What Am I Learning About the Himalayas?

Today I did a photo shoot with Eric, my cousin's son and an incredible, beautiful, searching, and growing spirit at the age of 23. During the course of the afternoon he asked me, What are you learning about the Himilayas? Some people just get right to the heart of the matter.

Aaron has recommended a series of books to those of us who are taking the trek later this year. To date I have read two of them (Sacred Waters: A Pilgrimage Up the Ganges River to the Source of Hindu Culture by Stephen Alter, and Living With The Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama) and have begun a third (At the Eleventh Hour by Pandit Ramini Tigunait).

What am I learning?

First, that the world to which we are traveling is embued with spirit in a way that does not align with a traditional western worldview. The history, tradition, and even the day-to-day life of the region carries with it much that can not be explained in the language - or the minds - of "science," "logic," "rational thinking," or even Judeo-Christian mystery. This learning opens the door for another.

Let go of expectation. Expectation becomes a filter through which we allow, or block, experience. What gets through is re-shaped to fit our expectation; what is blocked fades quickly away. I don't know what to expect, and I know that - if it is allowed to be experienced - it will not fit neatly into the boxes that each of us carry with us to make sense of the world. Thus the only way that I can hope to be open to the mystery, the spirit, the soul of the Himalayas is to let go of expectation.

Related to this, I know I also need to Suspend judgment. Judgment comes when we - consciously or not - use a set of standards within us to measure what is occuring (within or outside of us). It implies a right or wrong, better or worse, good or bad, inferior and superior. It does not allow for acceptance of what is, as it is.

There is more to learn before I go.