When people reminisce about their visits to the main Meditation Centre in South Korea, they very often reflect wildly different memories and experiences.
For myself the strongest memories of the Centre include the gentle snow drifting down, amongst the beautiful pine trees and the picturesque paths winding through the surrounding hills.
I fondly remember the aromatic smell of the sesame leaves in the many "Vinyl houses" and the fun I had working making Kimchi with Korean Meditators.
I especially recall the power that I felt meditating, in a group of over one hundred.
Yet, I have heard grumbling from a few others, complaining about the "Korean Food" and the discomfort of the sleeping arrangements.
In many ways we only ever see what we want to.
Our perspective in fact becomes our reality.
If we actually set out, in a positive manner and with an open mind, ready to fully experience and appreciate something, we will immensely gain from the opportunity.
I understand now that by discarding our negative thoughts, we can more clearly hear and understand what the Meditation has to offer.
So often we can be fixated on a trivial concern, that it stops us from seeing what is really there.
While at the Main Centre, I saw such a strong example of this. It was during a lunch break and I was seated next to a friend, who had also just experienced the same Meditation session, which I had just come from.
"I don't think that last session was very good",
my friend blurted out. "There was something that I really didn't like about the way the instructor guided us... and did you hear the noise those two Grandmas were making... it was so rude!".
I just smiled politely and took my plate back to the kitchen to be washed up.
As I was leaving the dinning room hall. I couldn't help but wonder, why I myself hadn't really noticed any distractions during the Meditation. Then as I was about to push the door open to leave, I heard an excited voice behind me.
"Wow, that last session was so good". I turned around to see Joe broadly smiling and he continued.
"It was really amazing... I got something really special out of it!"
It was then that it hit me! If you approach an experience free from negative expectations and you are eager to understand, then you will totally benefit from that experience.
Our perception truly is our destiny.
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