In today's episode, recorded just before I head into my 10-day silent vipassana meditation retreat, I delve into the transformative power of silent retreats and share six compelling reasons why you should consider embarking on this introspective journey in 2024. From unraveling the mysteries of your mind to realizing the self-created nature of suffering, each insight is a stepping stone toward a more mindful and fulfilled life. Stay tuned to the end for a limited-time offer!
Here's a link to the discount code for the meditation course: https://jeremylipkowitz.mykajabi.com/offers/6w4ypimW?coupon_code=RETREAT
The offer expires on Dec 17th, so act now to get access to the course!
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ABOUT THE HOST:
JEREMY IS A MEDITATION TEACHER, LIFE COACH, AND DIGITAL HABITS EXPERT WHO WORKS WITH ENTREPRENEURS, EXECUTIVES, AND LEADERS.
Jeremy overcame addiction, shame, self-judgement, and depression in his early twenties with the help of mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness not only helped him let go of destructive behaviors, it also allowed him to connect with deeper meaning and purpose in his life.
For the past 10 years Jeremy has been teaching mindfulness and emotional intelligence practices at universities, recovery centers, and companies throughout Asia and the US. He holds a Bachelors and Master’s degree in Genetics and Genomics, and spent several years at Duke University working towards a PhD in Genetics & Systems Biology before he turned full-time to teaching mindfulness.
Jeremy is also an ICF certified Executive Coach. As a former scientist and academic, Jeremy has a great passion for bringing his EI based coaching skills into the corporate and professional world. He realizes how powerful & transformative these practices can be for skeptics and senior-level managers. He is known for his calm and grounded demeanor, his expertise in habits and high-performance, and his compassionate approach to transformation.
Coaching Certifications
* CPCC, Co-Active Training Institute
* ICF Member
* ACC International Coaching Federation
Jeremy is a Certified Teacher with the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, a mindfulness-based emotional intelligence program initially developed at Google. He also spent time living and training as a fully-ordained Buddhist monk in Myanmar. He now combines his science-based expertise with a hunger for personal development to help others discipline their minds and achieve genuine inner- peace and fulfillment.
You're listening to unhooked. On today's episode six, powerful reasons you should consider going on a silent meditation retreat in 2024. If you've ever thought about or considered going on a silent retreat. But are still on the fence or aren't sure what to expect. This is the episode for you. So stay tuned.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen. This week, I am away on a 10 day silent meditation retreat of the Pasana retreat. And because I'm on retreat, I've decided to pre-record this week's episode and make it a topic about meditation retreats and why they are so powerful. I've talked many times on various episodes about my own experiences on retreats. But I wanted to do a special episode entirely focused on this topic. For this episode, I'm actually going to be reading a blog post that I wrote back in 2017. Over six years ago when I was going on my 11th silent retreat. I've since done a few more retreats and tomorrow I will be heading into my 18th retreat. For a little bit of context on this blog post.
At the time I was living in Thailand in Bangkok, teaching mindfulness at an international school. And had gone on a holiday and decided to use that holiday to go on retreat. So that's a little context for this episode. Before I get into the meat of the episode, a few quick announcements first, just to know that there is a special time limited offer at the end of this episode.
So definitely stay tuned to the end of the episode. And second as always, if you'd like to support the podcast. Please hit the follow button or the subscribe button. And consider leaving us a review. It really does make a huge difference. Without further ado. Here is the post.
This past April, I had a two week break from work for the Thai national holiday called sung crown. Living in Southeast Asia. My first thought was to go to one of the beautiful sun soaked beaches, right in my backyard. I could lay on a beach, eat delicious food and swim, and the glistening blue, green waters. So, what did I decide to do with my two weeks of vacation? I spent the majority of it alone in a cell. No, I wasn't arrested and thrown in jail. I went on, what's called a retreat. If you've never heard of the Pasana. Or just not quite sure what it entails.
Here's a brief explanation. For 10 days, I was not allowed to talk, read or write. No phones, no electronics, no journaling, no snacks. Even eye contact with the other retreat participants was not allowed. Every day from roughly 4:00 AM to 9:00 PM. I was only to practice mindfulness meditation. It mysel or in the group?
Meditation hall. Simply watching the sensations in my body without judgment. And now if you're thinking I'm a little crazy for choosing to do this with my vacation time. You'll think I'm even crazier when you hear that. This wasn't my first time. But in fact, I've done this over a dozen times. And retreats ranging from five days to 21 days. In this episode, I'm going to tell you a few things I learned from my experiences on our treat. And give you six reasons why you should consider going on a retreat this year as well.
