Vipassana Meditation Retreat - Lima, Peru

People come on these courses for many reasons.  Many have issues that are unimaginable in our lives, others are just interested in improving themselves and going deeper into their very being and many have lengthy discussions with the teachers about everything.....

I did this course because I had seen a documentary about how a woman in charge of a prison in India had introduced it into their prison and after a 10 day retreat the prisoners were different people, realised what they had done and how it affected others and their behaviour turned around......

What is Vipassana?  It means seeing things as they really are, is one of the most ancient techniques of meditation in India. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2,500 years

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation - so what is the technique?????

Firstly, the rules......total silence, no touching, no eye contact with anyone, men and women are separate the whole time, no music, no phones, computers, books, diaries, no food brought in, nothing.........BUT there is a freedom in silence - you don't have to acknowledge anyone - just get up and go about your business as you want....there is just a (very) quiet acceptance of everything that happens...no one complains.....for 2 days the showers stopped working and no one said anything......

BUT no one smiles either (except the teacher) and I miss that....

The day.......

Well we are woken by a gong at 4am to get ready for the start of meditation at 4:30am until 6:30am,

6:30am: Breakfast of some form of oatmeal, 1-2 wholegrain rolls, maybe butter and jam or olives and tomato slice and a piece of fruit.

After breakfast to 8am is free time to rest - I usually returned to my room to sleep.......

8am - 11am: Meditation (8-9 group meditation in the hall then you can choose between your room or hall for the rest of the time - room means sleep to me to I tried to stay in the hall)

11am: Lunch - Whole grain rice and a bean dish or lentils with salad and tea (lemongrass or other natural)

then rest time until 1pm......

1pm - 5pm: Meditation (2:30 - 3:30pm is group meditation in the hall the rest you can do in your room or hall)

5pm: Dinner - 2 pieces of fruit - an orange, a banana  or mandarine and a natural tea - that is it until breakfast the next day. If you an old student (done a past course) you only get lemon tea...no fruit.

6pm - 7:30pm: Group meditation

7:30 - 8:30pm: Listen to recording by Goenka

8:30pm - 9pm: Group meditation 

9pm: Bed - Usually lights are out at 9:15pm and not a sound is heard.....people are exhausted and some said they had amazingly vivid dreams.

The Meditation

The 1st 3 days we just concentrate on our breathing through our nose and the sensation of how it feels on our upper lip area.....it requires a lot of concentration to stay focused and I daydream a lot....and initially fall asleep a lot too!!!!

Days 4 - 10 the Vipassana meditation technique is taught (scanning the body starting at the fontanelle and going slowly down then back up - over and over again and any sensation felt is observed and allowed to dissipate - the arising and passing of any sensations - good or bad - so it relates to being able to deal at a subconscious level with issues in ones life that may have normally caused an emotion - they can now be seen as impermanent and are able to be dealt with calmly and passively..... it concentrates on the real impermanence of issues....

During the course there are recordings played that have been recorded by S.N. Goenka - the Indian who  introduced it to teaching centres all over the world and in one he said there are 30day and 45 day courses but 10days is more than enough for me.....I was waiting for it to finish, not because of the silence but the infinite time spent meditating.........it was very good on many levels but 10 days is enough for me....

My Feelings: I was so pleased I did this - for so many reasons on so many levels.  I now understand an amazing form of meditation and the effects it can have on people and why that happens.  Personally, I solved a lot of issues I had been worrying about - not through thinking incessently about them but the solution just came to me and the solutions were unexpected solutions - solutions I would never have thought of myself........There is a lot of good in this meditation and I am sure that if I continue with it, I will be a far better person than I could even imagine now...
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This is the medition hall on the last day when it was clear of meditation mats and cushions and people. The other photos are my roomies on the last day - 2 beautiful girls from Lima and our room (somewhat messy), a llama, of course, and the only area we had to walk if we needed exercise during the course.

Easter Island - Isla de Pascua or Rapa Nui

I never imagined I would be ever coming to Easter Island I imagined the cost to be exhorbitant but when I was in Cusco I was passing the LAN airline office and just decided to walk in and ask the cost of the return flight - by sheer luck they were having a special for the month of March and April of $427 return (normally $1250) - it was too good to pass up - going there for less than it cost going from Perth to Brisbane!!!! Booked it on the spot.....

