Some Of What I Learned From 2-months In Thailand

It’s hard to believe that my 60-day Thailand visa expires Saturday and I will be on the next leg of my journey to Siam Reap, Cambodia. My journey in Thailand has taken me to places I never planned on going and meeting people I never expected to meet. I never made it to places I planned on going like Krabi or Phuket, but I did make it to places I didn’t plan on going in Issan, Nakhon Ratchasima (nicknamed, Korat) and Yasothon.

It took me a while to get some traction in Thailand in order to find a little bit of what I wanted in terms of culture and cuisine education outside of just going to a bunch of touristy classes. Thailand can be such a contradiction in its beliefs… like being Buddhist, where Buddhism has a nonviolence dharma, and Thailand is under military rule and condones cock fighting/gambling. And Thailand has taught me I could create the life just as I want despite any contradiction or ambivalence I may perceive in myself. Sadly enough, it is in that space between contradiction and creation, where I have seen complete shifts and even endings to a couple of, what I thought to be, good friendships. With openings come closure… when one door closes, another one opens.

siem-reap-pub-streetI have given myself several days here in Bangkok before I fly out to Cambodia, to write, to explore a few more markets and temples, to be still, to reflect and to chill out. I decided to stay in the heart of Bangkok, so I could have access to all of the modern amenities and public transportation which I have become very accustomed to. It is hot and sticky with unhealthy air quality.

I am beginning to make my way through Siem Reap and then onto Phenom Penh, Cambodia. I bring with me the loving memories of time well spent in India, Nepal and Thailand. Landing in Siem Reap, I am fortunate to have booked an Airbnb that is a luxury villa just outside of town. The high ceilings, solid wood fixtures, a great working kitchen and a really cumfy bed that is helping me work on getting rid of this chest cold I picked up in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Siem-Reap-CambodiaI notice it’s like starting over again. Meeting new places, getting used to the lay of the land, where things are located and how I want to be spending my time. I’m not sure if I’m going to look into continuing mt investigation and exploring the communal cooking thing here in Cambodia. Possibly a little bit in Vietnam. I carry with me a heavy heart from leaving India and Thailand and the beautiful friendships and relationships that I have made while I was there. I realize it’s not the end of those relationships, its only a shift. I notice how much I’m enjoying my time alone and not having to negotiate things with others at the moment. I got my tickets to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, Ta Keo, Neak Pean and Phnom Bakheng. I think that should keep me busy for a few days.

Writing Shifts

During these last couple of weeks, I have experienced a shift in my writing. As I give myself the time to settle and chill, I can sit in front of the keyboard and patiently let thoughts flow through my hands. Maurice? Writing what looks like and seems like poetry? WTF?

It has also gotten to the point where I feel I do not have much of anything to hide. I had second thoughts about putting some of these things out there in my writing and onto the internet. And then I had a friend say something to me that made things crystal clear. Basically, to know me is to love me. I get to be free from the bondage of thoughts in my mind, and because of that, you get to be free too should you choose to do so.

Siem-Reap-After-DarkCooking

What about the food? Thai food? Oh My God! THAI FOOD! I have learned how to cook so much Thai food. It’s actually sooo easy. The term is “sam rot” (สามรส), any three-part combination of the five primary flavors/tastes (sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter).  Sam rot = three flavors = using any three tastes that suit your needs. Making your own chili pastes are wonderful and time consuming. And there are also lots of chili pastes out there to purchase. Of course, there’s nothing like making your own just the way you like it.

I have explored every possible outdoor, indoor, floating, morning and evening market I could possibly find. I have had kind and generous people educate me on the local foods and even show me how to cook them. I have tasted mediocre Thai food and I have tasted fabulous Thai food and I have learned the difference and reasons why. The reasons are simple. Love and Money.

Love and Money are languages that cross all language, religious and cultural barriers, and no matter where you are in the world and no matter what it is that you do. If you don’t love what you do and aren’t passionate about what you are doing as a cook/chef it shows in the quality of the product. Love will always be the main ingredient in all of the cooking process. Also, there are many food substitutions to make to reduce food costs and to make more money. Pad Thai has always been one of my favorite Thai dishes and I have tasted so many of them. If you are not using freshly made tamarind juice, a high-quality fish sauce and a high-quality palm sugar your final Pad Thai will not be up to par.