Reason number one, it gives you the chance to understand the inner workings of your mind. And again, Erica. Munindra G. A famous meditation teacher from India. One side. If you want to understand your mind, simply sit down and observe it. A meditation retreat is the perfect opportunity. To understand your mind on a level that you've never been able to before. Why is this so important? Because most of our lives, we are looking outside of ourselves for answers, and we rarely stop to look at what's going on inside our own minds. On retreat, you get the opportunity to explore your own internal, mental landscape. And you see how unpredictable and chaotic your mind can be. One moment you're drowning in misery over something that happened in the past. And the next moment you're feeling love for all humanity. And the next moment it failed with murderous rage at the person sitting next to you.
Who breeds too loudly. Many people have this assumption that not talking is the hardest part of a retreat. But in all honesty, the hardest part of retreat is usually just being with yourself without anything to distract you. It may be scary at first to see how wild and incoherent the mind is. But seeing is very important. It's the first step to understanding and to transformation.
Reason number two is that you see that most of your day to day suffering is actually self-created.
The author, Byron Katie once wrote. If you're alone in a room and you're suffering. Eventually it will Dawn on you that you're the one who's causing it. There's no easier way to see the truth of this than to sit alone in a meditation cell for hours on end. Suffering is a lot like a fire. And unfortunately we have a tendency. To keep throwing fuel on the fire moment by moment. Never letting it die out. For example, in my own retreat experience, I often bring to life old problems at work. Past arguments with friends or times when I feel like I was insulted in some way. I would relive the experience in my head. And then try to figure out the solution. Usually it would end up with me having heated arguments with people in my own mind. I would get flustered, arguing with characters that don't even exist. Do a quick mental check. How often do you bring to life painful and frustrating events from the past? How often do you think of how things might go wrong in the future? When you start to observe your mind, you see how often it leans towards negativity. Throwing more fuel on the fire. There is a quote from marathoners who often like to say pain is inevitable.
Suffering is optional. Of course painful things have happened to you in the past and will continue to happen to you in the future. Practicing mindfulness does not mean you try to deny the bad things that have happened in your life. But on retreat, you begin to realize how often you create additional suffering for yourself. By bringing to life, your old pains and old sorrows. Soon, it becomes clear that this type of suffering is optional.
Reason number three. You begin to realize that craving is a form of suffering as well. It's easy to think that all your suffering comes from the quote-unquote negative mental states. From stress, anger, frustration, sadness, despair. It, wouldn't be hard to convince you that these are all forms of mental suffering. But what if I told you that daydreaming about pleasant experiences could be suffering too. Like daydreaming about getting a massage on the beach. We're thinking about eating a decadent chocolate cake. Maybe just thinking about lounging on your couch, watching Netflix. What's wrong with these. Well at first glance, they might seem innocent. But when you're on retreat, you're fully in tune with your body and your mind. And you can see the effect that these various thoughts have on your emotional state. And in these moments of daydreaming, you can start to see that the act of wanting something that you do not have is a painful experience. You can actually feel the suffering in your body. When your tension is with that object of desire. Rather than with being in the present moment. So for example, I can't tell you how many times I thought of brownies while I was on retreat. Whenever I imagined a brownie.
I simultaneously noticed this empty pit feeling in my stomach. Like fingers grasping at something they can't quite reach. While the words might not have fully formed in my mind, this subtle feeling was there. That said if only I had a brownie right now. Then I would be happy. So just like these negative emotions or experiences in the moment that you're craving something. You cannot simultaneously be feeling joy or being appreciation of what is going on in your life. In your own life.
How often does your attention go to the things you wish you had? How often are you suffering from craving? What you don't have?
Reason number four. It helps you cultivate an appreciation for the little things in life.
Brother, David Steindl-Rast one said gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands. Because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have, we will not be happy. Because we will always want to have something else or something more.
Check in. How often are we truly grateful for all the little things in life? Like the smell of freshly brewed coffee. The site of a beautiful flower. But even just the act of taking a deep breath. We are usually on the lookout for something that's new craving, the newest phone, a bigger car, a better job, more delicious food. We're always looking for something else.
Something more. And yet we've all experienced that letdown of obtaining the object of our desires. As soon as we experienced what we've been craving it no longer satisfies us. And we look for something else to feel the whole. Practicing mindfulness in a retreat center helps you cultivate an appreciation for the small things. When you give up your phone, computer books, sources of distraction. And simply bring your attention to your direct experiences in the body. You realize how much joy there is to be found everywhere in simple actions. For instance, how many of us truly appreciate our breath? And practicing mindfulness.
