[bingobongo1]

Oh good, someone else who is on the right track.

Laughing at the manson family reference from the other comment, that's an example of hostile brainwashing by a cult leader, whereas what is being described here is an exploration of self and the true nature of consciousness, which is compassion.

Shamatha is calm abiding mind, single-pointed meditation, temporary emotional stability.

Vipassana is analytical meditation, wisdom, lasting mental stability through deconstructing the self and other phenomena to repeatedly discover that all is empty at the ultimate level.

Going through this you can then approach the conventional world with more mental stability than just reacting naively to every event and occurrence.