Just after Christmas of 2012 I was able to complete a long time goal of mine to attend the 10-day meditation retreat of Vipassana. The course is secular even though its meditation technique is from Gautama Buddha. My parents and sister had done this course in the past and experienced benefits so I wanted to find out if it could do the same for me. Turns out I gained benefits but not ones I expected and the process was anything but a retreat.