The Benefits of Vipassana Meditation

To my personal experience as a sensitive person, there are several distinct benefits of Vipassana meditation. In modern society, it is absolutely essential for individuals to create an inner world that is considered to be both quiet and stable.

This form of meditation, which is an effective form of deep and permanent stress relief, was first introduced by individuals that lived during ancient times in India.

Considered to be one of the oldest techniques in India’s history, this form of meditation was rediscovered by the famous Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. This spiritual teacher is most widely known for the teachings that Buddhism was originally found.

He taught that the benefits of Vipassana meditation can include an effective remedy for the universal mental and physical suffering which almost all people seem to experience.

If you have an interest in permanent stress relief techniques, inner peace and rewarding life experiences, it is essential to learn about and practice Vipassana meditation.

Shoving It All Under The Carpet

As educated people, we almost automatically tend to push our conflicting emotions, beliefs and ideas, under the carpet of good manners, into what many refer to as our “Subconscious Mind”.

As a result of this -learned- attitude, most conflicting emotions, beliefs and ideas are not recognized and resolved when they occur but rather pushed under the radar of our more reasonable and cultural part of our consciousness.

This limited part of our total consciousness focus mainly on what we should feel, according to logic and morality. We learn as a little child to identify us exclusively with just this part of our vast total consciousness, thus excluding our own intuition and our direct experience of what really happens, in the present moment.

As a result, most of the troublesome life experiences live on, deep into the mist of our emotional life, where they do influence us continuously, without being recognized as such.

This situation, even on the surface of our mind, impacts negatively the happiness that we can experience throughout life and it has the ability to influence us during our waking hours, as well as at night – when we are resting and dreaming.

When different levels of our consciousness experience on-going conflicts, it has the ability to affect us both physiologically and psychologically, resulting in subjective suffering and even in real sickness.

In order to completely understand the benefits of Vipassana meditation, it is crucial that you understand the fact that “Vipassana” means “Deep Insight”. Vipassana meditation offers not only symptomatic stress relief, that’s just an automatic result of fixing the root cause of the problem.

This meditation technique proves the ability to go deep into all levels of consciousness to get permanently rid of many disguised internal conflicts.

Quiet Observation Resolves Conflicts

With this kind of meditation you are not suppose to blank out your thoughts, because that seems nearly impossible for most of us. You just learn not to identify automatically and completely with your actual mental processes. 

You let them emerge naturally, you observe them from a distance and then you go back to the core of the Vipassana meditation technique, which is explained further on.

In order to experience the full benefits of Vipassana, you must learn to rediscover and focus on your own body sensations in the present moment, without judging the observed phenomena. This is the gateway into exploring our deepest levels of consciousness.

It is not a form of meditation that is designed to add more concepts or to empower the emotional conflicts that are within each of us. Instead, it allows us to view reality as it is, systematically observing each emerging body sensation with the most equanimity.

There lies the magic of spontaneous liberation. In front of systematically observing -quietly and clearly- the reality of your body “as it is”, you will realize from your own direct experience that most of your suffering is added by interpretation and is not an inherent part of reality as you though is was.

You will know that you are experiencing the benefits of Vipassana meditation when you’re your internal conflicts, all translated into body sensations, start to lose their power over your inner self. You will start to notice spontaneous personal transformations occurring that are positive in nature.

A Persistent Effort of 10 Days

In order to truly experience the permanent stress relief and other benefits of Vipassana meditation, it is essential that you engage yourself in at least a ten day course for beginners. The course should be intensive so that you experience the highest level of benefits.

A good Vipassana course allows you to focus entirely on your inner work, while food, schedule and shelter is provided for you. The first 9 days you maintain a “noble peace”, which means no talking, gestures or interpersonal communication, other than to the teacher or course manager, if necessary.

It is important that you remember that engaging in the process of observing your true self on a deep level will require an amount of courage and persistence. It does not mean that you have to analyze mentally the conflicting emotions, memories or feelings as they leave your body. You just let go and observe neutrally the body sensation in that present moment. You will also need to be patient. The key to success rests in your overall persistence.

By the quiet environment and the effective meditation tools of a beginners ten day course, you will gain a tremendous amount of insight, both into your mind, as into a direct and bodily feeling of wisdom. Old pains and blockages seem to resolve, opening your inner world up to more space, peace and balance.

The whole 10 days course takes you deeper, further than what you would experience in your normal life settings, yet it does not disconnect you from the reality of every day life or from the people around you.

The Real Life Follow-Up

It is important to maintain and deepen this newly acquired inner space and the other benefits of Vipassana meditation. To do that is entirely up to you and your effort.

There are numerous longer and shorter follow-up group meditations that are offered at specially designed courses that permit you to focus entirely on the meditation process. These facilities typically include lodging arrangements and meals.

You do not have to be a particular religion to enjoy the benefits of Vipassana meditation. It is open and compatible to any respectful person. Although it emerged from Theravada Buddhist tradition, the core teachings of Vipassana meditation is not a religious doctrine or experience, as such. After the 10-days course, you eventually take from it what is important to you.

If you are interested in eliminating the thoughts, emotions, ideas and beliefs that constantly seem to reduce the amount of success and happiness that you experience in life, then this form of meditation is right for you.

You see there are several benefits of Vipassana meditation and these courses are organized by a multitude of non-related organizations and individuals, in many parts of the world.

If you focus on courses that are taught by S.N. Goenka, you may experience these 10-days retreats, totally free of charge. If, after the initial ten day course, you are satisfied with the results, you may provide a donation to reflect your appreciation. However, this is not an obligation.

The fact that most of the former participants do contribute with an anonymous donation and/or their help seems an indication of their on-going satisfaction. You can find on the Internet more details on how S.N. Goenka organizes Vipassana courses in your area.

And remember: By electing to take a step towards meditation today, you firmly decide to become an even better, more balanced person tomorrow.

Experiencing the benefits of Vipassana meditation, to my experience, is not about organized religion, it is a truly personal and direct experience that can assist you in becoming your personal best, more liberated from inner conflicts.

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