Nov 11: That jungle I mentioned in my last post proved to be a lovely place. I’ve always been partial to submersing myself in the realm of trees, so it’s a real treat to venture through a very different kind of densely verdant environment. I’m from the west coast of Canada so I’m well versed in beautiful forestscapes. My family has a property in an area called the Okanagan that is so very alive with nature’s abundant touch. Trees cover the majority of the property, ranging from pine to fir to birch, and whenever I was there I would often spend much of my time out in them. Down in a valley at the far end is a clear, flowing river, and that was my favorite place of all. It held a genuinely potent magic.
There are three separate streams flowing through the place I’m currently at, none as notable as the one back home, but they’re nice all the same. All flowing water is. There’s an especially special spot where one of the streams curves and winds in a really neat way. Hidden under a bush near there are a pair of containers holding old Incan clay pieces, the remains of cups, bowls and other such things. There’s even part of a ball from their games. The local folk hold to a superstition that having things like that present on a property leads to bad luck, so the host placed them just outside his property lines, despite not being a superstitious sort. Better safe than sorry. He claims to have noticed a shift towards the positive after having done that, so maybe there really is something to it after all. Life remains a very mysterious thing, despite any arrogant claims to the contrary.
My intention in heading to that spot today was to partake in a meditation there and tune myself in a little more deeply with the land, but the dogs here have all taken a real liking to me and a trio of them opted to tag along. It was a fun time for all, but silence and stillness are not qualities to be cultivated when a bunch of puppers are playing around. One of them in particular, Roxie, tries to stick her tongue in my face any chance she gets. I resigned myself to the reality that I would not be given an opportunity for folding myself into a comfy lotus position and letting my mind drift off into nothingness.
Same thing happened yesterday when I went to a different part of the jungle. The most majestic tree stands tall at the end of the trail, hanging out with and over another of the streams. Apparently it had been remarked by others in the past that the tree seemed straight out of Avatar, so that gives you a bit of an idea of its stature. Needless to say, that place is absolutely teeming with lifeforce. In that particular instance it wasn’t so much the dogs that maintained my mind’s earthly orientation, but rather the howler monkeys hooping it up in the trees. I decided to respond to them just for fun. It was neat how they’d go quiet while I said my piece and then they’d start up all over again. I didn’t really get the chance to peep their forms, unfortunately, but I’ll still be here for another week, so there’s plenty of time yet for that.
I suppose I haven’t actually explained why it is I’m at this fun and fancy free finca. Whenever I’m travelling I find I prefer to do work trades along the way. Wwoofing, workaway, whatever. Not only does it save money, but it provides opportunities to see and experience how life is actually lived in whatever environments I wind up in. Even more, I’ve met a lot of really great people and had some very affecting experiences mixing this into my travels. I’m not really one for walking the tourist type trails. Even when I do engage with the tourist attractions that attract my attention, I’d much rather do it in my own way and at my own pace rather than through a guided tour or something curated like that.
Obviously not all work trades are made equal, but I wouldn’t say any of the numerous ones I’ve partaken of have been negative. Some are more exciting, some are more laid back, some involve large numbers of people and in some instances it’s just me and the host. Thus far I’d been the sole volunteer here, but two (very pretty) German girls just arrived. A change in people always equates a change in the dynamics, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out here.
This is not, in fact, my first workaway since landing in Costa Rica, but rather a last minute exchange. While the truth of my statement that none of these experiences have been negative still holds, the one I was synced up with before this place could very well have turned in that direction. My intuition was heavily implying as much. The host was a follower of a particular Indian guru, though he was not at all of that heritage. He oriented his life pretty much exclusively on the guru’s teachings, believing the guy to be truly enlightened. I have no intention in bringing names to the table here, but I will say if you did know this guru’s designation and googled him you would not be presented with a character profile that the majority would call enlightened. Since the host exclusively arranged his life around those teachings, it meant that the entire workaway experience was rooted in these teachings too. That was, in fact, the point of him arranging the workaway in the first place, to further spread his guru’s word. I knew this coming in, so it wasn’t as if he sideswiped me with any of that stuff. My cat nature simply got the better of me, causing me to give into my curiosity.
As always when it comes to people’s beliefs (even when they strike me as bonkers), I made it a point to remain respectful towards his, putting forth an effort in engaging with the process this guru had designed in how to heal and clear out one’s life. I don’t want to linger on any of the details, but needless to say, the state of the host’s life and the degree to which I worked with this guru guy’s teachings quickly made it apparent that this was not the path to enlightenment. In my opinion, it would only lead a person in misguided direction. This is not the time to delve any deeper into this, but I’m not exactly lacking in esoteric experience or spiritual contemplation. I wouldn’t dream of claiming divine answers, but I’m pretty confident in saying that this situation wasn’t about to reveal them to me.
I have one final thing to say on the subject and then I’m gonna wrap this post up. Something I would consider a red flag in regards to a potentiality that you may be dealing with a cult is when any individual or group claiming a greater spiritual understanding pushes you to expose your pain and vulnerabilities too quickly with the promise of healing it. You see this dynamic play out in cults all the time. Lost, hurting people looking for relief, to be seen and heard, encouraged to share deeply of their suffering and sorrows. The cult and its leader pounces on this and causes the individual to become trauma bonded to them. Things can get very obfuscated and weird once that happens. From my point of view, I felt my experience with that previous host heading in a similar sort of direction. I hold no ill will towards him, as I think he doesn’t entirely know what he is doing, but I’m very glad to be where I am now instead.
Well, it’s just about dinner time here, so I’m gonna sign off. Thanks again for reading.
ACMindworks 