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Myanmar is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are full of joy and the food is amazing. I visited the cities of Yangon, Mandalay, and Bagan. We visited and meditated at many monasteries around the country.

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The highlight of my trip was serving monks and nuns food, and donating sandals and umbrellas. This group of young nuns in Mandalay and their chanting was breathtaking and chilling.

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We also meditated in a cave in Mandalay one evening. In the first 10 minutes I got bit 117 times by mosquitoes 🦟 They left me alone when the light blew a fuse, which you can see in my heart rate lowering.

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I also wore my Apple Watch and Oura ring, both in airplane mode. My best meditations always had the least variation in heart rate. When I wasn’t focused, it would jump around a lot. Here’s a night of sleep on the 10th night (my resting heart rate was consistently below 40).

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Vipassana is not for everyone, but if any of this resonates with you even in the slightest, I’d encourage you to give it a try. If in the US, this center in Texas is a great start: siri.dhamma.org

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And if you’re willing to travel a bit, go to Myanmar: dhamma.org/en/schedules/s

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Thanks for reading! Always happy to answer any questions about my experience. Will track responses to this thread. I’ll continue to do this every year, and hopefully do longer and longer each time. The time I take away to do this gives so much back to me and my work. 🇲🇲🙏🏼🧘🏻‍♂️

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* more color on this given the resulting conversation. I’ve been meditating for 20 years, with the last 2 years focused on vipassana. After experiencing it in Texas last year, I wanted to go to the region that maintained the practice in its original form. That led me to Myanmar.

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I took this time with a singular objective of working on myself. I shared my experience with the world with the singular objective of encouraging others to consider a similar practice. Simply because it’s the best thing I’ve found to help me every day.

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I’m aware of the human rights atrocities and suffering in Myanmar. I don’t view visiting, practicing, or talking with the people, as endorsement. I didn’t intend to diminish by not raising the issue, but could have acknowledged that I don’t know enough and need to learn more.

9:59 PM · Dec 11, 2018 from San Francisco, CA

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This was a purely personal trip for me focused on only one dimension: meditation practice. That said, I know people are asking about what Twitter is doing around the situation, so I’ll share our current state.

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Twitter is a way for people to share news and information about events in Myanmar as well as to bear witness to the plight of the Rohingya and other peoples and communities. We’re actively working to address emerging issues. This includes violent extremism and hateful conduct.

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We know we can’t do this alone, and continue to welcome conversation with and help from civil society and NGOs within the region. I had no conversations with the government or NGOs during my trip. We’re always open to feedback on how to best improve.

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Will keep following the conversation and sharing what I learn here. 🙏🏼

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Abdul Malik Mujahid

@MalikMujahid

Dec 12, 2018

so president Trump is not the only user of Twitter who needs to learn more :)

Taleeb Noormohamed

@Taleeb

Dec 12, 2018

As a shareholder and supporter I appreciate your willingness to learn and know more about the tragedy and horrors facing the #Rohingya. Let me introduce you to

@BobRae48

who has done tremendous work on behalf of

@JustinTrudeau

and #canada on this important issue. 🙏🏽

David Willford

@Dave_Willford

Bull. You endorsed it by going. You apologize for eating at Chick-fil-A which does no harm, but not for supporting genocide.

At least

knows Asians are magical and Buddhist mediation is Myanmar is superior to mediation in California. He'll have to read up on genocide to see how he feels about it. I'm starting to realize why

@twitter

is a platform for Nazis

atschwitters

@atschwitters

You might be “aware” of the suffering caused by the regime you supported through taxes and fees, but you probably can’t imagine the experience of the actual people who suffered, or else you wouldn’t dare publicize your little vacation like that

Dick Warlock

@m_s_nelson