>> I had to sort of force myself by going to live in an ashram full time for a while.

That's amazing to me, really! I've considered doing 10-day sits before (vipassana most likely) but never got the courage to do it. Part of the reason being nicotine addiction (which would add a whole other dimension to the challenge). Once I sort out that bug out (and get a few levels higher in Hindi on duolingo) I want to look into it again.

What are the thoughts you have when you think of taking the plunge? I did one recently and I’d love to help people to try it.

You know, it's hard to come up with a good excuse for not doing it these days (if I could actually schedule something, I wouldn't second guess it, and things would probably fall into place, hah). I guess I always feel like I need to get some things in order first (past experiences warning my ego that I'm coming for it, and it preempts with whatever it can in a self-preservation effort?). One issue of course is enough vacation time; it's a tough sell over some other things on my "list".

Did a 10 day sitting while addicted to nicotine after 10 years of smoking. I don't think I thought about cigarettes once. I did suffer from the withdrawal but it was subsumed in the meditation somehow

Arguably, a nicotine addiction would be the perfect thing to work out with the help of meditation!

you do think about a cigarette but you get in the moment and can observe the craving and there aren't the things there that trigger stress. it's nice and quiet.

Nicotine withdrawal lasts about 72 hours - you'd be over it by the third day of a ten-day retreat.

But I recommend Champix/varenicline. It works.

Why is Hindi required?

It's not. I recommend Mindfulness in Plain English By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. It very directly lays out the benefits of Vipassana meditation, and it doesn't really involve any religion.

Oh, it's not. A trip to India is on my long-term todo list though, and it's something I'd be interested in doing there. Definitely not mutually exclusive!

I did it in the Himalayas. There were literally monkeys fighting on the roof, musicians practicing every morning at 7am, and it was really cold. Regardless it was a peak experience in my life. Western centers are probably quieter and more comfortable.