crucial

vipassana for 10 days:

4am    wake
4.30   observe the breath and body
6      breakfast
8      observe the breath and body
11     lunch
1      observe the breath and body
5      tea
7      observe the breath and body
8      discourse
9      observe the breath and body
10     sleep  

10.75 hours a day observing the breath in the breath, the body in the body and the mind in the mind. observing every sensation with as much equanimity as we can muster.

all life stops, no communication with other people. no 'things', no issues, no external thoughts.

at the pond in the center of your mind, you stop throwing rocks, you stop the wind blowing across it, you stop pissing in it, you stop it from boiling. and then you finally see the reflection of reality around you without alteration by your mind. every action and thought, you see the action of hiding you from the true observerance of reality. every emotion you see how it colors your perception. aversion and craving start the wheel of misery rolling again. purity and simple observation is all you need. you operate quite well without all the drama. you can think without turning it into a big theatrical production every time. we think without speech, without talking to ourselves. without all the fake little conversations in your brain.

and you see how deep the pool is, leading straight down your unconscious mind until it merges with the big essence, the big pool of pools.

and meanwhile back in mundane reality, 30 guys and 20 girls are trying to keep their shit together, shuffling between the bathroom, the meditation hall, the MASH-style army tent. they are dealing with the cold, with the intensity of the experience, with the monkeys fighting on the roof, the farting and burping, the intense pain in the legs and back and the fucking israeli party band (drummers, clarinet, trumpet and trombone. they wake up at 7 am roll a spliff and practice all day long with screaming dancing klezmer with indian drumming).

and afterwards everybody is intensely happy and chatting with their monkey-minds just like before. but we all became better people.

you can take vipassana course just about anywhere in the world, even in prison. http://google.com/search?q=vipassana

and you may think the enlightenment just got blogged, but i didn't tell you shit.