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I can only speak to my own experience. I sat a 10 day course at one of the S.N. Goenka Vipassana centers in North America. At no time was my safety or comfort in question. The volunteers there are passionate in their benign-ness, and their desire to do no harm.

The whole teaching is predicated on the idea of reducing suffering, and the center that I was at was run very much with this idea at the core of everything. It is inconceivable to me that somebody could feel threatened or unsafe at this center.

With respect to leaving early: My understanding here is that every single student wants to leave. My mind was screaming in resistance. There were moments where I wanted to leave with every fiber in my being. I'm pretty sure that every student goes through this. If they didn't take a tough stance on this, then many more people would leave and lose the benefit that the center and the courses are specifically designed to bring.

It takes a strong determination to sit one of these courses.

My brother is actually also a long-term student (now volunteer and course manager), as is another more distant relative, so I have further insight into how deep the positivity is at these centers.

As for myself, I have continued practice (it has only been 1.5 months), and I have seen the benefits slowly rolling in. Significant benefits. My awareness increases by the day. Simply walking down the street, I remember more and more to de-clench my jaw, and to stop (and start observing) my unconscious reaction patterns.

The meditation is difficult. The rewards are tremendous. And the center was spectacular. I implore every human being to take a 10 day course, and give the technique a trial.

I'm open to questions.