10-days of sitting for meditation, breathing in and out, no spoken word, no connection to the outside world. It was the hardest thing I went through and yet the best investment of my time and energy.

From British Columbia, Canada, I traveled to Northwest Vipassana Center, Dhamma Kuñja, Onalaska, Washington, USA. I heard about Vipassana Meditation after my diagnosis of cancer two years ago. At the time, I was owning and managing a business, doing speaking tours, and had a hurried household life. I thought there’s no way I can spare 10 days for this course.

Time quickly changed. A couple of years later after surgery, being cancer-free, surviving the scars of a broken relationship and going through the process of a deeper internal self-examination, a traveler I met during my South American trip mentioned this Vipassana course. On the quest of calming my mind, body and spirit, I immediately took action and enlisted my self online. After two months in the waiting list, I was informed that a registrant dropped off the last minute and I was in! As a saying goes “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques discovered by Gautama Buddha more than 2500 years ago. Vipassana means seeing things as they really are not how we would like it to be. It is a process of self-purification by self-observation, an ancient path of inner peace through inner wisdom through the power of connecting to our respiration.

As easy as this may sound, it is not. It is hard work and only an individual can make it or break it. Sounds weird? Vipassana allowed me to experience a state where my mind was at its highest lucidity and clarity. I would definitely recommend Vipassana meditation to anyone in the process of self-examination towards living a happy, peaceful, and harmonious lifestyle.

Many considers meditation as a spiritual practice, but it has enormous benefits to our physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Meditation Benefits for Physical Health:

• It lowers oxygen consumption and increases blood flow.
• It decreases muscle tension and relaxes the body.
• It decreases anxiety, pain, and accelerates healing.
• It enhances the immune system which aids in the body’s fight against cancer cells and viruses.
• It increases serotonin production which influences mood and behaviour. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches.

Meditation Benefits for the Mind:

• It allows the mind to focus and have clarity.
• It improves mental strength and concentration.
• Overall, meditation strengthens the mind, it comes under control and is able to provide effective guidance to the physical body to effectively execute all its projects.

Meditation Benefits for the Spirit:

• Meditation helps build self confidence.
• It helps decrease and expel negative thoughts.
• It allows an individual to focus on one’s being and self-value.
• It helps resolve fears, anxieties and mental causes of stress.
• It helps an individual to gain a deeper understanding of one’s identity.

As Vipassana Teacher S.N Goenka shared, “Everyone seeks peace and harmony. From time to time we all experience agitation, irritation, disharmony. And when we suffer from these miseries, we don’t keep them to ourselves; we often distribute them to others as well. Unhappiness permeates the atmosphere around someone who is miserable, and those who come in contact with such person also become affected. Certainly this is not a skillful way to live.”

Words are no measure for the unique experience I had at Vipassana. It was extreme meditation, but one that brought me to a deeper peace, and understanding of myself and spirit.

One thing is clear, I highly recommend that you experience it too!

• For more details about the Vipassana Meditation, visit http://www.dhamma.org.
• Meditation Benefits Reference: http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/meditation/objectives.html

This is one of my favorite stories that I always told my daughters when they were still toddlers. I came across this in my inbox again and felt compelled to share it online. Kudos to whoever wrote this. If anyone knows, let me know so I can give  credit.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of that warm and comforting Oolong tea.You will never look at tea the same way again.

Here goes:

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed Oolong tea. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” “Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the Oolong. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The Oolong tea was unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water

color and taste.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the Oolong tea? The tea actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the tea, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you; to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

May we all be OOLONG TEA !!!!!!!!!

***

And remember those tough times is when you become the strongest deep inside your core. Simply put when there’s a breakdown, there’s a breakthrough.

Want to give a piece of sunshine to others? Pass this article on.