When I imagined Easter Island - I imagined arriving there by boat (I don't know why I imagined going by boat - it's in the middle of nowhere) and seeing the huge statues (Moais) on the beach - well this is nothing like the reality......
The 5hr flight from Lima (no time change - amazing!) arrived at 6am so the first day there was to be a long one - we went exploring up the grass-sculptured landscape to one of the volcanic craters - Rano Kau - now a small lake with the remains of a past settlement nearby (they must have been dwarfs as the heights of these houses wasn't very high at all), rock covered in petroglyphs (carvings in the rocks).

After this to another volcano crater but at the end of the day we hadn't seen one moai - where were they all hiding - I imagined they were everywhere - or at least obvious.........must find them soon.....

Hired bicycles day 2 and rode up the coast so the first one we saw was a bit of a disappointment - a small version of what I imagined we would find and others we say were lying down.....

But as we rode up the coast we were not to be disapointed.....with the journey through Rano Ranaku - the quarry site where moais are half in and half out of the ground, some carved but still attached to the rock face and others amazing in their size and facial expressions.......

Every picture tells a story and this picture above represents my redesigned bike seat with padding becasue I was riding on a very rocky road and my chain jumped off the cogs and the bike just stopped and I fell off it and my bottom hit a sharp rock ........needless to say, I couldn't sit comfortably for ages.....but the swim at the beach was amazing after such a ride - all the young people at the hostel couldn't believe I had done the ride as they thought it too hard and long for them.....

Now here are some other general photos from all over the island.

Oh my God - I can't believe I forgot to put in about the cerviche - raw fish cooked in lime or lemon juice with spices and some tomatoes or onion added. Amazing - I had it every night!!!!! So delicious and so good for you!!

Here is one recipe - from the net - I'm sure there are heaps of variations:

For a refreshing snack that will feed six to eight people you will want about a pound of tuna or other fish filleted and deboned. You will need a couple of large tomatoes, several limes or a couple bottles of lime concentrate, an onion, and several chili peppers. If you are averse to really spicy foods you can substitute less spicy peppers.

The first thing you do is cut the meat into small fingertip sized chunks and place in a large bowl with a lid so you can shake the mixture up easily later. After you have the meat cut up pour just enough lime juice over it to cover the meat thoroughly, shake it up and put it to the side.

Next cut up your tomatoes into small chunks and scrape them into the mixture, then your onions and peppers and so on. Be sure to cut the peppers extra small.

If you like a little more seasoned taste you can sprinkle a little of your favorite spice on it although most people prefer to eat it as is.

Let the mixture chill in the refrigerator or on ice for at least one hour then serve with tortilla chips or crackers washed down with a good cold beer or glass of delicious white wine!!!!

Ashram - Vallee de Sagrado

Well......it's funny how things work out....a Cuzcenian friend told me that one of her friends runs an Ashram near Calca in the Sacred Valley and they were having a 4 day retreat and did I want to go?

Did I want to go????  She doesn't know me that well......of course I wanted to go.....when did I ever say no to a great experience....

Well last Thursday I went in the afternoon and the evening started with an introductory talk - all in Spanish.....I didn't even think of that aspect of it but I could understand a reasonable amount...

People from all over Sth America and Spain.....mostly Mexico and Bolivia...and they are all so friendly and welcoming to me...a few of the younger ones speak english so that is a relief...as my Spanish is limited but I understand more then I can say.....

Each day starts at 6am - 8:30am with either yoga or pilates or just stretching - a great workout and so good for all of us.
Breakfast next is fresh fruitsalad followed by another course - maybe avocado and bread and a cup of hot runny oatmeal (I love this).
Next 9:30am - 2pm another form of yoga or pilates then lunch.
Lunch is also good - 2 courses, soup followed by another vegetarian dish - all very good....then a dessert....
3:30pm - 7pm another discipline then an hour of meditation until dinner.
Dinner at 8pm or 8:30pm is a simple meal of a vegetarian type one pot mix - like a thick soup and a cup of apple juice......then a talk until about 9:30 or 10pm......

The teachers are all wonderful and one of them is so amazing at yoga she is almost double jointed....on the last night they had a entertainment where she and another yoga teacher did a display and it was like something out of this world (it reminded me of the amazing gymnasts in Cirque de Soleil) such control and expertise - it was a priveledge to watch it....I wanted to get my camera but was so transfixed that I could bring myself to leave it so you will just have to believe me.....