Latest / The Psychic Explorer / New Year, Shed the Load: Letting Go in Asia 🔮

Transcript

New Year, Shed the Load: Letting Go in Asia 🔮 · The Psychic Explorer

0:42
Welcome to Thailand, or Sawasdee Ka, as they
0:47
say here. It's a bit of a funny one, this one.
0:54
I'm coming to you from Thailand. I'm sat on a
0:57
beach right now. You can probably hear the waves
1:00
in the background. Maybe some of the birds are
1:05
waking up. I've decided to get up nice and early
1:09
for the sunrise. Our beach that we are on is
1:14
facing west so I won't see the sun rise directly.
1:18
It'll be coming up from behind us. The sky is
1:22
already starting to lighten and it's the first
1:27
time this trip where I feel like we can just
1:32
stop. I'm really fortunate to be able to travel
1:37
out this far. We do enjoy traveling as it is,
1:42
but we decided to come away for an extended period
1:47
in January. Little birdie above me. Yeah, we've
1:56
been gardening for probably three, four years
1:59
now, self -employed, and the dream was always
2:01
to save up enough money to go away for a month
2:05
in the winter. And finally, We decided to do
2:11
it this year. So we took ourselves away and we
2:18
spent New Year's Eve in Bangkok, which was amazing.
2:23
And then we went to Cambodia for a week. Our
2:27
name was then to come back to Thailand after
2:30
that and bum around some Thai islands. and just
2:36
enjoy the sun and I'm really glad we did because
2:39
at home it's minus two degrees centigrade and
2:43
oh my goodness me is cold back in the UK really
2:47
cold and here it's 32 degrees most days so it's
2:54
hot really hot we found this beautiful island
3:03
after a bit of upheaval because we did have a
3:05
few things booked in before but where we were
3:10
we booked into a place called Rayleigh Beach
3:14
which is supposed to be the Thailand's most beautiful
3:17
beach and it is stunning absolutely stunning
3:22
but the longtail boats We're going past our bungalows,
3:29
which climbed up the hill. Look, our bungalow,
3:31
an amazing bungalow, which climbed up the hill
3:34
into the jungles. It was incredible. The view
3:36
over the bay below was amazing. But the long
3:40
-tail boats were going in and out all day and
3:43
all night, ferrying tourists from the mainland
3:46
and in Raleigh town itself. It was full of really
3:51
cool bars, but... unfortunately a lot of dare
3:58
I say larval outs people who come to these islands
4:02
just to get drunk and enjoy the sun and don't
4:06
care about being loud full of those people and
4:11
that really was quite a shock because I maybe
4:16
naively now expected it to be a bit of a backpacker
4:19
haven I love the backpacker vibe, that's definitely
4:23
more me than getting drunk and causing a rowdy
4:30
mess. So that was quite tough to arrive back
4:37
to Thailand after a week of Cambodia where I
4:40
had envisioned this really romantic trip of backpacking
4:45
through Cambodia, seeing Angkor Wat, seeing all
4:48
the temples, visiting Buddhist monasteries and
4:53
feeling some sort of connection there but I didn't
4:57
because it was just so busy everywhere you went
5:01
there are tourists taking their stage selfies
5:07
looking wistfully off into the distance and trying
5:12
to manufacture a photo which looked natural but
5:19
in actual fact it's so staged, so staged in fact
5:24
that they missed the moment. We went to one place
5:26
where we watched the sunset over the largest
5:32
lake in Southeast Asia in Cambodia and it was
5:36
beautiful, the sunset was stunning but half the
5:40
people missed it because they were curating these
5:45
images of perfection. where they were not even
5:50
looking at the sunset, they were looking... I
5:53
don't know why they were looking anywhere but
5:56
the camera lens and anywhere but the sunset,
5:58
it was quite something. So yeah, it's been quite
6:00
hard to find spirituality here, which I found
6:05
surprising because I thought, I don't know, we'll
6:07
go to Cambodia, we'll go to Thailand, there'll
6:10
be plenty of Thailand's where I can meditate
6:12
and plenty of Thailand's where I can stop. And
6:17
there hasn't been. until now so I found this
6:26
beautiful place it's about six to eight kilometers
6:32
long this island and it's fringed with beautiful
6:36
beaches there's hardly any development here I
6:40
think about 1 ,500 locals live on the island
6:43
there's only a smattering of Hotels I think is
6:50
probably too glamorous a word to use for them
6:53
but guest houses bungalows scattered around the
6:59
island and because of that there's not a lot
7:02
of infrastructure which suits me down to the
7:06
round because it keeps the masses away. We've
7:11
actually decided to extend our stay here by another
7:13
night or two. We were originally here for four
7:16
nights so We decided to stay for five or six
7:20
in total because we just want to make the most
7:23
of the quiet. I've taken the opportunity to get
7:26
up extra early this morning to come and place
7:34
myself in the quiet part of the beach which to
7:37
be fair on this beach all parts of it are quiet.
