Friday, May 30, 2014

Thai Spice and Sweat: Back into the Darkroom

         I landed in Phuket, Thailand towards to the end of April. Taxi drivers and hotel recruiters charging insanely high prices greeted me to this magical country. Overwhelmed with anxiety, I put my pack on and just began to walk. I had no idea where I was going, but I just needed to get away from the insanity of the airport. As the sun was going down, I poked my head into a few hotels around the airport to inquire about a night’s stay. Again, everyone was trying to get an arm and a leg from the tourists arriving off the planes. I kept walking. By the grace of God, I walked by a fresh squeezed orange juice stand that gave me a moment to get grounded and cool off.
Wow it was hot. I was sweating bullets and no one seemed to have a good direction for me. I grabbed a local map and saw a small piece of “national park” land a couple of kilometers away. I hoofed it to the trees. I arrived at a beautiful white sand beach just as the sun was setting, put my pack down, strung up my hammock in a ninja zone, stripped my clothes off an jumped in the warm waters of Thailand. It is always in these moments that the bliss of life and the synchronicity of the flow hits me; naked and free in the twilight, surrounded by ocean and big trees is a small piece of heaven.
 A bus and boat brought me to the island of Koh Phangan. Immediately I could feel the “party” vibe that tourists were bringing to the island. The movie, “The Beach,” was partially based off a small community of hippies that formed on the outskirts of this island many years ago, but this “vibe” has quickly changed. Now there is a famous “full moon” party that brings thrill seekers to the island to get hammered under the moonlight. The main strip feels like an ad from the guidebook “The Lonely Planet.” Backpackers that are looking for a cheap place to travel and party.
I rented a scooter for a week and headed towards Surat Thani, the “yogi” section of the island. There is a Tantric community here (Agamma) that I heard about, so I poked my head around. I had plans of entering a darkroom that was created by Phangan Earthworks in the central part of the island in 4 days. I thought it would be wise to cleanse beforehand. I was disappointed with what I was seeing on this island. I dropped my bags in a “new-age” yoga center and told the manager that I would do a 3 day cleansing program with them, but I wanted to go to the beach first.
I took a scooter ride and ended up at Orion, an absolute health sanctuary located right on the beach. They also offered a 3 day cleanse program for a similar price. Woops. I grabbed my bags from the other place, offered to pay a cleaning fee, and thanked God that I did not give them a deposit! Orion served as an incredible sanctuary for my next 3 days. I drank Coconuts, fresh juice, performed colemas, herbal steam baths, thai massage, reiki, yoga, and dance.
I was ready for the darkness. I entered the darkroom with only water, wild-honey I purchased off a “bush man,” and Ormus Gold (specks of gold you drink). The Grand Cardinal cross just occurred in the sky, the sun was ready to Eclipse on the 2nd day, and I would exit the darkroom on the New Moon on May 1st, earth day. Everything seemed to line up beautifully.
The darkroom was damn hot. It is built with earth bags in a dome shape with the bathroom connected externally. A few solar fans are built into the walls of the domes, but they are to be used sparingly. Three days in the dark is nothing compared to my experience in Guatemala. I knew I could do it.
When I entered, my stomach was completely empty as I had sweat and flushed everything out of my system at Orion. After my initial sleep (entering complete darkness brings an immediate sense of hibernation to me), I woke up sweating and did not stop sweating for three days. Even if I was sitting completely still, I was sweating.
On the third day I began seeing visions and losing consciousness to low blood pressure. I would stand up to turn on the fan, and golden light would rush into my vision. My head would spin, and I would usually fall over. I began preparing myself for this, as I needed to turn the fans on and off quite frequently. As I stood, I would brace myself and try and see into the light before I fell over. I don’t recommend doing this. If you are interested in the darkroom, it can be a delightful experience. But too much heat and fasting do not combine well.
The screaming message I received when I was in the darkroom was: Go to China.
The greatest lesson was learned upon exiting the darkness. After watching the sunrise and singing with my Ukulele, I made my way towards town to drink a coconut. I passed by “The House of Healing;” the home of a Thai healer/soldier/monk whom I had been working with for a few days before the dark room. He was trying to help me pop my left hip in place. He told me it was energetic, and that I needed to forgive my mother. He became frustrated with me and told me that I should come to him after the darkroom and he will teach me Buddhist meditation. Sure enough, as I scooted through the bare streets of town, he was in his front yard raking the lawn.
“How was your meditation?” he asked me. Eyes glazed over, light headed, and ravenous, I told him it was hot. “Would you like to learn the Buddhist meditation now? Sit on that stone wall” he said as he pointed. I sat down and observed him. He began raking the lawn again. After a few minutes, his eyes met mine and he said, “Do you get it?” I smiled. He said, “Every moment is meditation. You don’t need to go sit in a cave to meditate. Every breath is meditation. When I pull my rake, I exhale. I create bad Karma because I kill many bugs. Then I inhale, and reset my rake. I create good Karma by creating a beautiful garden for more life.”
Before leaving the Island, I wanted to spend a few days on Wae Nam beach (where the hippies hid out many years ago) and check out “The Sanctuary” – a yoga community off the beaten path.
After a few days of swimming, drinking coconuts, and observing the “yogis” I bumped into a Brazilean woman that had been living on this beach for the past 7 years. She explained to me how things change so quickly. “The hippies find a nice place to live, be peaceful, do yoga, and grow food; but then everyone wants to come. People want to make money, so more boats come. More people means more partying. Everything has changed so quickly.” Three days was enough time for me to observe this space, appreciate it, and leave. I was on the small boat leaving The Sanctuary when I heard a man yell from the beach to his friends, “Wine and Yoga. That’s life.”
I met an incredible couple from Estonia on my way to Bankok. We shared many discussions about our travels, jammed Ukulele and Guitars, and shared food. Estonia seems like a fairy land. A place I would like to visit!
My mission in Bankok was to get my Chinese Visa and to experience authentic Thai food. I got a room with a dude on AirBnB who was in perfect location. After a long journey and a clouded mind, he engaged me in conversation. One thing lead to another, and all of the sudden he was telling me about the women dancing in glass containers that I could go buy. If I wanted, he would take me there. If I really wanted, he would get me a dirty magazine to pick a girl out from and he knew someone that could find her for me. “Ummmmm…..No thank you. In fact, that’s disgusting. I feel bad for those women.” He never spoke with me again regarding those matters.
I met a few good people in Bankok, ate incredibly spicy food, rode a boat down a river, visited temples and Buddhas, received massage, and walked most of the city on foot. I was incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of shopping malls, tourism, peculiar street food, Thai Boxing on the streets, and strange sexual activity rooted in this city. The highlight of my trip: receiving my China Visa and booking my flight for the next morning in route to Wudang Mountain to study Taiji – where a long awaited adventure begins!


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