Street food vs. Restaurant food. In Thailand you can make the choice to eat a full-fledged westernized restaurant or you can eat street food. You can pay top dollar for restaurant food or you can pay only a few dollars for street food. I’ve had some not so great experiences in both. For the most part, I still prefer to eat the street food and the modified restaurant street food… which are seating areas around a food cart style kitchen. I’ve had some great conversations with restaurant owners and have been yelled at by a few because I demanded fresher cut items than the ones they were choosing to use. If you are going to work out in the open, you better be aware of the quality of the products you choose to use around someone like me.

You Can Live Your Life the Anyway You Choose

I’m not going to write anything about this because I already did… Click here.

Forgiveness and Letting Go

One of the big lessons for me is allowing myself to let go of any expectation I may have for an outcome in any situation and forgiving myself for any hard feelings I am creating for myself by having those expectations. It’s been so hard for me in my life to allow relationships to shift or have them end because we are not seeing eye to eye, or there are abusive tendencies, or conflict resolution is not a strong point, or we are plain and simply not a good match together. I’m not talking about just love relationships, I’m talking friendships and all other kinds of relationships.

I was once asked to consider being responsible for whatever it is was has happened for the loss of my marriage. Not taking on the blame and feeling guilty for it but, really looking at myself and not putting any responsibility onto someone else without them doing it for themselves and completely on their own. Grieving loss and abandonment has such a strong emotional pull in my life that it’s been a challenging practice not to blame myself for what may have gone wrong that led to relational shifts or endings. And then feel guilty for when someone has some negative feelings towards the situation and towards me. When it has gotten to that point, I realize it’s gotten to the point of becoming self deprecating and even to self-sabotage. It’s a deep-seated historical seed that has been planted many years ago. It’s hard to believe that I’m writing about this and will put it on my blog.

Everyone is doing the best that they possibly can at any given moment with the resources they have. Including you and me. I give my all and my best shot at being successful in all of my relationships. Once I feel I have made some progress dealing with shifts and loss, the universe is provides me with another opportunity to look at myself again, to forgive and to let go.

Traveling alone halfway around the world on this sabbatical with intentions of researching how communal cooking effects people’s sense of belonging in community, it shouldn’t be a surprise to me when personal things like this show up.

Buddha Dharma vs. The Religion of Buddhism

I have spent some time studying some of the philosophies of the teachings of Buddha. Things like non-violence, non-attachment, vipassana meditation, The Four Immeasurables, and some Zen Buddhist teachings. Then I come to Thailand and see that Buddhism is a complete religion with many sects, not unlike Christianity. But, what I find strange is the worshiping of idols and how contradictory the society is structured, contradicting the teachings of Buddha. There is a military controlled government who hasn’t held elections for along time and that vote keeps getting postponed by the monarchy. There are televised cock (chicken) fights, violence, that supports gambling which is an addiction (attachment). It’s just such a contradiction in terms.

temple-face

It’s hard to believe that I am into my 6th month of traveling though Asia. I’ve gotten used to being in unfamiliar places where I don’t speak the language, have no idea about how to get around or where to go and how to deal with the locals when they see me as an opportunity for them to scam me. I can feel the ease in my life that has been cultivated within myself from the time I left and landed in India until now. I’m curious what life will be like for me landing back home in Maine sometime in May before heading to the Montreal Jazz fest at the end of June. Ok, Maurice… stop time traveling… you are in Cambodia… get to exploring and creating more memories!  As my friend Rudy would say…. ONWARD! ????

 

 

Loving the Present Moment Open – Bangkok, Thailand

dontgiveintofearIt’s pretty obvious to say… the flow of love feels great and facing into fears do not. Is fear holding me back from giving the love I want to give? How do I want to live into the purpose of my love’s greatest offering for the rest of my life? We can’t predict the future and never know what’s coming next. When I decided I was going to stop living according to societal rules, my family and my parents, there wasn’t much left for me to go by because I’ve became so used to living to which I’ve absorbed from my past, and that’s when everything dissolved… and I wondered, “now what? what am I going to do next”?

