Shanti Shanti Shanti
20 Jul 2019 10:19So let's talk about the group I was there with. It was a New Age group that leads (mostly) gay and lesbians on travel adventures. Fits very nicely with me and my desire to travel, yes?
The folks in attendance were all very nice. The leader got us into various sites which were not open to the public (or had public sites closed just for us) by showing the right amount of 'gratitude' (read: the right amount of pesos) -- palm to palm gratitude. The place we stayed was also nice -- more about that later.
But one problem I had was that we had a nightly check-in after the days activities, and that check-in really was a group therapy session. The leader encouraged people to talk about their feelings, and why they had come to Teotihuacan, and what issues 'Teo' might be able to help them with. There was lots of talk of energy, which is not too far off from my own belief system, but the group therapy was not something I was prepared for nor wanted. Think: lots of tears and discussion.
Another thing that bugged me was the at the leader conducted very visible (and for me quite uncomfortable) group ceremonies at each of the sites. For example, consider that at the top of the sun pyramid, all 12 of us gathered in a tight hug of a circle to pray to the Divine Mother (Earth), and sing and chant Om...again, not beyond the pale belief-wise for me, but I found those activities uncomfortable, and I'm afraid my energy was a distraction from the group.
It felt very religious, in a syncretic way, and I don't really want another layer of religion. I already have the layer I grew up with, and I use Buddhism as a sort of tool-set to help me work out emotional stuff.
The example I came up with for how to explain my discomfort is this: what if you had some problems you wanted to talk about in group therapy, but you were placed into a religious group therapy for a religion you didn't follow? Let's say it was a Hindu group, and as people are discussing their problems, the group responds with talk about Parvati or Shiva? It was kinda like that, except it was more talk of energy and the Divine Mother, etc.
Again, nice people -- just the group check-in thing was not for me!
The folks in attendance were all very nice. The leader got us into various sites which were not open to the public (or had public sites closed just for us) by showing the right amount of 'gratitude' (read: the right amount of pesos) -- palm to palm gratitude. The place we stayed was also nice -- more about that later.
But one problem I had was that we had a nightly check-in after the days activities, and that check-in really was a group therapy session. The leader encouraged people to talk about their feelings, and why they had come to Teotihuacan, and what issues 'Teo' might be able to help them with. There was lots of talk of energy, which is not too far off from my own belief system, but the group therapy was not something I was prepared for nor wanted. Think: lots of tears and discussion.
Another thing that bugged me was the at the leader conducted very visible (and for me quite uncomfortable) group ceremonies at each of the sites. For example, consider that at the top of the sun pyramid, all 12 of us gathered in a tight hug of a circle to pray to the Divine Mother (Earth), and sing and chant Om...again, not beyond the pale belief-wise for me, but I found those activities uncomfortable, and I'm afraid my energy was a distraction from the group.
It felt very religious, in a syncretic way, and I don't really want another layer of religion. I already have the layer I grew up with, and I use Buddhism as a sort of tool-set to help me work out emotional stuff.
The example I came up with for how to explain my discomfort is this: what if you had some problems you wanted to talk about in group therapy, but you were placed into a religious group therapy for a religion you didn't follow? Let's say it was a Hindu group, and as people are discussing their problems, the group responds with talk about Parvati or Shiva? It was kinda like that, except it was more talk of energy and the Divine Mother, etc.
Again, nice people -- just the group check-in thing was not for me!