Recently I completed a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat in Sri Lanka based on the teachings of S.N. Goenka. Strangely enough for some, this has been a goal of mine for a long time! After arriving at the centre we all gave in our mobile phones and that was the end of our connection to the outside world for our time there. Every morning we were woken at 4am and then there were 10 hours of sitting meditation throughout the day, interspersed with time for meals, rest and watching