May all beings be well, happy and peaceful

Found this short piece filed away.  Wrote it soon after arriving in Phnom Penh...
Love when the memories are jogged and you get a taste of what it was like in the beginning!  When sights and sounds could actually be shocking...

Don’t miss Wat Langka during your stay in Cambodia.  This is an excellent opportunity to see a beautiful temple, to get a glimpse of Buddhism, and to experience the serenity and stillness that results from meditation. Wat Langka is very accessible - right at the corner of Sihanouk and Street 51. It is one of the original wats in Phnom Penh not destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era.  

I went and experienced meditation myself on Saturday.   Having grown up in a Western country in a workaholic family this does not come naturally for me, but oh how amazing it was. I cannot wait to return. If you are a beginner, don’t worry!  The small instructional booklet provided was an incredible help.   I understood what meditation was, but I had never actually practiced it.  This assistance for beginners is perfect and very useful.  So I got my mat and my cushion, sat in my half lotus and attempted to focus on every breath.  

And then…Thoughts…Itch on my foot…Thoughts…Having to swallow…Thoughts …Itch on my neck…Thoughts…Strange twitch in my right arm…Thoughts…Biting my cheek…Thoughts…So thirsty…Thoughts

It’s like every fiber of your being is rebelling against this one thing that you want to do --- Focus on your breath.  I mean how hard can that be? It sounds so simple. I inevitably continued to find myself either biting my cheek, having an extreme need to swallow, or getting itches or twitches.  It is so strange how acutely aware you become of these sensations in your body (or thoughts in your head). Things I would never have taken notice of before.  But I followed my instructions and as soon as I found myself doing one of these things I focused entirely on it, it went away, and I returned to focusing on my breathing.

The itch went away, the need to scratch it disappeared.  The need for water also disappeared.  Eventually I could focus on just the breathing… and then WOW. My hands got so heavy, my whole body actually.  I felt completely separate from my body, like I was just looking down on it.  I had to open my eyes a couple times to make sure I was still on my mat in the temple!  It was a peculiar and yet extraordinary experience. 

I have so much to learn and cannot wait to go back.  We focus so much on feeding our bodies and being physically fit and often forget to keep our minds fit.

“May all beings be well, happy and peaceful.” 

- Buddhist Loving-kindness prayer