Awe and Wonder

Buddhist monastery – China-Eating with monks in a temple in Chonqing I had the closest thing I have ever had to a ‘spiritual moment’. Everyone was really quiet and the atmosphere was so peaceful. I really felt moved. I spent a year in China and in that time visited many temples but this was the smallest one and the one that affected me the most. I think that because it was small it was more intimate; my friend and I were accepted and given lunch without any questions (or Chinese skills!) It was a simple room, wood and stone, cold, in the middle of winter but I felt accepted and serene in a way that is very rare.


On a few occasions I have stopped to contemplate my surroundings and slipped into what I can only describe as a higher level of concentration. For a few brief moments your vision becomes transfixed and you ‘feel’ each breath pass through your body. I was aware of the sound of my breathing slowly drowning out the outside world. Colours and textures become vivid and numbness fills your hands. You can no longer feel the effect of the environment against your skin and every thought leaves your mind. It only lasts a few seconds but your senses return like when you wake from a daydream. I wish I understood this phenomena but it fills me with hope to think that we can control our bodies in this way and that the world can inspire. I associate this feeling with the experiences listed below.

Staring at the lights on the Eiffel tower from the Trocadero.
Watching Gondoliers glide past the shadows from the Rialto bridge.
Sitting in the warm steamy waters of the Szechenyi Thermal Baths in Budapest.