Greetings from Justin, Assistant Program Director
Namaste!!!
Congratulations on choosing such a wonderful way to spend time abroad. I’m so excited to share this opportunity with you. India holds a world of possibility, and it is up to all of us to make this journey everything it can be.
To begin with, I would like to tell a brief story about when I was first in India. On a hot and humid day I was sitting with a group of Sadhus (traveling Hindu ascetics) along a river bank and they told me that it takes seven lifetimes to experience their beloved country. This took a little while to sink in. Having already spent a few months in Northern India, I believed I was beginning to understand this foreign land. It was eye-opening to think that people’s scale of time could be so drastically different from my own. I was thinking in terms of months; years seemed long and lifetimes, come on. This bit of information transformed the way I was exploring, not only India, but the inner and outer world in general. India can have this effect on people, challenging the way we think, feel and interact with each other and the world. For me it challenged my concept of time; for you it may be different, but remaining open to whatever arises is the key. I would like to invite each of you to embrace this way of thinking: staying open to all India has to offer and seeing where this semester can lead us.
So, a little bit about me. I was raised on a small New England farm and from an early age I was taught to embrace the outdoors and my surroundings. This idea has followed me throughout my life. As a high school student, I spent time swimming in rivers, hiking mountains and pondering questions about life. To this day, there is nothing I like better then a cool fall afternoon spent exploring the outdoors. In college at Tufts University, the majority of my time was spent focused on academics and athletics. I competed for the university’s football team, and because of this I was unable to study abroad. Although my time as an athlete taught me numerous important lessons, I also had a sense that something was missing, something beyond the classroom or athletic field. This feeling led me to leave the U.S. and spend some time in Asia.
After a year traveling throughout South and Southeast Asia, I came back to the U.S. and began to think more directly about how I was living my life. This is what led me to my current position at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, a meditation facility and supporting organization of the Insight Meditation Society. During this period at BCBS I have had the chance to explore numerous Buddhist traditions and have spent ample time looking at my own mind through meditation. Now, I’m ready to refocus my life on facilitating a joyous and worthwhile journey for you all.
Signing up for this program is tremendous. We will have the opportunity to explore a magnificent culture in India. Some of our time together will be wonderful, but inevitably some difficulty will arise. I just ask that each of us helps to nurture our understanding of India and ourselves.
I’m greatly looking forward to meeting you all soon. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or just to say hello. My email is: justin@global-lab.org. I’ll do my best to answer any questions and concerns you might have.
Have a great summer, enjoy your family and friends and be ready for everything, as it seems like that is often what India provides.
Blessings,
Justin