From Eric and Heather:
We made it! Heather and I just came out of our 11 day meditation course. It was a wonderfully liberating experience. Meditating 10 hours a day for a beginner was very difficult, but we were determined to finish and did. I kept a secret diary (we weren't suppose to write, but it was the only think that kept me from pulling out what little hair I have) so you will have to read about the details in the blog (which will probably be posted next year some time). The course opened our eyes to many truths and many new avenues to explore in our mind, in our bodies, in our life. It was soooo relaxing, something we both really needed at the time. We feel totally different after coming out of the retreat.
Heather had a nice birthday, as this was the first day that we were permitted to speak. On day 10 the noble silence was over. We sat and talked for hours. there were soooo many things to discuss....what we were thinking....going through...ideas...revelations....the woman in the front row who had a chronic groggily belching problem...the 50 other people that proudly kept forcing out their farts...the thunderstorm that nearly frightened heather all the way to my room one night (VERY against the rules)...the invigorating energy after each session....it was endless. Not speaking to anyone for 10 days was so surprisingly a delight. trying not to make eye contact with heather was very harder. men and women had completely separate entrances to the meditation hall, had separate dinning rooms, and the sleeping areas were on completely opposite sides of the campus.
Going from a calm, zen-like atmosphere to a crazy city of 2.5 million people crisscrossing their way around the crowed honking streets was such a shock. We actually ended up finding a great place to volunteer for the next week or so. It is a organization that brings in street children and gives them education, food, and sleeping accommodations. The main thing about the org is that they teach the kids jewelry making skills. they sell their very nicely crafted rings, necklaces, bracelets, bags, cell phone purses, etc and 95 percent of all the income goes back to the kids. That's an impressive number, especially since it's not based on profits, which is what most other orgs do. their website is http://www.i-indiaonline.com/prog_ladli.htm
okay, I have loads of emails to reply to. enjoy the pics. sorry, non of heather b/c we weren't allowed to take pics during the retreat. I snuck these in on the last day when it was permitted.
-eric and heather
