Monthly Archives: June 2012

Schaddel 2012

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Schaddelmühle is where people come to create, it is in the small countryside town of Schaddel. It has pottery and ceramics studios and places to stay.

June 6. Frank Brinkman, had heard about the arts residency being cut short, and invited me to come to Schaddelmuehle sometime. This lovely place is just across the river from Hoeffgen. To get there, I took an early train from Leipzig. Then a taxi brought me to my new home for a few weeks.

I would walk a country lane to the supermarket to get groceries. When I first arrived, I didn’t know about the idyllic lane. I walked beside the motorway to get to the supermarket. It was not a nice experience. I got a lot of sideways looks!

It was a gorgeous place to stay, the swallows dipped and dived in the evenings. It was very quiet and there seemed to be no one else staying whilst I was there. I relished the quiet and all the trees.

Image courtesy of facebook page for Schaddel

As I went there after sitting the ten day silent Vipassana Meditation course, it really helped with the transition. An opportunity to paint and meditate in the countryside and I was very happy to have this time there. It was a valuable time to allow what I had learnt.  We were woken at 4 am every morning on the retreat, and started at 4.30 am.  My body was still on early o clock and so continued early meditations at 5.30 am. It was very quiet and perfect for this time. With a continued practice of three to four meditation hours a day. It was also quite full on though in that my body was still doing some intense healing after the Vipassana. And a whole lot was still being released from my system. I worked on a painting at this time as part of the residency.

Walking around Schaddel…

10 June, there was no internet there in the country. There are lots of cool birds to watch instead. Seeing the biggest slugs and snails I’ve ever encountered. I would also cross over the river to check my emails. On a small boat with the boat guy. A man with a paddle brought you across for a coin. You just have to ring a bell. A day trip to Grimma and a boat trip along the river home. And went to a small festival in the village called Schaddel Fest.

A friend from Leipzig, Patrick, rode his bike out to see me one hot day. He jumped into the river, it seemed like a good idea. It was nice to meet a woman called Cindy there, as she was doing ceramics in the studio. On the 15th of June, I went to Leipzig with Cindy and stayed at her flat for a few nights. Then I came back to the quiet retreat of Schaddel. I was there for the Solstice, enjoying the environs, and working with painting. June 22, again to Leipzig and back to Schaddel for the last two nights.

Leaving at 7 am in the morning, the lovely caretaker dropped me at the train station. He gives me a hug and says please come and stay with us again. I catch a train back to Leipzig, appreciative and grateful for the restorative time there in the German countryside.

Triebel, 2012

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My first Vipassana Retreat

May 23, at 11 am, I carpooled to Dresden. I met with a woman called Kirsten. We were booked to attend a Vipassana Course. She drove us to the Dhamma Dvāra Centre in Triebel. The next day the retreat was to start.

Dhamma Dvāra – (Image courtesy of the internet)

The day before was busy in Leipzig. I packed up the flat and walked things to Bassel’s flat. I helped to clean at Daniela’s. I put in an arts application and cycled between places. I thought that going to the meditation retreat would be a rest. Lie back and listen to dolphin sounds, seems I had that wrong!

Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. The word Vipassana means seeing things as they really are. One begins by observing the natural breath to concentrate the mind. It is a ten day silent retreat. The Courses are very well structured, and being in Germany, even more well structured! You can talk to the assistant manager volunteer whom is there for the women. Men and women are segregated. In the meditation hall, women sit on one side and men on the other. There is about 9 hours a day in meditation.

A Vipassana meditation course is a bit like running a marathon, it aint easy. It certainly is a life changing journey, well it was for me. Phones, keys, wallets, notebooks and pens are handed over on arrival. Put in safe keeping until the end of the course. The second day of the retreat was hard for me. So was the fifth day. Everyone has a different experience.

In the Dhamma hall, (image courtesy of the internet)

I met Mar, we were room ates, in a room of four. And were placed sitting beside each other for ten days. So we spent quite a lot of time together. It was kind of weird to actually speak at the end. I remember one morning, before breakfast we were resting after early meditation, and thinking I had mist breakfast. I sat up and said ‘oh no’ really loudly. Mar looked at me very amused. Meal times were very much looked forward to. Mar is from Georgia, the one in Europe. There are usually many people from many different nations on these courses.

In the food hall one day, I vividly remember looking at her plate with two huge slices of cake. Just a moment before, I had seen the sign that said ‘one piece of cake each’. I nearly burst out laughing, and she too. She gave me a look of pure spirited naughtiness.

Triebel centre, (image courtesy of the internet)

It was amazing how much clears out of the body in such a short space of time. This is something I hadn’t seen coming. There can be lots of trips to the bathroom. Seems I am thin, but it seems we store a lot of stuff! The practise really seems to help, it is like scanning the body with the breath and moving it slowly through. I did feel really good and a lot clearer afterwards. To be honest, when the course finished I felt like I was just getting the hang of it. I almost wanted to keep going!

June 4, with a lift back to Leipzig after the course, to stay with friends at their flat. Coming out of the Vipassana is quite a transition phase.