Back on Track - The Story of a Pagoda

Well I've been away from the blog for around 10 days now. After writing the last one my plans changed and I ended up not heading to Dharamshala and the north and instead stayed around Mumbai and headed to a close isalnd called Monri for a night. I was pretty frustrated with the plan changes, it turned out that it had snowed in the north 2 nights before our departure date which had caused some road closures and may, or may not have made it more difficult for us to get into Dharamsala. It also seemed difficult for us to narrow down an itinerary that would be good for both myself and my cousin who was travelling with me. I think in the end it is for the best as now I'll be heading up north, and even farther than Dharamshala at some point hopefully, with Devin when he arrives. That should allow the climate to warm up a bit and also will give me more of a chance to do more of the active outdoor-roughing-it style travelling that I've been wanting. Another positive is that the change of plans allowed me to move my Kuwait and Dubai visits ahead of schedule. I am currently writing from Kuwait, where I landed on the 15th and will be until the 21st until I then take a short flight over to Dubai until the 28th.





The past 10 days has been somewhat of a roller coster with moods and sites and thoughts. Two of the more important highlights were visiting a magnificant meditation centre and seeing the hospital where I was born in Kuwait. The meditation centre is on Manori island and called the Global Pagoda & Vipasana Meditation Center. The Pagoda itself is a spectacular dome-like structure that has an impressive volume and is supported by no internal supports. Once you step inside its a shock to see so much open and available space. The place is used for regular mediation sessions where groups of people take part in sessions on the massive polished hardwood floors. The site is one of many which practices Visassana Meditation in particular, which you can find more about that type of meditation here. The site also offers 10 day silent meditation retreats. Its now on my to-do list.

I haven't looked too in depth into the Visassana type of meditation, but I know one of the important aspects, which is most likely true of most meditation practices, is the freeing of oneself from external desires and material things. I've always found myself questioning the true value of all of my possessions and the mentality behind the ever-stronger growing sense that more and more people in the world seemingly have to have more things and to have them bigger, better, faster or more precious than the next person. I've never had a tremendous desire to expand my list of possessions, but at the same time I can catch myself in the moment when I fall victim to the variable capitalistic mentality. And at its core its not simply capitalistic its also tied in with simple human nature. We evolve, we adapt to gain traits which are better than the previous generation. We want to push forward and not be left behind. It seems that our culture has only magnified these seemingly innate desires. At times I will want things like a better car, or a nice big house, or even something smaller like a nice jacket or new hiking equipment. These are material things which we think can bring us some end result, which subconsciously we are somehow convinced boils down to a happier life for ourselves or our loved ones. But that equation is a fallacy isnt it? How many stories have we heard about how money and power actually lead to a more empty and stressful life. Or even worse, a corrupted life.

I'll end with a point, if I really have one other than just the observation. What I think I want to try to instill in myself is a shift from desiring material items, to placing a higher value on sentiment. And by that I mean that I don't want to be caught up in the race to have the biggest, fastest or more rare/precious item. I want the value to come from the meaning of the item, which remains immortal of the vessel. In this sense, a simple stone found on my journey to the Himilayas will hold more value to me than a rolex bought 40% off online. So, dear friends, if your next gift from me is something like an old used matchbox with a handful of matches and a worn out flint-strip, don't be suprised. But more importantly, don't trust your immediate sense of dissatisfaction, because you can be assured that it will come with a story, with a history, with a meaning that cannot be engraved or told throught the amount it glitters. And I promise, it will make you smile.

Future Travels:
-Kuwait (until the 21)
-Dubai (until the 28)
- Mumbai on the 28th to meet Devin

Lessons Learned:
- Don't spend your life living for things, in the end you'll eventually need to leave it all behind

On the Mind:
-Meditation/ Inner Peace
- Materialism