You've probably experienced delays, unanticipated expenses, and other nasty surprises in your travels; it's just part of the overall adventure.

Aside from adopting a detached disposition, getting enough rest, focusing on the rewarding parts, and expecting the unexpected, there's something else you can do to get more out of your travels, and you can apply it toward other areas of your life as well to maximize your blessings: meditation.

Scott's Experience In Egypt

In spring of 2000 while visiting Egypt, I arrived at the Great Pyramid early in the morning only to discover the tickets to get inside the Great Pyramid and climb to the King's Chamber were sold out for the day.

Undeterred, I decided to try again the next morning. I planned to arrive earlier, around the time the ticket booth opened.

At this point in my life I had been meditating every day for over three years (and still do) and early that morning entered meditation with the intent on knowing exactly when to leave the hotel to go to the Great Pyramid.

"Now," I intuited after less than 40 minutes in mediation. So I quickly departed the hotel and got a taxi to the Great Pyramid.

Upon arriving, the ticket booth had just opened but they were, again, sold out due to tour groups buying up all the tickets through other channels. Cops were monitoring the booth, presumably so the ticket sellers wouldn't sell additional, perhaps illegal tickets.

As I walked away from the booth, a British lady approached me and seeing that I wasn't able to buy a ticket, asked me if I would like her ticket since she couldn't make the climb due to heath reasons. I gladly accepted and thanked her. I offered to pay her for the ticket and she refused, but I insisted.

Had I not arrived at that moment, I wouldn't have encountered the lady offering me her ticket. Meditation, in this case, seemingly helped me make my trip to Egypt much more rewarding.

It's possible it was a "coincidence" that my meditation coincided with successfully gaining entry to the Great Pyramid, but the longer I work with mysticism and metaphysics, the less I believe in coincidence.

By the way, the Great Pyramid looks a lot bigger in person, and the climb inside to the King's Chamber (a story in itself-that room seems like a different dimension) is not an easy hike.

Other Benefits of Meditation

Upon entering a completely centered (meditative) state of mind, you effectively distance yourself from your fears and anxieties. There's a distinct sense of detachment, and if you do it well enough (i.e., intense focus, in our experience), your brain releases a natural, healthy opiate.

Thus, after practice, you'll eventually get in the habit of regular mediation and do anything to get your daily, beneficial fix. This feel good state directly combats stress and apprehension, and improves your decision-making ability.

You'll benefit even from only 15 minutes daily, and you might even find yourself waking up a little earlier to get your fix. Clinical studies show that good meditation mirrors the benefits of sleep, so you're losing less sleep than you think by waking up earlier to meditate.

Besides all the scientifically documented benefits, meditation helps you "go with the flow" and avoid false starts and dead-ends. You may intend to take a certain course of action, for example, yet in meditation or afterwards you receive a clear signal to try an alternative route, which turns out to be much better than your original intended course of action.

We've received subtle, intuitive cues, like ideas appearing at the doorstep of consciousness, in meditation through the years. The guidance has helped improve both of our lives in countless ways, including business and personal matters.