Vipassana Retreat for a 20 year old?

[Dhruv]

I've been following Leo's content for the last six months and I've been doing meditation but not consistently. I need your opinion on whether to do a Vipassana Retreat now or wait until later when I'm emotionally matured.

Problems I have-

• Denying  negative emotions, feelings since childhood because  once i looked at a friend crying and complaining of how he felt and i thought to myself i don't want to be like this, so i shut myself off of all the emotions I could feel. I conjured up good emotions or thought patterns to mask the bitter emotions of the current reality and this cutting and shaping reality didn't really worked out for me in a good way.
• Low self-esteem- I've been comparing myself with people since adolescence, been thinking lowly of me and not taking care of my needs, desires and not caring about my fulfillment.
• Negative Thinking- I have thought patterns that don't allow me to enjoy the present( for eg. I live in India and we have poor people, infrastructure; basically everything opposite that you see in the States)
• Judging Myself and peolpe constantly
• Lately I've been feeling mechanical and robotic- not feeling my body also my body feels stiff and there's a sort of knot in my chest. I've been feeling detached from reality always hating myself for thinking the thoughts i think. 
• Not thinking or contemplating my life and filling time with addictions
• Denying my true nature and always acting and thinking as though I am being looked at through judging lens of people. Being a people pleaser.
• Asking myself "What's the point anyways?"

I've read posts here on the forum and people have said they feel intense emotions. 

Should I go on a retreat now or postpone it until later when I'm more emotionally developed?

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks!

 

 

[Elisabeth]

Um... Do you DO vipassana? Have you got a habit going? 

IMHO it's foolish to go without learning the technique prior and knowing if it suits - I've made that mistake myself, look up my thread. I handled the retreat just fine, except I left on day two

If you're emotionally inhibited, my research says that you would benefit from dynamic techniques which let you express yourself - osho dynamic meditation would be characteristic, but it's also more simply free dancing, some breathing techniques, bodywork/bioenergetics, artetherapy, some shamanic rituals ... there's a broad range of possibilities. 

But I'm not saying don't do vipassana. Actually, those approaches should complement each other greatly. 

I don't think there's any problem with your age, or maturity, I'm just not sure that a) vipassana is the single most beneficial tool for you, and b) you can handle it just diving in head first (that's what a retreat is). 

Good luck.

[Salvijus]

I did when I was 20. I and didn't practise prior vippassana meditation. And I met some people in there who had never even meditated before coming to vippassana retreat and they completed all 10days.

So go for it and do it faster  you will benefit from it I promise.

[Sage_Elias]

Become more consistent in your meditation practice first (my opinion), then when you have some proficiency in meditation then go to the retreat to strengthen your practice.

Vipassana is Hardcore, so be prepared. 

Also...welcome to the club fellow 20 year older

[mikeyy]

Go on a retreat. It will change your fucking life forever. In those ten days you will get a glimpse of the potential of this work. It will also serve as a motivation to give this path everything you have for the rest of your life. You don't need experience to go on the retreat. Me and my buddies did it with no spiritual background and we could handle it. Just go in with the determination that no matter what happens you will stay the whole time. By the last day you will be a wiser individual with a better perspective on the challenges you face.

[herghly]

14 hours ago, Sage_Elias said:

Become more consistent in your meditation practice first (my opinion), then when you have some proficiency in meditation then go to the retreat to strengthen your practice.

Vipassana is Hardcore, so be prepared. 

Also...welcome to the club fellow 20 year older

I disagree. I spent two years meditating daily until i went on a retreat and i wished i did it earlier. You will learn a lot about your self and meditation (you might be meditating wrong now)!

 

Do it

[Space]

@Dhruv Just go now. Anyone above the age of 18 would be capable of doing it. Bear in mind that if you haven't meditated before it will be a challenge. It's difficult, gruelling and hardwork even for people who have done a lot of meditation. Don't go into it thinking it'll be a breeze, or that you'll get all your shit sorted out in 10 days. But it can be a very productive and rewarding experience. There have been plenty of people in the past who have attended without any experience whatsover and gotten a lot of out of it.

