Whew, I'm not sure what I am more exhausted from... the half day traveling on a hot, dusty bus, the +40c days or the effort it takes to be really, really, I mean Noble-ly, silent. And I do mean noble with a capital "n"... no talking, no making eye contact, hand gestures, writing notes. No communication with the outside world, no reading, no writing, so outside food... pretty much no anything that could serve as a distraction from focusing the mind and body on vipassana meditation. Sitting meditation... for hours... and hours... and hours; sometimes without opening arms, legs or eyes for an hour at a time. Sound grueling? At times it was... the discomfort in my upper back from an entire career at a desk, agony in my hips, the numbness in my feet... The
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