I have experienced what it looks like to have all the best laid plans get diverted without any permission from me. In the contraction that comes along with not accepting what is happening in the moment, I create my own misery. I know I need to let the reality of the present moment live through me. But, how, when it seems so painful at times? I cannot distract myself from the pain of the moment thinking it is not what I want it to be. I need to allow my contracted, hurt and painful feelings to penetrate me and not allow myself to be distracted from the moment as it is. I know if I can eliminate the distractions and stay in my pain of the current moment and not knowing what the next moment will be, I know things will crack open for me. Damn, that can be so hard.

pemachodronAnd there’s more… Am I locating myself in the present moment and therefore manifesting love? Because that is the only place where love can live, in the present moment. Or, am I holding back from giving love because I’m lost in some future thought? What can I do that will help me open the moment to love? Am I waiting for a future moment to happen before I am willing to feel being totally loved and to give my love?

How deeply I can enjoy my existence in the moment when I am so called “waiting” for another “thing” to happen is directly related to how well I enjoy the relationship with myself and others during that waiting period. Get it? (Damn, it took some struggle in me to get this thing into words. So painful it is to write sometimes.)

If I am waiting for something else to happen or for something to be different, nothing ever can save me from my own negative thinking. If I’m in a moment that is not particularly great, love-wise, sometimes I find myself thinking… what if I had someone different or purpose myself in some different environment or situation… for sure something better would happen in the future. Feeling that the depth of love could be deeper or better, and projecting into the future is only a reflection of how I am postponing giving the depth of love in the present moment. Walking around waiting for the next “better” moment creates a lack of presence (or consciousness) because I am not here and now in my body and mind and holding back the love I have to give in that very moment.

timeisneverplannedRelationships are being sabotaged and so is my happiness by waiting and holding back from giving love, when I allow my fears to develop thoughts that a future moment will be better. By holding onto hopes that something different will happen in the future I am creating tension and drama. We just love the tension and the drama, don’t we? (Look at all the reality TV out there) We all do this, wanting more love and to have better things happen for the future.

Why not just be with, trust and accept the present moment for what it is and offer the greatest gift of all… our love?

Here’s to living in the moment!

Happy Valentines Day 2019!

 

 

 

minion

My Soul’s Aching For Your Love

searchesthewholeworld

The union of the soul’s longing is found in love
Where doubts and fear are obstacles to hopes of being embraced by the beloved.
Pervasive as these fears may be, they are never permitted to take over the drivers seat
Always returning to one of human being’s greatest offerings, Love.
Acceptance, appreciation, compassion and kindness.

Yet I imagine and think things to be different sometimes
As if I think I might have some control over the direction of my life
The push and pull of my soul’s longing for union with its highest expression.
Or am I supposed to just trust and believe that, other than within myself,
Something mysterious out there has my best interest and knows what is best for me?

I am being taken care of. Am I being taken care of? In sickness and in health?
I am being provided for. Am I being provided the best spiritual and physical experience in life?
Will something NOT on this physical plane be a replacement or a substitution
For any of my thoughts or realizations
To educate me on
What love’s greatest offerings are to be?

deepestlongingWhen I consider any unfulfilled wishes in my life,
And my deep practices of detachment from desire and aversion,
Will I ever become fully aware of the benefits from understanding
That everything that has happened, and that is happening,
Is a perfect manifestation of divine love at work… just as it is?

And so I walk through all the storms
Thinking I’m preparing for a particular moment
Where I have to say yes to the one I know I have to love
Finding myself being held by everything, brave and courageous
With the visceral sights and smells of drowning

Finally, after all of these years and having experienced enough perceptions of drowning
I want to live and I want to love
And I will walk through any dangerous darkness
However mysterious and unknown it may be to take the one hand that I know belongs in mine.
The hand that is the desired one, the lover desiring
And looking into the great abyss itself…
Just out of reach, as I hear the beloved beckon..

