An insight
I was, like many people, shocked at the bitterness with which Michael Costello (former Chief of Staff to Kim Beazley) spoke on AM on Monday morning about Labor's failed campaign.
I've been thinking about it for a couple of days, and I think that he and all the ALP big boys and girls should go on a 10 day silent meditation retreat.
Firstly, because it's an amazing and enriching experience. I've done it twice and highly recommend it. "Vipassana" means "insight" and is associated with the Theravadan school of Buddhism which is prominent in South East Asia, particularly countries like Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The guy I studied with, Dhiravamsa, is Thai. Unlike the famously superstrict Blackheath school (in the Blue Mountains near Sydney), Dhira's approach combines elements of western psychoanalytical theory, qi gong and kundalini yoga with the hours and hours and hours of sitting on a cushion in silence. And at night you get to dance to Bob Marley.
I found that 10 days of silent contemplation really helped me to realise how much of the shit I thought I was mired in was coming out of my own head. Clarity and a little detachment would serve the big ALP dudes well now, I think.
The other reason I think a retreat would be a good idea is the silence part, or to give it it's proper name, "Noble Silence". The reason for silence is to intensify the process. But it also stops a lot of shit that does not need saying out loud, or saying in public.
John Faulkner will be exempted from the retreat, and can go and have a nice rest at the beach instead.
I've been thinking about it for a couple of days, and I think that he and all the ALP big boys and girls should go on a 10 day silent meditation retreat.
Firstly, because it's an amazing and enriching experience. I've done it twice and highly recommend it. "Vipassana" means "insight" and is associated with the Theravadan school of Buddhism which is prominent in South East Asia, particularly countries like Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The guy I studied with, Dhiravamsa, is Thai. Unlike the famously superstrict Blackheath school (in the Blue Mountains near Sydney), Dhira's approach combines elements of western psychoanalytical theory, qi gong and kundalini yoga with the hours and hours and hours of sitting on a cushion in silence. And at night you get to dance to Bob Marley.
I found that 10 days of silent contemplation really helped me to realise how much of the shit I thought I was mired in was coming out of my own head. Clarity and a little detachment would serve the big ALP dudes well now, I think.
The other reason I think a retreat would be a good idea is the silence part, or to give it it's proper name, "Noble Silence". The reason for silence is to intensify the process. But it also stops a lot of shit that does not need saying out loud, or saying in public.
John Faulkner will be exempted from the retreat, and can go and have a nice rest at the beach instead.
posted by Zoe at 8:26 am
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