Now I regret that I said this… I owe you my 2 stats explanation 🙂

Goenka claimed the secret of benefits Vipassana meditation is the technique of meditation itself. It's not.

What he didn't say was the real secret which is cutting your mind off anything that might distract your senses. And yes, meditation techniques help with that, but are not essential.

The magic usually happens when you spend enough time alone, and avoid any distraction. Which is very difficult, but with enough dedication and support, achievable. I do it myself from time to time, and it has little to do with Vipassana meditation (I've done Vipassana too with great benefit).

If you dig deep enough in the history of different ancient cultures, you will find other "self realization" techniques that are based on the same foundations - isolation.

- North American Indians practice "Vision Quest" - usually 3-4 days alone in nature, no books, no phones, no food. This technique results in having visions and finding answers for troubling questions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_quest).

- South American Indians of Amazon basin practice "Master plant diet" - a person spends 2 months (or more) alone in the jungle cabin. Only you, yourself and the sounds of the jungle. Little food is provided with addition of some "master plants". During this you "lose your mind", have incredible insights and eventually leave the isolation much more wise about yourself. (I recommend watching "The Last Shaman" 2016 documentary to better understand this).

- Darkness retreats - xx days spend in darkness, silence and isolation (https://fearvana.com/expedition/darkness-retreat/)

- We have this in christian religions as well, Jesus Christ spent 40 days and nights fasting in the Judaean Desert, no distraction, only him and the sand around. Satan's temptation was just his mind going crazy (having insights and visions). (more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temptation_of_Christ)

- Last but not least, a more modern version of the same mind fenomena "sensory deprivation tank / isolation tank" - requires much less time to achieve some of the effects but also sometimes requires a little bit of practice. 1-2 hours in the tank that is built to cut you off from most sensories. During this time your mind is only busy with your pure thoughts, nothing else, not physical feeling like touching or temperature reading. This one requires the least effort to test it out, but in my opinion is also the least profound of them all (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolation_tank).

All of those techniques are surrounded with their own BS. People love to BS others. But all of them have one thing in common: sensory deprivation over time, isolation, reduction of distraction, you name it.

Hope you enjoyed the reading. Any comments are very welcome.