Cambodia
This place struck me with its exotic energy as soon as I landed. As the tuck tuck driver drove me through Siem Reap, and Angkor Wat, I couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear. It was the first time not a substance nor a person brought me such genuine happiness. Instead, it was a place. It was clear money was not prevalent here, but happiness and community proved to play a bigger role in this culture.
Cambodia brought me to a retreat called Hariharilaya. Little did I know what an impact this magical place would have on my life’s perspective. The retreat was held by a man named Joel Altman. I was blessed enough to hear Joel’s teachings through his Dharma talks. I’d like to share some of his wisdom through some key discussion topics & quotes I learned from his talks. I truly believe his teachings accurately represent the freeing spirituality Cambodia radiates.
Meditation: The question is not how long it’ll take for meditation to take its effect, it’s how aware you are, how sensitive you are
“When the sun is on your skin, can you feel it? When you eat chocolate can you feel its effect?”
meditation is not about duality (good vs bad), it’s about simply BEING.
Judgment of other people: don’t focus so much on other people, they’re too back and forth, all over the place. Instead focus your energy on your surroundings — the trees, the plants, the earth
Fleeting Thoughts: Don’t dwell on thoughts. Any thought is not considered the present because if it’s a thought then its already been processed by the brain which means its in the past
“If you’re not living you’re dying”
They key is awareness
Everything is connected with fear — Replace life with fear to life with awareness
A state of flow, of great awareness: this type of sensitivity is a gift and a curse
Yoga practices this by cultivating the mind and the body with each posture
Layers of awareness:
Physical awareness - body, firmness, stability, relaxing
Sensory awareness - paying attention to subtle awareness, softening into that sensation, not fighting it
Breath
Outer focus — fixed gaze
Inner focus — center of the brain, coming back to the seed
I will admit, it was difficult adjusting to the bamboo dirt made hut, no AC in an extremely hot and muggy environment, only vegan food, no electronics, BLASTING Cambodian music throughout the whole village every night at 3am, changing clothes every hour from being drenched in sweat… but once I would “just be still” and appreciate the experience Cambodia was giving me, I felt so enriched with life. For once, aware.