In Training

For a full six months before I left for Sri Lanka and India I had the mindset that I was in training. Intuition told me to be vigilant in preparing this vessel for the trip.

I was diligent in my asana, pranayama and meditation practice as always and I amped up my generally healthy diet to the next level. Virtually no wheat, no dairy, no sugar and lots of extra protein. 

Having been to India previously I knew how taxing on the body, mind and spirit this trip could be; I wanted to be in the best possible shape I could.

As I'm writing this I'm sitting in my room in Rishikesh. I've been on the road for six weeks now. And of course, as always, intuition was correct. I see clearly the benefit of the effort that I put into my spiritual, physical and mental health both before I left and while I've been traveling.

Finding healthy food was virtually impossible for the first four weeks of the trip. The Indian diet, or at least that which I had access to, was exclusively comprised of wheat, dairy, sugar and one vital extra component; grease in the form of fried food.

I made the best choices I could but I had no choice but to eat. At week three I felt the negative impact of the Indian food diet manifest in my body. 

Luckily a week after that I returned to areas that have many Westerners. Areas with Westerners equals access to the Indian version of western food. This meant a return of plain vegetables, the staple of my diet. 

But I digress; you know how I love talking about food...

The point that I'm trying to make is that it takes a lot to be here and be healthy. There is an intense amount of sensory stimulation present on an almost continuous basis. All six senses are constantly receiving  input (mind being the sixth sensory organ in Buddhist cosmology).

I get a break from all the input when I'm in the haven of the room that I am fortunate enough to be residing in here in Rishikesh.  Although  even as I write this from the luxury of my clean bed I hear screaming outside of my window. 

I find it occasionally disconcerting the way people seem to be screaming at each other here. I don't understand the words of course but the tone in which people speak in both Hindi and Tamil frequently sounds like they're yelling at the person they are addressing.

Another aspect which can feel assaulting to the senses is the traffic, honking and interactions between motorized vehicles and pedestrians. Over here pedestrians do *not* have the right-of-way; there is a different concept of personal space here.

Motorized vehicles whether cars, trucks, auto rickshaws or motorcycles will not stop or yield for beings walking on the road. It is incumbent upon the pedestrian to get out of their way. They blow their horns ferociously and will miss you literally by a few inches. One has to be aware as they're walking down the street so as not to get run over. 

Perhaps the most insidious stimulating factor is the vibrational energy that is present in this country. It is palpable. It is powerful. It is real. 

I think that is why some Westerners come here and become extremely uncomfortable. We are not exposed to this in our world. 

There is a vibratory energy present here which is underlying everything. It could be profoundly unsettling for someone who is not in the right shape to handle it.

I was in training, and continue to be while I am here, to have the ability to navigate all of this with ease

At Mooji's satsang people have been flipping out. By this I mean in two of the four days of teachings last week a number of people started to either shake, laugh hysterically or hyperventilate.

I don't quite know what to make of this. I had been thinking that these people are simply unbalanced or craving attention or are deluding themselves because they have a strong desire to have a profound experience.

But perhaps it is the effect of all of these overstimulating factors, particularly the strong vibrational energy here, on people with constitutions not strong enough to be in tune with the crescendo.   

This morning I went to a sacred cave and was meditating for a long time there. I am in tune with vibrational energy, it is a byproduct of all the practice that I have been doing for these years. I didn't used to have the ability to perceive it but I do now. And the energy in this cave was quite strong. 

Other people came into the cave and were meditating as well. After some time a man sitting across the cave from me started shaking and bouncing in a manner similar to some of the people at satsang. It made me think that the man in the cave was clearly reacting to something. 

This was an Indian man, not a Westerner. I say this because this is not someone who's come to have a "cool experience" in an exotic far away land.

This is the long way of making the point that I am grateful to be in tune with my intuition. Six weeks in and four more to go...I feel healthy, strong and peaceful. That is no small feat!