Travel Writing - DestinationOM.com - Custom Malas

Powerful Mirror

To travel to distant lands or to travel outside your box is to open yourself to projections of the outer world…to walk amidst the mirror of your soul…to see the people and to attract that which you are.

 

All the people that come into your life are there for a reason and to teach you aspects of yourself…the ones you dislike, the ones you love, the ones you push away, and the ones you embrace are all YOU in another form…there to act as mirrors of an aspect of you that needs to mature or that is as divine is as meant to be.

 

I always tell people that question me on the reasons for my far away travels to which I reply “There is no better way to know oneself then to enter a far away village in a distant land and be.”

In this state of being a true knowledge of oneself arises, unable to run away with the use of words…no one can understand you…unable to run to the arms of a family member, these people are your family. And soon you realize that the world is one small family that wants to be friends, you realize that the mission in life is the same the world over…to be happy and try not to hurt others achieving this happiness.

 

So…

Be aware of your friends and foes and know they are all there to reflect what you are inside and what you want to be…learn from them all and you will find the true essence of your being. Stop to think who is in your life at this time and think whether this is what you want…if not, than start to change the way you project yourself out into the world…for the people of the world are a powerful mirror and the essence of the Divine.

 

- Brian McIntyre

Oct - 2006

Response to a dear friend's relationship.

I think that is great...and an apology hopefully came from her as well. She needs to realize that her reality is never as it seems and that in order for her to be happy she has to stop expecting happiness to come from someone else. Sadly enough too many people live their lives in a cloud of ignorance and searching for the RIGHT people to MAKE them happy. You are her daughter, she is your mother, that is the karma of this life for you two...we need to learn why we came into this world from our upbringing and use that as a catalyst for a better future.
I would obviously not change anything in my life, because I made this happen and the members of my family are facilitators...we need to use them as to empower us...and in return empower them. I know now at my age and where I am in life that when I die there should be a party...I lived the best I could, tried not to hurt anyone in my journey to happiness, and loved the way I lived and all the people that became and are a part of it.
The world is a lovely place when we give in to the Divine cause, answer to our intuition, and revoke fear from where we sit...LOVE is the answer...and your apology had that intention in it...love, forgive, forget, be in the moment and be the best person you can be without the gossip of others and speak clear with intention from the heart.

March 18 - 2005

With my left I write, while my other hand remains in a cast...a broken wrist that will put my writing hand out of commission for a couple of months.

Life is funny. I have had time to think on Saltspring and reaized just the other day that I have been living since my seperation with EunHee with a guard. Constantly putting mind before heart...trying to analyze before I let it in; this filtering takes the spontaneity out of living and drains the passion from the everyday.
I go to a retreat tomorrow.

It's time to really start healing.

(a present reflection Oct.20 - 2006...this surely proved to be a time of change, and an honest understanding of emotions and a true desire to move on...life did move on as every other emotion and experience...a reminder is "This too will pass.")

April 26 - 2004

We all strive for a life of happiness and contentment, but all too many punish themselves for their existence. Constantly complaining about the injustices of the world and their internal stuggles, yet do not stop to think of the possibilities that one has to better themselves.
People say to me" I wish I could do what you do." But when told that they can do anything they put their mind to; they confess "I am afraid."
The sadness creeps into me and I try to accept their defeat and focus on what they can do to deal with their focus while not avoiding their true mission.
25,000 people will sit in a stadium to listen to the Dalai Lama speak of the potential for happiness and then drive home in their fancy car stopping by the designer shop to purchase something that is surely better than their neighbours and go on like nothing has changed. Some will (for a few days or weeks) look at people struggling differently...with a little compassion, yet over time these views fade and the continuing struggle to be a success continues.
In recent times I have been speaking with a publisher and have again become motivated to write. I feel that a book is inevitable sooner than later and that what I have to say matters and is needed.
If nothing else this book will be left as a legacy for what I stand for in life.

