I went to one of these with a decade of moderate meditation under my belt and just over a year of 'wanting to'. I got extremely sick from a combination of rhin

I went to one of these with a decade of moderate meditation under my belt and just over a year of 'wanting to'. I got extremely sick from a combination of rhinovirus and detox (I had been smoking regularly); and left on the 5th full day. My experiences with meditation had been primarily pleasant. I learned accidentally following rote instructions at 18; and meditated regularly on and off (mostly off as years went by) until I heard about this course (which is free, including room and board), and it took just over a year until I sorted out the opportunity to go. I honestly feel/felt scared/respectful of the whole endeavor. Meditation is what it would be like to learn to breathe underwater, if it were possible. Our bodies know intrinsically we can't breathe water in; so when you are under water you don't breathe. When oxygen levels are high its not really a thought, but even with oxygen levels are low there is an inherent aversion to sucking/breathing in the water. Meditation is like that, in the sense our commitment to sit for ~60 minus (or 10 hours a day) is akin to committing to keep our heads under water. The difference is with meditation, the only thing limiting how long you can sit is your will. By sitting and not reacting to our thoughts we are eventually shown this "layer" where we are unconsciously "holding our breath" in the same way we do when we are under water with high levels of oxygen. Meditation effectively "reduces the oxygen" thereby increasing the signal on the "i need oxygen" circuit, so in the same way that being under water when oxygen is running low, what was previously so subtle as to not be noticed consciously there is now this new, apparent phenomena we can't help but be made aware of. This is the mechanism, in my estimation, that meditation gives its benefit. Essentially the 'secret' learned while meditation is that "you can breathe underwater" and all this aversion you were feeling was a total waste of energy; energy you didn't even now you were expending.