We have now been in Thailand for almost two months. We’ve taken almost every transportation mode and visited some atypical places. The clothing wholesale market in Bangkok with our friend Moshe from the fashion industry, or registering at Bumrungrad, a state of the art Thai hospital for our vaccination boosters, walking through back road hamlets on Koh Samui island, or riding through Karen hill tribe villages in Northern Thailand…
Traveling in Thailand is easy and low maintenance. Thai are welcoming while keeping to their own business. Perhaps is it that they are used to having so many “farang” from the West come and visit their country. They are generally laid back. Shop owners often barely try to attract your attention, and are not the least insistent or pushy, letting life and business unfold at a mild and peaceful pace. When someone approaches you in an airport, bus, taxi station or tourist sight, hoping to make a few baht for some service rendered, it is very easy to either ignore them or say “No thank you”, and they back off.
Thai transportation
Social impressions
Thailand benefits definitely from a collective Asian society style and Thais are extremely social and community oriented. Often one can see the vendors or shop-owners doing business with each other exchanging goods, be it in cell phone rage at the MBK shopping center in Bangkok or among the Hill tribe people selling trinkets in the markets. The free 5:00 am Tai Chi sessions in the public park across the river from our guest house in Sukhothai were a typical example of this group orientation.
Group Tai Chi at 5:00 am in Sukhothai
Their high tolerance level can be noticed in Bangkok traffic jams, with barely any sign of forcefulness or hostility and no noticeable horn blowing other than for emergency situations, despite the stressful urban pace and density. Rarely do you hear anyone raising their voice or expressing anger overtly, as there is a general demonstration of deference and respect everywhere. Thais are often joking and having fun when doing things together, perhaps a more childish and playful trait compared to our more serious Western societies. I observed guards in the Royal Palace laugh pleasantly as they indicated to western tourists taking pictures of the Emerald Buddha that there was a sign indicating it was prohibited. We have even seen the staff laugh with lightness when there was a series of power shortages in the hospital, turning all lights off. There is no visible ostracizing or making the other wrong. Perhaps is it that this society has strong Buddhist roots, pervasively influencing modern life as well. Americans we’ve talked to who have known Thais more intimately over years have said that Thai people get quite emotional about relationships and business, but this has remained invisible to our tourist eyes.
Thai Markets
There is a real, powerful Thai market culture that I must link to the culinary culture that characterizes Thailand. The Sukhothai markets attract farmers from the neighboring towns and villages to come and sell produce retail as well as wholesale. The impeccable line-ups of day-fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs inspired us to have the street food using the very same produce. We choose our food vendor based on the ingredients they exhibited, an instinctive way to assess the quality of what we will ingest. In our case we would pass on the meat vendors and favor the carts with the greenest vegetable displays. Most street vendors flash fry-to-order the produce and assemble them to create dozens of different tastes and compositions. This explains why Thai menus are so extensive in the choice. Restaurant kitchens are kind of sedentary street stalls: two woks, one sink and many pots with herbs, spices, curry, shrimp and fish pastes. Thai cooking principles are minimalist: small quantities prepared at a time, a few ingredients in small pieces, easy to flash fry in very short amount of time thus using very little energy to cook.
The notion of Night market was foreign to me until we started walking around Sukhothai to admire the freshest crops just harvested. A night market means fresh vegetables staying fresh in the evening breeze! In Chiang Mai we discovered the Night bazaar. Why suffer the mid day sun when the market awakens at dusk and goes on into the cool, soothing, evening air. Temple courtyards are transformed into food courts, monks chanting inside, families choosing their dinner from dozens of vendors and sitting together outside.
Street artists string the middle of the street –blind musicians and singers, young pop or rock bands, magicians, sketch artists or puppeteers,… Thais love to stroll the market, eat, meet friends, get a few nick-knacks and watch artists perform, eat some more…In Chiang Mai we went 3 times to the Night Bazaar, mainly catering tourists, and once to both the Saturday and the Sunday markets, more local flavor.
Market scenes
A dog loving country
Thai people have a great deal of affection for pets. Every restaurant has its dog. We have found cats and dogs in hospitals, in temples, on the much coveted benches of river boat piers in Bangkok -where no one asks them to go lay down on the ground even though there are not enough seats for humans-, as well as throughout towns and countryside. They hang around, sometimes half a dozen of them together. They are generally healthy and fed, never overnourished and rarely undernourished. With a distant though friendly demeanor, they show no signs of fear or aggressiveness including running after vehicles such as our motorbike! In fact recently we heard some barking; it was the first barks we had heard in three weeks! Last week the was a feature article in the Bangkok Times on a woman devoting herself to dogs in need. Monks request donations for dog food and medecine.
Doggies everywhere
His majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX
The presence of the King is everywhere in Thailand. Thais wear yellow T shirts, some with the inscription with “I love the king” traditionally on Monday; his image is in every business and at most intersections. The veneration Thai people have is deep from the heart and the King has represented the Thai people very effectively over time; he has been in rule since 1950, so we’re talking about 58 years of continuity spanning the second half of the 20th century and all the relative changes the world and Thailand have gone through. He is often depicted as an educator, talking or listening to groups of people with his camera around his neck. We find him dressed in different ways, often with a pink suit and a pink shirt! He is a highly educated and cultivated person who probably had a lot to do with bringing Thailand into the 21st century. Saxophone jazzman, with some 100 original tunes to his name, he played informally with Benny Carter, Glen Miller, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong, among others.
Rama IX
I reflect on the symbol of a strong, people-oriented King and the lost benefits in our more “developed” countries, from the lack of strong, value-based rulers or leaders, who are looked upon to role-model principles and shape mindsets for generations, ensuring continuity and community cohesion. From an archetypal perspective, the King figure is a symbol of structure, strength and unity, one of direction and stability. Thailand seems to have a unique strength, visible if you are receptive to the potential cultural and societal illustrations of this Fatherly figure.
Historically it helps to understand that Thailand is one of the few countries that was not colonized by any external power, so there is no visible resentment regarding other cultures, as I have found in previously colonized countries. Evidently Western commercialization is taking over with the young generations, just as everywhere in the world, through music, fashion, food, drinks and the other products of the consumption society.
Thailand is no macho-land. More sensitive values are expressed through behaviors – would I go as far as to say” feminine” values? –, art forms, dressing styles or in the mildness of people’s demeanor. Kind of like having a King dressed in pink…who plays jazz.
Competitiveness does not visibly appear as a value in this collective society. When making a day trip to the Myanmar (Burma) border for visa extensions, I observed our driver, who caught up with another mini-van, and never passed him for 2 ½ hours, though he had been driving faster earlier.
Religion and beliefs
Thais mix freely Buddhism and Superstitious beliefs. Every house and business has a “Sprits House”, dedicated to the old-ones and to the land-gods, to which they make daily offerings for prosperity, health, peace in the family etc. They believe in supra natural aspects of life, beyond the realm of rational understanding. It is common to find someone at daybreak, bowing to the Spirit house, with lit incense in their hands, praying before setting it on the offering table. They also make offerings for special requests concerning family, health, business etc...
Thai Spirit houses
Monks are as omnipresent as temples throughout Thailand, with their saffron robes and shaved heads. The first one I encountered was withdrawing cash from an ATM, the second one was on his cell phone. Thailand also lives in the 21st century… We found fewer nuns, easy to spot with their white robes and shaved heads. Thais demonstrate great deference to monks and nuns, ensuring they have a good seat on a bus, helping an older one go up a staircase or cross the street, or paying their bill for food or drink. They embody the entire nation’s faith, and role model the people’s sense of sacredness of day to day life. One evening we heard some noise in a neighborhood around our guesthouse. We ended up attending a temple fund-raising event that brought the entire local community together: monks, civilians, police, military,... everyone was helping, having the best time selecting auctionable objects and filling pick-ups with food given for the monastary, demonstrating a passionate sense of service and cooperation.
Monks and Temples around Thailand
Sukhothai
We spent several days visiting the ancient ruins of Sukhothai and Si Sachanalai, the two capitals of Siam 800 years ago. This was a highlight of our trip, an immersion into the devotion of the past and the present, a serene stroll into spirituality and art. The new town of Sukhothai is a charming agricultural center where we discovered the markets and the pace of life beyond the Southern Islands and the Capital.
Bankok
By the time we leave next Thursday we will have gone to Bangkok 3 times for a total of a week.
Vibrant, insomniac city that mixes the ancient and the trendy side by side. We have liked its diversity, its old monuments and neighborhoods and its hyper moden malls. We have also dreaded the polution, the fumes, the noise and its hectic pace.
On departing from this warm and gentle land…
Pai in the far North, close to the Myanmar (Burma) border, is a small quaint tourist haven with tourists staying for a few days like us or for a few months,some even marying locals and making Pai their home. Surrounded by a fertile valley and mountains leading along the Mae Hong Song loop, its agriculture and tourism have enabled it to prosper over the past ten years. Small 10 bungalow resorts pop up here and there and the fields continue to be sown and the crops harvested. We have made it our base for our final India planning.
Pai: a back country town up North
We are now on our way towards our one and only destination, India. Thailand has been a mild, welcoming land and a great entry point for us into Asia and onto our journey. We’ve also found Thailand to host a somewhat mainstream tourist scene, where we have witnessed a lot of drinking, partying and of course the sex tourism industry big Thai cities are known for… We are leaving a country easy to visit due to the budget tourist infrastructure, with charming people and many cultural discoveries. A land that will stay dear to us.
Our Quest is now to immerse ourselves in the land of our spiritual aspirations.
In just a few days we're heading to India... and will let you know more from there.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The empty space of fasting: details from Richard's journal
Day 1: We drew a rune from Ralph Blum’s Book of Runes www.amazon.com/book-runes-handbook-ancient-anniversary/dp/0312097581 to harvest some food for thought on this first experience of our journey. The Book of Runes is a reflection tool that develops self-awareness and sensitivity to subtle patterns of our personalities and our life events. The rune we drew, Spiritual Warrior, focuses on funding a will through action yet remaining unattached to the outcomes. It represents the energy of discrimination, the sword-like quality enabling to cut away the old, the dead, the extraneous. The key messages of this drawing were Patience, Trust, Surrendering to the process and avoiding depleting oneself of one’s energy. We found these pointers to be right-on, considering this start of a significant new phase of our lives. It was extremely helpful as we went through the two weeks that would follow. We had a surprise this evening: practically all of our co-fasters were westerners living in Asia. This was a window on compatriots who had been living here abroad for 10, 15 years, and not wanting to go back anytime soon!
Day 3: We were tired today getting up and only after our yoga lesson did we start flexing and waking up our bodies. I can feel my stomach shrink after 2 days of fruit and 3 days of fasting. The colonic process is difficult and painful at times; it is very humbling to take myself through a process that sheds parts of me with no immediate reward or gratification. Though to impose on oneself the discipline and let go of our emotional attachment for food and relinquish the use of stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol and meat is in itself a reward. I’m feeling that our resolve to define our own direction and take action accordingly is a significant gift in itself.
Today was the new moon, the Chinese New year; a few firecrackers and fireworks blew into the dark sky and the silence of the early night around Na Thon. Tim, a co-faster, gave us our Chinese astrology. This is the year of the Rat, and for Snakes and Dogs like Kamala and me, a year to take care of one’s health. Very well aligned with the goals of our journey that include extensive yoga instruction and practice and a rejuvenation retreat in an Ayurvedic center!
Richard drinking liver cleanse – fishermen on the bay of peace at 6:00 am
Day 4: I had a tough day with the liver cleanse of Epsom salt and herbal concoction that bloated me all evening and made the evening and next morning colonics very painful and energy depleting. I felt I was actually making myself sick, though after a half hour of recovery I ended up feeling much lighter and clearer.
My memories of similar intestinal disorders and pains go back to my period in Africa in 1976 and the years that followed. I did not believe in seeing doctors at the time and thought I should just bite the bullet and deal with my physical issues and pains by being “strong”. I’m now wondering about the emotional component of chronic pains that send us back to old pain memories. In what way would the emotional content in fact be part of the trigger that brings conditions to become chronic? In my case the painful dysentery in Africa at age 17, coupled with years of lower back pain I endured my building contractor career in France around age 25, seem present today in very similar ways as they felt at the time. Perhaps clearing the emotional memories of endured pains would relieve the condition itself...
I have re-discovered a very direct linkage between my intestines and my lower back/sacrum pains, particularly this week during intestinal massages. I feel extreme pain in my back exactly where my inter-vertebral disks are crushed, when certain painful spots of my intestines are being massaged. The masseuse told me it was blocked build-up in my intestines that was creating pain.It seems that this fast is taking a physical self-discovery turn I did not expect. The inner focus is bringing heightened awareness and revelations in ways I had not encountered so far.
Richard journaling on bungalow porch – Sunset from Big Buddha temple
Day 5: We had a fantastic workshop this morning with Winnie Rode, a Buddhist monk, philosophy and meditation teacher www.singingbowlasia.com on Singing Tibetan bowl therapy. He gave a rational introduction, mingling quantum physics and traditional secular knowledge on how life all originates from and boils down to vibration, illustrating how and why specific vibrations can directly affect our physical state. He then gave us a stunning demonstration by practicing the resonating bowls on the little group of six participants. With focus and an open mind, I experienced each vibration deep inside and felt wholly peaceful and aligned at the end of our session. It was a spiritual experience, instantaneously expanding my consciousness.
Winnie Rode and hi singing Tibetan bowls – Bungee (short for bungalow) sleeping on our seats
Developing our sensitivity to more subtle realms of life is facilitated by the fasting process, making us more open and receptive. This is such a rare opportunity in our busy, fast-paced, professionally dominated lives, where external factors define most of our schedule and activities, and end up defining our image of ourselves as well as our thinking patterns. Humans are a highly adaptive species and adaptation comes with a cost. I have found that for many people, the cost is that of dissociating one’s self from deep aspirations and desires, fragmenting our experience of life and favoring some while neglecting others. We then seek compensations and/or develop pathologies, as our minds and bodies try to balance, to even-out our sanity and health with our self-imposed life-styles. I have been working on the search for balance for the past 20 years, with more or less success at different times. To maintain this as a wellness focus seems the only way to attempt achieving it. And sometimes it takes but little time in itself to focus inwards; a few minutes can often be enough. It’s like breathing consciously, we just forget to do it…
Day 7: This evening we had a closing session as most of the group was leaving at the end of the one week fast. We each took words from a bowl and shared the meaning we could find in them. I drew Triumph, Protection, Understanding, Surrender, Serenity, Presence and Healing; these resonated strongly with the intent of my journey: I will Triumph. Protection comes with the Understanding of Surrender. Developing a Serene Presence is the path of Healing. It’s all in my hands. I felt perfection, blessed and grateful in the closing of this first week.
My words of guidance – Hillary, Kamala reading her words and David who lives in Shanghai
Day 8: I have found my body to be tighter and stiffer every day when getting up in the morning. The fasting and weight-loss process have a contracting and drying effect –despite good hydration. The toxins from years of average attention to my well-being are emerging. Though when I practice Yoga and get twice weekly Thai massages I feel my body becoming more and more flexible every day, taking postures and stretching in ways I never would have expected to complete a week ago. Stretching and muscular exertion are important during a physical detox program, to ensure toxins are being eliminated through different media. Yoga has been a revelation during this retreat and I can only try to imagine what several months of practice will do to me when we start practicing intensively.
Richard and his words –
Raja teaching us all there is to know about coconuts
Raja gave us a class today dedicated to coconuts. From a chemical composition standpoint it is the closest thing in the vegetal world to human breast milk, high in mineral content and oil, with more than 50% oil content. Coconut oil is highly digestible –a short chain molecule, fluid and unstable-, directly digestible by the stomach, requiring no liver work to be processed. During WW II it was used as a substitute for intra-venous serum for wounded soldiers in the South Pacific. One coconut tree can yield up to150 nuts per year!
Day 9: I feel blessed to be doing our fast during an new moon period and that we will be coming out of it in its ascending phase just before the full moon. A fast is an utterly inward-directed process, and little by little I feel myself focusing more and more on the holistic experience itself, taking care of my body and of my spirit. As we have entered the second week, my energy is stable, though I detect a calmer mind and a stronger spiritual experience of my daily life. Our sleep/wake rhythm has changed in the past 10 days, waking up very early (between 5:00 and 6:00) and getting to bed by 10:00. Big difference for two night owls! One factor for me has been the lack of stimulants, tea or coffee during the day, alcohol in the evening, which easily push-out bedtime… This second week we are also free of the instruction courses; our time is our own, restrained only by the rhythm of twice daily colonics and evening broth.
Kamala taking notes at Raja’s class – Pon finishing Kamala's Thai massage
Day 11: Today for the first time in the past 11 days we have left the 300 x 50 yard stretch of beach we have kept to. I can not remember such an extended period of time when I have not moved around at all. Staying low-key has been a key success factor in surrendering to the fasting process, avoiding “doing things”. Feeling a very clear, light energy, we headed out on a motorbike to Na Thon a couple of miles away, to shop for some Indonesian batik sarongs in a small local shop kept by a charming old lady, hidden at the end of a side street. We spent more than an hour discovering the batik prints and cloth qualities before heading for a watermelon juice (yes, we played hooky) at June’s Arts Caf้. The break was well needed given my painful sacrum. We ended the day walking through the food stalls near the pier, inhaling the fried garlic and Thai basil vapors while detailing the varieties of fresh garden and sea produce offered in steamed, fried, deep fried or curried preparations. All of this with the excitement of soon being able to actually taste some of it! Though it may sound dreadful, our detachment from food and our genuine pleasure to not be eating were well enough established at this point to make our experience thoroughly enjoyable.
Our first excursion: June’s Art and Crafts caf้ in Na Thon – Richard reading at Kamalaya resort
Day 12: We walked half an hour to town yesterday to get another motorbike, passing a few house hamlets with families gathered chatting outside, coconut farmers, a sawmill specialized in coconut wood products, a couple of blacksmiths and numerous food vendors. We ended up in town spending more time at our favorite batik shop and came back for our evening broth and colonics.
Day 13: We have not yet visited the island other than the north coast and have few days left to do so. We took a ride on the motorbike down small side roads along the coast, devouring with our eyes all the details of rural Thai life on the island. The luxuriant vegetation, the different varieties of coconut tree plantations, the tropical birds, locusts and other insects resonating wherever we went, the vistas of the sea in its various locations and exposures to the Pacific’s powerful thrust. The highlight of our trip was Kamalaya (the realm of Kamala! or realm of the Lotus), a high-end health spa on the South coast of the island www.kamalaya.com . We visited the grounds and stumbled upon a small cave that had been used for centuries as a shrine by Buddhist monks. It was still well tended; set up for meditation, and the peacefulness and spiritual power within it were easy to merge with. We stayed there for 45 mn before heading through the landscaped terraces that were staggered down the hill towards the beach. We allowed ourselves to taste a fresh watermelon juice in the hut restaurant overlooking the pool, gardens and beach, and gather the energy for the motorbike return trip across the island.
Kamala feeling at home in the monk's cave at the realm of Kamala (Kamalaya)
Day 14: Today we over-did it, on my request to visit Chaweng, the main town on the other side of the island. Moving about has been somewhat energy demanding and today Kamala was feeling like staying put. After half an hour of riding around the island, we discovered a commercial stretch of beach covered by resorts and a main street with cars and motorbikes and hundreds of tourist shops with everything form cell phones to souvenirs. After chilling on the beach for an hour we went for a juice at Absolute Yoga, a health center at Bophut fisherman village. This was a very revealing experience of what exactly we do not want this journey to be. Pushing time and being in places that don’t resonate with us.
Day 15: Today we ended our fast with some tender coconut meat and papaya! We feel deeply satisfied at many levels, physically and morally and proud to have had such a disciplined and positive approach despite the challenges. We are really glad to have made this fast the first experience of our journey, to have cleansed and strengthened ourselves, and boosted our immune systems for the months to come. I took a 2 hour hike up to a nearby waterfall and back, my first contact with the Thai jungle realm. A festival for my senses: birds singing, locusts buzzing like electric circular saws, dense chlorophyll-rich vegetation and humid afternoon heat. I had to harness every bit of energy to make the hike.
We are also very happy to know that we will soon be eating Thai cuisine!
The paradox of the fasting experience at Hillary’s is that you spend your time learning and talking about… food!
Epilogue We had fruit for the first 3 days then slowly started eating salad and raw vegetables, then cooked foods. By the time we got back to Bangkok, we were having the delicious Thai street food, while paying close attention to ingredients and produce freshness. Eating in the street allows exactly that. You can choose the vendor who’s stall and produce inspire you, and you can order specifically what you want.. While specifying”Mai Sai Pong Choo Rot”, no MSG please!
As you may understand by now, I would recommend a supervised fast to anyone who wishes to invest in their health and in wellness education. And with Hillary who is such an inspiring person to be around and to learn from...
Hillary – (Alex lying down in background)
Kamala overlooking fishing boats from Big Buddha temple near Bophut fisherman village
Day 3: We were tired today getting up and only after our yoga lesson did we start flexing and waking up our bodies. I can feel my stomach shrink after 2 days of fruit and 3 days of fasting. The colonic process is difficult and painful at times; it is very humbling to take myself through a process that sheds parts of me with no immediate reward or gratification. Though to impose on oneself the discipline and let go of our emotional attachment for food and relinquish the use of stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol and meat is in itself a reward. I’m feeling that our resolve to define our own direction and take action accordingly is a significant gift in itself.
Today was the new moon, the Chinese New year; a few firecrackers and fireworks blew into the dark sky and the silence of the early night around Na Thon. Tim, a co-faster, gave us our Chinese astrology. This is the year of the Rat, and for Snakes and Dogs like Kamala and me, a year to take care of one’s health. Very well aligned with the goals of our journey that include extensive yoga instruction and practice and a rejuvenation retreat in an Ayurvedic center!
Richard drinking liver cleanse – fishermen on the bay of peace at 6:00 am
Day 4: I had a tough day with the liver cleanse of Epsom salt and herbal concoction that bloated me all evening and made the evening and next morning colonics very painful and energy depleting. I felt I was actually making myself sick, though after a half hour of recovery I ended up feeling much lighter and clearer.
My memories of similar intestinal disorders and pains go back to my period in Africa in 1976 and the years that followed. I did not believe in seeing doctors at the time and thought I should just bite the bullet and deal with my physical issues and pains by being “strong”. I’m now wondering about the emotional component of chronic pains that send us back to old pain memories. In what way would the emotional content in fact be part of the trigger that brings conditions to become chronic? In my case the painful dysentery in Africa at age 17, coupled with years of lower back pain I endured my building contractor career in France around age 25, seem present today in very similar ways as they felt at the time. Perhaps clearing the emotional memories of endured pains would relieve the condition itself...
I have re-discovered a very direct linkage between my intestines and my lower back/sacrum pains, particularly this week during intestinal massages. I feel extreme pain in my back exactly where my inter-vertebral disks are crushed, when certain painful spots of my intestines are being massaged. The masseuse told me it was blocked build-up in my intestines that was creating pain.It seems that this fast is taking a physical self-discovery turn I did not expect. The inner focus is bringing heightened awareness and revelations in ways I had not encountered so far.
Richard journaling on bungalow porch – Sunset from Big Buddha temple
Day 5: We had a fantastic workshop this morning with Winnie Rode, a Buddhist monk, philosophy and meditation teacher www.singingbowlasia.com on Singing Tibetan bowl therapy. He gave a rational introduction, mingling quantum physics and traditional secular knowledge on how life all originates from and boils down to vibration, illustrating how and why specific vibrations can directly affect our physical state. He then gave us a stunning demonstration by practicing the resonating bowls on the little group of six participants. With focus and an open mind, I experienced each vibration deep inside and felt wholly peaceful and aligned at the end of our session. It was a spiritual experience, instantaneously expanding my consciousness.
Winnie Rode and hi singing Tibetan bowls – Bungee (short for bungalow) sleeping on our seats
Developing our sensitivity to more subtle realms of life is facilitated by the fasting process, making us more open and receptive. This is such a rare opportunity in our busy, fast-paced, professionally dominated lives, where external factors define most of our schedule and activities, and end up defining our image of ourselves as well as our thinking patterns. Humans are a highly adaptive species and adaptation comes with a cost. I have found that for many people, the cost is that of dissociating one’s self from deep aspirations and desires, fragmenting our experience of life and favoring some while neglecting others. We then seek compensations and/or develop pathologies, as our minds and bodies try to balance, to even-out our sanity and health with our self-imposed life-styles. I have been working on the search for balance for the past 20 years, with more or less success at different times. To maintain this as a wellness focus seems the only way to attempt achieving it. And sometimes it takes but little time in itself to focus inwards; a few minutes can often be enough. It’s like breathing consciously, we just forget to do it…
Day 7: This evening we had a closing session as most of the group was leaving at the end of the one week fast. We each took words from a bowl and shared the meaning we could find in them. I drew Triumph, Protection, Understanding, Surrender, Serenity, Presence and Healing; these resonated strongly with the intent of my journey: I will Triumph. Protection comes with the Understanding of Surrender. Developing a Serene Presence is the path of Healing. It’s all in my hands. I felt perfection, blessed and grateful in the closing of this first week.
My words of guidance – Hillary, Kamala reading her words and David who lives in Shanghai
Day 8: I have found my body to be tighter and stiffer every day when getting up in the morning. The fasting and weight-loss process have a contracting and drying effect –despite good hydration. The toxins from years of average attention to my well-being are emerging. Though when I practice Yoga and get twice weekly Thai massages I feel my body becoming more and more flexible every day, taking postures and stretching in ways I never would have expected to complete a week ago. Stretching and muscular exertion are important during a physical detox program, to ensure toxins are being eliminated through different media. Yoga has been a revelation during this retreat and I can only try to imagine what several months of practice will do to me when we start practicing intensively.
Richard and his words –
Raja teaching us all there is to know about coconuts
Raja gave us a class today dedicated to coconuts. From a chemical composition standpoint it is the closest thing in the vegetal world to human breast milk, high in mineral content and oil, with more than 50% oil content. Coconut oil is highly digestible –a short chain molecule, fluid and unstable-, directly digestible by the stomach, requiring no liver work to be processed. During WW II it was used as a substitute for intra-venous serum for wounded soldiers in the South Pacific. One coconut tree can yield up to150 nuts per year!
Day 9: I feel blessed to be doing our fast during an new moon period and that we will be coming out of it in its ascending phase just before the full moon. A fast is an utterly inward-directed process, and little by little I feel myself focusing more and more on the holistic experience itself, taking care of my body and of my spirit. As we have entered the second week, my energy is stable, though I detect a calmer mind and a stronger spiritual experience of my daily life. Our sleep/wake rhythm has changed in the past 10 days, waking up very early (between 5:00 and 6:00) and getting to bed by 10:00. Big difference for two night owls! One factor for me has been the lack of stimulants, tea or coffee during the day, alcohol in the evening, which easily push-out bedtime… This second week we are also free of the instruction courses; our time is our own, restrained only by the rhythm of twice daily colonics and evening broth.
Kamala taking notes at Raja’s class – Pon finishing Kamala's Thai massage
Day 11: Today for the first time in the past 11 days we have left the 300 x 50 yard stretch of beach we have kept to. I can not remember such an extended period of time when I have not moved around at all. Staying low-key has been a key success factor in surrendering to the fasting process, avoiding “doing things”. Feeling a very clear, light energy, we headed out on a motorbike to Na Thon a couple of miles away, to shop for some Indonesian batik sarongs in a small local shop kept by a charming old lady, hidden at the end of a side street. We spent more than an hour discovering the batik prints and cloth qualities before heading for a watermelon juice (yes, we played hooky) at June’s Arts Caf้. The break was well needed given my painful sacrum. We ended the day walking through the food stalls near the pier, inhaling the fried garlic and Thai basil vapors while detailing the varieties of fresh garden and sea produce offered in steamed, fried, deep fried or curried preparations. All of this with the excitement of soon being able to actually taste some of it! Though it may sound dreadful, our detachment from food and our genuine pleasure to not be eating were well enough established at this point to make our experience thoroughly enjoyable.
Our first excursion: June’s Art and Crafts caf้ in Na Thon – Richard reading at Kamalaya resort
Day 12: We walked half an hour to town yesterday to get another motorbike, passing a few house hamlets with families gathered chatting outside, coconut farmers, a sawmill specialized in coconut wood products, a couple of blacksmiths and numerous food vendors. We ended up in town spending more time at our favorite batik shop and came back for our evening broth and colonics.
Day 13: We have not yet visited the island other than the north coast and have few days left to do so. We took a ride on the motorbike down small side roads along the coast, devouring with our eyes all the details of rural Thai life on the island. The luxuriant vegetation, the different varieties of coconut tree plantations, the tropical birds, locusts and other insects resonating wherever we went, the vistas of the sea in its various locations and exposures to the Pacific’s powerful thrust. The highlight of our trip was Kamalaya (the realm of Kamala! or realm of the Lotus), a high-end health spa on the South coast of the island www.kamalaya.com . We visited the grounds and stumbled upon a small cave that had been used for centuries as a shrine by Buddhist monks. It was still well tended; set up for meditation, and the peacefulness and spiritual power within it were easy to merge with. We stayed there for 45 mn before heading through the landscaped terraces that were staggered down the hill towards the beach. We allowed ourselves to taste a fresh watermelon juice in the hut restaurant overlooking the pool, gardens and beach, and gather the energy for the motorbike return trip across the island.
Kamala feeling at home in the monk's cave at the realm of Kamala (Kamalaya)
Day 14: Today we over-did it, on my request to visit Chaweng, the main town on the other side of the island. Moving about has been somewhat energy demanding and today Kamala was feeling like staying put. After half an hour of riding around the island, we discovered a commercial stretch of beach covered by resorts and a main street with cars and motorbikes and hundreds of tourist shops with everything form cell phones to souvenirs. After chilling on the beach for an hour we went for a juice at Absolute Yoga, a health center at Bophut fisherman village. This was a very revealing experience of what exactly we do not want this journey to be. Pushing time and being in places that don’t resonate with us.
Day 15: Today we ended our fast with some tender coconut meat and papaya! We feel deeply satisfied at many levels, physically and morally and proud to have had such a disciplined and positive approach despite the challenges. We are really glad to have made this fast the first experience of our journey, to have cleansed and strengthened ourselves, and boosted our immune systems for the months to come. I took a 2 hour hike up to a nearby waterfall and back, my first contact with the Thai jungle realm. A festival for my senses: birds singing, locusts buzzing like electric circular saws, dense chlorophyll-rich vegetation and humid afternoon heat. I had to harness every bit of energy to make the hike.
We are also very happy to know that we will soon be eating Thai cuisine!
The paradox of the fasting experience at Hillary’s is that you spend your time learning and talking about… food!
