Monkey Mind

My thoughts are jumping all over the place. So come along for the ride.

Is there such a thing as too many massages? Is that what is stimulating my monkey mind? Today's guy did something we were taught about at massage school, but most people I massaged wouldn't put up with it. He started out so gently that it was nearly an etheric massage. He went over and over the same places on the feet and legs until I almost had decided that he wasn't touching me at all. This went on for about 20 minutes. Then I felt a lot of energy going to those very feet which were hardly getting touched. He had warmed up the muscles. Then he hit the reflexology hot spots slowly but amazingly deeply. My head almost blew off. Great stuff.

Many people whom I have massaged want you to hit it hard and fast. They are impatient for the deep stuff right away. But the fact is that if the muscles are really warmed up and the therapist is going slowly, you can ultimately get in much deeper. I now "know" this as opposed to having learned this.

Jumping around. There is something weirdly intimate about being impersonal. I am not sure that impersonal is the word I seek. But people here don't offer up their names and their stories easily. But there is something deep about sharing a cup of tea or a glass of water with someone and not knowing anything and not caring and not expecting anything. Just being there.

Every western tourist I hang with is slightly frantic to tell me who they are and what they do and where they went to school and basically to stand out as a unique individual. They spill their guts. It is weird. Americans are the worst except maybe for Israelis.What are we working so hard to demonstrate to the world? I think an Asian wait person would curl up in embarrassment if they had to say "Hi, my name is Mung and I am happy to serve you today." You feel all that but it is never spoken. You know people by how they are and what they do not by what they tell you. I like it.

Jumping to another thought. One good reason to have kids if you are debating the issue is that sometimes they can give you back what you gave them. Case in point: Today I was dithering on SKYPE with my daughter about whether I will go into remote Laos next week. I have had a lot of warnings about danger but also a lot of "If you don't take this chance and go, you will regret it." She said, "Shark Beach". I was lost there for a moment. She reminded me that on our first trip to Mexico we had come across one of the most gorgeous beaches I have seen in my life. No one was on that beach. I thought out loud, "How can people go to the crowded touristy beaches when there is this perfect beach here? We are coming here tomorrow. People are so stupid." Famous last words.

The next day we packed up and found a taxi and he was about to take us there. I described the location to him and told him I didn't know the name of the beach. "Shark Beach", he said. "Is that because there are sharks there?" I asked. Duh. He told us that it was overloaded with them. Their favorite spot in Mexico. So, I had forgotten that lesson, but my daughter had remembered it.

Saw some big tall Americans passing out WatchTower pamphlets today and I got inwardly a little snarky thinking what balls they have to come from a great materialistic war mongering country like the USA to convert these peaceful Buddhists to a religion that is for all practical purposes brand new and which doesn't celebrate anything like birthdays and Christmas. Jesus, these Buddhist celebrate everything and throw in Hindu celebrations too. Then I realized that the earlier Christian missionaries didn't put a dent in this country, these currant ones aren't much of a danger. (I just keep judging) Gotta stop that.