Going to India!

[LuxEnuff]

After fifteen years on the ground I gathered my courage yesterday and clicked on that dreadful purchase button! Flying from Portland, Oregon via Chicago (there are now a couple of nonstops from the US :thumbsup:). I'm going to spend three months eating my way around the subcontinent (I'm a restaurant guy.) And I can't wait!

Well, except for the flying part.

The thing that let me click was accepting that I will experience some anxiety. I've spent a lot of time hoping I wouldn't have to endure any. I feel like I've learned enough now to aspire to simply manage my fear, and that gives me a sense of hope that doesn't come with trying to eliminate it altogether.

Anyway, I've also been practicing my breathing. The flight that's kept me earthbound for so long involved me hyperventilating without understanding I was hyperventilating. Anybody else ever do that one? :eek:

And I've also been meditating. It's hard to be disciplined about that though, isn't it?

Since my flying time to New Delhi is around 20 hours, I'm going to try and take a couple of short hop practice flights first. (And yeah, I'm going to use some meds though I won't post details.)

The big trip is in September, so expect to see me pop in every now and again. If I make it all the way there I'll be sure to post a photo of the best bheja masala money can buy! ;)

Lux

[Rebecca]

:shocked: Can you make that with chicken instead? (http://www.lokpriya.com/cuisine/jammukashmir/non-veg/bhejamasala.html)

Whoa, great food is a great reason to fly! I shall look forward to your reports! And a big :thumbsup: for clicking!

Meditation ... ergh. I can manage a millisecond or two. Maybe you can visit an ashram in India and learn more. Trouble is, one starts thinking "What great naan that was at lunch ..." and then you're sunk.

Welcome to Taking Flight! :tiphat:

[LuxEnuff]

Thanks Rebecca! Bheja masala can't be made with chicken...their heads are too small. :D

I've been pretty good at meditating for around twenty minutes, just not every day. Still, it makes me aware of the rambunctious mental dialogue that seems to run in the background and allows me to let negative thoughts drift away. Coupled with good diaphragmatic breathing, I can reach a nice jelly-like consistency in minutes.

Mmmmm, jelly-like consistency.

Lux

[Barb-SAN]

Hi Lux...Welcome to Taking Flight!:welcome2:

That sounds like a very ambitious trip, and sure to be an eye-opening experience, on many levels. Have you traveled overseas before? How did you happen to pick India as a travel destination? Will you be flying within India on domestic airlines, driving, taking the train? I hope that you will hang out and share with us your experiences on your "practice flights" in the U.S. in the next few months, and then for sure tell us all about the trip to India!

About the meditation...it sounds like you already really have the hang of it, combining it with the diaphragmatic breathing. Are you taking any yoga classes now, or working with a teacher?

I just finished reading an interesting book, "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. The author took a year off to travel, and spent 4 months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia. She stayed at an ashram in India for most of her time there, and it was fascinating to read of her experiences and insights there (yes, LOTS of meditation...for hours at a stretch).

A few years ago, I went through an 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction class. It was offered through a medical clinic. We met for 2 hrs. once a week, and then committed to doing 45 minutes a day of various stress-reducing exercises on our own. These included meditation, yoga, "awareness" exercises, and reading Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. We meditated as a group for 15-20 minute periods during our 2 hrs. together. Being in a group seemed to help me to learn meditation, and it provided a structured framework.

The wandering mind...yes, that happened to all of us. I often felt very deeply relaxed after those 2 hrs. were over. I think it's really important to meditate regularly, even if only for 5-10 minutes a day. (though, sorry to say, I've fallen out of the daily habit now, but do try to do SOME yoga a few times a week). When I was in that class we had to keep a log, and write down what we did every day. That helped to make us accountable. I do still keep a log like that for yoga and other exercise (I just wish it had more entries...:rolleyes: ).

So, do you have any other concerns about flying? It sounds like you have already learned some good tools for managing the bodily symptoms of anxiety. One of the fear of flying programs I purchased suggested using those relaxation tools consciously on a daily basis, e.g. when driving in traffic, when seeing "exciting" movies, etc., and watch how you can calm yourself down at will. That helps to give you confidence that you can reduce your anxiety during new stressful experiences.

Please feel free to explore the site and read through some of the many posts....and let us know how we can help!

[LuxEnuff]

Hi Barb-SAN, thanks for the welcome!

The trip doesn't seem too ambitious to me aside from the flight. I think I've read in a few places that the typical onset age for flying anxiety is in the late twenties. That's me. Before I hit that age, I'd flown regularly if unhappily, including a couple trips to asia and a couple trips to europe.

Then, following a stressful family event, I flew out of John Wayne and the noise abatement maneuvers gave me a spectacular panic attack. I hyperventilated and my whole body was pins and needles. Couldn't feel a thing. I remember thinking I needed to breathe deeply but because I didn't know *how* I was probably exacerbating my numbness rather than relieving it. I swear this isn't some kind of second-rate literary convention but the entire time an ISKCON member (popularly known as a hare krishna) in the row ahead of me was manically chanting his mantra. 'Hare hare, krishna krishna' over and over again all the way to San Francisco. This did not help.

I haven't flown since. The nice thing is that life will often sucker you into adventures your fears would normally have you resist. I have numberless reasons and excuses to indulge, eat, shop, learn and cook with friends in India. I've got my culinary geek thing going on, with plans to eat both on the streets and in five stars, in regional style restaurants and as a lucky guest in some homes. Given my income it's the trip of a lifetime for me.

Air travel seems to be more common in India these days, though I don't have any data to back it up. I won't fly there, though. Even without my FOF and my suspicion of India's aero-regulations, the train system in India is phenomenal. If we had the same train system in the U.S., I would never fly and not think twice about it! It's not speedy, but it more than compensates for that in price, comfort and fun. It never occurs to me that India's trains suffer accidents. Or the buses! I remember on one bustrip through the foothills of the himalayas our bus would navigate roads so narrow some of the six wheels weren't on solid ground. How odd that it didn't and wouldn't bother me. :nuts:

My first practice flight will be up to Vancouver BC to eat at Vij's. It's a quick flight but in a twin prop. With :a friend's help and with :some benzodiazepines and with :breathing and meditation and some other therapy and with :flight tracking and with :attitude adjustment and with :youtube video watching and posting on takingflight and with :reading some books on FOF/anxiety and with :some other work I've probably forgotten I should be okay. I'll post and let you know how my practice flying goes.

I like the title, 'Full Catastrophe Living.' In my murky past I *casually* studied meditation around some professionals in McLeod Ganj where the Tibetan government in exile is headquartered. Then I seemed to feel more goal oriented. Maybe it's getting older, or maybe it's suffering from FOF more, but when I meditate now it's simpler. I've developed a less ambitious sense of sitting down quietly, heh.

Thanks, Sean, too for the welcome. I'll post more concerns as they come up. I'm sure buying the Vancouver ticket will bring on some new worries! Right now I'm getting wild rounds of applause from all my friends who know how hard this is going to be for me, so that's nice!

Actually, just seeing all the successful flights from fellow fearfuls is inspiring.

Cheers,

Lux