Dreams

Oct 28 - 2004

What does one do without dreams and aspirations? Where does one go when lost and frustrated? One of my major frustrations is with people and lack of goals. Goals give directions. Dream gives vision. Action is rewarded by success.
I dream. I act.
What are dreams? Are they what we aspire to be or what we fear? Dreams give light to which we choose to ignore during waking life. The bridge that connects us with life. I am here because of my dreams. I am who I am because I follow my visions. I see greatness and this moves me.

Elevator Eyes

(reflections - 2004)
Too many people in life feel it is a pure struggle, they stand in the elevator of life staring at the numbers as they pass, attention fades...glossed over. The door opens, they get off.
Never speaking to anyone, the tenants of the elevator stand desperate and rushing to finish the ride.

STOP WATCHING THE NUMBERS!
Turn around. Look. People. Life. Soul. Pursuits. Successes. Failures. Love. Loss. Life.

Forget about the numbers and enjoy life. Talk amongst the people in your elevator, learn from them and return in your teachings. Live life.
The elevator can be forgotten. TAKE THE STAIRS! It may be harder but it is slower, you can stop and rest and go at your own pace. Talking with ones going up with you and talk to the ones returning from above. Experience humanity. Save electricity and forget about who designed the elevator, and who has the fastest one.
Walk you walk, talk your talk, and open your eyes...you will find that the elevator is covered in a metal box while the stairs and stairwells are made of glass entirely. Feel free to look all ways. Lessons are there to be learned and taught.

The search

Here, There, Everywhere.
Search, Find, Lose.
A sense, the essence.
Deep, Connected.
The search.
A feeling.
Where? He looks.
There? He finds.
The essence. The ocean. The land.
A voice speaks but cannot be heard.
The answer.
Without the literation.
Search. Found.

Bubbles of Illumination

(March 2003 - Mozambique - Scuba diving)

Unlike life on the land, the faces in the depths of the ocean illuminate with life. Scuba diving...I hover...looking across a one foot space of water to my dive buddy. Serenity divides us in the illumination. Sun beckons from the surface, her rays reaching through the mass of liquid to touch my dive buddy's face in ways they never do on land.
Air escapes her respirator as she exhales, bubbles follow the contours of her face as they make their escape to the surface. Her skin...a shimmering tan, her eyes radiate an unexplainable blue...the bubbles of illumination surround as we swim the depths; only to encounter schools of fish discussing the next course. The coral flows over rocks, manta rays swim past in a "ballet-ic" movement reminiscent of a bird in slow motion flight.
Spotlights of sunshine.
The ocean world continues.
Amongst our illuminated bubbles.

Sit and Die or Move and Fly!

(written November 2004)
Too many people in our age sit back and complain about life and wonder why things don't happen. How can anything happen if you sit on your life passively complaining? One must pursue that which they desire. My desires have crossed continents, have walked the sands and lands of time, have graced the heights pf mystics and the depths of the majestic oceans. I live for the drive and teachings. I live for the experience and to encounter all the great people of the world. I live for those who live for people like myself. My faith in my greatness pushes me.
You sit to find that time passes with no movement but movement is success. Not movement in the idea of changing locations but moving in mentally...as they say "Idle hands (and mind) are the devils workshop."
An active mind, keeps youth in life. There are times in my life where I look in the mirror and appear younger that I imagine myself. Youth is something I never wish to lose; with my travels I stay young; with a moving mind comes flight and success in pursuits of all.

Ocean of Life

(written November 2004)
There are ebbs and flows of life as there are drifts and tides of the sea. Cycles that we go through. With the movement we have to accept hardships and struggles. For those who live life to its fullest suffer at times during their search. I accept these struggles yet envy the people with content complacencies because I cannot accept that which does not make me entirely happy. I have always felt that I am destined for greatness and in this knowledge I search for the anchor from which I can drift.
I feel that I have found my anchor with a long lead in BC..."a storage unit with a view" was the theme of this move out west, it feels as though I have found it on Saltspring Island.

