This course was to me indescribably rich, intense and difficult. I went through varying understandings, feelings, reactions, and grew a great deal in certain directions.
There are many facets to what you go through here. I will limit this post to touching three of the main ones I percieve right now... I'm not sure the effect detailed description would have on someone willing to try the course; it may be most beneficial to simply go in with a strong determination and an open mind - thus the limitation, and if you feel attracted to the idea of the course already, I would simply go without reading further.
So, with the understanding that these facets are what I percieved, and could be argued to be inextricable from each other -
- The Discipline: On this course you're 'made', using a lightly externally enforced *self-discipline* (created by promises, the atmosphere, etc) to follow a pretty extreme daily schedule and discipline - of total silence, a 4am - 9.30pm waking/sleeping timetable, a diet of two meals per day, a ban on any recreation besides walking, and a stringent schedule of 10+ hours of meditation a day.
Following this discipline has many interesting and powerful effects - of a development in discipline, understanding things about yourself, insights brought about from an extreme change in situation and habit (the setup is monastic; to live the life of a monk after coming from the extremes of western society is a very strong jolt).
- The Technique: At the core of the course is a specific technique of meditation, which is very interesting, difficult, sophisticated, and apparently powerful. I think many members of Barbelith would consider it 'bodywork' - I won't go into the specific details of the technique, but it basically consists in hard training of the 'unconscious' not to react to the sensations of the body - i.e. to not react with aversion to pains, itches etc, and not to crave pleasant sensations. This training has many effects, including - apparently - great benefits to everyday life (stability, connection to the world, control, transcendence, etc), and, in my experience, a therapeutic ridding of many unconscious complexes and issues (this is quite a violent/painful process).
The other objective of the technique is to awaken the practitioner to the nature of the reality of hir body - i.e. to become aware of the subtlest level of reality (the molecular level or below).
The Religion: The course claims religious objectivity, a non-sectarianism. To a certain extent this is true, but at the same time it's quite clearly an offshoot of Buddhism. The technique is surrounded by its teachers
with an attachment to the philosophy and theory of Buddhism - they attach the technique, rightly or wrongly, to the Buddhist philosophy and path of life. This philosophy is taught very strongly on the course, and it's not really possible to escape it. This aspect can be very difficult to come to terms with, and could be percieved as the section closest to 'brain washing'; they teach a set of morals and beliefs as the 'true path' to 'real happiness'.
In all, a very intense, difficult experience. I would recommend to perhaps two sorts of people (I guess the features of these types could be combined to produce many sorts):
1), inexperienced people at a juncture in their lives, of doubt, depression, change, etc, who have a strong determination to see the course through for whatever reason.
2), people experienced in spiritual disciplines who want to extend their search and understanding of the spiritual / their body / enlightenment. |
