Travels

Jasmin and I just returned from our honeymoon, which took us to the U.K., Italy, and the Philippines. What an interesting month it's been.

Travelling can be refreshing, taking you out of the ordinary routine and into the unfamiliar. I was fascinated to see how different things and people are in other places, and yet how similar. Different customs, different social norms, different lifestyles -- but the same basic human psychology beneath it all. As my wife (affectionately) laughed at me struggling to order ice cream in Italian, I realized how much one can take for granted living only in one small part of the world.

The U.K. retreat was certainly a highlight for me. What an amazing feat that so many people could come together from so many different countries! I learned so much from everything we did. It's one thing to talk about the strength that comes from practicing in a group, but in an environment like that you can really feel it, like a rush of energy. I've also noticed a big part of improving is simply in trying consistently, and this is another area where a retreat is so very useful, showing you what it's really like to keep your focus on spiritual things all the time (and, by contrast, how easily that focus is lost!). I discovered insights in unexpected situations, and this was appropriate considering that our goal was to explore the process of spiritual learning -- how to take something valuable from every situation, and how to use these situations to consistently improve ourselves. This was a valuable lesson that I hope we all hang on to.

The Welsh countryside lent a very important flavour to the retreat, with it's endless greenery, low, rolling, mist-covered hills, and the feeling of mysterious history everywhere. It's a special place. I hadn't yet had the pleasure of taking an awareness walk through a flock of sheep before, and I must say I rather liked it. And our visit to the Tor of Glastonbury felt literally magical.

A view of Wales from my room.

My favorite group shot, in front of the retreat venue.

A view of the Glastonbury Tor and visitors.

Climbing the Tor.   

It was an excellent time overall, and a good contrast to the hustle and bustle of our few days spent in London town immediately before it. The days after brought some equally interesting, although vastly different, experiences, but I'll leave those for another post.

Note: I updated this post with some pics.