Once again I’ve left such a huge gap between now and my last post. So much has happened..
I’m gonna keep myself free to just write about what I feel truly matters at this moment in time..
On 29th of march I went for a 10 day Vipassana meditation course. 10 days in silence, without almost any distraction, and learning how to meditate for around 10 hours a day.
That was intense. Life changing.
I’ve been meditating 2 hours a day since I came out from the course and I feel that something in me has massively changed and in a very fundamental level.
I am also still taking a selection of the Bach flower remedies (have I told I’ve done a level one course about the remedies?!).. big changes, massive healing…
At the moment (for a few weeks already) my progressed moon is transiting my natal Neptune and I consciously chose this period to learn how to meditate. Although I’ve practiced yoga consistently for a year, meditating has always been a real struggle.
I guess this is the reality for many of us living in an overly stimulating world. Our minds just go wild and we don’t seem to have any control over it.
Transiting Saturn is also crossing over (more precisely about to cross over) my natal Neptune. Good time for getting serious about spirituality, good time for developing discipline and consistency in my spiritual practice.
This is the way I’ve been using my knowledge in astrology. And it seems to work..
Finding creative ways of working with the symbolism, brainstorming what could be the best potential for those flavours..
Aiming higher..
(I still haven’t bought myself a laptop so will stop here, for writing in a small tablet is tiring..)
So good to hear from you again! I agree; meditating for any length of time has been a struggle for me as well. There are just so many distractions. I do two short ones every day but as you said, aim higher! 🙂
Is good to be back! I’m planning to finally get myself a new laptop in may. Really looking forward to it and being able to write more here! Well done you, even a short meditation every day is already great. ♡♡♡
Bravo!
Thank you!♡
Ditto on Vipassana’s effect. Didn’t consciously plan 10-day Vipassana course last year around astrology, but just realised progressed moon was transiting Uranus during that period
Amazing! That’s great symbolism too. Did you have many insights? How was the retreat for you?
Yea, still remember how I was feeling so doomed on the first day morning session of ‘Strong Determination Sitting’ – having never sat still in one single posture for more than 10mins before – but after beating own expectation, sitting through 1 hour in meditation (experiencing physical pain peaked in body then plateaued, before becoming tolerant to the pain), this can be said to be a major insight, that the feeling of pain is subjective and the experience of bodily pain can be altered in consciousness. Imagine if we manage to do the same to our emotional and spiritual pain, how much our heart could stay tender and mind stay open as life unfolds itself
Yes exactly! This technique blew my mind up, the idea that we don’t need to create stories in our minds after every pleasant or unpleasant sensation that we experience is incredibly enlightening! ♡♡♡♡
10 hours a day….that would be like giving up this modern world just to live off the land in some Tibetan monk retreat. It’s hard to imagine giving that much time to silence and meditation (no music, even?) for more than a day.
And, if you don’t mind, maybe write a piece on these Bach flower remedies? Otherwise, I’ll just have to look into it myself when I make the time.
I wonder if I would magically feel better psychologically and find some vital new grip on my life if I settled my frantic brain long enough for such meditation. I tend to prefer or veer into “active meditation” which consists basically of daydreaming or getting lost in thought during other activities. Apparently, that distraction is also a form of meditation I’ve been doing unconsciously. Even if the boss does not approve. 😛
Yes, taking that amount of time and removing every outside distraction is pretty challenging, but truly rewarding. I think that if I didn’t do it I would never bring myself to sitting still for an hour, and consequently would never experience the breakthroughs that you can have by doing that. Though 3 years ago I kept saying that I would never do a Vipassana retreat, that it was too much and that I didn’t need. (I was and smoker back then and don’t think that I was ready to do it!). So I guess that timing is and so very important when you make the decision to do something like that.
And yes for sure I can write some more on flower remedies, I’m getting a laptop probably next week and writing will become much more pleasurable again for me (and I’m in love with the flower remedies system at the moment!)
Thanks for reading!
Not to mention, if I went somewhere and was told I’d be alone in total silence–or just alone–for ten hours without anything to occupy my mind but my thoughts, I might have a small panic attack. I’d equate it to maybe diving into an icy lake and staying more than a few seconds.
It does sound like one of those life challenges you take on to test your metal, like skydiving or marathon running.
I can do an hour in my sleep. 😛 Actually, I can do eight. ha
Ah, so you recently gave up smoking? That ought to free up some brain cells for breakthroughs, too, scary as they may be.
Welcome.
Yes, I’ve quit smoking during the second square from transiting Pluto to my natal moon in January 2016 while I was in Thailand doing a yoga course and purging a lot! 🙂 yes, I don’t think I would have been able to do this meditation course a few years ago, I think that the right timing is very important. And yes, you do have “mini panic attacks” while sitting for an hour without being able to move in a hall full of people. But the breakthrough happens in that way, when you realise the truth about the connection between your thoughts and your body through experience rather than intellectually. . It is an amazing realisation… 🙂
Okay, since I don’t have a calendar that shows squares and heavenly bodies, I haven’t a clue what that transiting natal square business is all about. I have inklings of ideas from paging through astrology books, but not enough info to picture the whole. So.
Ooh, you were in Thailand…sigh. I have been wanting to go for some time. I just don’t want to go alone.
Sounds like your whole life is free to give yourself therapy. Talk about a lap of luxury.
I wonder what you have to purge when life seems like one long retreat.
Oh, no, like I said, I can sit for an hour or two if I know what I am doing and accept it. I can sit quietly with a book or artwork, so one or two hours isn’t much. But, six to ten hours might freak me out. Now, if I was able to sit that long next to someone I trusted and/or loved, it might be a stimulating challenge for us both. 🙂 Kind of like that kissing through paper exercise.
I suppose you could say the same realization would occur when you cease eating for 10 hours and taste every nook of your mouth and esophagus.
Good for you, Fernanda! Ideally, we should be able to look at our transits and progressions, using them as a guide. You are reaping positive benefits from doing this. It’s not always easy – or possible – (as I know only too well) to align our actions with what the planets are suggesting or demanding of us. Keep going…
Thank you Anne! Much love to you ♡