Trust the Process.

I always wanted to get into meditation.  I have been doing yoga for over 20 years now and I would say that it is a very big part of my life that I enjoy very much.  Aside from the physical health benefits, it has also taught me how to breathe better and remain calm in difficult situations.  It took a long time for me to realize those benefits of yoga.  At first, I was just doing it as a form of exercise.  But as years went by, there would be moments where I realized, “Wow, I am much calmer than I would normally be in this situation.”  Or, I would notice that I would slow my breath down and take deeper breaths subconsciously when I was struggling or dealing with something difficult.  I can only attribute those changes to yoga…and as I said, it didn’t happen overnight.  

Some yoga classes will start or end with a little meditation so I experienced a smattering of it here and there.  They definitely go hand in hand, so it was a logical next step for me and something that I thought about many times while I was in America.  I tried it once or twice on my own, not really having any idea what I was doing.  It was hard, and there were too many distractions, and it just didn’t fit into my daily busy schedule, so it took a backseat in my life very quickly.

Fast forward to my trip to Southeast Asia.  Thailand was my very first stop and there are many, many temples that you visit as a tourist.  I went to the most famous temple in Bangkok that houses the Emerald Buddha the very first day of my trip.  This was my first peek into Buddhism.  I took a free tour of the temple and got the cliff notes on what it was all about and I was intrigued from the get go.  Buddhism spoke to me.  I could relate to this spirituality.  

Backing up for a moment, one more time, I was never a religious or spiritual person in my regular life back at home. I don’t believe in organized religion, and I don’t believe in God.  I do believe that there is “something” out there, and I did feel a sense of spirituality deep within me, but I never explored it or did anything about it.  I guess I would call myself Agnostic.  However, now that I am out here in Southeast Asia, many different religions, cultural traditions, and spiritual practices are speaking to me all at once. For the sake of this post, however, I will focus on Buddhism in Thailand right now….

Back to the temple – I listened to the tour guide and learned the 5 basic precepts of Buddhism that almost everyone in Thailand lives by:

1. One must abstain from taking life (or killing).
2. One must abstain from taking what is not given (or stealing).
3. One must abstain from false speech (or lieing).
4. One must abstain from sensuous misconduct (or adultery).
5. One must abstain from intoxicants that can cloud the mind (alcohol and any other drugs).

Thailand is often referred to as the Land of Smiles.  And truly, everyone seems so happy here….Could it be that everyone is happier because they are practicing Buddhism?  I’m sure it is not that simple, but I also believe that it definitely has something to do with it.  In my time here, I have learned that most people follow all of the precepts, but some people only practice the first 4, and not the last.  To be a true Buddhist, you must follow them all.  If you do not, there are many terrible repercussions that will most likely affect your afterlife and your karma.  The Buddhists believe deeply in reincarnation and also that the karma you create in your current life will follow you to your afterlife.  There is much more to it than that, and I am doing my best just to summarize, but the point here is that these precepts are not taken lightly.  I believe that this is one of the main reasons why I feel so safe here; and I mean, like safer than I have ever felt in my life.  It took me a while to acclimate to it, because I have been trained to be cautious of everyone, to always have my guard up, to always be looking over my shoulder, and in general, to just not trust anybody until I got to know them.  Here, there is love and trust from the absolute start.  No one lies, no one steals, and I haven’t heard of a single murder out here.  It is sort of like a whole new world.  At first, I was so worried about stepping away from my belongings even for a minute, and now I will just leave things laying anywhere…I know that sounds crazy.  I still need to be aware, but I really don’t worry about it at all anymore.  Maybe that is naive.  I am sure there are some bad eggs out there; and I am not saying that everyone is perfect, but it most certainly is different from the vibes regarding safety and quality of life in other countries.

So anyway, Buddhism really spoke to me and I have been wanting to learn more about it since my arrival here seven months ago.  Cue a chance meeting with another traveler who told me about Pa Pae Buddhist Meditation Retreat. I looked it up and signed up immediately; and I am so glad that I did.

Back in May when I decided to stay in Southeast Asia and make nomadic travel my lifestyle, I made a conscious decision to start meditating on a regular basis.  I have been doing my best to meditate each morning and then write in my journal.  I have been doing pretty well with this and have been fairly consistent, but of course there have been days, and even weeks sometimes, where I skipped it or couldnt’ find the time to fit it in.  But I did feel the benefits.  I felt more clear-headed, more confident, even more powerful in my thinking.  And when I skipped days, I could feel that too.  I would lose my cool quicker in difficult situations, I would feel scatter-brained, or I would just not feel “right.”  So then I would return to the practice and all those positive feelings and effects would slowly come back again.

The Pa Pae Buddhist Meditation Retreat teaches you about the basics of Buddhism, the life of monks who have dedicated their lives to the Buddha, a brief instruction on “how” to meditate, and what the benefits are.  It was eye-opening, insightful, spiritual, and life-changing.  Not only did the retreat deepen my meditation practice, but it helped me to understand why it is so necessary.  The benefits are just too great not to.  It was a bit ironic because one day during a session with the head monk, he was talking about how less is more, and smaller is beautiful, and to always trust your gut.  Wait a minute, I thought, those are the actual titles of some of my latest blog posts:  “Trust Your Gut” and “Less is More.”  I shared my blog with some of my new retreat friends and they were a bit surprised by the similarities as well. One joked that perhaps I was a monk in my past life.  Hahaha.  😂. But the moral was clear:  Less IS more.  And when you can de-clutter your life, and just let go, beautiful things can happen.  Meditation will bring you closer to your true self, and your true meaning.  You just have to trust the process.  Let go, be consistent with your practice, and clarity and understanding will follow.  There are so many distractions in our modern, everyday life.  And society has a way of getting in the way.  I highly recommend taking the time to step back, unplug from your everyday life, and listen to what is going on inside.  Not only will you understand yourself better, but you will understand others more fully as well. 5 minutes a day is all it takes.  We can all find 5 minutes each day to devote to ourselves and to our well-being.

So, in closing, this is just my humble opinion on the benefits of meditation and exploring Buddhism as a whole.  I am not a monk, I am not a Buddhist, and I am not an expert in theology.  What I am is a believer.  And this makes sense to me.  Like yoga, the benefits of meditation aren’t going to happen overnight. It is going to take time, commitment to the practice, and a willingness to trust the process. I am ready and willing. If you’ve been to Thailand, you likely know what I am talking about.  These people are genuinely HAPPY.  Isn’t that what we all want?  Perhaps we could all learn a little something by taking that trip to Thailand (or anywhere for that matter) and opening our minds and our hearts just a little bit.  All it takes is that first little step…🙏