7:41
Enjoy the sunrise, enjoy the sound of the lapping
7:45
waves. Enjoy the birdsong. Listen to the cicadas
7:55
chirp away. As I sit here, there's crabs dancing
8:09
back and forth along the powder sand I'm sat
8:13
on, and one's coming. closer and closer to me.
8:18
I don't know if it's spotted me. I think it's
8:20
got its back to me. And in the sand you can see
8:25
these tracks, these crab tracks going back and
8:29
forth, back and forth. Completely oblivious to
8:34
the wider world around them. I think that's what
8:40
I'm inspired to talk about to you. When we were
8:47
in Angkor Wat, it was a stunning place. If you
8:50
get the opportunity to go, you must. I think
8:54
it's fair to say the secret about Cambodia is
8:56
well and truly out. So get there while you can
8:59
before it turns into the next Thailand, because
9:03
give it 20, 30 years and it will be just as developed,
9:06
I am sure. So if you want to see what Thailand
9:11
is like, or was like... back in the good old
9:15
days, then get to Cambodia now. Although I shouldn't
9:19
be encouraging to do that. But when I was in
9:24
Angkor Wat, I did sit down, I found a quiet part
9:27
of the temple complex to sit down and record
9:30
something. It didn't quite feel right, it did
9:33
feel a bit forced, so I won't use that recording.
9:37
But something I noticed when I was sat there
9:41
were... It sounds really random but the leaves
9:47
that scattered the rainforest floor, the forest
9:51
floor, it was bone dry so I can't really call
9:53
it a rainforest. But the forest floor was covered
10:00
in this thick layer of crispy leaves from the
10:05
trees. Because we are much closer or very close
10:11
to the equator here, They don't really have seasons
10:14
as I would recognise them. Winter doesn't exist
10:18
here. Summer is just eternal, it's always hot
10:23
here. It just depends on whether it's a dry summer
10:27
or a wet summer. Those are the two seasons they
10:30
have here, the wet season and the dry season.
10:33
We're currently in the dry season. If you can
10:39
hear it, the cicadas are suddenly... I'm already
10:42
chapped up. I'll turn around and see if you can
10:44
hear it. They did that last night and we watched
10:58
the sunset from the same part of the beach and
11:01
it was as if someone had flipped a switch and
11:03
suddenly this... coffin of cicadas chirping away
11:10
just... came to a life. It was quite abrupt the
11:15
way it just started and I just noticed it just
11:18
started again. What was I saying? I was saying
11:24
about the leaves. So yeah, the seasons here are
11:28
dry season and wet season. And because there's
11:34
no real autumn, there's always an equal amount
11:38
of daylight throughout the year. The leaves on
11:42
the trees are always going to be evergreen, but
11:46
they do drop them. And there's a certain species
11:50
of trees. I'm not sure what it's called, but
11:52
I will put it in the episode notes, and I will
11:55
do some research into what species of tree it
11:57
is. But it just constantly drops its old leaves.
12:03
As it grows new ones, it sheds its old leaves.
