All Aboard my Accidental Meditation Retreat

My cross country train journey was not what I expected...in the best way possible

I have ranted plenty about how excited I was about my trip on the Empire Builder. I did the entirety of the trek, all the way from Chicago to Seattle. A total of 47+ hours. It was a bucket list goal for me. I prepped myself for weeks for what I thought would be a mental endurance test where I was positive I would go a little crazy.

Historically, I hate long, uncomfortable rides. I blame being 5’10”. For example, anytime I go out to California, I make an overnight pit stop in Denver to cut my trip in half. It helps having buddies nation-wide who will give you a couch to sleep on when you are too much of a princess to sit for a 4hr flight. But I’m willing to do it for the story.

I was prepared for the worst.

This trip was anything but.

I was present. I was calm. I was not specifically happy or overjoyed, but I was genuinly at peace the entire time, a feeling mostly out of reach in our modern times. I was never bored, I was always engaged in the moment. I never even felt the slightest impulse to distract myself or dissociate from the situation, which is not very millennial of me.

The constant, deep white noise of the train chugging along kept my brain moving and fully connected to myself. The one word that kept coming to mind to describe the feeling I had was “clean“. I’m still not entirely sure what I mean by that yet, but I know my over-digitized, chronically online brain needed and deserved a little ontological power wash. I recommend it to anyone.

Expensive for a train ride. Incredibly economical for an all expense paid meditation retreat and spiritual rinse. Very into it. (And the food wasn’t too bad either!)

I doodled with water colors. I took lewd photos. I got caught by my train attendent with a Hitachi magic wand. (IT WAS FOR MY NECK!) I napped at any hour I pleased while the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever encountered passed me by. It was like watching a 24hr slide show just outside my window. My brain exists so much on screens that sometimes I’d have to remind myself that I was actually there, just a few millimeters of glass separating me from fresh air and gorgeous moutains.

My trip was not a challenge at all. I went in telling everyone “I’m going to do it, but I’m only doing it once!“ and I came away regretting I hadn’t made it a round trip.

Now I’m dreaming my next trip. After talking to some more experienced train travelers in the diner car, I’m thinking a long ride in the Alps next year?

I’m up for adventure. Are you? Let’s do it.