There is plenty of time to reflect, consider and think in an ashram. Of course, in between all this contemplative time, there’s the other hours where the goal is not to think, but that is another subject altogether.

I’ve found myself pondering about travel. I realize (I am, after all, in Realization aka Room #16) that the times that have had the most lasting impact on me, are the places where I have gone slower and more deeply into the experience.

Having dealt with quite a few tourism PR people on various press trips, I know quite clearly what does NOT work; that is, the two-step march through sites and attractions and as many hotel properties as possible. Those trips are the certain death-knell for any creative story.

I really don’t understand the thinking  that says we need to tour past every national monument and touristic wonderment. It is the stuff of guidebooks, of which there are plenty. Surely they would want something different?

I know I do. I am always looking for the encounter, the zeitgeist, the locus of what makes that destination uniquely itself. But on those press-trips from hell, there is simply no there, there.

In contrast, our recent trip to Wales was exactly what I was hoping for.  Surely, it doesn’t get much slower than our hike along Offa’s Dyke Path trek…the memory of the experience feels deep and rich. And going slowly helped me feel like I entered into the landscape in a much more meaningful and satisfying way.

One of my favourite instructive travel moments was cycling in Ireland with Kevin and our good friends Ray & Judy Gerein. We had stopped at a little lay-by to gaze out over an eternal countryside; stone walls, sheep, rolling hills and the kind of green that screams life and photosynthesis and all things chlorophyll. We simply could not get enough of the pastoral, yet vibrant scene.

As we stood there, gobsmacked by our good fortune and whacks of cycling endorphins, a man wheeled up in a zippy car, slammed to a halt and said, “Anything to see here?” We looked at him, smiled and said, “No.”  He took off as fast as he had come.

He was so busy looking, he was destined never to see.

Here in the ashram, it can’t get much slower.  I already know that this will be one of those experiences that will keep adding layers to my life. With India being a country so richly steeped in gods and gurus, staying in an ashram feels like the iconic Indian experience. What better way to try to get a country’s pulse than to do the very thing it’s renowned for?

The beautiful thing about this kind of slow and deep travel, is that it translates very well to how to ‘travel’ in my home life as well. Our morning satsang discussions with Swamiji have reinforced some key concepts.

That is;  To be satisfied in the present moment is one of the fundamental ways to experience deep joy. By constantly thinking and planning for the future, I am creating a dissatisfaction with my present. This is not to say that I shouldn’t plan, but that the key to a more fulfilled life is to be grateful with what is happening now…whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it doesn’t matter. It is all instructive and necessary for my ongoing evolution. In other words…slow down and pay attention.

My job is to stay present and grateful. Sounds simple. Doesn’t mean it’s easy.