68
may/june 2018yogajournal.com.auguided
walks under
that beautiful
African sky, is that being
on safari is a lesson in being a
witness—a true observer.
The Sanskrit word for this is sakshi,
and its meaning is derived from the
word’s two roots: sa, which means
“with” and aksha, which means
“senses,” “eyes,” or “spiritual wisdom.”
We embody sakshi when we can witness
the world without getting involved in, or
being affected by, worldly things; when
we can look at our thoughts without
getting attached to them; when our
awareness can distance itself from our
ever-changing breath and bodies,
allowing us to rest fully in our true
nature.
Until this trip, I’d thought of sakshi
as a beautiful concept worthy of working
toward, yet impossible for mere mortals
like myself to achieve—at least in this
lifetime. In the weeks leading up to
my trip to Zambia, the thoughts
that surfaced in my mantra-based
meditation sessions were anything but
unimpassioned. I’d been dating a man Iwas
falling in
love with, but
who was about to
embark on a year of travel.
And as my mind inevitably drifted
toward what might happen between
us—It will never work! Why can’t the
timing be right with this one?—I found
myself reacting as usual, rather than
softening and staying calm. Other
anxieties regularly came up around my
writing (Am I challenging myself enough
with the assignments I’m taking? When
am I going to finally start that book?), as
well as the bleak state of the world—
from natural disasters to political
decisions that filled me with resentment
and rage. And instead of watching these
unsettling thoughts surface with some
manner of detachment, I clung to them
with a fervent urgency.
This didn’t change when I arrived at
the Bushcamp Company’s Mfuwe
Lodge, where I meditated before dawn
each morning to the sounds of hippos
stomping outside my chalet and hyenas
howling in the distance.
It’s funny how the patterns of your
mind will follow you to even the mostremote reaches of the world.
Yet an interesting thing happened as
I sank comfortably into the busy-yet-
peaceful pace of this safari: I started
truly observing everything around me.
In just a few days, this would shift how I
started observing the thoughts scurrying
around my own mind.
On morning game drives, we sat
quietly in the Land Rover as Banda
drove us through the bush, African
antelope leaping beside us while
monkeys scrambled up trees. We
stopped so Banda could point out the
most colourful birds I’d ever seen, some
with black-and-white, polka-dotted
wings and red breasts and others—
called lovebirds because of how they
care for each other—a kaleidoscope of
blues, pinks, and yellows.
We spotted wild African dogs,
zebras, giraffes, elephants, African
buffalo, a leopard, and on our last game
drive, the lion. Being so immersed in
this kingdom all week, with no contact
with the outside world and no agenda
other than to observe these beautiful
animals in their untouched-by-man
habitat, offered a surprising gift. By
watching the rhythms and cycles of
these creatures’ lives from a place of
pure awe, I wondered if I couldZAMBIA
LION COURTESY MEGHAN RABBITT; WAVEBREAKMEDIA/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM; ALL OTHERS COURTESY EBONY ATHERTON