You're instructed to bring your attention to the breath over and over again. Each time seeing if you can notice something new about it. This cultivates a mind of gratitude. When we cultivate gratefulness in one area. It helps you be more grateful in all aspects of your life. After a few days on retreat, I couldn't help, but be grateful for the leaves dancing in the wind. The feeling of sun shining on my face. The sound of the birds chirping in the distance. Sitting on a 10 day course really helps you regain that sense of gratitude in life.
Reason number five. It gives you a technique for changing the habit patterns of your mind.
One thing becomes very clear when you go on retreat that your mind is running on autopilot. Most of the time. Guided by old habit patterns and mental tendencies. It's not like any of us who wakes up in the morning and things, let me see how much suffering I can cause for myself today. And yet the suffering comes because it's a habit that has become deeply rooted in the mind. Once you understand this, you see also that you can change the habit patterns of your mind through training. This is the purpose of mindfulness meditation. To train the mind. So that it becomes an abode of patience, compassion, love, and wisdom. Rather than an autopilot machine. That turns out negativity and suffering. Mindfulness and Vipassana. Are the tools that can take you there.
Reason number six. You realize the importance of kindness and compassion in your life? When the retreat begins, you are given simple instructions. Sit down. Close your eyes, watch the sensations in your body and bring your attention back to the sensations. Whenever you get lost in thought. Here's what actually happens. You fidget. Daydream about cookies.
You have arguments in your mind. You look around the room, you do almost everything, but meditate. When this happens, it's easy to start getting lost in self judgment. Thinking about how everyone else on retreat is probably doing perfectly fine. Meanwhile, you're just a complete mess. In these moments of self judgment, the retreat can feel like pure hell. Why did I even come here?
I could've stayed home and binged on Netflix for 10 days instead. However, if you're lucky, or if you're smart, you've chosen a retreat where they also teach the practice of Metta or loving kindness. Through these practices of loving kindness, and you begin to send yourself kindness and self-love. You begin to notice just a few moments where instead of being harsh and overly critical, you actually treat yourself with kindness and respect. You still to develop moments of patience and tenderness. Just allowing what is going on without fighting it or judging the experience. In contrast to these moments of pure hell.
These moments of genuine self care and patients are pure heaven. Through these moments, you realize how important it is to invite these qualities into your daily life. Some people think of meditation is training the mind to be focused. And I see it much more as training the mind to be kind.
So there you have it.
Six powerful reasons why you should consider going on a retreat this year. There are so many other reasons to go on retreat and this list has only scratched the surface. A few other basic ones that come to mind is it gives you an opportunity to reset your habits. To get some distance from your technology. To cultivate deeper wisdom around understanding things like impermanence and your place in the world. There's so many other reasons to go on retreat.
And this is really just one small list. Some of the first things that came to my mind.
One last thing to remember, and this is very important. Simply listening to this episode is not the same as actually going on a mindfulness retreat. It's like the difference between reading a travel guide and actually traveling to your destination. If you want to gain any benefits from mindfulness. You have to begin walking along the path yourself. So don't let this just be in. Intellectual exercise, but go out there and do it start practicing. Similarly, if you go on retreat, make sure that you keep asking yourself, how can I bring this understanding into my life? Going on a meditation and treat is not about becoming good at meditation. It's about learning skills and techniques that can make your day-to-day life better. Can you be a kinder and more patient person? Can you treat your neighbors and your enemies with respect and care. Can you be present for all your experiences? This is the true meaning of mindfulness.
So that's it for today.
Folks, as I mentioned, when this episode is released, I will still be on my 10 day Vipassana retreat. And I will return next week. I imagine that this episode has invited a lot of questions for you. Like, what is Vipassana? What tradition does it come from? How do you practice? What are some tips? So if you have any questions, feel free to let me know.
You can send me a message on Instagram or get in touch with me through my website. As I mentioned also, I will be offering a very special gift for those of you who are interested in getting started with a mindfulness practice. So, if you have been wanting to develop a meditation routine or a mindfulness routine, And you're looking for a guide to help you learn the basics. You can check out my best selling online course, mindfulness made easy. It has helped over 3000 students already to master the foundations of mindfulness meditation. And I truly think it is one of the best courses out there. As a special gift. Um, offering $100 off the course. So you can use the discount code retreat and I will put the link for that in the show notes down below. This special offer ends.
The day I get back from my retreat on December 17th. So you have just a few days to take advantage of this offer.
That is it for today? I wish you much love much happiness in your life. And I wish that you find the time to go on retreat. It is very hard to make that time in your life for many of us, but I truly hope that you are able to carve out some space. Whether it's a 10 day retreat or maybe finding a shorter retreat five day retreat, seven day retreat. It really is a special experience. So that's it hope you enjoyed this episode? And I will see you on the next one.