It’s Easy If You Try

Coming out of my second 10-day silent Vipassana Meditation Retreat, my optimism is renewed. One of my favourite songs of all time…

The story so far

Since i quit my job last February, Rick, my husband and i have been literally on the road. We have been moving around 10 countries for varying periods of time and life just really couldn’t be better. If i compare how i felt when we embarked on this complete change and how i feel now, it is a world away! I started off apprehensive and insecure, and now i am so much more happier which comes from having a deeper understanding of myself. I am so grateful that at this stage of our lives and as a couple, we have had this amazing opportunity to change how we live for the better.

We started the journey in March 2011, when we packed whatever we thought we would need into a bag and set off without any concrete plans. We started in Spain where i was introduced to Rick’s friends and family, and had a taste of the country and the culture. The only preparation we did was have a few Spanish classes in the weeks running up to our departure from Malaysia. In time, i hope to write about all the places that we visited in more detail, but for the moment, the summary goes:

France  – Just passed through the airport and spent a cold night in Orly, Paris

Spain   – Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid, Basque Country, Burgos, Galicia, Calpe, Cabo de  Gata, Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera

Mediterranean jewel, Formentera, Spain

Lugo, Galicia, Spain

The painted forest at Oma, Basque Country, Spain

Getting our voices heard in a street demonstration against corruption, Valencia, Spain

 

The Netherlands – Utrecht, Maastrict

Queen’s Day celebration on a canal, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Germany – Koln, Stuttgart

Love padlocks, Koln, Germany

Malta, Comino and Gozo

Valletta, Malta

Comino, Malta

Morocco – Marakesh, Chefchouen, Rif Mountains, Meknes, Casablanca, Oualidia, El Jadida,  Essaouira

Hues of blue, Chefchaoen, Morocco

Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Sabah (Rick), Pahang (me)

The family, meeting at our house, just before setting off for a BBQ at Belawai beach, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia

Boat trip down Sugai Retus, Igan, Sarawak, Malaysia

Indonesia – Bali     – Kuta, Sanur, Ubud, Padang Bai, Amed, Munduk

Sunrise over the paddy fields, Bali, Indonesia

 

Indonesia – Gili Trawangan, Lombok

White sandy beach, Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia

Sri Lanka – Hikkaduwa, Mirissa, Galle, Arugam Bay, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Trincomalee

Sunrise, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Thailand  – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pai, Chiang Rai, Mae Sai

Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, northern Thailand

A waterfall near Pai, northern Thailand

Burma     – Just for our visa run

Wow. Just seeing all that down on paper is pretty impressive although, knowing me, i know i must have forgotten something somewhere. 10 countries in 14 months and the best part is, we aren’t done yet.

My 3 days as a Baker

While we were spending our last week at the New Life Foundation just outside Chiang Rai, Thailand, i had found out that i was going to be forced to spend some time away from Rick, my husband and i was not feeling so good about it. It was a last minute decision, totally unplanned and the memory of how much i missed Rick the last time we were apart came flooding back to me. Also the thought of saying goodbye to both the foundation, and Rick within the space of 24 hours was not an appealing one. I hate goodbyes.

It was this time when i was wrapped up in my own thoughts looking online when i saw a job advertised for the first week i would be in KL without anything to do. My brother, Mike’s next-door-neighbour does some baking from home and had just had an overload of orders and needed a helping hand in her kitchen. Since i would be staying at his house, had so much time on my hands and am short of cash, this seemed like the perfect thing to reply to. After a year being jobless, and enjoying it, i have started to make a point of making myself more useful and utilising my time a bit more effectively, without stressing out too much about it.

I got the job for 3 days, 10.30am to 5.30pm. I love being in the kitchen anyway, so helping out someone i know and like was a no-brainer. I was needed to help with the teddy bear shaped sugar cookies, and the chocolate chip cookies. The job was to arrange the pre-prepared cookie dough on baking trays and bake, cool, decorate and pack them. This repetitive process was easy work, but it was also an opportunity to practice mindfulness and focus on what i was doing without letting my mind wonder. I enjoyed it, the whole process of creating something.