Come into my arms, and fall in love with yourself and all of your world.

  – – – – – – – – – –

yedidnefesh

yedidnefesh2

Growing Intimacy Through Exclusivity and BDSM

feetonmanWe live in a time with Tindering hookups, immediate gratifications through the internet and easy access to pornography and sex toys, instant hits of connection via social media, sexting, divorce rates hitting all-time highs because we think people are disposable and replaceable. We have lost the art of seduction, the art of intimacy, respectful conflict resolution and what it means to make and keep commitments.  Is this loss because there is so much fear from past heartbreaks? Or, maybe because there are more relationship types evolving and people think they are given the permission to continually look for the next person they might have an interest in? Rather than looking at the gift that brought the one sitting right in front of them and remembering the love that drew them together.

I am a single unattached Dom male with switch tendencies and I want a committed, long term and exclusive relationship to grow into and support each other. I want a depth of intimacy and connection, emotionally and sexually, for the long term: not just a fuck buddy or a play partner or a lineup of submissives. An actual real exclusive relationship.

I fully understand what it means to be in a committed and monogamous relationship. I was married for 14 years and have been divorced for 10+ years. I also know who I am as a man, have gained experiential wisdom from my life, know how to apply that I’ve learned to move forward, what I want in my life and from a partner.

Exclusivity vs. Unrestricted

I have had my times of experimenting with different relationship types/styles. Exclusivity is not for everyone. I think there are times in peoples lives where it is important to have one-night stands, multiple partners, meaningless sex, maybe even with the intent of helping heal wounds of the past. I have done the healing part of my life post-divorce that a lot of people do and were some people do not get through and remain unavailable to commitment and emotional connection.

Some of us are wired for monogamy and commitment and some of us are not. I crave the emotional and sexual bonds that are created only through intimacy and exclusivity. I’m not saying that as an exclusive couple we cannot bring other people in on occasion or try different things or have new adventures.  I’m saying that that I will not keep any more secrets and both parties will participate in the vulnerability of truth telling and learning how to deal with our own feelings, so we can remain focused on each other’s happiness. An attempted practice that only can get mastered with exclusivity and commitment.

Polarity:

When two people come together there is a circle of energy that I like to describe as polarity. Just like the two poles of electricity, positive and negative, the flow of energy between the two poles either completes a circuit or it does not. When there is nowhere for the energy to go, it stops.

This energy will always take the path of least resistance, which can be harmful. When the energy flows evenly between two people it amplifies and energizes each other in all aspects of their lives, in their careers, their other relationships and their intimacy and in their emotional connection. When there is a break in the flow of energy, the polarity stops, albeit temporarily, and sometimes not.

Imagine a time when you were sitting across the table from your lover and you witnessed their presence drift away and into someone else’s field of energy. Remember what that was like when you felt the energy drain out of your body after all the time you spent preparing yourself mentally and physically for that gathering? And now you watch as the actions from that person across the table is telling you that you are not good enough, pretty enough or sexy enough. Next, imagine a time where you witnessed new young lovers so attentive to each other at the table, making eye contact, engaged and laughing and oblivious to anything going on around them. Their presence is unwavering and lets each other know there’s no ne that matters except the other. These are only two examples of how polarity can affect our intimacy and connection with each other.

Giving and Receiving Are Not the Same

We live in a time where there is a lot of conversation about giving and receiving. All the great traditions and religions talk about all we should do is be giving. I do not want to miss is the importance of this kind of giving and of service work, community service or being of service to humankind. This is a kind of giving that reaps its own rewards and cannot be overlooked. It is not about getting anything back when doing service work. This is about giving back to the world for the blessing of being able to be part of the world.

Relationships are a series of give/take compromises, one after another. We can have such expectations on each other in relationships. How we want to receive love. How we give love. There is such conflict that happens in our relationships because we haven’t figured out how to receive each other with kindness and compassion.

