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December 2023 by Devender Babu
Excellent Vipassana, amazing teachers, wonderful ambiance, classmate students willing to work hard. Men and women segregated during meditation, dining area and sleeping cabins. 10-day noble silence, not even non-verbal communication. And it is free, paid by previous students. This is a great gift.
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December 2023 by M G
I’ve submitted my application since last two years and it has never been approved . Always on waitlists and I got tired of it so I decided to submit it to Texas .. upon asking the kellysivlle center why they cancelled my application they mentioned because I submitted my application to Texas . I really wanted to do this program but I think the American Buddhist center is much more punishing than anywhere in the world .. I never thought this place would be so discriminative to people who want to just become better person
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September 2023 by Pavan
A special place on planet earth... Lovely center in N California.Sign up to sit or serve and discover for yourself. ??
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September 2023 by Nick Hytinen
Beautiful location! Wonderful center for Vipassana :) This meditation technique changed my life
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January 2023 by Pablo De Bartolo
The best place on the world
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January 2023 by Erin K.S.R (EK)
If you feel pulled to go here, I highly recommend it.
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January 2023 by Shishir Agarwal
If you want to start on a meditation journey, this is a good way to jump-start. The 10-day course was a wonderful way to learn the technique and first-hand experience the benefits. You literally have to experience it to believe it.
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August 2022 by Pasquale G.
They say that the Vipassana is no conflict with any religions, and it is true. The basic fact of suffering is for all humans, and this technique is very good for concentrating your mind. Many early Christian mystic knew also this. The mind can create your world. I want to say now that I am no perfect meditator or Buddhist. I am mixed up person still, but I try. Look at my other reviews, sometimes I am crazy. Just joking.A 10-day is not a joke, however. Each time I am thinking, "oh boy, what the **** have I done" at the beginning. Eventually I stop struggle so much. But by the end my mind is pretty mangle, it cannot be helped. You know burrata the cheese? It is like that. Mind is deep and wild and out of our controls most the time.The only problem last time was my brother pick me up (at the end) and he has been smoking cigarettes. I was so sensitive at this point he smelled like a terrible ashtray. I started to cry because why would he hurt himself with the smoking. But he's my brother, and I was so happy to see him. By the way he thinks I am crazy for doing these retreats. What can you say? Maybe I am. But maybe not.So, if you feel brave, want to really know your body-mind, give the course a try.Bonus tip: Don't let your grumpy mind make big deal of everything. You will feel irritations sometimes, you will feel strong surge of emotions, and body gets cranky also. Wear it all lose like a hoody, relax. Just do the practice, with just enough efforts. Like piano string: not too tight not too lose. Be soft and also firm with yourself, like with a little child. You will see so clear the world of anger and reactivity when you leave. When you bring instead sanity to the world, it shine into everyone's heart.
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January 2022 by Art Hampton
The place doesn't matter, as long as it is safe and quiet. It is.
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January 2022 by Shankar Naru
Excellent place to learn and practice Vipassana meditation!
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January 2022 by Aashish Shrestha
Such an amazing space with people striving towards everyone's well-being. I consider myself blessed to have been able to attend a 10 day Vipasana Course here. Words can never be enough to thank for the existence of such an amazing place. I miss the vibration and the ambiance. I will be back soon.
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February 2021 by Ian Michael M.
The Northern California Vipassana center is beautifully located in Kelseyville about 45 minutes outside of the wine country of Napa Valley and only 25 minutes from Yosemite's west park entrance. I recently had the opportunity to donate my time and be in service for their 10 day silent mediation retreat. They put me up in a small bedroom accommodation with a bathroom just outside and I was just around the corner from the kitchen, making it easy to come back and rest on breaks.I spent 10 days working in the kitchen with a few other "old students" who were donating their time as well. You must sit at least one 10 day course to be considered "old student" for this rewarding role of being in service for the new students. As a server donating your time, you get to meditate with the students 3 hours per day and you have flexibility to talk when the students aren't present. We would meet each morning and ensured the students had fresh hot meals and everything they needed and we also prepped vegetables and various other ingredients for the lunches with the guidance of the kitchen course manager. The meals are all vegetarian based and in my opinion were all very good, but my favorite was the tofu steaks with steamed kale, it's pretty epic!It was a very rich experience overall and I high recommend at least one 10 day course.
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January 2021 by Metta J
Pay only what you can to do residential mediation retreats.Truly what the Buddha intended.Get in some serious spiritual healing if you want to speed up your recovery. The 10 day mediation is intense but totally worth it. Just hang through the first few days which can be there hardest especially if you are a first timer. Then your body settles in.Once you finish one 10 day retreat, you become eligible for the 3 day retreats.
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January 2021 by Elizabeth Jennings
Vipassana retreats have been the most profound experiences of my life. The forest here in spring is a welcoming container for such deep inner work.
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January 2020 by Gretchen Eidson
I served a course here and had the most excellent experience with the staff and the other servers.
