So long, Ceylon

We waved goodbye to Sri Lanka 5 days ago now. What a truly beautiful country! The people, the landscape, the food, and the atmosphere of friendship and gentleness. Unless you're a Tamil Tiger, of course!

The Sri Lankan Buddhists have embraced the Hindu God Vishnu as their own, so all the beautiful Buddhist temples we visited also included an image of Vishnu, as well as their own god, Kataragama. I was suprised by the strong element of worship at all the temples, which is quite different from my understanding of Buddhism being a meditative faith, in fact more a way of life, where followers are encouraged to meditate on finding divine peace within their own hearts.

However, the Buddhist approach to all life was very evident. There was a real peacefulness and harmony in the way the people and animals share the same space, from the nonchalent ambling cows and the random roadside group of goats to the magnificent, celebrated elephants. The many scruffy, street-wise looking dogs lying in the road, were all carefully avoided by the weaving traffic of tuk tuks, cars and vans, and on one occasion our driver swerved slightly to avoid running over a scorpion! Such a difference from the frantic, fast-moving, enraged driving we're used to, and so much less stressful!! It even shows in the faces of the people, which are never more than a second away from a beaming smile.

After suffering from ulcerative colitis a few years ago, I regularly have problems with my stomach, but whilst in Sri Lanka I had no problems whatsoever, despite eating curry every day! It made the holiday so much more enjoyable, and it confirmed to me once again just how significant our mental and emotional well being is to our physical wellness. The absence of everyday pressures and anxieties combined with the general atmosphere of calm and giving were a far more powerful medicine than contained in any little white tablet. As Caroline Myss says in 'Anatomy of the Spirit', our biography creates our biology. I would highly recommend her book to anyone who is interested in addressing their own healing and good health from a holistic perspective, respecting each element of our being - mind, body and spirit. To me there is no deeper healing.

By the way, we booked our holiday through Travel Counsellors. PJ Van Zetten was tireless in finding us our last minute booking, and had the patience of Buddha himself as we examined our options. On our return journey, PJ checked us in online and we avoided the long queue at midnight, giving us time to meander round the airport shops and spend the last of our rupees. You can find PJ at http://travelcounsellors.co.uk/pj.vanzetten.

The Buddha inside all of us

I hope it's not too corny to talk about the weather on a blog, but today is truly the most stunning autumn day, bright bright sunshine on golden leaves.
I spent a fascinating hour earlier today sitting in the warm sun outside The Drawingroom in Chesham (http://www.the-drawingroom.co.uk/), talking to a lovely guy who is a Zen monk and has just returned from living in Utah for several years. He talked about the philosophy of his particular teacher/monastery which has an inclusive belief that we are all Buddhas at source. Not that we must follow a life of isolation, meditation and committment to prayer in order to attain that enlightened state, but that we are born into the world with Buddha inside.

I like this idea, and believe that we can quite easily, if we are willing, tap into this feeling of contentment with ourselves, without judgement, just accepting ourselves and loving ourselves for who we are in all our completeness. With all our human characteristics and what we often regard as our 'failings', we are perfect, just as we are, just like Bridget Jones said!