Feeling important

We all search through life wanting to find the answers, the right way, the essence that makes us feel connected and important...we all find our importance within a group or the use of substances, people sometimes find it within the deeper areas of their inner physce. I travel to look at the world and see if I can fit where I stand, I challenge myself to stand in a crowd of a culture seperate from mine, a language I do not understand, customs I am yet unaware of...and work at understanding what shapes each place and where they are in the world at large. Through this evolution of my understanding I also search for acceptance and a pursuit of feeling important...doing my part in the world and hopefully impacting some lives along the way...I teach with compassion, I speak with thoughtfullness, I live with the belief that all people have greatness in them, and I try my best to emulate what I feel are my defining characteristics...I struggle in countries where I feel I don't fit in, where I seem to be looked through, where my opinions seem to travel through a thin rubber hose and disappate in the skies above never to be heard by the people on the ground...I feel alienated in some places...ironically one of these places seem to be the area from where I was born...my aspirations become less, I am deflated by the signs of discontent, the drone of the everyday, and the belief that this area of Canada will never change...because of this and my unwillingness to change I HAVE TO LEAVE! I have found myself in a totally different area of Canada on an island that seems to speak to me of thoughts that are my own, answers that which I request, understands my aspirations, realizes my dreams...yet I still question whether this is truly possible. This seems to be the problem, I find that which I search for...once found I begin to questions its legitimacy...this will end only when I accept that there are places in the world where I can truly be one with the place where I live. I sense that here.

Tattooes

People often think that tattooes are a childish thing that all will regret when they are older. For me they are a right of passage, they mark points in my life where the road has changed direction.
I travelled in Borneo where I met a man on a boat, belonging to a local tribe...this man had tattooes situated on specific parts of his body that had great significance (input the research here! the location and meaning of the tattooes). We both took the time to look at eachothers tattooes and in this exchange we grew to learn more of eachother, while I travel people often look at my tattooes and make comments...sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always a reaction :)
For when I travel this world people will not have to ask of me certain things but simply read the canvas I present with my skin :)

The Glow

All people radiate a glow of some colour and strength. You will hear people describe another by saying "There is something about him." This is the signal that these people reflect upon others. The elderly that seem young, the children that seem beyond their time, the disabled that are full of life, people reflect who they truly are.
A reaction to this glow are the people we attract. I often assess my character by the people I attract and if I am not happy with those people I have to rethink how I am "projecting myself".

Social Interaction/Queues

When I travel to different countries there are customs, behaviours, and variation in language. But body language is a universal language, I have often acted as the interpretor in places where I hardly spoke the "language" but could understand what they were TRYING to say.
I have had many encounters with people in various countries where we would seem to have a conversation and an encounter that language was not necessary.
Eyes are the window to someones soul and if you look closely this is often the sign of character and expression, by looking into ones eyes you can see the person they truly are. Often times this TRUE person is not expressed externally and this potential is never truly rewarded.

Digital Connection

Often times in my travels I have been asked about my relationship with my family, people assume that your family unit cannot be tight if you are out travelling the world. But in my experience I have become closer to my family while at a distance. The reason is the time apart and the "digital connection".
This connection is through emailing and web cameras. The reason that I have become closer with my family is that in this distance we have been able to talk and ask questions that would normally be hard to address or TOO PERSONAL. But in an email people are able to choose what they will answer and what they will avoid. Some members of my family have been more candid through email and I have learned more about them in "physical absence".
People live the day to day existence and see family when they can, or they talk to them regularly on the phone about the mundane or everyday occurences and never scrape deeper then this. With the distance people feel that the relationship is challenged and think more about their feelings toward this person. When I talk with my family it is about the more important things in their lives and through this I feel blessed.
The digital connection has allowed me to grow closer to much of my family even though I have been absent, so when asked if I care much for my family I try to explain that we are closer now then ever before.