Ten days without talking...

Judith Soal writes for The Guardian about The Vipassana meditation technique...

"Was it possible to survive 10 days of meditating in an Indian retreat without speaking, reading or making eye-contact with fellow guests?

I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in a large hall, surrounded by strangers. Sweat is running down my face, and my thighs are bleating in agony. I'm trying to meditate but my mind keeps calculating how long I've been here (about five hours) and how long there is to go (about another 100).

It is the first day of my silent retreat in Gujarat, India. I am not allowed to talk throughout the 10 days. In fact, I am not allowed to do much at all: I can't make eye contact with my fellow meditators, or read, write, listen to music, exercise or do just about anything except sit here on the floor.

My reasons for signing up suddenly seem very foolish. Rather than it being a spiritual quest or an attempt to resolve deep-seated personal issues, I came here hoping for fireworks of the meditative kind. I have meditated intermittently for years, and I know that it works."

Click here to read more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle