Veer: Meditating in Northern Thailand

I never thought Brian would come with me. I mentioned it to him in May and his response was, "That's all you babe." I sort of figured. I never begged him or brought it up much.

I've always liked philosophy. My world religion's class in college was very good but lacking... to solely read about things in texts books can hardly compare to experiencing an entire culture and it's views on life ... so this would be like a late field trip :)

Wouldn't you know, Brian actually came to me and started asking questions. Within 10 minutes he wanted to go :) I guess the non-nagging approach does work sometimes...

About a month after arriving in Thailand, I got an email saying I would have to decided in the next couple days to lock in the student price for the meditation program. I had written a letter earlier asking for a reduced rate. I must have gotten my letter writing skills from my father. However, instead of complaining, I ask for discounts haha... drop the ole' khun kru :)

FYI: Thailand's hierarchy goes... King, Monks, Teachers, ect. It's nice to be in the top 3 :)

The meditation retreat is a 7 day course in a small northern mountainous town called Loei, which is near Laos. They do the beginner course once a month. Since October was our entire month off, I set the date tentatively... you know... just in case we did get one of our cruises... which we did... and passed up. I hate how money impacts my decisions in life... grrr :)


At the retreat... bottom right corner is the mens living quarters aka where Brian slept.

I should have read the schedule. Probably better I didn't or maybe Brian would have said 'no' for sure haha... Our days stated at 5AM everyday. Not exactly the idealistic vacation, but we were game. After hearing about other retreats, I am grateful it didn't start at 4AM and that we could talk to each other and look each other in the eyes. Yeah, there are some pretty hardcore meditation retreats out here.... I'm so happy we decide to experience the "Middle Way."

After much deliberation and failed attempts as to how we were going to get from Pattaya to the temple in Northern Bangkok to meet the group and take a 8 hour bus trip up north, it actually was quiet simple. I would say that was the start of hitting Thailand's "easy" button on this vaca.

124 Baht ride to the airport. 600 Baht ride to the temple. Then 7 days of non-money spending!

Granted this retreat did cost 3,500 Baht each. Regular price is 5,500 Baht. However, I paid this when I was still thinking in American dollars. It was within 2 months of getting here. It breaks my heart now... hahaha.. not really... some retreats charge way more and some are completely free. You have to consider what kind of experience you are going to have... and if sleeping on a nice comfortable bed is better than a slab of cockroach concrete... if you will be instructed by real monks or a television set... will you eat a single piece of lettuce or a buffet... ect...

The name of our retreat is "Middle Way." It's aim is to meet everyone half way. They understand that outsiders are new to this and do not want to scare them away by harsh circumstances.... so they make everything up to western standards and put an emphasis on comfort in order to make sure all participates are able to concentrate solely on meditation and not on other details like lack of food, bad lodging, ect...

Perfect for me!!!!

Basic outline of our days: We woke up at 5AM... well more like 4:45... in the ladies quarters we woke up to a tiny bell being rang outside. The boys had individual knocks on the door. Electronics were not advised but I had my trusty alarm clock regardless.

We meditated for 30 minutes. Then we sent... no joke... love and kindness for 30 minutes.

They say meditation in the morning is the best because your mind hasn't started racing yet. Well that doesn't apply to my mind. I hated and dreaded 5AM to 6AM. I will admit the last couple days I strolled in 30-45 minutes late... I mean I wasn't "in the zone," anyway... and everyone has their eyes closed so it wasn't like anyone knew... plus it's not like being late to school. We do sign contracts adhering to the rules, but they can't force you to sit in class. Anyway, morning meditation was pointless for me. I mostly just sat and watched the sun come up. Other times I tried to mind-skype with Brian who was also not a morning mediator. Sometimes I sneaked outside to take photos while the rest of the zombies stood still haha... jk... not about sneaking out though :)

From 6AM to 7AM was morning exercise or beginners yoga. This was my favorite part of the morning! One step closer to breakfast! Sometimes we did activities like bubble blowing which is in the video... we look like people in an insane asylum running around in slow motion blowing bubbles. Very fitting :)

Where morning exercise would have taken place. The huge Thai group took this and we did ours in the parking lot haha... still very pretty though :)

BREAKFAST IS SERVED. YAY.

Dining Hall

Brian doing our cup dishes. I hate doing dishes... Our deal -- I drop off our plates and he does the cups. They ask all participants to do their own cups to help out the staff... understandable :)

We have a bit of free time til 9AM. Some took the opportunity to go back to sleep. Others meditated. We just sat around the table mostly and talked. Though talking is not prohibited, it is advised that we do it moderately and thoughtfully... aka... no politics or emotional topics. Gotta think about that mind of ours and keep it in the right place :0)

From 9AM to 11PM we did more meditation and a lesson. From 12PM to 1:30PM we had more free time.

An afternoon stroll with Brian. It didn't rain too much in the mountains luckily.

We did more stretching from 1:30PM to 2PM. From 2PM to 4PM we meditated and did another lesson. From 4PM to 7PM was light refreshment time aka soy milk and free time. Occasionally during this time we would have an activity or have group sharing with an assigned monk. From 7PM to 9PM we had more mediation and another lecture. Then.... BED TIME!!! No late night parties at the retreat... nope... everyone was pretty grandma about it and went to bed. Perfect for this old fogie!

That's right, you didn't miss it. We only eat twice a day. Breakfast and Lunch.

Most of the lessons were in the history of Buddhism or famous monks ect... I found these lectures the most interesting because it felt like being in my world religions class in college except you were getting the lesson from actual monks. I think all religion courses in college should be abroad and travel to each country to learn about their religion. Though that would be one expensive course, I think it would be worth it!

As far as the actual meditation experience... they teach you the basics in how to meditate... and you sit for really long periods of time :) This particular type of meditation wants you to put emphasis on centering your mind at the center of your body. They believe the center of the body to be right above your belly button. You try really hard to relax your body and NOT fall asleep. I only... maybe!!!... fell asleep in the morning sessions... when I wasn't running 'late.'

It was nice to formally be taught the process of meditation. This retreat was really good about not emphasizing the religious aspects of the practice. Though I'm sure they would be thrilled to have converts, they really just want to teach the application of meditation. In our group we had several Christians and other religions other than Buddhists. Never once did we feel a heavy hand trying to force down doctrine. However, it was fun to talk to the monks and try to find out just how many heavens they think exist :) You can't get that sort of teaching in a classroom!

Everyone wore white, or better some weird white that was a tinge blue/purple. I always felt like I was in some alternate universe. My favorite moment was walking out of my woman quarters aka my little house to Brian wearing all white waiting outside the little white fence and pagoda sniffing a flower. It's true he was trying to play off standing so close to the woman quarters while waiting for me and was catching glares from Thai women... haha... but it was very heavenly feeling.

Inside the forbidden womens quarters

Simple but comfortable

Fan essential for keeping any lingering bugs off you at night since you can't kill things. I might have broken that rule a few times. My first room had a trail of ants... I thought... no one has to know... so I stomped on a few and then a few hundred came out of the bed frame... eww.. talk about karma... luckily, I don't think I was found out and was able to switch rooms.

I was the only person who rocked the color. I had bright green pants and orange pants. I hate white. Plus we were backpacking afterward... I didn't want a backpack full of white clothing. I definitely stick out in photos... oops :)

Even better than the overall experience was our group. We had such a young fun group. I would say there was about 20 of us. There were at least 6 teachers... mostly American... all the same age... and the older people in our group were young at heart and very fun! I'm pretty sure our group left an impression.

At the social spot -- the dining room :) From the colored folks... Front row: Me, Nicole, Stefan. Back row: Dougie, Raymond, Morgan, Simon, Danielle, Paulo.

All the female teachers. All American expect one Canadian in the middle. It was the last day... how was I suppose to know to still rock the semi white attire?!? Me, Danielle, Morgan, Nicole, Morgan 2.

All the foreign guys - Netherlands/ Alex, France/Raymond , Germay/Simon , Italy/ Paulo, and Sweden/ Stefan.

Me and the Bster

This is what we do on the last day. We act like Raymond just kicked all of us.

Yay Group #34

In addition to our small farang (foreigner) meditation group, there were about 200 Thai's having their own meditation retreat. Only difference was that their instruction was in Thai and not English and they were not beginners. They also got the fancier meditation hall because they out numbered us. Boo....

Our Meditation Hall

Where the monks sat. That old guy in the picture is the Monk who came up with this technique. No statues of Buddha in this hall... though if you ask me, they worship this guy much the same.

Our classroom :) Right side girls. Left side boys. Brian and I sat across from each other... my purse is second seat back and Brian sat where the white pillow is on the 'chair,' across from my purse. You could use the white chairs in the back if you could not sit Indian style long enough. I guess mainland kids didn't sit on the ground as much as Hawaii kids. All those May Day practices and countless lessons on the floor... I was fine :)

Our Monks: Ven. Sanders and Ven. Rivers. We had one Thai monk too. Monks like to talk alot and tell really lame but funny jokes haha... good times :) Monks have business cards. Who would have though?!?

I could blab on for days about everything, but without further adue... some pictures...