Nepali Trek
This is for my friends and family to communicate and follow me on this great adventure of mine! It is also a way for all of you to communicate with each other also so post away!!!!!!!!Archive for January, 2009
I am really going this time
I am going to Vipassana tommorrow for reals this time. I found another place though. I think it will be a lot better. It is really close to the Annapurna Mountain range of the Himalayas where I first went trekking. I think it is right on a lake. It will be better because the air will be clean, it is absolutely gorgeous in the Pokhara area and it will be really quiet. The first one I was going to ended up being just right out of the city limits. Not the ideal place to be silent for 10 days. It should be really, really good. I am looking forward to it. It takes about 6 hours to get there on a local bus so I am taking off Jan. 31st. The silent prison starts the 1st and lasts until the 12th. I may stay in Pohkara for a few days afterwards as I know a kid going to college there. We will see? I also have some other things cooking when I get done, but nothing is set yet so I will let you know when things materialize. So wish me luck and hopefully I have the balls to complete it. It’s exciting though because it is so different. If I do decide to become a Jogi after that, grow a huge beard, (even though my beard would consist of a lot of blond long patchy spots) leave all my worldly possessions behind, make a little hut up in the Himalayas somewhere with the Yaks and the temples I’ll send an email first and give my location :-).
I’ll give the Monks a big shout out from Montana!!
Camen
Just a quick update
So, because of festivals this month the date for meditation has moved to Feb. 1st. At that time I will have been here 5 months. I cannot believe it. Also I came down with some pretty bad sickness yesterday, through the night and all day today. Should be better tommorrow. I thought I was over getting sick. Still gotta be careful what I eat. I hope everyone is well and if plans change, which they always do I will keep you updated. I have probably lost some followers because of the excitement level going down and the absence of pictures but hang in there you hard core fans things are a comin!!!!
Camen
Vipassana Meditation
O.k so the power is out 16 hours a day now and I have exactly 28 minutes…Here we go. So my Yoga/meditation training is finished tommorrow and has been a very eye opening experience with only one step of 8 steps being the actual Aasana Yoga itself (stretching the body). The rest is breathing, meditation, social and self responsibilites……. etc. etc. etc. Through the class I met a kid about 7 years younger than me and he told me of a type of meditation a lot of locals use and he said it was free. I told him to take me there. He did and I applied. I passed the screening process and was accepted. They take 50 people per 10 day session. Here it is. I will be completely cut of from the rest of the world from the 16th to the 27th with complete silence the whole time and meditation for 10 hours a day with one hour everyday for instruction by a monk/teacher and also a group question answer session in the hall. I hope my teacher speaks english….if not who cares I mean it’s not like I can talk so Nepalese/English…..what’s the difference right…. I do not know exactly where it is but is in the hills outside Kathmandu in a completely quiet serene place with no interruptions. Vipassana means “to see things as they really are”. It is a logical process of mental purification through self observation. It is one of the most ancient meditation techniques of the Indian subcontinent. It was rediscovered 2500 years ago by Sidhartha Gautam (Buddha) and is the essence of what he practiced and taught during his forty five year ministry. I will supposedly practicing 3 steps of meditation. 1 is abstinence from actions, which cause harm. Second for the first three and a half days we will pratice Anapana meditation, focusing attention on breath. The third is: purifying the mind of underlying negativities. The last six in a half days is the practice of Vipassana, One penetrates one’s entire physical and mental structure witht he clarity of insight. Complete silence is observed for the first nine days. 10th day we resume speaking.
I do not know exactly what they do to you when you fart but I hope it does not involve some sort or caning, stoning or tar/chicken feather treatmentO.k. You have an idea of what I may be going through. I have heard of a lot of peole running off and I can see why with only one meal a day and silent for that long……..holy shit right!!!! I cannot sit and meditate for longer then 20 seconds without squirming around or my mind racing so I may be running real fast with monks galore running after me with brooms (do monks use brooms?) because I broke the code of silence !!!!
Anyway just another experience that is for all religions and no religion is taught there……It will be one helluva time………..damn I kind of want to bale but I am not going to…..I am sticking this one out. I guess if you can get past the first 2 days it gets better and by the end supposedly you are supposed to be able to see a flower bloom……..ha ha ha I know right……..God it’s gonna be good.
I love you all and oh yeah I started taking guitar lessons 2-3 weeks ago 3 days a week and it is going well. Real begginner stuff with 3 other Nepalese kids that keep trying to show me up every classs………especially this one know it all suck up kid named Bishnu……Man I cannot stand that Bishnu!!! but I’ll get em……… Will have to get caught up on the missed lessons when I get back!!! That and when I get back it’s go time I got a lot of work to do over here.
times a runnin out
Blessings and Namascar,
Camen
Nepali Trek 