ABOUT

I wasn't one who approached Dharma with a slowly growing curiosity for mindfulness. In fact, there is nothing about mainstream mindfulness that ever felt attractive to me. Nothing about doing yoga poses on the beach, the yummy smoothies, nor the positive thinking had ever sparked any of my interest.

If anything, the advertised lifestyle of mainstream mindfulness had always had the opposite effect on me. It felt more like I was buying into an image rather than the opposite.

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Spirituality, however, had always been something that I felt like I was neglecting and that in a different life would be something I could devote myself entirely to.

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With that said, I probably could have benefitted from making some lifestyle adjustments prior to my first Vipassana retreat. Especially as I decided to jump straight into hardcore practice the second I got back home.

 

The purpose of this blog is to explore and navigate issues that can occur when you, like me, jump into hardcore Dharma practice while still living a very typical modern day Western life. To navigate through the obvious clashes, hence the name of this blog.

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How much of the former me or lifestyle do I need to abandon in order to attain higher states of consciousness? Can I keep my gym membership or do I need to asap enroll in the nearest yoga class? How is the dating game affected by this new perspective and lifestyle?

 

Is it even possible to practice Vipassana and live a typical Western life? Or are the contrasts too stark? Do I need to choose between the two or can I be both?