Saddle up in a comfortable chair and log in for adventure and education
By Victoria Leo
It’s summer! Time to travel! Are you planning to travel this summer? I am. I have been traveling in complete comfort and safety for the last two and a half years, and I plan to continue this peripatetic life all summer. (Read Part 1 for some basics!) Yes, creating new, fun, joyful experiences matters for inner peace. In addition to mobilization of existing inner resources through breath, meditation, mindfulness, and prayer, when we perform a “deep cleanse” of the residue of worries and concerns through a joyful vacation, what a boost to our inner peace!
Introducing the deluxe, full-senses ‘Virtual Vacation’ (VV)!
Your goal is full-immersion in a place. Scratch out two-hour blocks of time if you can, at least an hour for full benefit. Get travel guides from your library (jcls.org) for the “big” trips, like New Zealand. Then power up YouTube, brainstorm search terms, and start your splendid adventure in — pick anywhere: a city, a nation, a region, a kind of food or experience, anything — and start.
Don’t forget the national/provincial/state park, government and tourism websites (in addition to YouTube), which have background in text, videos, and more links to follow to drill down. You can get lists of prominent parks and natural wonders from your printed tour book or Best 10.
As you watch the vids, you can refine your goals more. Are you more attracted to nature (sit down beside me) or cities? Nightlife or night skies? Start by exploring everything. I tend to avoid cities, but some city tours include museums, which I can then get a virtual tour of; search for these! I love museums. If I had avoided vids of cities, I would have missed this. Now I scour the print books for museum lists. Te Papa and The Hermitage! Smithsonian Museums!
Consider the wondrium.com site for complete travel experiences. It’s $125 per year for unlimited courses, so you can learn science, literature, philosophy, lifestyle, and history as well as “travel” with them. Some classes like Greece and Turkey were mostly travel-tourism, but Ireland and MesoAmerica have a heavy dollop of culture and are, in that sense, more immersive. Or explore all this via the Jackson County Library (jcls.org — look for The Great Courses or ask your local librarian). So check it out. One of my faves is “America’s State Parks.” I bought the class, so I have CDs and a printed book as well. The USA has some amazing state parks!
But even if you stay off mass transit to stay safe as COVID-19 surges once again, you can be there as deeply and thoroughly as your imagination and your concentrated attention can create memories for you. Our minds are amazing. Enjoy this human ability to visit the world in peace!
Victoria Leo started a new science fiction series in 2020 and will provide you with five free chapters of the first book in the series if you email her at [email protected]. She spends part of every week having fantastic vacation experiences.
Send 600- to 700-word articles on all aspects of inner peace to Richard Carey ([email protected]).