Not only was this job a way for me to do something useful while helping a friend out, it also helped keep my mind diverted from thinking too much. Just another example of how things just happen for a reason when you let go.

The fruit of my labour, hundreds of Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Janda Baik

Janda Baik is a small, peaceful village in Pahang,located about 30 kms from Kuala Lumpur, and set in some stunning scenery in the highlands. Its proximity to the Klang Valley has made it popular with residents as a place to get away to nature for a short break, and the area has many guesthouses, campsites and bungalows for rent.

Wild Heliconias, one of my favourite plants

Crop-carrying Motorbike

A stream at Janda Baik

Literally,’ Janda Baik’ means ‘Kind Widow’, if translated directly. I am not too sure of the true story behind the name but found this online, which may or may not be true. Nice story though:

“Local folks says that the name of this place came from the days of the aborigines living in this area. It seems that in the days when this place was out of reach of civilization, a sick soldier found his way into the aborigine village and soon was attended by a gentle lady by the name of Janda (not a widow). Janda is an aboriginal name of this lady. She nursed the wounded soldier and eventually the soldier returned home and related the story to others, so the story goes.”

I first visited Janda Baik in 2009 when Rick, my husband and i traveled together for the very first time, so you could call this place our first and very special getaway, where we realised for the first time that we could do this together (we were not married at the time). We stayed at Zaini’s Guesthouse (http://www.zainiguesthouse.com/), a small and sparse collection of simple chalets right next to a stream. We had a great time both getting to know each other and also enjoying the green, peaceful surroundings. We went for quiet walks along the footpaths and streams and found some secluded spots perfect for just enjoying the sound of the water and being together.

One of the chalets at Zaini’s Guesthouse

Our chalet at Zaini’s Guesthouse

Walking down the stream to find a special spot

One of our secluded spots

A couple of days ago i revisited Janda Baik and found that the area is a lot bigger than i thought it was. This time, I visited with Gaya and Lyza, to a house owned by one of Gaya’s friends, and we had gotten pretty much lost looking for our destination. Arriving by night perhaps wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but we eventually found the place and had a quiet night topped off by a beautiful sunrise over the hills in the morning.

Watching the sunrise with the dogs

Walking along the stream to find some deeper water

The Garden. Spot the passion fruit, bananas and papayas!

Suresh grows many types of fruit and vegetables in the compound and takes care of several types of animals. The farm-like setting surrounded by the hills was very pretty and the perfect place to wind down on a Sunday afternoon. Just being there soaking in the growing fruits and vegetables, the green, the fresh air and water was completely de-stressing, or would have been if i was stressed out in the first place! Special thanks to Suresh, who played the perfect host and let us into his sanctuary.

Volunteering at the New Life Foundation

After traveling for almost 3 months covering Bali, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Northern Thailand, Rick and i decided that we would like to spend our last couple of weeks in Thailand doing something useful.

We had head about the New Life Foundation, an international mindful recovery community for people who are suffering because of addiction problems, stress, burnout, relationship issues or abuse, from our friend, who had been there some months back and decided to write to them. The centre is located about 30 minutes outside of the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai, in a small village surrounded by farmland, lakes, streams and mountains. It was our first exposure to any form of volunteer work, so we came without any preconceived notions, just that we wanted to lend a hand and do whatever was needed from us.

Lily Pond near the Administration Office

Local kids enjoying the pool

The dining hall

Relatively young, the New life foundation was set up in June 2010 by Johan Hansen, a Belgian entrepreneur, who found his path towards recovery at Thamkrabok monastery, where he got in touch with the amazing healing powers of mindfulness practice. The place appealed to us as their whole foundation was based on the belief that mindfulness will help us face what is present, even when it difficult.

When we had arrived, been allocated a room and introduced ourselves to some of the people there, we found that there was a good mix of volunteers and residents. It would be our first time living together in a community setting.

The accommodation blocks

Packing, my room

Our first week went by really fast. Life was pretty simple. As a volunteer, you contribute by working 5-6 hours a day doing either housekeeping, recycling, gardening or mud-brick building. Most of my assignments were either in the garden or kitchen.

