N3p3nth3

I just wanted to share an experience with those of you who are interested in meditation and Buddhism in the recovery process. I've long been interested in Buddhist philosophy, and mindfulness has been an important part of my sobriety adventure. A little while back I took part in a Vipassana retreat, which is an intensive 10-day course in insight meditation.

At its core, Vipassana is about liberation from cycles of craving and aversion that bring about unhappiness-- pretty relevant to those of us who have experienced alcohol and other substance issues. There is research showing that Vipassana helps with impulse control and perceived well-being among others. Some of the evening discourses even directly mentioned the usefulness of meditation in alcohol recovery.

For me, the process itself was full of ups and downs, but very rewarding. Before the course, it was hard to imagine meditating for an hour straight, but it got to be pretty easy and I could really feel my mind calming over the 10 days. Afterwards I found myself feeling much more "level" and less bothered by things that used to be triggers for me. I haven't really had any alcohol cravings since the course, and some other unhealthy thought patterns seem to have really subsided. While I had some reservations about how the technique was taught, overall it gave me a great tool that will continue to be an important part of my sobriety.

The courses are intense and not for the faint of heart. You typically wake up before daybreak, maintain complete silence, and meditate for hours on end for ten days straight. You are asked to dedicate yourself to the process 100% and then after the course is over you decide whether it's something you want to keep in your life. It's effectively like being a monk for a period of time.

Vipassana is taught at centers around the world. Most centers you will find use discourses by the teacher SN Goekna and are taught in his style, but there are other Vipassana type courses that may vary a bit in how they are structured. At the Goenka courses, payment is always purely voluntary to make sure it remains uncorrupted. In other words, there is no fee, but you leave a donation according to your ability and desire to pass the experience on to others.

Given how intense the course is, I wouldn't blindly recommend it to anyone. But I would strongly recommend it to anyone who 1) has a strong interest in Buddhist philosophy and desire to learn how to meditate, 2) likes a challenge, and 3) has some sober time already under their belt (I think they actually have their own policies about this).

Just wanted to share a little about my experience, and feel free to ask any questions!

TroyW

Cool story, thanks for sharing. So did you get a robe, with yellow "sash" (ie. for novices), or? I've heard pretty mixed stories about this type of thing. All depends on the temple you end up at I guess, eh? I've heard some stories where the monks were pretty strict and grueling, to the point it's basically straight up physical abuse. On the other hand, I've heard of people having a truly enlightened experience out of it.

I don't think I'm conventional enough to go through something like that. If someone tries telling me what to do, I'll tell them where to go, you know?

ScottFromWI

Sounds very interesting. I would call myself a novice at meditation but that would be giving myself too much credit! I have heard about these types of retreats before and they sound intense but very fulfilling too.

N3p3nth3

Different people will definitely respond differently, and that's why I say I couldn't recommend it blindly to anyone. The hours of sitting can be very uncomfortable, but part of the process is to detach yourself from physical sensations so that they don't bother you. I can see though that for some people this would seem tantamount to torture!

Similar to what you're saying, I did struggle a bit with all the rules. But as they say often in the course, the idea is just to work with the rules for those ten days. Afterwards, you can take it or leave it. So I did appreciate that.

Also, no robes. You just bring your own comfy clothes

BringingBackB

Thanks for this, very interesting.

I have been delving into refuge recovery, a Buddhist approach to overcoming addiction. It centers on meditation, which although being a definite novice, has so far been quite rewarding for me. The retreat does sound quite intense! But definitely something I would consider in the future.

Glad you enjoyed it

trachemys

Interesting.

I've considered a retreat to the monastery outside of Atlanta. Very similar schedule, it sounds like.

Gilmer

Retreats are wonderful.

I've never been to a Buddhist one, but I've been to Carmelite Catholic retreats. There is a lot of contemplative prayer--not audible prayers, nor a lot of babbling in your head or even making requests; just quieting your soul and being in God's presence with no demands. Just being.

EDIT: Sorry--I didn't intend to hijack the Buddhist thread. My intent was to recommend retreats of all belief systems!

FreeOwl

Thank you for sharing....

I was interested in going on a weekend retreat recently but was concerned about my readiness for the intensity.

I've dabbled in mindfulness and have felt the effectiveness of meditation, but my longest sittings have been about 40 minutes.

Perhaps I should just take the plunge and go for a boot camp.... A total immersion is usually how I do things. I'm sure it would be richly rewarding...

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

TroyW

May I ask, what was the initial reason you went to stay in the temple? Was it for rehab, spirituality, both, or? Reason I ask is because I know there's various temples out there that basically offer rehab services free of charge, and several of them have an extremely good track record.

Were you in for rehab, or simply searching for an enlightening experience? If the former, did they make you drink that black tar-type liquid, which induces strong vomiting to help cleanse your body of toxins? If so, how horrible is that stuff?

ArtFriend

It seems incongruous to label it Buddhist Boot camp! I think of boot camp as it relates to the military. Not exactly calm and serene

FreeOwl

I like the idea actually.

Boot Camp for the Peaceful Warrior....

N3p3nth3

Actually, I'm glad you mention this as a reminder that there are lots of options in the realm of spirituality. It's a matter of finding the best fit. Maybe I should have framed this thread more broadly and asked people to share about their own retreat experiences!

N3p3nth3

Before I did this, I had never sat for more than 30 mins. The first two days were difficult in terms of focusing the mind and getting comfortable, but this improved a lot by the third day. I think it's best to take the plunge so long as you understand what you're getting yourself into.

N3p3nth3

I'm so glad you asked this! For me, this was a spiritual thing and not directly about rehab. I had been interested in learning meditation techniques for a long time. I'm actually starting a new chapter professionally right now, so I felt it would be a great time to focus on balancing out the mind and improving focus. I see any effect in terms of changing habit patterns to be secondary benefits.

As you mentioned, there are some programs that are specifically for rehab. That's not the case with Vipassana, although I think it would be very beneficial for people who are already well on the recovery path.

schnappi99

I've been mixing in some Vipassana sessions in rotation with AA/Alanon and my regular Nicherin buddhism meetings, its nice to get at recovery from a different perspective- keeps me on my toes spiritually and out of a rut. As an example; Its clear to me I have to keep spiritually fit because the crazy is always there ready to trip me up, so I spend a lot of time in "12-Step space" speaker tapes, books, 4th step work, journalling. In the last Vipassana session, one of the exercises was to introduce yourself to the person next to you and spend maybe 3 minutes sharing something important about yourself, then they would reciprocate. The goal being to to share not lecture, any topic, completely off the top of your head. So, out came a nutshell of my recovery story. It showed me that maybe I am making too much of a story out of the recovery work- I don't want to be enslaved by my ego any more, nor to I want to obsess about recovery topics to the point where its all I talk about. My Alanon sponsor is really good at helping me avoid trying to be a recovery hero, I think I'd like to suggest an extension to BillW's proposition "restraint of pen and tongue", maybe make it "restraint of pen and tongue and brain".

N3p3nth3

The thread title was a bit tongue in cheek-- but I meant to emphasize that this particular course is hard work and not exactly a relaxing retreat Of course, there are many paths and this is only one.

Soberwolf

What Scott said

bexxed

I am really, really interested in this.

N3p3nth3

If you're interested in the Vipassana approach that I'm describing (as it's taught by Goenka), here's a list of centers that offer the course. You can also find here more detailed information there about how the courses are structured, etc.

https://www.dhamma.org/en/locations/directory

I'd love to hear from people who have done other courses/retreats that they found useful!

Inchworm

Hi, N3p3. I completed the Vipassana retreat in April. Horrible....and, wonderful!