12:08
And I really picked up on that in Angkor Wat
12:12
as I was saying my little piece to microphone
12:17
as it were. And as we arrived on this island
12:21
that we're on now, I noticed the same thing.
12:25
The beach is covered in these brown, I'll pick
12:32
one up, this brown crinkly almost leathery leaf
12:41
on one side it's brown and yellow on the other
12:44
side is this rich red color almost like autumnal
12:51
color and these leaves will drop 24 -7 our bungalows
13:04
Just further up, it's not beachfront, but it's
13:06
just further up into the woods or the garden
13:09
as it's called. And the roof of our bungalow
13:13
is not thatched, it's like corrugated iron. Which
13:19
means that A, it traps the heat, very much so,
13:23
thank God for air conditioning. But also it means
13:25
that you can hear everything that lands on it.
13:27
And throughout the night, all you can hear is
13:29
this pitter patter of... leaves dropping on the
13:34
roof from the trees above you and I find it quite
13:41
soothing. My partner does not find it quite irritating
13:44
but I find it quite soothing. And that's what
13:51
I'm inspired to talk to you about or use that
13:54
at least as a metaphor. It is a new year and
13:58
it's 2025. Happy New Year to you. I haven't said
14:04
that already, but Happy New Year. And to me,
14:18
these trees, these leaves represent how we should...
14:24
Should is a difficult word to use because it
14:27
implies that I'm telling you to do something.
14:30
and I'm very much not of that ilk whatsoever.
14:33
You do what you want but for me at least in my
14:38
life I'm going to try and take an example of
14:40
these trees and these leaves and bear with me
14:43
on this one but as some new growth on these trees
14:49
comes through it sheds it sheds its old leaves.
14:58
To me this is These are problems. These are problems
15:02
that I might have. These are insecurities I have
15:06
about myself. Worries, concerns, baggage that
15:15
are weighing me down. And like the tree, as I
15:23
develop, as I grow, I would like to try and let
15:29
go of those problems, try and let go of those
15:38
concerns, those worries, let go of that extra
15:49
weight. Metaphorically and physically on that
15:55
one, I knew I had been putting on some weight
16:00
over the past year or so, but this holiday really
16:03
has brought it to home. The fact that I've had
16:05
to shave in a beard to try and blend in a double
16:09
chin that has appeared, I'm not too happy about.
16:15
So when I get home, I will be doing a lot more
16:18
swimming and trying to watch my diet more than
16:22
I have been. I knew it was coming. but this trip
16:25
really has highlighted that to me. But yeah,
16:28
to try and shed those issues, try and shed those
16:33
baggage. But not to discard them, to learn from
16:40
them. And as this tree sheds these leaves, even
16:49
on this beach, they are left. The staff just
16:53
clear the leaves from the path on the main beach
16:58
but further up this very beautiful long beach
17:02
which is fringed by greenery. Underneath all
17:08
of these trees is this red and golden pile of
17:13
shed leaves and eventually these leaves will
17:19
break down. and they will give their nutrients
17:25
back to the ground where the tree can take them
17:31
back up again. I just want to note that as quickly
17:40
as it started the cicadas almost stopped. It's
17:44
literally like someone's got a volume knob. and
17:47
they just turn the volume down on the cicadas.
17:50
It's quite eerie, actually, how they all do it
17:54
in unison. And with that, the birdsong has started.
18:09
And as it's 2025, as it's a new year, actually
18:13
the year doesn't even matter, but as it is a
18:15
new year, I think it's a great time to reflect
18:21
on what we are, what we have learnt, what we
18:28
don't like, what we do like, and to compartmentalise,
18:34
to sort those things out, and to focus on the
18:38
things we want to focus on. That is certainly
18:46
what I will be doing. I will be... ..trying to
18:54
relinquish the baggage. Not worry about the wider
19:02
world so much. Try and emulate the mindset of
19:06
these crabs that are going back and forth. In
19:11
front of me, I can see about all the beaches
19:14
covered in them as I look. As I look, the beach
19:20
is covered. There's a woman who is just taking
19:25
any more control. She just waved at me, in a
19:29
far enough way that she can't hear me, but she
19:33
just put her arm up and waved. I waved back,
19:36
and that simple act of communication. And...
