Week 17.  Last week was another slow week. 

Holiday activities and a family trip consumed most of my time. And I continued work on a number of solar projects and some companies that I am helping. Evaluated a solar investment opportunity. Made an end of year donation to an organization that I believe in. 

This week my two primary goals are:

1. To move forward the pilot solar + storage battery that I am working on
2. Make some additional progress on the Solar Entrepreneurship course content 

I feel like, after the quiet time in the last two weeks, the year is off to a fast start. There are many different opportunities coming my way and I am starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed with the speed my calendar has already filled up for the week. 

In times like this, I try to create time and space for Silence. I first experienced the power of silence in a 3-day silent retreat weekend, about 3 years ago. Around that time, I heard about the power of Vipassana meditation in one of Yuval Harari’s talks. 

Harari is one of my favorite current day philosophers. I wrote about him in my personal blog here. He credits his career success and the success of his bestseller books to his long-lasting Vipassana practice. 

I did my first 10-day silent Vipassana meditation about 2 years ago. After that, I did it 2 more times. The insights I gained and the healing I felt at my Vipassana retreats have been incredibly powerful.

I try to keep a daily practice of Vipassana meditation. Creating a little bit of time for silence in the morning and in the evening helps focus my priorities, helps with my creative thinking, and most importantly helps me gain consciousness about my motives while reminding me of the reasons why I do what I do.