Pete has traveled extensively in pursuit of the understanding of the great Wisdom Traditions of the world. His adventures began in Costa Rica where he attended retreats focused on yoga and meditation. Through a deepening of his yoga practice, Pete sought to explore new methods of exploration, and set out for Peru to receive guidance about ayahuasca from one of the world’s most seasoned and expert facilitators named Dionisio Santos in Tarapoto. From there he went on to explore the amazon down stream from Iquitos.
As Petes meditation practice and training became more developed, he began a sincere exploration of the other side of the globe, where he traveled to Southeast Asia, beginning in Burma, which is the spiritual homeland of his meditation practice in the Vipassana tradition. While exploring Laos and Cambodia Pete was fascinated to observe the co-existence of Communism and Buddhism side by side, with no conflict. In Thailand and Indonesia there was found a unique mixture of Hindu and Buddhist cultures.
Petes continued interest in Buddhist cultures eventually led him to Japan, where he received a taste of the practice of Zen at the Yamaguchi Prefecture. He continued his investigation of Buddhist heritage with a visit to Occupied Tibet, which was once the bastion of Vajrayana culture. There Pete trekked the Mt Kailash circuit, a rigorous expedition to the axis of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, and one of the most important pilgrimages in those traditions. Traversing the Droma La Pass at 19000 ft was a humbling experience.
In Ladakh and Leh, Pete was able to witness Vajrayana Buddhism in its untouched form. In Nepal he sought out various holy sites and temples, the highlight being the experience of meditating in the remote Chungsi cave, once used by Guru Rinpoche in Upper Mustang. Also in South Asia he visited Sri Lanka, which is where the word “Mindfulness” was coined by Rhys Davids.
On the shadow side, Pete ventured to Chernobyl, Ukraine to see the exclusion Zone from the inside and gain a first-hand perspective of ‘ the evil that men do.” Likewise he traveled to the former concentration camp Dachau, Germany, to try to understand the experience of the psychologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
In summary, Petes travels have been somewhat extensive, but have all been undertaken to support the ultimate journey which lies both within and far beyond this frail human frame.