Welcome to
The Wingman’s Path
Perfect Emptiness
One of the highlights of my 4-month trip to Thailand has been the 4 amazing days Jan and I spent with the Venerable Moo Moo Sunim and his 2 disciples from South Korea.
The lessons I learned from him on Buddhism, life and enlightenment were too precious for me not to share with you. These were glorious afternoons of deep conversations, heartfelt laughter and profound teachings.
Attached is a 30 minute clip from our first day spent at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai, Thailand. More to follow.
As you can imagine I’ve been listening and re-listening to the tapes and continue to ponder and practice the many lessons that were gifted to me.
I now share them with you.
Hoping you had an enlightened Easter Sunday,
Michael
The Darker Side…
We started our visit to Chiang Rai in bad spirits. I had broken my glasses and Jan had an episode with a wild dog that had left her unnerved. After a long morning trying to find an optical shop that could fix my glasses, and a visit to the hospital for a doctor consultation for my crazy, “rabid” wife, we couldn’t wait to get out of this city.
As we walked towards our hotel, I said to Jan, “Well, everything happens for a reason, I wonder what this one is”.
She rolled her eyes at me, turned on her heel, and walked into the nearest café for her daily fix, a watermelon smoothie.
Little did we know that smoothie would lead us to “the reason”.
Twenty-four hours later we found ourselves sitting around a table at that same restaurant with 4 teenage Thai girls and a translator.
Turns out the Destiny Café is not just any eatery, but a training and rescue center for young Thai women who are victims of sex trafficking.
Now I don’t know a whole lot about this topic, but suddenly I’m meeting more and more true wingmen, people helping others who have been victimized by trafficking here in Thailand.
Dang, the manager of Destiny, is one of those special individuals.
It was surreal and crazy as he translated my Wingman Practices into Thai, and then to watch the faces of these young women, as they understood and participated in the practices.
It’s something I never could have imagined.
Yet there Jan and I were, sitting with these girls, speaking about self-esteem, overcoming challenges, and the vibration you send out into the universe.
Talking, laughing and joining together in different wingman practices, I was taken to a new level of gratefulness. As we went around the room, despite our language barriers, cultural, life and age differences, I was reminded that we can all find things to value and appreciate… if we’re just prompted to do so.
I’m not sure if these young ladies will ever do another wingman practice again. 
But for that moment, I experienced a spark of positive energy and felt like I had a small part in helping bring some hope and happiness to this little corner of the world that is the Destiny Café in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
If you want to bring a little positive energy into your little corner of the world, you can start by asking the question, “How can I help”.
I did, and the feeling of being of service, and helping others, brought Jan and I a great deal of joy. It also changed our entire energy and the way we experienced Chiang Rai.
I want to thank Dang for the opportunity to help, and Bob and Fran German, some new friends we met in Chiang Mai, who also have been doing some great work in helping to abolish child trafficking.
The Destiny Café’s website is https://www.destinyrescue.org/us/.
Bob and Fran’s website is http://bobnfran.wix.com/act-project.
Oh, and btw… As we left the restaurant and walked back to our hotel, Jan, in what must have been the emotion of the moment, even conceded, “well, maybe some things do happen for a reason”.
To Finding the Reason,
Michael
Almost Paradise
“Almost Paradise”, a story Janet wanted to share.
After six weeks of the excitement and chaos of Chiang Mai, it was time to head north for a change of scenery and some exploration. We decided to return to Chiang Dao for a couple of days. We caught the 8:00 am local bus and were on our way.
We arrived at the small Chiang Dao bus station and quickly caught a Songtow to the place I had reserved. We held on tight to the pickup truck with bench seats in back as we drove the 6 kilometers over increasingly bumpy and remote roads. Finally, we turned down a dirt road with a sign for our place, .28 kilometers, it read.
As promised it was only about 200 meters from the Temple of 510 steps built into the side of a mountain.
And the place… all woods and birds and thatched bungalows overlooking green forest. There was a small pool sitting at the base of a mountain and an outdoor restaurant 
surrounded by flowering bushes and twinkle lights. The kind of place I always wondered how people found or afforded. Michael gave me that husband look which said, “Really? We’re staying here? How much is this? It’s $25.00,” I whispered back. Heaven.
