Istanbul Toastmasters speech #3 / Vipassana : To See Things As They Are

Good Evening toastmasters and guests. I would like tell you about a meditation course that I attended a few months ago. I have allways been interested in meditation because of its benefits.
Some time ago while searching on the net about meditation, I learned about Vipassana meditation.

Vipassana is a meditation technique developed by Buddha and is being thought in 10 day residential courses all over the world. These courses are free of charge and organised by the donations of old students.

Couple of months ago I had the time and chance to attend one of the courses. To be able to attend the course you must admit to obey the course rules. Rules are a bit strict, you are not allowed to use cell phones, watch tv, read or write, talking to the other participants, even eye contact is forbidden. You should also get ready for eating less food than usual for example our diner was an apple and a cup of tea.

On the first days of the course we learned a meditation named anapana which is done by focusing the attention on the breath. This helps calming and focusing the mind so that you get ready for the vipassana meditation. First days are a bit hard, we were getting up at 4 am in the morning and doing about 10 hours of meditation everyday, body is not used to sitting for hours and I remember having unbearable pain my back and legs. I even cried once becouse of pain. Many people quit the course on the first days.

On the forth day we started doing the vipassana meditation. It is done by keeping your attention focused on the sensations on your body. You start scaning all your body from top to bottom continuously and sensations start arising. Wheather pleasant or unpleasant, all you have to do is just observing without reacting. After starting doing the meditation, some gross sensations started arising on my body. I started feeling a pressure like sensation on my upper body. My shoulders, my neck was so tense and there was a very unpleasent sensation of pressure on my head and shoulders.
In my mind I was trying to figure out what kind of an experience this was. Than I thought this could be the moment of birth, I was like trying to get borrn.
I couln’t get rid of these unpleasant sensations for about 3 days. I was struggling and trying to keep doing the technique persistently. Finally my fingers started moving unintentionaly I started feeling a cool, wind like sensation in my fingers and arms and all those unpleasant feelings disappeared. It was gone, after three days of hard work it was gone, I had released my birth trauma.

This technique was emazing, it gives you the opportinuty to dive into your own subconscious in a very safe and effective way. You can clear subconscious blockages with this technique. It also helps you observe the connection between mind, emotions and body. All physical sensations, pain and diseases have mental roots and with this technique, your mind gains control over your body.

At the end of the course, I called my mum and asked about my birth. She said, You were a 4.2 kg baby, it took 3 days in the hospital and I had a very difficult time giving birth to you, I said I had a difficult time too. Oh my god, although my mind didn’t have the visual and audial faculties to record this experience, my body had recorded and these unpleasant sensations were trapped in my body during years.
I recommend all of you to attend one of the courses some time. If you are looking for some answers you will find them.

I want to finish my speech with Buddhas words.

After doing years of meditation and getting enlightened his first words were : “May all beings be happy” .

“May all of you be happy”

Thank you.