Off to Thailand

So, the first stage of next year is arranged. Last year I read an excellent book called ‘A Fortune-Teller told me‘. The main text of the book was pretty fascinating, but what really gripped me was the coda, in which the author describes a meditation course he attended in Thailand. Based on the information in that chapter, I did a bit of googling and came to the conclusion that he must have attended a Vipassana course. I had some experience of meditation when I was in my teens, but I was too young to really appreciate it then, and basically dismissed it as hippy rubbish. (Imagine Cartman giving an opinion on meditation, and you’re pretty much there….) More recently, I’ve begun to realise the benefits of it, and had been meaning to get back into it – but you know how it is, when you’re trying to do something new like that without any support, it’s almost impossible to stick at it. Anyway, my impending ‘employment-challenged’ status gives me the ideal opportunity and, as it happens, they are offering a course near Bangkok at the ideal time for me, So, I’m off to Thailand in January for a 10-day introduction to meditation. They fund themselves through donations from ex-students, so the course is free for new students – which means I just need to pay travel costs (although I should be able to give a donation at the end, I guess).