Receiving creates intimacy and connection in our relationships. Prioritizing giving may create distancing and separation. If we don’t allow ourselves to receive a simple gift or compliment we are depriving ourselves of a moment of connection with someone else. Think about the following statements…

  • To receive what someone has to give at any given time is an expression of one of the greatest gifts you could possibly give.
  • Practice dropping our judgments and expectations, so we can receive what life has to offer us at any given moment. This practice will bring us the greatest peace in our lives.
  • Learn how to receive someone’s criticism, anger or frustration, without shame or blame, no matter what someone has to say to you… so it will never destroy your inner peace or leave you ungrounded and break your peacefulness.
  • Develop a practice in the art of listening so you can receive and hear what someone has to say instead of listening to respond.

 

alotmorethenwhipsandchainsOur Surrender Into BDSM, Kink

There is an area in BDSM that isn’t talked about much and that is “sensuality” … the enjoyment, expression, or pursuit of physical, especially sexual, pleasure… through different practices of BDSM and kink. Being a sensual dominant I appreciate the practices that explore all that the senses can experience. From sense deprivation, to the fine line of pain/pleasure, to soft/hard pressures, hot/cold, wet/dry, independence/bondage, control/chaos… where only your imagination may be limiting you… get the picture?

I have been told that I have a unique perspective on BDSM. Firstly, that everyone should not get stuck in playing only one role. People all love playing in the land of dominance and submission. We, the human race, are also primates with an increased brain capacity which allow us to better relate to each other from a compassionate and loving place. We are creating intentional power exchanges in our dominant/submission scenes and even in other environments.

Most of us usually operate from a more submissive or a more dominant arena in our regular day to day lives, it’s just a natural part of being human. Some of us want to be told what to do and others want to be telling others what to do. Using BDSM and creating a Dominance/Submission “scene” is an amazing opportunity for us to explore the opposing forces where we are not used to living in. There are people out there that claim to be the dominant and others who claim to be the submissive in our relationships and do not “switch” to explore the other side. I want to invite the importance for people to explore the opposite energy in which they would normally operate…especially the people who are taking a position in one way or the other.

Why might this be an important part of our evolution? Am I really in control when I am in the dominant position? Is it important to be able to give up control at certain times? Is there really such a thing as being in control?

One of the biggest gifts we can give to our lovers is for them to witness our complete loss of control. It happens during the ten second expression of our own orgasm, but where else can it happen to an even bigger extent? Our conscious decision to let go of control will never happen if we continue to take and hold a hard, firm position and play the dominant role all the time in our kinky play which is why I believe it’s important for everyone being a “switch”.

akinkysideTrust, Intimacy & The Keeper

I have always said that trust takes time to cultivate. We don’t just suddenly meet someone new and trust them with our bank and retirement accounts, do we? So why would we think that we could trust just anyone when it comes to giving them our submissive surrender? This kind of trust is something that cannot be rushed. Trust takes time to develop and take no time at all to lose. With a commitment to exclusivity comes the ability to be emotionally open about the most intimate aspects of ourselves. The more trust that we develop in our relationship, the more confidence we will have in asking for what we want and being sexually expressive, deepening our surrender.

There is a deep and profound longing for humans to surrender and in this yearning, there is an aspect which lives in the light and also the dark or shadow element. In the shadows of surrender, there are specific times, certain people and in certain places where it would be inappropriate to surrender. There are people who you shouldn’t surrender to. When you have to cross over your own personal boundaries or when it’s a violation of your own personal integrity then surrender isn’t a good idea. You just don’t surrender to anyone.

There is an innate armor that is worn as we present ourselves to the outside world. I am drawn and appreciate the persona of an “Alpha Submissive” woman who projects a powerful, confident, intelligent public image but craves to submit herself to a strong dominant man in private. She has a lot of armor on the outside but remains deeply feminine and tender on the inside. Giving her that “sanctuary” from the outside world is one of the greatest honors. A man of honor and integrity takes those dark intimate secrets to his grave, treats her like a queen, defends her honor and encourages her to achieve all her goals. Then, in return, gets the deliciously naughty vixen who will do anything and wants to give into every fantasy imaginable.

It’s that simple!

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