Some Final Thoughts…and Lessons Learned.

I was asked to write down the top ten lessons I have learned in India, and I am having a hard time.  Call me unstable, call me a mess, but I can’t go without some sort of strong emotional response…there is just so much on my heart and mind.  How do I sum things up?  Is that possible?  Should I even try?  Regardless of the questions, I think the process is an important one, so here goes nothing…

1.  Recognize, acknowledge, and admit that I am a part of the problem, whether I like it or not.  Dwell in this reality and be sure to let this existence inform and challenge as I live out my beautifully imperfect life.

2.  Ask questions of everything and keep the questions alive and relevant.  Don’t give away the burden of proof or the responsibility, but see the questions as part of my own journey and pursuit.

3.  Value family, friends, and important traditions.  Not just because you’re supposed to, but because these people and activities inform and teach us about the world in ways we simply can’t know through classes, books, etc.

4.  Detach from views, see life as the teacher.  Operating from a good vs. bad, legalistic, fundamental perspective is contributing to the pain in the world.  Don’t just blindly follow.

5.  Question why you have beliefs and whether or not holding them benefits you in any way.  If there is no benefit, drop the beliefs and start searching again.

6.  Science, technology, and efficiency are so overrated…don’t trust them as far as you can throw them, and don’t let them rule your experiences.  Know that other truths, identities, and lives are out there and they are realities as well.

7.  It may not be Buddhist, but dive fully, deeply, and emotionally into your thoughts, feelings, and ideas.  Once you do this, then you know these feelings and you can detch from them.  Sounds like I am some kind of expert…but don’t worry, I’m not…it just makes sense to me.

8.  Don’t “have” experiences…it is altogether unfulfilling and quite a waste.  Live in and fully “do” the experience because it will forever last with you.  Don’t see experiences as a competition piece-as who can “have” the best, wildest, etc.- but be open to the transformation that can come.

9.  Hold up the universe as a mirror of your soul.  You are reflected in your perceptions of the world and the interactions you have here.

10.  Time “wasted” well is time well spent.

So, there is the list for now…a product of four months, and arguably twenty-two years, of thought…and a constantly changing moment of now.