Silence in San Marcos

April 16 - May 3, 2008


(I will leave it up to the reader to ponder the meaning of this image I made.)


Silence in San Marcos is a relative thing, and not something you come by easily after dark. By day, San Marcos lulls you into the fresh fruit and simplicity of life, yet the night come alive with screeching churchies, menacing dogs, the occasional pig being slaughtered, and reports of knife attacks along the walkways. To add to the nightly cacophony, San Marcos erupted into the yearly celebration for Saint (San) Marcos, punctuated heavily with random thundering fireworks, music at all hours of the day and night, and a sketchy ferris wheel being propelled by a guy sitting on top of a bare gas engine changing gears in attempts to break the whole contraption apart. Ironically, the last week of my yoga and meditation course at Las Piramides was to be a self-reflection spent in a week of silence and fasting among the cacouphony.

Much of this yoga/meditation course is based around a whole-istic approach to life, by living with awareness and consciousness. The self-reflection exercises were centered around four basic categories of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual elements. I don't believe that anything here revolutionized my way of thinking, but it reinforced the thoughts and conclusions that I have reached on my own over the years through introspection and observation. The course finished with 5 days of silence and fasting. Ideally, there was to be nothing coming into my head, just things coming out... this means no reading, music, internet, or conversing with others (I took my liberties). The fasting is intended to cleanse the body from constantly being bombarded by digesting food, and allow the body to subtly deal with other issues. These 'hardships' were to put the body and mind in a better state for meditation. I will share with you the basics of my experiences and thoughts surrounding the 4 elements for those who are interested:

• Physical... I am striving for balance in my life, both in my physical body and my physical surroundings. This includes breaking old habits and implementing changes to diet, fitness and flexibility, and living surroundings. I really would like to be back in touch with nature - the mountains and ocean which would suit the lifestyle I want to attract!
  


• Emotional... I am striving for passion in all aspects of my life, including work endeavors, creative projects, and relationships. I need to 'let go' a little of the social conditionings of society and explore my true passions. I need to make a positive contribution to the world... as my sister says, to 'stop destroying the world' as an engineer that worked in a less-than-ethical environment, and to spend my (+/-) 8 hours a day at something I actually agree with and care about!
  


• Mental... I am striving for clarity. My mind is always running loose with ideas that I don't pursue in earnest, yet I continue to dream about them and clog my brain. I need to organize these ideas, sort them out, and identify certain ideas to focus on. Exploring meditation should also provide mental clarity and further insights into myself, life situations, and bring an element of increased intention into my actions.
  


• Spirituality... I think I dislike this word, as the connotations of 'spirituality' are too close to the fringe of organized religion. My definition of spirituality has nothing to do with the perversion that popular western religion has become. I prefer spirituality to mean something close to realizing how life as individuals, collective conscience, nature, philosophy, and science, interact with each other. Some recent books which have resonated with me include the Tao of Physics (Capra) and A New Earth (Tolle). Thoughts, ideas, and actions reinforce the state of the world (environmentally, socially, politically, peacefully), and I would like to begin to make a positive contribution instead of contributing to the destructive forces of the world!
  

As I left on the boat out of San Marcos, I was ready to move on and engage in a new adventure, but I certainly felt San Marcos left a lasting impression... from the amazing people I have met along the way, to the restaurants that have difficulties making change for dinner from the equivalent of a $10 bill, the morning serenity of Lake Atitlan and the volcanoes, the lady selling bread on the corner, and even the 'San Marcos Guatemalan Beach Volleyball League' to whom I showed a few tricks that will hopefully help improve their skills! I leave San Marcos with a refreshed mind, body, and reinforced realization to follow my dreams instead of let someone/thing else define (or destroy them) for me.

San Marcos, Lake Atitlan. My typical morning view of the 3 volcanoes.


Small Town near San Marcos. Just a view taken from the back of a motorcycle.

San Marcos. Yet another not so early morning yoga pose of Nyree from Australia.


San Marcos. The day after the fair, with the insane hodge-podge ferris wheel driven by an guy sitting on an old automobile engine shifting gears.


San Marcos. Louise posing for yoga by the lake.


San Marcos. A photo of Nina... eventually I will turn this into line art!


San Marcos. A few of the people in our Pyramids course: Nadielle, Cheryl, Amanda, and Mike.


San Marcos. Early morning sunrise and the same three volcanoes.


San Marcos. A view of a bathroom in my favorite hotel here called Aaculaax.



San Marcos. The stained glass workshop area at the hotel Aaculaax.



San Marcos. The people at the Pyramids would get this. This moth was absolutely HUGE and stayed still on the wall for about 3 days!


San Marcos. A picture with my lousy point and shoot camera with many of the people from the Pyramids course. This is the first dinner after the week of fasting and silence!