Purification of the Mind

Once I decided I would go to California for the permaculture course, I signed up for a vipassana meditation course as well. This is an idea that had been simmering on the back of my mind for about 9 years, since my second visit to Thailand. So I applied and got in for the 10-day silent meditation course (as thought by Goenka) at the Northern California Vipassana Center in Kelseyville. I knew that I needed to do this, but had no idea of how it was going to be... Here are some of my thoughts for you enlightenment...

December 1st, after having been hanging out with friends in SF for 2 weeks, I took the BART to Oakland to meet my ride to the centre. I new that this was the start a new phase to my life and I felt ready for it. Rich and Lillah had already done one or more courses before (Old Students), Brenda and myself were first timers (New Students). I had an instant connection with those fellow human beings, as we drove though the beautiful Redwood of Northern California it felt like I had know these friend for a long time. This is my favorite felling in the world; instant familiarity with long-term friendship; as I'm sure I will remain connected with these souls for a long time to come.

The Meditation Hall, before the start of the course

Arriving at the centre, I had some time with myself to organize my thoughts and my stuff (as we needed to surrender books and all electronic-communication device, etc). While getting settled in and having a hearty dinner meal, we got to meet fellow students (old and new). That evening in the Meditation Halls the course began. the "Nobel Silence" was in affect, that meant that for the following 9 days we were to abstain from all types of communication with fellow meditator (verbal & physical) and we were in complete segregation between man and women so as to not have any distractions for the mind, enabling us to go inside, deep inside...

The daily schedule resembled a life of a monk; In complete dedication to mastery of the mind and depending on others for basic necessities like food. We would wake up by a gong (a bell) every morning before sunrise, and be expected to meditate for 2 hours before breakfast, they say that the mind works best when the stomach is not too full. Thus this thinking would persist through the day, after each meal there would be a break period of about 1 hour. During the day there were 3 mandatory (1 hour) sits at the Meditation Hall. All other times we could meditate at the hall or in our rooms. Every evening we would watch a discourse by Mr. Goenka. He would elaborate on explaining the technique and soothing our doubts with his delightful approach.

Plenty of time for self refection... If one was able to maintain or slowly gain more focus of the mind, the benefits would start creeping up at a noticeable level. My biggest challenge through out the course was definitely the wandering mind, and the only way to change that was to bring my focus to the awareness of the body every time I caught it wandering into thought.

I must say that there were several instances that I remained focused for an extended period of time, only then I saw the tremendous value and impact that this technique had on my psyche, and now I can see how maintaining a daily meditation practice can be extremely beneficial on the long run.

My favorite tree in the men's walking path

By the 9th day, the last full day of nobel silence, I was starting to have a bit more consistency in maintaing my focus. That day I was able to open a few different processes that had been stored in my body for 10 year, 7 months and 10 days (to be exact). I maintained completed equanimity in my mind as my entire body was shacking and vibrating for over 40 minutes. Like every thing in life; rise... stay for a while... but sooner or later passes away. And so it did and my body became still. Ahhhh... I cannot even describe in words the feeling that came after this... bliss... pure bliss.

The following day was the last day of the course and at 10am we could talk about our experiences with our fellow meditators, if we so desired. The format of this course has been established for thousands of years and it works... I highly recommend it to everyone.

DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to teach or preach the Vipassana Technique to anyone. I'm simply sharing my wonderful experience and highly encouraging other to discover themselves by taking one of these course. The are 100% free (food & lodging) you may give a donation if you feel so inclined at the end of the course... Please visit their home page and look for a centre nearest you! www.Dhamma.org

Enjoy the photos and videos on my flickr page (click here)

What is Permaculture?

After biking for two days (Toronto, ON to Buffalo, NY) I put my bike on a train and 3 days later arrived in San Francisco, CA. This was the cheapest, and least environmentally harmful way to travel long distances in a short amount of time. I guess the best time to start changing our habits in favor of the earth is now...

