Journey Of Self Discovery.

[stanny]

Hi all, a little about myself. I am borned and raised in Southeast Asia but I have alot of western influence, come from a well to do family although not entirely rich, and I work in the corporations. Everyday, I feel more and more empty inside. I'm afraid, soon there will be nothing left. I am thinking of leaving the world of material goods behind. Social status, wealth and all that have no meaning to me. I want to find an adventure, I want to discover something outside the office and I never want to return. And for this, I have some money saved up but probably not enough. That should about sum it all up.

Thing is, I've tried to have a self discovery adventure before and I failed. I went to Thailand alone for a couple of months and did sleazy touristy things and I lost sight of my plan. I met up with people whom made money everything to them. They lust for social status so that they can feel great, powerful and superior to others. They disgust me. Soon after, ironically, money became my obstacle and I couldn't go on. I want it to be different this time. I don't want to lead a material life anymore. And so now I need some suggestions, for a real adventure. Think along the lines of the movie The Beach and Into the Wild. I want to go off to lands unknown, and experience something out of the city, and write a novel.

Perhaps on an island, where the people are nice and friendly, and the small beach resorts would let me stay and eat for free if I helped out, and I would continue writing my novel. Perhaps in the Himalayan Mountains, picking vegetables for consumption and making small talk with fellow travelers about the weather, and I would continue writing my novel. Perhaps at a remote lake, where I could fish and talk all day to the fisherman about the fish, and I would continue writing my novel. You get the picture.

I need some suggestions for the whole overall plan. Locations, ideal practices, how to do it, adventure tips, etc. As of now, I have nothing concrete. This will happen soon, and I will lie to my folks that my company transfered me there because I don't want to break their heart. All they ever want is for me to have a steady job and income, but that is the last thing on my mind. Maybe it's a little selfish, leaving everything behind, I don't know. I will call back once in a while, and if I ever finish my novel, I'll return home.

[Samuian]

....if I ever finish my novel, I'll return home.

..is like learning "how to walk" unless you don't do it yourself... you'll never learn!

Just go, look, listen... percieve the world around you and, if you know how to listen... the world will tell you your "novel"...

Have fun!

[traveller5000]

why don't you find a job that pays, tough it out for 3-6 months, save up enough money, then follow your dream until the money runs out ? while you are working, do some research into the best place suited for you, this will help you get up in the morning and go to work. good luck with your dream.

[RueFang]

Sounds like you should do a long stay at a vipasana retreat somewhere to find the cause of why you feel so empty. It's very confronting and challenging to the extreme and may even provide the basis of your novel

[jbowman1993]

Read "Living, Loving, and Learning" by Leo Buscaglia. It will change your life. It did for me.

[eek]

Only you can know what you are looking for..but if you wish to get your teeth into something substantial and emotionally rewarding you could check out volunteering sites for global volunteering and/or volunteering in your home country. A good one is: http://www.go-mad.org/ as it doesnt ask you to pay some crazy price to volunteer..just asks for your physical help (some ask for small donation or small amount for living expenses). Im sure a good hunt on the internet about volunteer opportunities you are particularly interested in will bring up a whole host of possible rewarding experiences. http://www.i-to-i.com/ is a fantastic site for volunteer adventures. One of my friends went on a conservation trip with them, and said it was amazing. However, they do charge quite a lot of money for you to "volunteer".

You could also check out this 'adventure' site for info and/or inspiration: http://www.worldwidequest.com/ (Seems v expensive to me to be honest, but then again i dont have a big budget. Anyway, I find sites like that can be inspirational and give me ideas about what to look for, even if outside my price range.)

Good luck

Edited March 10, 2008 by eek

[DerekP]

Sounds like you should do a long stay at a vipasana retreat somewhere to find the cause of why you feel so empty. It's very confronting and challenging to the extreme and may even provide the basis of your novel

I absolutely second that. The Vipassana meditation retreat is amazing, and while personally I didn't "find myself" through it, many people do. (But it was still oh so worth it.)

Check it out. The retreats are 100% free, you stay for 10 days, they give you free food and free lodging. (They're completely donation based.)