The gardening team, preparing to plant dragon fruit

Helping out in the Kitchen

Apart from work, you can also join the activities, eg. meditation, yoga, pottery, tai chi and others, or you can use the pool or simply take a walk through the scenic surroundings in the area.

Enjoying the sunrise from the meditation hall

All staff and residents are committed to explore harmonious ways to coexist with nature and find local sources of food. The centre tries to be as sustainable as possible. Mud from the land is used for building. Crops of rice, vegetables and various tropical fruits are grown and eaten at the centre.

Resident chickens

At the end of our 2 weeks at the centre, i felt as if i had learned a bit more about mindfulness, and was more aware, to some degree, of myself and my interactions with my surroundings. We met so many amazing people at the New Life Foundation and although we had to cut our stay short, we have already decided to go back at some point in the future. We were lucky to have had this opportunity to share this experience with some very special people.

For more information on the New Life Foundation, please follow this link: http://www.newlifethaifoundation.com/

 

Vipassana Meditation Retreat

I didn’t know much about meditation when i attended my first Goenka Vipassana Meditation course last February. My frind Sam had gone for her first 10-day silent meditation retreat a few years back and had given me some reading material, but since then to early this year, i had yet to find the opportunity to attend. I didn’t know what to expect apart from the little research i’d done online.

Vipassana Meditation, one of the world’s oldest forms of meditation, means seeing things as they really are. It is a practice of self-transformation through self-observation and introspection to the extent that sitting with a steadfast mind becomes an active experience of change and impermanence.

I felt the benefits of the first 10-day course as soon as we had practised about 5 days of meditation, but found it hard to continue practise when i came out from the retreat. One thing stuck though, the self-observation part. I felt more balanced and calm, looking within, observing emotions, and understanding their impermanence then watching them pass.

So i decided to sign up for another course, since i had some time on my hands and wanted to do something useful with my time. I will leave for the Dhamma Malaya centre in Pahang on the 13th June for my second 10-day silent retreat. This time i know what to expect and i am looking forward to some introspective alone time. I will completely cut of from the outside world, and my daily schedule will be:

4:00 am                     Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am          Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am          Breakfast break
8:00-9:00 am          Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am        Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the                     teacher’s instructions

11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break

12noon-1:00 pm    Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm          Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm          Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm          Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the
teacher’s instructions
5:00-6:00 pm         Tea break
6:00-7:00 pm         Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm          Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm          Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm         Question time in the hall
9:30 pm                     Retire to your own room–Lights out

Individual Rooms, simple but comfortable accommodation

Dhamma Malaya. Inside the main meditation hall

Dhamma Malaya, Meditation Hall

Anapanasati, meaning ‘mindfulness of breathing’ was the first technique we learn. It is used as a preparation for vipassana, pacifying the mind and strengthening the concentration in order to allow the work of insight.

Then the technique of Vipassana meditation is taught,here’s some background into the technique from Wikipedia:

The modern Buddhist Vipassana movement (modeled after Theravāda Buddhism meditation practices), which employs vipassanā and ānāpāna meditation as its primary techniques and places emphasis on the teachings of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. The primary initial object of investigation in that style of meditation is sensation and feeling (Skt: Vedanā).

First and foremost, the Theravada philosophy is a continuous analytical process of life, not a mere set of ethics and rituals. In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (dukkha) is identified as craving (tanha), which carries with it the defilements (kilesas). The level of defilement can be coarse, medium, and subtle. It is a phenomenon that frequently arises, remains temporarily and then vanishes.

In order to be free from suffering and stress, Theravadins believe that the defilements need to be permanently uprooted. Initially they are restrained through mindfulness to prevent them from taking over mental and bodily action. They are then uprooted through internal investigation, analysis, experience and understanding of their true nature by using jhana.

As i embarked on this year, i have really started to understand myself a little bit more. Through meditation and also moving around and having been exposed to different situations, i have relished just ‘letting go’ and just going with the flow. Nothing is permanent in our lives anyway, so logically, there is no point in creating an attachment to plans, the past or the future. Its true what they say, once you learn to let things happen, they do, and in a big way!