanas, at least 7 of them, the last one I am not sure about. The good news is you don’t need to go to North Wales for it, because there is a recorded version of the retreat on YouTube. That being said, you might have better luck in a real retreat environment rather than self study, especially with teacher feedback. Pretty sure Leigh Brassington is still teaching in the states if you wanted something more local. Anyway if you want to talk about your experience to help you put it into context or give you tips for going further then you’re free to contact me. I know these things can be a challenge to process, especially once you’ve left the retreat. Don’t worry I’m not a crazy hippy that’s going to sign you up to a cult or anything. I came to your blog thinking I’d find bicycles but here we are! Take care, Matt
Wow, thank you for sharing all this. I will definitely look into those resources. I really appreciate your reaching out.