We spent the afternoon walking around the area, climbing the 510 to the famous temple, Wat Tham Pha Plang and sitting by the pool in the shadow of the towering mountain. Our lovely host asked us if we wanted to dine in their restaurant on western food or walk the 700 meters to their sister property down the road for Thai food. “Thai food!”, we said in unison. Plus I was curious to see their other property down the road. Could it possibly be any more heavenly than this?
At 6:30, showered and dressed in our only semi decent clothes, we left the bungalow ready for our walk. No sooner did we step out but turned around and headed back. It was pitch black out, with only tiny lights to illuminate the path, and the temperature had dropped by what felt like 20 degrees. I took off my sandals and flowy pants, and returned to my hiking pants, sneakers and hoodie. It was so pitch black and quiet that by the time we got to the reception area to leave, we were having second thoughts about venturing forth. I remarked to our host that perhaps we should stay and eat in the western restaurant after all. She laughed and said, “oh no, it’s a very short walk and very safe, no problems. Just take your torch”. I clicked it on.
As we started down the dirt service road to get to the main road, we giggled and squealed the way you do when 
both very excited and very nervous. It was blackness. Not a light save for the shadow that the torch cast. The main road was before us with 700 meters to go. We took a breath and stepped out.
Suddenly, from behind us, down our service road, a Songtow came bellowing out onto the main road. The driver looked out, “Nest 2?” she asked. We nodded. “Okay, in” she yelled. She didn’t need to ask twice. Those 700 meters flew by in the back of that truck and before we could even ask how much, she had dropped us off, waved and drove off into the darkness. “Now if we’re really lucky, the same thing will happen on our way back”, Michael quipped.
Dinner was lovely, we sat overlooking a koi pond, feasting on delectable 
Thai food, listening to the wind rustling through the trees. We finished dinner, played a couple of games of Rummy 500, contemplated dessert, but decided, as it was late and dark, to start the walk back and perhaps have dessert at our place when we returned.
The road back was magical, illuminated by the light of another restaurant and a small guest house a bit further down the road. There wasn’t a car or scooter or Songtow in sight. We passed a small open air bar and saw two people playing pool and Johnny Cash wafting out the windows. “Where are we?” Michael laughed. From there, it became darker. There were no more lights or sounds. “Where’s that Songtow now?” Michael queried. I suddenly sucked in my breath and whispered, “Oh my God, oh my God!” On high alert, Michael yelled, “What is it??” I pointed up to the sky. And there, under the blackest sky, stars were dripping down and enveloping us in their lights. We stood there, arms akimbo, twirling and laughing and taking it all in. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to heaven, I think.
We reached the bend in the road, a left, and then only had about 200 meters to go, In the distance we could hear roosters and the unmistakable sound of the wild dogs, howling and barking, that one hears all over South East Asia at night. Called street dogs, or soi dogs here in Thailand, most are generally pretty placid during the day, but by night they roam in packs and can be extremely intimidating and sometimes dangerous. I was terrified of them.
Thirty years ago, when I was traveling in Bali, in a village now made famous by Elizabeth Gilbert and Julia Roberts, an older Balinese man I met asked me how I was enjoying Bali. “Oh, I love it here!”, I exclaimed, “if only there were no wild dogs roaming around, it would be paradise”. He chuckled at me. “There can only be paradise in heaven”, he smiled, “and so, we have the dogs”.
I remembered this as we walked, our dirt road turnoff not too far ahead, when out of the darkness two dogs appeared, growling and barking at us. I froze. I felt panicked. We sank back into the trees out of their line of vision. My thoughts raced. Should we keep walking? Should we turn around and head back to the restaurant and see if someone could drive us or find us a Songtow? That walk back seemed very far now. “They know we’re afraid of them now”, Michael stated. “They’re right”, I confirmed. I’m not sure how long we stood there.
Then a sound behind us. A lone scooter on this dark road. It stopped next to us and an old Thai man lifted off his helmet. I’m not sure he spoke English and I can’t imagine 
where he was going as we were the last property on the road before the temple, but there he was. I blathered on about the dogs and the growling and asked if he would drive slowly around them as we walked next to him in an attempt to avoid them. I guess he understood. But the thing is, somewhere in the midst of it all, as we were walking quickly to our turn off with him by our side, he and the dogs just disappeared. We got to the dirt road and turned but he was gone, no sound of the scooter, or the dogs. Just quiet. As if he appeared and then disappeared solely for us.