Epilogue We had fruit for the first 3 days then slowly started eating salad and raw vegetables, then cooked foods. By the time we got back to Bangkok, we were having the delicious Thai street food, while paying close attention to ingredients and produce freshness. Eating in the street allows exactly that. You can choose the vendor who’s stall and produce inspire you, and you can order specifically what you want.. While specifying”Mai Sai Pong Choo Rot”, no MSG please!
As you may understand by now, I would recommend a supervised fast to anyone who wishes to invest in their health and in wellness education. And with Hillary who is such an inspiring person to be around and to learn from...
Hillary – (Alex lying down in background)
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Creating the empty space of fasting
Our first step in Asia
Check in at SFO - Very tired in Tokyo-Narita
Leaving Manhattan the morning of January 28th, we spent 22 hours on planes and 10 hours in airports, as well as a night layover in California, before arriving at the Atlanta hotel in Bangkok at 1:30 am on the 30th. We had made it! And our adventure was starting with no travel reservations whatsoever beyond the 2 nights in Bangkok…
Richard checking in Atlanta lobby at 1:30 am - Kamala in bedroom 2:30 am
On our way to our retreat
The Atlanta is a retro 1950’s haven in the midst of one of Bangkok’s thriving areas, Sukhumvit Road. The hotel is simple and clean, and hosts a delicious organic, no MSG Thai restaurant. We took our next day to regroup, discover the neighborhood, get a well deserved Thai massage, taste a Thai curry or two and make plans to head the next day to Koh Samui, www.kohsamui-info.com, the island on the South East coast where we were due for our fasting retreat.
Sunset from boat to Koh Samui - Daybreak at 5:30 am on North shore
After taking a taxi, a plane, a bus, a boat and a minivan, we arrived late the next evening on the island and settled at the Sandy Resort, a low budget bungalow outfit. The following morning we were up at 5:00 am and admired the day rising on island’s the North Bay. We spent the next two days on a strict fruit diet and discovered the area before transferring to our final destination, www.baanwasana-resort.com, that would be our home for the next 2 weeks.
Our bungalow for 2 weeks at Wasana -Richard journaling on the porch
You said fasting, cleansing?
Kamala had been aware of Hillary Hitt’s Dharma Healing fasting center www.dharmahealingintl.com for several years. We had decided to start our journey with a two week fast to strengthen our bodies and cleanse ourselves from toxins accumulated in our California life-style, as well as educate ourselves extensively on healthy nutrition.
I had practiced the "master cleanse" a few times, based on drinking as only food a mix of dark maple syrup, lemon juice and water (1 part, 1 part, 8 parts), as much as desired. After getting past the first day of craving and the second of stomach shrinkage, I had regretted stopping after a week –each time for social reasons-, when feeling at my very best. The sense of lightness and agility, my increased level of physical and moral energy and a unique mind-body-spirit congruence were the repeated prizes for my discipline. And shedding extra pounds was the icing on the cake! A "real" cleanse, such as a Liver cleanse or the one we were about to start, involves taking medicinal herbal preparations to cleanse your entire system from within as well as the practice of intestinal irrigations called enemas -or colonics- to increase the flushing of old, accumulated dry matter from the colon.
Hillary’s center is a simple bungalow and porch on the Bay of Peace, a deserted beach South of Na Thon, where a shallow coral reef has prohibited all resort development. The small house serves as base camp for the daily courses/workshops and as logistics hub for all needed products, colonic preparations, drinking water, herb tea,... This is one place among a handful around the world that provide the environment, the process and supervision as well as extensive information to adequately undertake a fast and reset one’s health.
Dharma Healing Intl corporate headquarters
A fasting-cleanse is no vacation!
Despite the paradisiacal setting and the relaxed atmosphere the daily process was demanding and quite humbling. We started our daily activities around 7:00 am with a coffee colonic, followed by Chinese herbs and later some Vitamin C and fresh coconut water. Yoga class was around 9:30 for an hour or so, followed by the morning instruction until 1:00. The afternoon was open until 6:30, allowing us to rest and tend to our travel needs such as journaling, correspondence or email and web access at the hotel next door. In the evening we had more instruction and a bowl of light vegetable broth, as a mineral supplement needed during the fast, before heading home for the second session of daily colonics. By the time we were done, around 9:30, we would drop in bed, until around 5:00 or 6:00 the next morning.
Yoga under the coconut trees - Hilary leading the Raw "cooking" class
The effects over two weeks
As time passed, we went from the sensation of a shrinking stomach the first couple of days to a lightness and peacefulness, to a very slow pace into the second week, mainly focused on our bodies and our thoughts, a more spiritual space created by the lack of activities, entertainment, stimulations and food. The last couple of days we were feeling weaker and with limited physical stamina, such as during yoga classes, however totally functioning.
We drank more coconut water to respond to the need for nutrients/minerals and even got around and about the island on the motorbike. This requires a high level of focus and reflexes given the number of hazards in the island’s chaotic traffic. Our mental abilities were fine at all times, though our mind was much, much calmer and more insightful. For hundreds of years many religions have prescribed fasting as an ascetic practice, with main goal to pacify the charnel needs and free the body and mind of stimulations.
