Training the Monkey Mind

Waking up anticipating the adventure of Thailand everyday is a luxury you can't afford to take for granted. The days are flashing by and before you know it a day has turned into a week, a week turns into a month, and then this adventure has ended. We've been so blessed by our companions, support, locals, activities, and food. Taking in the Thai lifestyle and scenery has been exciting and thought-provoking. These past few days in Thailand have been challenging both physically and mentally. However, the never ending support and encouragement from our team allows us to pull through any challenges and gain the most out of the experience.

We departed out of the city of Chiang Mai into the astonishing natural scenery found at Crazy Horse Buttress, site for a thrilling two days of rock climbing and caving. Upon meeting the extremely friendly and amusing staff, we dove right into learning how to rock climb up and then rappel down the cave walls of the mountain (safely). The climbs altered in difficultly which was beneficial with everyone's different climbing abilities. After examining our new scrapes and bruises, we set up camp within a secluded campground. We visited a local market and challenged ourselves into purchasing our own delicious dinner for only 60 baht, or a little less than two US dollars. Whether it was roasted crickets, fresh corn, or flavored meat, every person found food to satisfy his/her taste buds. Following a cold bucket shower in the evening, our awesome crew took the time to teach us some useful Thai phrases, methods to keep up a good attitude while traveling, and the important skill of using a squat toilet. We were then gifted with a lesson on how to make the popular Thai version of campfire s'mores. The process of slowly roasting leftover sticky rice and then either adding butter, sugar, coconut milk, and/or salt involved a lot more patience than many marshmallow burners were used to.. Even though some were disappointed with the lack of similarity to the typical marshmallow s'mores, it was still the tastiest way to end our challenging day along with sharing riddles and stories. The following morning, we awoke early and headed back to the mountain cave for a full day of rockclimbing, rappelling, ziplining, and caving. I think it's safe to say that we have all turned into adrenaline junkies by the end of the day..And fortunately, only one of us had the inability to climb out of the cave and was left behind to join the bats, cave worms, and hand-sized spiders.

After our farewells to the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing staff, we headed back into the city of Chiang Mai for a free evening of whatever we wanted to do. We then packed our bags once more for ourselves to partake in a 24 hour meditation retreat led by well-trained monks of Wat Suan Dok. These 24 hours involved identical white clothing, a lack of speaking, and thorough lessons on Buddhism and meditation. Learning mindfulness and focus through sitting and walking meditation were the primary methods in which we were challenged with the complicated and seemingly impossible yet important task of "training our monkey minds". Even if many of us found frustration, sleep, or overthinking involved in our meditation, we all learned some method of relaxing/mindfulness that can aid us in our future endeavors. As we move along with more enriching adventures throughout this "land of smiles", we all continue to pick up fond memories and life lessons within our new family. The time is flying by more quickly than we can imagine, but hopefully the ability to practice mindfulness in every moment will allow the time to last a little bit longer.

Khap pun ka!

Rachel and Christina