Here In San Francisco the Mecca of the Critical Mass. My adventure had to start by partaking in the world first and probably largest of critical masses. On the 29 of october, around 2000 cyclist took their bikes to the streets to celebrate the bicycle and community... It was an awesome way to get introduced to the city!

I came to San Francisco to take a 16 day course on Permaculture Design... What is that?

Well, in simple terms (I like to keep things simple, realistic and to the point), It is a way of living with these simple values:

1. Care for the Earth,

2. Care for People,

3. Share the Surplus.

Permaculture design can be applied to many aspects of live. Social, by working together with people to strengthen our communities. Environmentally, building sustainable human settlements that are off-grid and in tune with the eco-system. Agriculturally, with the knowledge that nature is able to take care and re-store it self if we stop getting in the way, there are ways for us the farm harmoniously for nature on our side.

Larry Korn, our main teacher, not only taught us about permaculture, but also had direct experience to share about Masanobu Fukuoka. He was a Japanese farmer and philosopher that did "natural farming" and had amazing results. check out the video below:

Narrated by Larry Korn

I recommend a permaculture design course (PDC) to anyone who has any interest in sustainability and our future, to seek out and take a PDC in their region... It is an excellent way to begging change for the good of everyone and our home planet!

Important Links:

www.permaculture.org ,

www.larrykorn.net ,

www.onestrawrevolution.net ,

www.hayesvalleyfarm.com

With this new training, I plan to work at a few different farms in and around california for a few months so that I may get more hands on experience before going back home.

Summary of 1.5 years

It has been a great while since my last post. Much has happened, in physical, mental and emotional realms. I´ll try to make an effective but short summary of the highlights, so that I can start writing again, fresh...

Something I did not mention in my last post was the fact that Honduras had the military coupe in Tegucigalpa only 35 hours after my arrival in Toronto in late June 2009. I was shocked to see how important it is to listen and follow our intuitive process everytime it comes. What could have happened to me had I stayed down there we will never know, though I´m glad I was not there to find out. With this major event as the reason for the unexpected end, I was able to put the Infinity Cycle project in the archive and cherish it for what it was (and not to crave for what it could have been). The life lessons I learned from it are still very valuable on my day to day and beyond.

The 2 months I stayed in Toronto, Canada (July and August 2009) felt very much like a pitstop, in the middle of two trips. I was never really able to fully absorb, as there were plans being plotted in back stage of my mind. Also the fact that the dicission to return home was so abrupt that no one new how to react to me. I include myself in this statement.

Dazed and confused in Toronto, Summer 2009

Since that summer I have lived many enriching, difficult and life changing situations. I lived in Brazil for six months (Sept 2009 to March 2010). Three of them in São Paulo, in this time many experiences and emotions revealed themselves to me as I took percussion lesson with Eder "O" Rocha, and biked around the street of Sao Paulo. Unfortunately I started taking steps backwards in my relationship with Luiza, eventually leading up to a conclusion of being apart. As hard as it was for both of us, I think It was the best choice on the long run.

In the begging of this year I had the pleasure of being in Recife and Olinda during the 2010 carnival. It was truly an experience of a life time. Unfortunately my camera got stolen and I lost all of my photo/videos of the trip... Such as life, sometime you win sometime you lose. The picture bellow was taken by my friend Ian.

here I was climbing the sugar loaf in Rio de Janeiro

After my return to Toronto in March 2010, where I resided until the end of October 2010, I was living and working on some renovations as well as playing music. Through out the summer some new possibilities started being revealed to me. My mother, Heloisa, talked about doing a Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) course in San Francisco, CA. The idea started developing in my mind and I saw a great opportunity to go on another trip on the pacific coast.

Under the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco, CA

I'm now on the west coast and will start blogging with more frequency about my experiences on the road and in my heart...

Stay Tuned...

Enjoy the photos and videos on my flickr page (click here)