<p><strong>Hiii friends, it’s Estefi — and today Meijun and I are taking you back to the quietest part of our 10-year trip: an 11-day silent meditation retreat.</strong> Yep, no phones, no journaling, no makeup, no music… and no talking. We went full monk mode in Chiang Mai, Thailand at Wat Ram Poeng— and let’s just say we learned a lot about ourselves (and each other).</p><p><strong>So what is Vipassana, anyway?</strong>Vipassana means “clear seeing” — it’s an ancient form of meditation where you focus on your breath and your body, moment by moment, without reacting. Wat Ram Poeng, the temple we stayed at, takes it seriously: no distractions, no talking, and no external tools.Just you, your body, and your mind — for 11 whole days. And we did it… together. As a couple. Which made things extra spicy in the silence. 😂</p><p><strong>A Day in the Life at Wat Ram Poeng:</strong></p><p>* Wake-up call: 4am</p><p>* Chanting: 4:20am</p><p>* Breakfast: 6:30am</p><p>* Alms for monks: 7:30am</p><p>* Dhamma talk (some days)</p><p>* Lunch: 10:30am (yes, the last meal of the day)</p><p>* Meditation / walking / sweeping / bathing</p><p>* Evening chanting: 5pm</p><p>* Lights out: 10pm</p><p>All while wearing only white, staying in a bare-bones room, and navigating the swirl of thoughts without distraction.</p><p><strong>In this episode we talked about…</strong></p><p>* The moment one of us almost gave up</p><p>* The weirdest intrusive thoughts that showed up</p><p>* The thing we missed the most from the outside world</p><p>* Our favorite part of the temple’s methodology</p><p>* Whether we peeked at each other in silence 😅</p><p>* What we each learned — about meditation, about ourselves, and about being together in stillness</p><p>Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts!</p><p>And if you’ve done a retreat like this (or want to), drop a comment — we want to hear <em>your</em> stories too. 💌</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://takethreestudio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">takethreestudio.substack.com/subscribe</a>