Meditation in the mountains of Bali.

While attending a farewell do for a friend in Seminyak last night I got to talk to some cool people. One guy told me he works off shore in India doing oil exploration, 6 weeks on, 6 weeks off. That’s a unique lifestyle. Another person I met was an Indonesian lady who had lived in England. She told me about a meditation course she went on in the mountains of Bali. The person who the party was for also had been on the course. She told me that in Baturiti (the market town just before Bedugal in the highlands there is a place where 4 times a year they hold a 7 day intensive meditation course. I’ve always been a little suspect of meditation.

I mean sitting around, bored out of your tree, then proclaiming you feel ‘enlightened’, give me a break. The thing that got me interested was the course itself. For 7 days there is no talking, you eat only twice a day, all veggie food. Rising well before dawn you meditate, listen to some encouraging words from the teacher, finishing at 9pm each night.

My friend said after the 3rd day all he could think of was ‘how the hell can I get out of this place?’ After the week was over though, he felt way better, actually very peaceful. When you arrive they take everything from you (sounds like a Bali taxi driver), cell phones, cameras, books, note pad, wallets etc. All you have is what is locked in your frustrated mind. I reckon it would be fun to do and the next one is on May. Courses are done in other locations too, in English and in Indonesian.