Amber Hill

LBST 2101-338
Professor Celia Sinclair
April 14, 2016

The Visitation: Asheville Insight Meditation

I was quite nervous and anxious to experience something so new and different from what
I was used to. However, I was also extremely excited and eager to step out of my comfort zone.
After learning about happiness and the good life in my class this semester I began to think that it
would be the perfect fit for me. I decided that Asheville Insight Meditation was the perfect place
to go. I arrived to the meditation center just outside of downtown Asheville, near the serene Blur
Ridge Parkway. I gathered myself for this new experience and opened the door. I was
overwhelmed with the feeling of peacefulness. The building had been converted to almost have
a homey feel. In the main room I saw the head teacher, Ronya Banks, dais. It had a flower
printed curtain backdrop behind it, cushions, a book, and a Buddha head sitting on a small table
beside it. Nancy Warren was the first to welcome me into the place. I was a little taken back
because she wasnt how I expected her to look. I later learned that this meditation center is
compiled of many volunteers from all backgrounds and all walks of life.
After asking Mrs. Warren about their traditions and how they run things, I was more at
ease and was able to get comfortable. I learned that Insight Meditation has been taught by the
Buddha for over 2600 years. It is simplified to mean moment to moment mindful attention. I
was guided in a sangha, meditation group, to practice various mediation techniques that focus my
attention on things like my breath, thoughts, and feelings while being aware of these experiences.

Sangha is one of three Jewels the Buddha thought central to this practice. AIM (Asheville
Insight Meditation) use this, Sangha, to describe their group of spiritual friends. Everyone at
AIM was calm, peaceful, and relaxed. It felt like I was in such a tranquil environment.
I had told Mrs. Warren that I was from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and
explained the project I was doing for class. She was more than willing to help me through the
experience. She said that she sometimes has students come in from the University of North
Carolina at Asheville and they seem to enjoy the unique experience. From what I had read about
and heard, mediation seemed difficult and I had tried it in my room by myself. Mrs. Warren
assured me that with the right environment and a little guidance from the head teacher, it would
not be too difficult. While I was sitting there with the other people I was taken away by the
calmness that overwhelmed me. In that moment I had obtained full peace within myself.
In Jonathan Haidts book, he mentioned that meditation, Prozac, and cognitive therapy
were ways of achieving happiness. Haidt said Meditation has been shown to make people
calmer From my personal experience, I believe this to be true. Mrs. Warren had also
explained to me that I can perform meditation on my own in the comfort of my own home if I
prefer that. There are many different forms of meditation and they can be achieved in various
ways. In chapter five of Haidts book, The Pursuit of Happiness, he explains how the pursuit of
happiness is often what causes people the most disappointment. Haidt says people today devote
themselves to the pursuit of goals that wont make them happier, in the process neglecting the
sort of inner growth and spiritual development that could bring lasting satisfaction. This quote
really stuck out to me because I feel that meditation is the perfect way to achieve inner growth
and spiritual development.

In the process of this class I learned a great deal about the good life and what truly
makes a person happy in their day to day lives. This experience, with Zen meditation, proved to
me all of the things I had read about in this class. I was able to come full circle with my learning
and my experiences outside of the classroom. I am now a firm believer in meditation to help
achieve my Happiness Hypothesis. It is a way of letting go of the outside world, daily
struggles, and any hardships you might be facing. It is an outlet to let go of the bad and let in the
good. I am now closer to my good life with the help of Jonathan Haidts book, The Happiness
Hypothesis, Nancy Warren and Asheville Insight Meditation, and all the other materials I viewed
in Professor Sinclairs class.

Works Cited
Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis. Great Britain: Basic, 2006. Print.

Word count: 808

Nancy Warren. 175 Weaverville Rd Suite H Asheville, NC 28804.

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