19:44
She's looking at the crabs, she's looking at
19:47
the surf, and she's observing the world as it
19:51
just wakes up. The fishermen in their long -tail
19:56
boats have just started to criss -cross across
20:01
the water. You may be able to hear the hum of
20:04
their engines in the background. And I really
20:15
want to inspire you with hopefully this sound
20:21
set and these words of inspiration from the trees
20:26
that I've noticed around Asia. To go back to
20:32
simplicity, we live such complicated lives. Even
20:41
if we don't try to live complicated lives, our
20:45
lives are complex. They are full of deadlines,
20:49
they are full of finance, they are full of relationships.
20:59
The dynamics of different relationships. Find
21:06
your rhythm like the tide. Find simplicity in
21:13
doing a task like the crab. Shed your load like
21:20
the trees. And walk barefooted. Feel the sand
21:28
between your toes. Feel the earth. Feel nature.
21:36
Feel the heat of the sun. Feel the coolness of
21:38
the water. Take your time. Go back to island
21:51
life, go back to island time. Even if it's just
21:56
for five minutes every day. Or five minutes a
22:00
week, or whatever it is. Whatever works for you.
22:08
I have got... I did bring with me some cards.
22:15
I bought my mum's... scarves that they're wrapped
22:18
up in. I've got two decks and I don't know which
22:23
one to use. I think I'm going to use this one.
22:27
I think I know what's in this one. I think this
22:28
is the B tower. I bought a new deck of cards
22:32
before I came away. That's one of my mum's old
22:38
dog's cards. Oh, that's brought some emotion
22:45
to me. Blimey. Little Reggie. No, they're not
22:58
the... Oh, excuse me. That brought some emotion.
23:14
Oh God. That cut. So the story behind that is
23:25
that the, yeah, the day that my mum died, she
23:39
had a little, a little Jack Russell. And he was
23:46
the sweetest dog he would ever be. He was so
23:53
old. So very, very old. And I think literally
23:58
for like two years before Mum died, we said to
24:02
Mum, OK, I think it's Reggie's time, Mum. He
24:05
needs to go now because he is getting way too
24:08
old. And he was limping and he was losing all
24:12
his teeth. Oh, his breath just stunk. Absolutely
24:18
stunk. Everyone in the family was saying, you're
24:26
stringing this out, and my mum would always say,
24:27
no, no, no, he's got life in him, yeah, he's
24:31
absolutely fine. But he was becoming, well, he
24:35
was incontinent, and my mum just couldn't bear
24:39
to let go of him. And the day that my mum died,
24:44
My sister and I looked at each other, and I think
24:47
it's this time too. We couldn't look after him.
24:54
There's just no way me and my sister could look
24:56
after him. And... ..we couldn't give him to someone
25:02
else because it would be too stressful for him,
25:05
just too stressful. Still on the same day when
25:10
mum died. I went to the vet's and he fell asleep
25:19
in my house. And it's a big party. Where is this
25:38
coming from? Sorry about this. Honestly, I wasn't
25:43
expecting this. I hate the phrase, had him put
25:57
down, but he was in my arms the whole time. I
26:02
was telling him how much he was loved. It's all
26:08
in the same day. We lost mum. And we lost Reggie.
26:15
And I just opened up my mum's scarf to find her
26:20
deck of tarot cards. Not mine, I thought I bought
26:23
mine, but I bought hers. Because they're all
26:25
wrapped up in scarves, I never know which ones
26:27
are which. And as I opened them up, I found one
26:31
of Reggie's hairs. So I will keep that in mind.
