I heard Osho say that Vipassana is like climbing a mountain.
I was thinking of this as we arrived to the tenth day of our Osho Vipassana in OshoMiasto.
Vipassana is a journey that is not always easy.
Sitting doing nothing, with no input or ‘food’ for the mind, takes courage at times to be able to watch how crazy our minds can be.
The climb had its challenging moments as we found ourselves near an edge at times, but then we enjoyed the views of the mountains and valleys below and the spaciousness that can be found in the breath.
We became more sensitive to the nature around us and seeing the sunshine on the yellow autumn flowers each morning would take my breath away.
A full moon graced our retreat on the fifth day. The sky was clear as a north wind blew all the clouds away.
Miasto is perfect for vipassana retreats as the very trees and wild boar and deer have been witness to so many meditators and celebration. It is thrilling to see ‘Ottavio’ the familiar huge black wild boar crunching walnuts that fall from the tree as he totally ignores us.
It is surprising just how much happens when we do nothing.
Our minds will try all the tricks to take control, from enchanting fantasies, and dreams to old sad stories from the past, and sometimes an event that we had forgotten from the past may surface from the unconscious.
And we watch.
We watch the natural rhythm of the breath and take note when our attention wanders and return to our breath with a loving relaxed awareness.
We were thirty people at the beginning from many countries, though mostly Italy, and as usual our ages ranged from early twenties to mid-seventies.
Some participants were unable to book for ten days so they would leave and after each person left there was a definite feeling of missing their energy; because when we are together in silence, meditating, sitting, and walking together there is an intimacy, unlike any other closeness. We support each other energetically in a silent way.
Today we are all back in our different ‘worlds’, and hopefully one thing will remain for all of us….that experience of relaxing inside while all around us there is movement and change.