Day 15: feeling very, very, very, VERY good
Check in at SFO - Very tired in Tokyo-NaritaLeaving Manhattan the morning of January 28th, we spent 22 hours on planes and 10 hours in airports, as well as a night layover in California, before arriving at the Atlanta hotel in Bangkok at 1:30 am on the 30th. We had made it! And our adventure was starting with no travel reservations whatsoever beyond the 2 nights in Bangkok…
Richard checking in Atlanta lobby at 1:30 am - Kamala in bedroom 2:30 amOn our way to our retreat
The Atlanta is a retro 1950’s haven in the midst of one of Bangkok’s thriving areas, Sukhumvit Road. The hotel is simple and clean, and hosts a delicious organic, no MSG Thai restaurant. We took our next day to regroup, discover the neighborhood, get a well deserved Thai massage, taste a Thai curry or two and make plans to head the next day to Koh Samui, www.kohsamui-info.com, the island on the South East coast where we were due for our fasting retreat.
Sunset from boat to Koh Samui - Daybreak at 5:30 am on North shore
After taking a taxi, a plane, a bus, a boat and a minivan, we arrived late the next evening on the island and settled at the Sandy Resort, a low budget bungalow outfit. The following morning we were up at 5:00 am and admired the day rising on island’s the North Bay. We spent the next two days on a strict fruit diet and discovered the area before transferring to our final destination, www.baanwasana-resort.com, that would be our home for the next 2 weeks.
Our bungalow for 2 weeks at Wasana -Richard journaling on the porch
You said fasting, cleansing?
Kamala had been aware of Hillary Hitt’s Dharma Healing fasting center www.dharmahealingintl.com for several years. We had decided to start our journey with a two week fast to strengthen our bodies and cleanse ourselves from toxins accumulated in our California life-style, as well as educate ourselves extensively on healthy nutrition.
I had practiced the "master cleanse" a few times, based on drinking as only food a mix of dark maple syrup, lemon juice and water (1 part, 1 part, 8 parts), as much as desired. After getting past the first day of craving and the second of stomach shrinkage, I had regretted stopping after a week –each time for social reasons-, when feeling at my very best. The sense of lightness and agility, my increased level of physical and moral energy and a unique mind-body-spirit congruence were the repeated prizes for my discipline. And shedding extra pounds was the icing on the cake! A "real" cleanse, such as a Liver cleanse or the one we were about to start, involves taking medicinal herbal preparations to cleanse your entire system from within as well as the practice of intestinal irrigations called enemas -or colonics- to increase the flushing of old, accumulated dry matter from the colon.
Hillary’s center is a simple bungalow and porch on the Bay of Peace, a deserted beach South of Na Thon, where a shallow coral reef has prohibited all resort development. The small house serves as base camp for the daily courses/workshops and as logistics hub for all needed products, colonic preparations, drinking water, herb tea,... This is one place among a handful around the world that provide the environment, the process and supervision as well as extensive information to adequately undertake a fast and reset one’s health.
Dharma Healing Intl corporate headquartersA fasting-cleanse is no vacation!
Despite the paradisiacal setting and the relaxed atmosphere the daily process was demanding and quite humbling. We started our daily activities around 7:00 am with a coffee colonic, followed by Chinese herbs and later some Vitamin C and fresh coconut water. Yoga class was around 9:30 for an hour or so, followed by the morning instruction until 1:00. The afternoon was open until 6:30, allowing us to rest and tend to our travel needs such as journaling, correspondence or email and web access at the hotel next door. In the evening we had more instruction and a bowl of light vegetable broth, as a mineral supplement needed during the fast, before heading home for the second session of daily colonics. By the time we were done, around 9:30, we would drop in bed, until around 5:00 or 6:00 the next morning.
Yoga under the coconut trees - Hilary leading the Raw "cooking" class
The effects over two weeks
As time passed, we went from the sensation of a shrinking stomach the first couple of days to a lightness and peacefulness, to a very slow pace into the second week, mainly focused on our bodies and our thoughts, a more spiritual space created by the lack of activities, entertainment, stimulations and food. The last couple of days we were feeling weaker and with limited physical stamina, such as during yoga classes, however totally functioning.
Fasters at end of week 1
We drank more coconut water to respond to the need for nutrients/minerals and even got around and about the island on the motorbike. This requires a high level of focus and reflexes given the number of hazards in the island’s chaotic traffic. Our mental abilities were fine at all times, though our mind was much, much calmer and more insightful. For hundreds of years many religions have prescribed fasting as an ascetic practice, with main goal to pacify the charnel needs and free the body and mind of stimulations.
Day 15: feeling very, very, very, VERY good
Before: Atlanta hotel Bangkok - After: Na Thon boat pier Koh Samui
We broke the fast after 15 days, and ate only fruit for the first 3 days. Hillary had prepared enzyme and pro-biotic loaded foods to take with us such as cashew yogurt, kimchi (naturally fermented vegetables), to rebuild intestinal flora before having cooked and more processed foods served in restaurants.
Coming out of the fast has been a refreshing, energizing and exhilarating experience. Our minds and bodies are clear and sharp; we are contented by the simplest things: drinking a cup of green tea, contemplating a landscape or tasting a ripe fruit. Having "so little" has led us to "experience more".
Like walking the labyrinth, living through this fast has taken us to our center and back. We have paid a visit to our guts, literally.
We have gone within and confronted ourselves in the most basic ways. Physically and morally.
And we have taken time to experience emptiness.
Emptiness that creates the space to receive…
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