Leaving the Monastery
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First Days Outside the Monastery #7 – My First Mobile Phone
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #7 – My First Mobile PhoneDuring my years in the monastery many things in the world outside were rapidly advancing and changing. When I entered the monastery, mobile phones were those huge clunky things about the size of a brick, with a large antenna sticking out the top. Only the upper class elite could afford to own one. I think I had only ever seen them in the movies. By the time I left the monastery they had become the small device not much bigger than your finger. They fitted easily into your pocket, and owning one was as common as owning a wrist watch.…
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First Days Outside the Monastery #6 – A Ghostly Encounter
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #6 – A Ghostly EncounterDo you like visiting quaint old English villages? The United Kingdom is full of such little towns… beautiful and picturesque old market towns, still with their original buildings often dating back as much as 500 years. Full of character and history, these villages make up a part of the rich heritage of the UK. The old traditional buildings give a glimpse into the past, of how the way of life was back in those days. For most people it is a delightful experience to walk among the ancient streets and narrow alleyways of these charming towns. Not so for me!…
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First Days Outside the Monastery #5 – The Paintings Are Alive!
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #5 – The Paintings Are Alive!When I entered my mother’s house I had quite a shock. A strange and new experience, taking me by surprise. It was good to see my mother again, but that wasn’t what was overwhelming me. It hadn’t been that long since I last saw her as she used to visit me in the monastery two or three times a year. No, this most extraordinary sensation was not about her. As I stepped through the doorway and walked along the hallway I was surprised by the way in which the objects of the house called out to me! Especially the paintings.…
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First Days Outside the Monastery #4 – London Underground Shock
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #4 – London Underground ShockEntering the London Tube system was a daunting experience. Here I was about to come into uncomfortably lose proximity to characters of every conceivable type… homeless, alcoholics, Goths who look like the walking dead, punks itching for a fight, cold-looking businessmen, scantily-dressed wild teenagers, heavy-metal freaks covered in tattoos and multiple body-piercings, and (possibly the most frightening) over-zealous religious fanatics trying to convert anyone in their path! For the last 11 years all I had seen each day were a few animals, the other monks, and some visiting pilgrims. I definitely wasn’t ready for this encounter with London’s concentrated mix of worldly…
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First Days Outside the Monastery #3 – Mobile Phones
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #3 – Mobile PhonesI knew that mobile phones had become more popular during my stay in the monastery but I hadn’t realised just how much they were part of everyday life. Having got on to the train which would carry me away from Skanda Vale and into my new life, I settled down in my seat expecting a peaceful four hour journey in which I could reflect on things. How wrong I was!
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First Days Outside the Monastery #2 – Monochrome World
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #2 – Monochrome WorldNegotiating the dilemma of the train ticket was the first wordly transaction I had to make by myself since leaving the monastery. After that I turned from the ticket counter to face the doorway which led through to the platform. Now that I had successfully secured my means of passage I was able to breathe deeply and begin to orient myself amid the clamour of competing vibrations bombarding my senses from all around.
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First Days Outside the Monastery #1 – Doubts
Read article: First Days Outside the Monastery #1 – DoubtsI’ll always remember what the woman behind the ticket counter at Carmarthen train station said to me the day I left Skandavale monastery. It had been one of the biggest decisions of my life to leave. Of course after 11 years of commitment there were some doubts about whether or not I was doing the right thing. But the decision was made and it was already impossible to take back my actions .