I realize this sounds funny, but sitting around for ten days is really hard!  The ten days of my recent course were some of the longest days of my life, proving to be one of the most challenging, but also most rewarding, experiences I’ve had.

At first glance a ten-day meditation retreat sounds like a nice and relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of life. After a few strictly scheduled days which consist of waking up at four in the morning, a total of eleven hours of meditation with just enough time in between sessions to eat, rest, and poop, and zero communication with the dozens of other students around you, you quickly realize that there’s a lot more to this than just sitting around.

As with any “spiritual” or “new age” process, with Vipassana you’ll encounter a wide variety of followers. This includes people who insist they feel the “vibrations of the universe” and swear by the healing frequencies of crystals and reiki. It also includes those who regularly commune with some form of a “creator” and are sure that, once their bodies cease to function, their “souls” will leave this “plane” and go … somewhere else. You’ll be surprised, though, that it also includes people who are scientifically minded, logical thinkers who “need to see it to believe it”. I consider myself to be in this last group, although I pass no judgment to all the other crazies. Although the core teachings of the technique are in line with those of old-school Buddhism, the beauty of Vipassana is that it’s compatible with any other belief system and doesn’t require things like blind faith or voodoo magic. Real people give it a try and real people find it beneficial, quite often even going back for more. 

My recent course near Merritt, B.C. was my second ten-day course, my first one being about six years ago near Oakville, Ontario. To be honest, I’d forgotten how difficult the course is, which is just as well since it made it easier to convince Chelsea to give it a try. There are Vipassana centers located all over the world, and although there are shorter one- or three-day courses offered to experienced students (as well as longer courses of 20, 30, 45, or even 60 days!), the only way to get introduced to the technique is to sit the full ten days – no shortcuts!

I can’t think of a single person in my life that wouldn’t benefit from attending a Vipassana course, assuming they’re able to sit still long enough to give it a fair chance. I’m not saying that everyone who takes a course will want to dive full-on into the Vipassana technique and dedicate the rest of their lives to meditation (I most certainly don’t), just that there are clear and concrete benefits to giving it a chance.

In this post I’ll go over some of the basic ideas of the technique and describe some of my personal experiences with it. If you’re already planning on sitting a ten-day course then I urge you to skip straight to the “things to know before your ten-day sit” section near the end – you’re probably better of going into it without too many preconceptions.

So off we went to Nelson BC to start a new adventure.  We spent the first night camped out at Cottonwood Lake since we hadn't been very good at keeping in touch with the farms or couchsurfer hosts that we had contacted prior to arriving - normally they like to have a few days notice but our plans changed too often to stick to one.  It was nice though, a peaceful little lake with some picnic tables.  There were a few groups of people enjoying the sunny day who were all very interested in chatting with us.  The next day we found a place with internet and noticed that we got a response from someone who could host us that night in her spare bedroom.  We were so happy to meet Gabrielle who cooked us up a delicious dinner and told us about the many hiking trails around Nelson.  We were expecting to stay for only a day or two before heading out to Chuckleberry Farm to volunteer for a week or two before my yoga course started, but in the morning Gabrielle informed us that there was a family emergency and she had to take off for a few days.  Unfortunate news, but we were very happy to stick around and look after her beautiful little place while she was away.

Before Gabrielle left she put us in contact with her daughter, Vida, and a friend who couch sat with her a year earlier, Peter, who is also a mechanical engineer and now lives in Nelson.  After meeting Peter a few times Peter mentioned that he had just bought a house and would be moving in soon.  He hinted that it had two extra bedrooms and we took the bait, agreeing that after our time at Chuckleberry Farm we would stay in Nelson with him during the yoga course.  It was so funny because we had been getting a little worried that we hadn't planned enough for this trip but suddenly, things were falling into place.  Gabrielle's neighbours even invited us over for a very lovely potlach Thanksgiving dinner.  Nelson was slowly but surely taking us in. 

Since being back in Canada our adventures have not ended.  Admittedly, we haven't been taking as many photos or writing as many blog posts, but there are still a few things we want to share.  It has been amazing to spend so much time with family while we continue to explore new corners of the world - the ones right next door from home.

After our Yukon time we bought a Nissan Cube (long story) and drove down to Vancouver to meet up with Kim, Nate and Harrison!  The drive down was quiet and lovely.  We stopped at the Liard Hot Springs for a night to soak up the volcanic waters.  The fall colours were intense and we were lucky enough to spot a moose in the swamp beside the board walk to the hot spring.  Please enjoy a few photos from the rest of our drive.

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We spent last weekend with the family enjoying the Atlin Arts & Music Festival in Atlin, BC.  Nicknamed "Switzerland of the North", Atlin was the perfect backdrop for a music fest, with gorgeous lake and mountain scenery and a perfect small-town feel.  Even the performers were genuinely taken aback by the magic of the place; Hawksley Workman probably put it best when he simply said, "oh, those mountains there ... they're actually an island."

With my parents (Mandrew's) visiting for the next couple weeks, the weekend was a great introduction to the beautiful scenery and friendly feel of the area.  It was also a good primer to get their bodies into the routine of daily drunkenness.  

Chelsea, Shawn, and I volunteered as daytime "security" for the festival, giving us free admission and a couple excellent meals backstage with the crew and artists.  For a couple of six hour shifts, the three of us were in charge of controlling access to the backstage area.  This was, of course, extremely difficult work - both Chelsea and I had to assert our authority once or twice to keep the odd toddler from sneaking a peek behind the curtain.  =P

Most of the performers were new to us, which was nice since we got to discover some new favourite bands.  Chelsea fell in love with the closing band "The Boom Booms" and we both really enjoyed the mellow tunes spewed out by Harry Manx.  On Sunday morning, we all went for a nice hike in the nearby mountains and enjoyed the view before heading back to Whitehorse to get ready for our Alaskan adventure.

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