26:38
As a reminder. Oh, I do apologize, I did not
26:41
expect to do this. But I will shuffle these cards
26:47
and see what comes up. I don't know Tarot like
26:51
Sheddy does in the last episode. Sheddy Shearing
27:00
from Soulful Tarot. Go and follow her and all
27:04
that. She... Okay, there's a card that's just
27:11
thrown up on me the queen of cups. I don't I
27:13
have no idea what that means Maybe Shelly can
27:17
explain it to me if she hears this But yeah,
27:22
Shelly I thoroughly recommend you go and follow
27:25
her on Facebook and on YouTube Okay, so I will
27:37
read this as an oracle card, not as a tarot because
27:42
I don't know what the Queen of Cups tentative
27:45
means. I'm going to interpret this card as generosity.
28:11
This queen, this woman is sat on a simple box.
28:16
She's not on a throne. She's on a simple box.
28:23
And she's holding a cup. And in my mind, she
28:32
wants to give. the people around her this cup
28:36
she wants to give me this cup she wants to give
28:38
you this cup this cup of knowledge the sustenance
28:48
she wants to she's not demanding with it she
28:54
is loving with it she is nurturing she's maternal
29:00
with it she wants to give this gift of nourishment,
29:11
give this gift of generosity, of fulfillment,
29:26
of enlightenment is what I'm being drawn to say
29:29
there. She's also truthful. She's stood, sorry,
29:37
she's sat in front of an open curtain. She's
29:43
opening herself to the world. She's not hiding
29:46
herself behind the curtain like the wizard in
29:48
the Wizard of Oz. She's not pretending to be
29:50
something that she's not. Her crown is simple
29:55
as she wears a pendant of a heart around her
29:59
neck. She comes from a place of love and understanding.
30:11
I'm very much seeing this woman as a mother figure.
30:26
She's wearing in this card a green dress. To
30:32
me green means nature it means getting back to
30:39
truth simplicity funny enough I've been talking
30:44
about this morning already finding a place in
30:49
the world where you can feel like you where you
30:53
feel comfortable to be quirky where you feel
30:57
comfortable to be sad where you feel comfortable
31:01
to be angry or weird or annoying or angry or
31:09
annoyed or whatever it is you want to be at the
31:13
time you need to feel it. This Queen of Cups
31:20
is allowing you to do that and encouraging you
31:24
to do that. It's okay not to be liked all the
31:29
time. It's okay to be you. and to show the world
31:36
who you are. I do feel that the more you wrap
31:45
yourself up in what other people expect you to
31:50
be or want you to be, the more you smother yourself
31:54
with this thick, gagging material that you're
32:00
wrapping yourself up in. So have that courage
32:05
to go out into the world. Be yourself, find that
32:10
simplicity. We'll pop that card back and wrap
32:20
those cards up. Interestingly enough, I've been
32:24
avoiding using those cards. When mum died, I
32:31
took her... a couple of the decks of her cards
32:34
and wrap them up in her scarves. Now I'm just
32:38
trying to wrap to dust off all the sand and these
32:42
cards I've been avoiding because because they're
32:45
tarot I don't know tarot per se so I hope surely
32:48
I did that one justice I don't know what I was
32:50
talking about if or I don't know whether or not
32:53
that was anything to do with what the Queen of
32:55
Cups is about but that is certainly how I felt
32:58
and how I interpreted them. So yeah, now this
33:05
scarf is covered in sand. So I'll leave a bit
33:09
on there to remind me of my trip here. And yeah,
33:16
I was not expecting to burst into tears. Sorry
33:20
about that. I don't know why I'm apologizing,
33:23
but yeah, that dog hair got me for some reason.
33:27
That really cut hard. Next time you're, well
33:33
I might do another recording, I don't know. We'll
33:35
see how it goes out here. We've got another week
33:38
or two out here in the islands. And as the world
33:44
wakes up, as the fishermen chug along, I will
33:57
say my farewell from where I am at the moment.
34:03
I will leave you with some sounds I've recorded
34:07
from our trip out here I'll put a list in the
34:12
episode notes to what the sounds are but again
34:19
I wish you a very happy new year lots of love
34:25
and I'll speak to you soon take care I think
34:41
that's a good question.