On one side of me is the ocean, just out my bedroom window. On the other side, about fifty yards away, is an estuary where the fishermen from this small village catch shrimp

I've been reading two books on my journey, both about journeys of their own. The first is a journal of an expedition into the Himalayas. An American biologist and his friend, the author, a student of Zen Buddism. There is an inner quest happening for the author along with the search for certain wildlife. (The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen)

"Just as a white summer cloud, in harmony with heaven and earth freely floats in the blue sky from horizon to horizon following the breath of the atmosphere-in the same way the pilgrim abandons himself to the breath of the greater life thatSleads beyond the farthest horizons to an aim which is already present within him, though yet hidden from his sight."

The Way of the White Clouds- Lama Govinda

The second book is about a journey that took the author from his medical practice into the realm of metaphysics. (Joy's Way, by W. Brugh Joy, M..D.) He returned from his expedition to become a teacher of spirituality and healing with body energies. In the book he describes exercises that he uses in his teachings, some of which piqued my interest. He explained an exercise that involves isolation and searching for an inanimate "teacher" in the desert. I was not consciously thinking about the exercise, as I walked along an isolated stretch of beach. A large seashell appeared in the surf and "spoke" to me. As I reached to pick it up, I recalled the exercise and thought, "My Teacher!"