nov 17, 2023

striving for simplicity in life

is much harder than it sounds

adding stuff is the easy part

/ buying, doing, moving /

stripping it away is the challenge

/ not buying, being, sitting /

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Headed into my first Vipassana course tomorrow and have a mix of feelings bubbling up: excited, nervous, open, trusting, ashamed (for pushing other things in life away to do this?) and yes these are straight from the emotions wheel. All I know is this is something I’ve been curious about since first hearing of this program and am honestly in awe of how far I’ve come since starting my meditation journey.

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2019: Closed my eyes for 10 min because Jack told us to at #OneTeam. Found meditative states in long rides and runs, open water swimming

2020 into 2021: Guided meditations through Calm and online. The outdoors helped a lot too. Found meditative states in the feeling of freedom in van life: driving through vast lands, sleeping in parking lots, on farms, under the stars

2022: Began exploring mediative practices in as a way to escape the noise of NY - literally and internally. Major stress and burnout from lifestyle, career and social choices. Various one-off sessions: studying the self online Zen and writing course, meditation seminar, different yoga studios for yoga nidra, restorative yoga, holotropic breathwork. General growing interest in wellness

2023: 200 hour YTT served as an introduction to this entire world of deeper healing modalities. Sabbatical travel year unlocked that free feeling again. Found meditative states through living on the road, traveling through new lands, asanas, pranayama, mindfulness, sound bowl healing and ??