10-Day Vipassana Christmas Course (Occidental, CA)

One Hundred Forty Nine Female Meditators; Ninety Seven Male Meditators; Twenty One Kitchen Staff; Seven Course Managers; Four Assistant Teachers; One Big Video Screen.

The photo to the left doesn't quite capture the magnitude of a hall seating more than 250 meditators. So, let me try to put it into words - messy, but well disciplined - crowded but cooperative - long lines, but loud laughter too - snoring dormitories, but shared experience. Add to this the extra ingredient of a special once a year Christmas holiday-time course to bring people together and make for a thriving 10 day community in the woods of Occidental.

For anyone thinking of attending this course, which has a been ongoing now for several years, I will share some highlights of this year's experience.

The course ended this morning, and I'm typing this now on a foggy winter day, but the weather was sunny and bright for most of the course. There was not a drop of rain this year. This probably made the shoe-room more friendly (less muddy) when entering the hall for both group sits and meals. Yes, the dining hall and meditation hall were in the same building! A office cubicle type partition separated the two and a white cloth separated the women's dining hall from the men's.

Accommodations were tight; women were often left in the bathroom line while the next group sit had already begun. Cushions were close in the hall. Walking the dining room with a full tray of vipassana food was like a dance to avoid bumping one another. The kitchen staff worked nearly non stop through the course keeping a constant load of clean dishes ready for use.

The dormitories had six bunk beds, so provided space for twelve meditators. This made for wonderful antics such as the battle to control the heater and the three windows. Every night, the room temperature was different as we slept. (Note that this was in spite of the posted sign stating: Please ask a manager to adjust the heat). The first few nights I woke up in a hot sweat. But, since I probably not the only one, somebody opened a window and soon it was more like the 40 degree weather outside.

Each person had a distinctive way of either slamming the door with a bang or slowly guiding it closed with a whisper. A number of my dorm-mates were sleep talkers which provided amusement for the insomniacs. I suppose it could have been really bad, but I actually enjoyed sharing in such an intimate experience with them all.

There were not very long walking paths, but enough to get the heart pumping if you wanted to. The food was delicious, as usual, following similar recipes to the North Fork vipassana center.

Very few people left the course before the end, which seemed to be a good sign. All together it didn't have the cushy luxury of the North Fork center, but provided a fun setting for a special holiday. Christmas was on Day six, and I could not think of a better way to spend it.

Perhaps the best part is that when the course was over, we were able to break all the rules (since we were no longer on official vipassana course land). This meant that on Day 11, we gave hugs goodbye, and one guy played his melodious Indian raga flute for us all. Physical touch and music of any kind are always prohibited at course centers. I like breaking rules, especially with flute music in the forest on a cold foggy morning.

Learning More About Actualism

I've mentioned the practice of actualism to some friends and so put together this list of links for them to discover more about the practice. The website can be a bit confusing, and often off-putting to people at first.

Here is the practice in a nutshell:
http://actualfreedom.com.au/library/topics/method.htm

I think this quote sums up the intention of the practice pretty well, and it is from perhaps the most detailed and technical explanation of the technique - presented in the article, "Attentiveness and Sensuousness and Apperceptiveness". This article gives a more detailed explanation of how to practice the method outlined in the previous link.
http://actualfreedom.com.au/richard/articles/attentivenesssensuousnessapperceptiveness.htm

"The intent is you will become happy and harmless. The intent is you will be free of sorrow and malice. The intent is you will become blithesome and benign. The intent is you will be free of fear and aggression. The intent is you will become carefree and considerate. The intent is you will be free from nurture and desire. The intent is you will become gay and benevolent. The intent is you will be free of anguish and animosity. The intent is that, by being free of the Human Condition you will experience peace-on-earth, in this life-time, as this body..." - Richard

Also, I recommend the Library for searching general topics of interest, and it also provides a link to the FAQ page:
http://actualfreedom.com.au/library

For someone who may be less interested in the technical details but would enjoy a fun introductory tour, this link could be useful:
http://actualfreedom.com.au/introduction/universe.htm

Enjoy, and be happy.

A Big Huggin' Apology

I haven't written in a while, it's true. Perhaps you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. Or, if not, then just look at the cute baby pictured here until you start giggling.

It may be that I didn't have much that I wanted to write over the last few months, but also I probably forgot how useful this blog has been for keeping in touch with the multitude of great people I meet in life.

OK. Perhaps for a come-back post I might just write a little bit about what has been going on for me. I went on another meditation retreat last August at the North Fork Vipassana Center, and I'm headed to Occidental in a couple weeks for the 10-day Christmas course in the Goenka tradition.

I haven't been practicing the Goenka technique so much, however. I had a great conversation with Daniel Ingram, author of "Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha," and I guess I'd say I'm practicing meditation now in a way most similar to his particular teachings. Of course, he isn't so specific on what he recommends, he places more of an emphasis on the basic understanding (the three characteristics of anicca, anatta, and dukkha) and doing whatever one knows best to give 100% attention to these characteristics from moment-to-moment in each moment again and again. Well, that's my paraphrasing anyway. If you want to know more, you can read his (hardcore) Dharma book.

Other than meditation, I have been devoting a great deal of effort to the practice of Actualism - a technique which has as its specific goal: happiness, harmlessness, peace on Earth, and the end of delusion. These are the questions which stay at or near the forefront of my mind: In short, how to live with the sensibility to live peacefully and happily with my fellow humans.

I've also been taking classes at a local community college with the intent to build a new career. Many of the topics I've been studying have been directly relevant to life as well. I finally took General Psychology, which is funny since I've already learned so much about psychology indirectly anyway. As a side note, I find it fascinating how new this science is. Many of the discoveries of psychology have come only in the last century or two, and it's clear that there are still many errors in the current mainstream of psychological thought. If I had more of a disposition toward academia and research, I might try my hand at contributing to this developing field.

As for this physical world of trees, cars, people, clouds and such, I have continued to explore and discover: I just made it through a wild once-in-a-decade windstorm here in California. I discovered a Japanese mini-mall in my extended neighborhood. I heard the dribbling trickling sound of waves rolling across pebbles at Wilder Ranch State Park. I watched one heat of the O'Niells Cold Water Classic surf contest. And, of course I can't just be an observer, so I jumped in the cold ocean of Santa Cruz a few times too.

I think I will try to write more here. Things have changed a lot for me (as things tend to do) but part of the fun of blogging must be to see the evolution of thoughts and events through time.

Back To The Cushion

Well, after a lot of fun with family, friends, and close companions during the holidays... I'm now returning to the cushion for some more meditation. Two things are on my agenda. First, I've signed up for another Goenka retreat at the North Fork Vipassana Center in early February. It's been a while since I've been on formal retreat, so this should be fun! And Second, I've started working with a new meditation teacher, Kenneth Folk. He really seems to fit for where I'm at and what my goals are right now. I'm finding it much easier to understand the technique with his guidance and to really know exactly what I'm doing and how to best use my time.

So, I'm back on the cushion and practicing with a gusto. I will probably post more soon on how things progress.

Wonderful