The site is Dhamma.org, the list of retreats in Thailand is at http://www.dhamma.org/en/bycountry/ap/th.shtml - There's about 2-3 a month.

Cheers =)

[xsplat]

Yes, if you have the interest, a Vipassana retreat is an excellent, if difficult, adventure. One that can stay with you for years. In my early twenties I did a 3 month retreat in a Buddhist monastery, and followed it up with a 9 week solitary summer forest retreat, worked, went back for 9 hours a day meditation for 3 months in the monastery, and followed that up by 11 weeks solitary winter forest retreat. Tough, tough work, but man, it was the happiest time of my life. I felt fantastic. Fantastic enough to get slightly fanatic about it, but I don't think much harm was done with that, and it kept me touching in with mindfulness and going on further meditation adventures.

Some people take massage or chi-kung courses in Chiang Mai as their adventure of self discovery. It good to do self discovery excersises in a group setting, sometimes.

Some places offer continuing ed programs, that you can take while you are still working. Yoga, or martial arts, or writing, or meditation all help to make a person feel grounded and enjoying life. And classes have the benefit of letting your rub elbows with like minded folks, or folks with interests you never heard of but that might grab you.

Edited March 11, 2008 by xsplat

[Austhaied]

Sounds like you should do a long stay at a vipasana retreat somewhere to find the cause of why you feel so empty. It's very confronting and challenging to the extreme and may even provide the basis of your novel

I'll third (or fourth) that.

The greatest thing that you could do for yourself.

[mistresserika]

Hi all, a little about myself. I am borned and raised in Southeast Asia but I have alot of western influence, come from a well to do family although not entirely rich, and I work in the corporations. Everyday, I feel more and more empty inside. I'm afraid, soon there will be nothing left. I am thinking of leaving the world of material goods behind. Social status, wealth and all that have no meaning to me. I want to find an adventure, I want to discover something outside the office and I never want to return. And for this, I have some money saved up but probably not enough. That should about sum it all up.

Thing is, I've tried to have a self discovery adventure before and I failed. I went to Thailand alone for a couple of months and did sleazy touristy things and I lost sight of my plan. I met up with people whom made money everything to them. They lust for social status so that they can feel great, powerful and superior to others. They disgust me. Soon after, ironically, money became my obstacle and I couldn't go on. I want it to be different this time. I don't want to lead a material life anymore. And so now I need some suggestions, for a real adventure. Think along the lines of the movie The Beach and Into the Wild. I want to go off to lands unknown, and experience something out of the city, and write a novel.

Perhaps on an island, where the people are nice and friendly, and the small beach resorts would let me stay and eat for free if I helped out, and I would continue writing my novel. Perhaps in the Himalayan Mountains, picking vegetables for consumption and making small talk with fellow travelers about the weather, and I would continue writing my novel. Perhaps at a remote lake, where I could fish and talk all day to the fisherman about the fish, and I would continue writing my novel. You get the picture.

I need some suggestions for the whole overall plan. Locations, ideal practices, how to do it, adventure tips, etc. As of now, I have nothing concrete. This will happen soon, and I will lie to my folks that my company transfered me there because I don't want to break their heart. All they ever want is for me to have a steady job and income, but that is the last thing on my mind. Maybe it's a little selfish, leaving everything behind, I don't know. I will call back once in a while, and if I ever finish my novel, I'll return home.

Try getting a job and working for a living like most of the rest of us, instead of Spongeing off of other people. .....or you could try going to the moon!!!

[chownah]

Stanny,

I'm sure you will be able to write a good novel......your writing ability already improved dramatically from your first paragraph of your post to the second paragraph...and it continues to improve throughout your entire post!!! With a learning curve like that I predict you will win the Nobel prize for literature within a few months!!!

Keep up the good work,

Chownah

[xsplat]

Try getting a job and working for a living like most of the rest of us, instead of Spongeing off of other people. .....or you could try going to the moon!!!

Well, some people find that a little meditation makes their mind strong enough to learn lucid dreaming. Which might make the moon within reach, in a way.

I've never been there in a dream myself. I can't seem to fly very high. A half mile, max. Beautiful to soar over trees though - probably more beautiful than the moon.

Edited March 11, 2008 by xsplat