Picasa photos

I'm learning how to use the supposedly user-friendly Picasa software, and of course not finding it very user-friendly at all, because I want it to be simple and it's not. However, I did manage to create some albums, and to publish a small selection of pictures for those who want to see more than those I'm attaching in the blog. I'm only uploading a few, so you don't get bored looking at a hundred photos. Instead, I will try to select a few that I find interesting.

The address is http://picasaweb.google.ca/pbleduc/BuridanSJourney?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyL-ufv__LHdQ#

Yasodhara Ashram

The Yasodhara Ashram was opened in the fifties by Swami Radha, one of the first female Western swamis. It's set on the waterfront on the East side of Lake Kootenay. The site is stunningly beautiful. I decided to visit today with a friend. We left early in the morning, hitchhiked to the ferry, crossed the lake and walked to the ashram. They run many programs during the summer, but their main one is from January to March every year. It is a personal development program based on self-inquiry. When I first arrived to Nelson ten days ago, I met a Danish guy who'd just retruned from there, having taken the course and stayed on for a few extra months to do "karma yoga" (volunteer work). He said the program turned him inside out and he learned more about himself during those three months than in his previous 33 years.

Another interesting tidbit of info that might interest the yogis among you. Apparently, Swami Radha was about 43 when she heard the call to go to India. There she met her guru Swami Sivananda, in Rishikesh. He initiated her in his lineage, against the wishes of his entourage, who didn't want a woman in their ranks. He protected her until he died, after which she was shoved aside, it would seem, and she came back to Canada. By then she had learned what she needed to learn and had also studied under other teachers. There is a strong Tibetan connection at the ashram, prayer flags and vajrayana images everywhere. It would seem Yasodhara yoga combines elements of what Radha learned from Sivananda, but also from other traditions.

Vipassana, part 2

My good friend Seb asked me a few questions about the retreat which made me realize I want to add a few things about the experience. For example, the two attached pictures. The building is the Vipassana Centre just outside Sutton. It is set on top of a hill which overlooks a valley. Beautiful view and very interesting place, because the weather was so changing. I thought this was very fitting, since Buddhism is all about realizing that everything changes and so we have to bend with the wind like a reed.

There were also cabins in the woods, which were used by returning students, whereas the new students like myself lodged in the main building. It seems Blogger's not letting me attach a second pic, if anyone knows how come, please let me know!

Vipassana retreats aim to put students in uncomfortably close proximity with themselves... All distractions are eliminated: no communication with others (either verbal or through eye-contact), no exercise, music, reading, writing, sex, drinking, etc. I think the retreat is designed this way in order to help people be with their minds only. Patterns become more noticeable when you just sit and have no distractions. I noticed that my mind would get in a rut for hours at a time and then move on to another topic or desire. For example, I might spend half a day thinking about what I want to do for the rest of the summer, or about a conflict situation with someone.

The mind wanders a lot and we're told to simply bring it back to the technique every time we notice it's gone off on a tangent. For me it's easy to get frustrated with how fleeting my mind is, but this also is a habit pattern, and something to be acknowledged. It also is impermanent, ie it comes and goes. All thoughts and emotions come and go.

The retreat ended almost two weeks ago already, and although I don't meditate two hours a day, which is what the teacher says we should do, I do sit every day and I find this very grounding. I also notice my thoughts and emotions more throughout the day, and perhaps I'm a little more accepting of them. It's so easy to have cravings and aversions (attachments), but they always come with pain because they keep the reed from bending, and an unbending reed is an unhappy reed! The point is not to want nothing, but to observe your own mind and accept what happens in there, and remind yourself that all the thoughts that come to you are fleeting.

WWOOF

Willing Workers on Organic Farms. This is an international movement whereby anyone, with any background, can stay with an organic farmer and work 5-6 hours a day in exchange for room and board. The WWOOFing website lists farms in practically every country in the world, and many people find this is a very rewarding way of travelling.

When I was planning my summer a few months ago, I found this place on the East side of Lake Kootenay which hosts WWOOFers. It's called Johnson's Landing Retreat Centre, a peaceful place tucked away on a mountain side in the Purcell Mountains, about 2.5 hours from Nelson. I got there last Thursday, a week ago already, and I was blown away by the beauty of the place. This picture was taken just below the Centre, by the lakeside.

It was the last day of a Buddhist retreat, and so there were several guests. The Centre hosts retreats year-round and people come from all over to attend. Buddhism, yoga, taichi, Tantra, etc. The retreat leaders also come from all over. The Centre is remote, and the owners want to be as independent as possible: grow their own food, produce their own electricity. I found this very inspiring and wanted to help out in the garden, and learn a thing or two about organic gardening. Here is a pic of their garden.

Unfortunately, the work conditions didn't suit me, and I left the next day. I was a little disappointed, but I think it was the best thing to do. I have met many WWOOFers who have had excellent experiences, and I was tempted to look for another farm in the area, but decided I'm enjoying my freedom too much right now.

Vipassana

Vipassana is a type of Buddhist meditation that aims to strengthen mental focus and ultimately develop perfect equanimity to everything. Since nothing lasts, getting attached to something – whether it’s a person, an object or a thought – can only bring suffering, because sooner or later it will pass.

I attended a Vipassana retreat in Sutton from July 2 to 11. It was soooo tough! We sat for 12 hours a day on cushions, with legs crossed, and tried to practise the Vipassana technique. What a ride. First there is a lot of physical pain from having no back rest and from sitting with legs crossed for so long. And then there is the constant mental activity, the noise of thoughts that makes it so difficult to focus on a mental exercise for more than a few seconds…

These retreats are silent and designed to put us face to face with ourselves. All distractions are forbidden: exercise, reading, writing, talking (and all forms of communication with others), listening to music, email, etc. There is no escape from ourselves, we have to sit with our minds, and it’s not easy! My mind was constantly resisting, telling me this is too hard, too painful, not a good technique, etc.

So what did I get out of the experience, other than the pride of making it out with both legs intact? A few things, but maybe most importantly a way of dealing with my thoughts, emotions and desires. In meditation, you become aware that nothing lasts, each breath and thought comes and goes. Thoughts come and go, painful and pleasant sensations come and go. It’s good to just sit back and observe. Take an itch, for example. Instead of scratching, watch the itch increase in intensity and then diminish and finally vanish. I've been observing my thoughts and emotions more. If you’re angry, you can express it or suppress it, but the Buddhist way is to observe your anger like you’d watch a wave: it rises and subsides and then it’s gone. The problem with suppressing anger is that it eventually boils over and makes a mess, not to mention the disconnection with ourselves that happens when we don't acknowledge our own emotions; the problem with expression is it feeds immediate gratification and ultimately cuts into us, although it’s aimed outwardly. Observing is a full acknowledgement of emotion and of its temporary nature. It brings you closer to yourself.

I’ll probably have more to add later, but this is what I’m thinking right now.