Breathing rapidly, we reached our place. A few people remained at the restaurant, the lights were still twinkling, there was the sound of an owl in the distance. A pot of hot tea was placed before us. If we looked just right between the tree branches we could still make out the stars. We gripped hands tightly. It was still paradise. Well, almost.
Epilogue:
Even in the midst of walking through paradise, unexpected and/or unwanted things can jump out at you. But if you keep your calm, and not let it derail you, you can be back on your path quicker than a wingman on a motor scooter.
To Your Paradise,
Michael
Tonight… Lessons from a Zen Master.
It’s been a surreal week as Jan and I met with the Venerable Mu Mu Sunim and his disciples from South Korea. We met by chance, one year ago (https://thewingmanspath.com/truth-from-zen-master-moo-moo-sunim/) and stayed in touch via email.
I’m still trying to process all the lessons from these past 4 days. We met on Saturday, Sunday when he gave us the 5 precepts, Monday, when he bestowed us with the 3 jewels of Buddhism, and Tuesday, when we traveled around with them all day to different Wats (Temples).
http://borisim.net
Hopefully some of these lessons can help you on your path to achieve your goals and desires.
Me, I’m still a bit confused by it all, but I’m working on it.
I’ll be speaking about it tonight, (Wednesday) on the TalknAngels radio show, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/talknangels, at 7-8pm.
Look forward to speaking with you then.
Feeling very appreciative, responsible, and a bit overwhelmed,
Michael
I am Nakbin.
It is 510 steps up the mountain to Wat Tham Pha Plang, a Thai Buddhist temple built into the Chiang Dao Mountain.
We were staying about 500 yards away in a bamboo hut that was surrounded by jungle. We had planned on staying only 1 day but it was so beautiful we extended our visit.
And every day we would wake up and walk the 510 steps up the mountain. It was perfect. Not only did it give us our physical exercise everyday, but with inspirational, thought-provoking signs all the way up it worked our minds as well. And spiritually it was as magnificent a place to meditate as I’ve found.
On this particular day it got even better.
For as we began our long trek back down, we met up with a novice monk and struck up a conversation. This rarely happens as monks seldom hang with us common folk.
His broken English was passable and we spoke about his journey to be a monk, his teachers, family and the village 
he left behind. We were having such a nice time; I thought introductions were in order. I pointed to myself and said, “I’m Michael, what is your name?” He said his name was Prin, and then said, “You Nakbin”.
I said, “No, my name is Michael”.
He then stated, “Michael, You Nakbin, Wingman”.
Whaaaaattttt???
I almost fell down and you can imagine the smile that came across my face.
“Nakbin, Wingman”, he reiterated.
I was laughing, unsure why he said it, when he pointed to my now favorite t-shirt, which you can see in the attached photo.
It has Thai writing, on top of wings, on top of the English word wingman.
I knew it had said “wingman’ in Thai, but didn’t know how it was pronounced.
I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling as he repeated, “Nakbin, Wingman”, a few more times.
As we got to the bottom of the steps and said goodbye, he said, “Thank you Nakbin for helping me with my English”.
I was honored and it made me realize how easy it is to help others. How when we help others, we help ourselves. How, when we help others, we expand our “village”. And the happier our village is, the easier it is for us, and for each person in our village, to be happy.
So today, please do me a favor and reach out and help someone.
Consciously think of, or look for, someone you can help today.
It can be a simple phone call to lend an ear to someone in need, a donation of something you don’t use, a nice email or helping someone with a chore.
You’ll feel great and forget about your problems, if only for the moment.
And even better, you’ll be a Nakbin.
Thank you for helping,
Michael
Join me tonight, straight from Thailand…
I’m flying solo on the Talk-n-Angels radio show tonight as Rita is taking the night off.
I’ll be discussing what I’m learning about Buddhism, how it’s impacted my wingman philosophy, and how it can help all of us in the Western world.
Listen in, or even better, call in (no overseas charges), and update me as to what’s going on in your life and what practices you’re doing to improve it.
Wednesday night at 7pm.
Click here… http://talknangels.com and scroll down to “Listen Live to the show”.
To Attracting More Positive Energy,
Michael
Contact Me
(856) 287-7990 Phone
Join Michael on Talk'N'Angels radio show every Wednesday night at 7pm EST