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IN THE SLEEPING LAND

A 10,000 mile journey from a desk job in Northern Japan to a jail cell in Western Ukraine.

"The open places of this planet - sea, desert and steppe - have a curious power to pause time, or perhaps more accurately, to lull the mind into a state of focus on what is present. Whether it is the lack of visual stimuli, the soporific motion of wave, dune or grass, or something yet more subtle, it is hard to say. That many of the great meditative traditions have grown out of solitary spaces strikes me as something more than a coincidence. From my own experiences in solitude, however, I have to say that the defining feature is not spiritual awakening, but a pronounced and desperate desire to find surcease of boredom. In absence of noise, I’ve found, the untrained mind will surely make its own.”

Published by Roads & Kingdoms, and Condé Nast Traveler

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