[Dhruv]

@Space @herghly @mikeyy @Sage_Elias @Salvijus @Elisabeth Thanks! 

[Nahm]

@Dhruv For sure do it now. 

[pluto]

Age does not define maturity. Grades do not measure intelligence.

Ect..

[Salih Tugsal]

Hey Dhruv,

Did you end up going to the retreat?

As a 19 year old, I was blessed with the opportunity to take part in this retreat just last month.

Vipassana was a life-changing experience for me and I would strongly recommend that you try it. 

Prior to Vipassana, I was a self-centered, unhappy, judgemental person. Post-retreat, there was nothing left but pure bliss and love for all.

Don't worry thinking you won't be able to handle it out of inexperience. I had never meditated prior to my retreat and that wasn't an issue at all. The reason is, for the first 4 days of the retreat you will practice a technique called Anapana. You are told to watch but not to alter your breath. At first you will only be able to keep your attention for as short as 3 seconds but after 4 days days the duriation will jump to 15-20 mins no joke. I have cried out of joy because after the second day I was no longer overthinking and jumping from one thought to another. The thoughts were still there but less intense and less frequently appearing.

Now that you have the skills needed to keep concentration, you will move on to vipassana this is the real deal. Days 4 and 5 will be mostly learning the technique until day 6 when you start getting real emotional. I remember crying out of sympathy for mistreating my ex-girlfriend and until that point, my ego kept telling me I was the moral superior in the relationship. You start realising, not by thinking, but by experiencing some bare truths of existance. Like how everything is changing and how all is one. Coming to this realization makes one feel like their own leg was broken all throughout their life yet they walked with it without knowing about it. Every day in pain. Every step in pain... Up until the pain dissapears. 

All suffering gone, what remains is love for all beings, big-small, enemy-friend, old-young you name it.

Some other benefits were I was able to think more objectively. I was brave. My social anxiety was gone. I was able to connect with anyone old or young, stranger or friend, male or female. I became more aware in all areas of life. I felt free and was able to surrender myself to the wave of life instead of fighting it. I felt aware of nature's laws and the flow. And so many other benefits that will take hours to list.

My advice for the retreat would be:

*Follow the rules exaclty, do not add or subtract anything. DO NOT EVER COUNT MANTRAS.

*If you have any questions at all, ask your teacher. Being confident in the teaching will make it so much easier for you to meditate. Your teacher is there to help, which he does 100% out of pure love.

*If you absolutely need time to take a nap, do so in one of the non-group sitting sessions. Do not feel pressured to come to every seassion to the point where it is torture. Every seassion counts however, and you will only get out what you put in.

*Organize your daily schedule beforehand so that you have enough time to shower and catch up on sleep if needed.

*Practice Dhamma fully when in the retreat. It is impossible to experience the full benefits of the course if you think you are above Dhamma. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not go out of course boundries (even if by one inch to sit on a rock or something). Those rules are all there for very good reasons, some of which you'll understand right away and some you'll grasp later.

 

Be aware:

*You will become hyper-sensitive in all bodily senses and also on the mind. Reasons of crying can be from but not be limited to: overwhelm, guilt, freedom, joy, thankfulness.

*If you doubt the technique, you will want to leave. This is when you consult with the teacher about your problem, you will feel much much better. 

*You will most likely have abdominal pain due to sudden physical and dietic changes. They will provide remedies, take them and you will feel fine.

After you come from the retreat, your old problems and other people's eartly problems will all seem silly to you but still do respect them and try not to shove Vipassana down people's throats. This was something that I was guilty of since it was such a life-changing experience for me. Instead, let your actions do the preaching.

I have not kept up the practice so I kind of went back to my old ways. But I'm getting back on track and my baseline is higher than what it was pre-Vipassana so I'm quickly catching up. Once you go on a retreat, you know there's always hope in life. One learns to live not by fear but with a balanced mind.

If you have any questions or concerns I am happy to help!

Love all serve all!