Alison Wright, World-Traveling Photographer
Award-winning National Geographic photographer Alison Wright recounts her horrific bus crash in Laos and her incredible recovery, crediting years of Vipassana meditation for helping her survive, manage extreme pain, and overcome trauma.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Meditating with Difficult Emotions and Political Turmoil
Understanding Loving Kindness Meditation Practice
Introduction to Photojournalist Alison Wright and Her Work
Vipassana vs. Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Practices
Alison's Early Life, Nepal Residency, and Tibetan Refugee Work
Developing a Relationship with the Dalai Lama
The Horrific Bus Crash in Laos and Immediate Aftermath
Coping with Extreme Pain and Near-Death Experience Through Meditation
Miraculous Rescue and Initial Hospitalization
The Reincarnation Story of Kalu Rinpoche
Grim Prognosis and Defying Medical Expectations
Recovery Journey: Physical Therapy, Alternative Healing, and Kilimanjaro Climb
Overcoming PTSD and Fear: Exposure Therapy on a Bus
Founding Faces of Hope Nonprofit and Giving Back
Reflections on Human Connection and Life's Challenges
5 Key Concepts
Vipassana Meditation
Described as 'old school Buddhist meditation' or 'insight meditation,' it is considered an early form of Buddhism, often characterized by its simplicity and austerity, primarily focusing on watching one's breath and returning to it when distracted. It emphasizes going within and has no external visual orientation.
Loving Kindness Meditation
A practice where one envisions a series of people (self, mentor, friend, neutral person, difficult person, all beings) and silently repeats phrases like 'May you be happy, may you be safe, may you be healthy, may you live with ease.' The goal is not to force feelings, but to build the 'muscle' of compassion and friendliness through repeated practice, with effects measured by one's behavior in the world rather than internal feelings during meditation.
Attachment to Identity
The concept that one's sense of self can become overly intertwined with external roles or possessions, such as a job or career. Releasing this attachment, as Alison learned when her meditation teacher locked away her cameras, can be profoundly helpful in navigating life's challenges and maintaining inner balance.
Fear as a Thought
Through meditation, Alison Wright came to understand that fear is fundamentally a thought, particularly a thought about what could happen or the unknown. By noticing these thoughts and letting them go, one can reduce the grip of fear, even in extremely dangerous or traumatic situations.
Exposure Therapy
A therapeutic technique, mentioned in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy, where an individual confronts a feared object or situation in a safe environment to overcome phobias or post-traumatic stress. Alison applied this by intentionally getting back on a bus in Laos after her accident to confront her trauma.
7 Questions Answered
Meditation can help you face difficult emotions head-on, rather than letting them lurk in your psyche, making you less yanked around by them. It allows you to see clearly what's churning within you, potentially making you a more highly functioning human being and a better citizen by reducing vitriol and enabling more reasonable discussions.
No, the goal of loving kindness meditation is not to be suffused with feelings of loving kindness. The purpose is simply to do the exercise—envisioning people and repeating the phrases—which builds the 'muscle' of compassion or friendliness. The effectiveness is measured by how you show up in the world, not by your internal feelings during the practice.
Vipassana (Theravadan) meditation is described as an earlier, simpler, and more austere form, often focusing on breath and internal awareness. Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana, Mahayana) is considered more elaborate and evolved, often involving visual orientation with tankas and statues, esoteric practices, visualizations, ceremonies, and rituals.
Alison used her meditation practice to stay laser-focused on breathing and avoid going into shock or passing out. She concentrated on each breath, believing it might be her last, and used the practice to endure excruciating pain, remaining present and aware, which she believes was crucial for her survival.
Alison became her own advocate, replacing doctors with negative mindsets with those who believed in her. She combined intensive physical therapy (working until she cried), quickly weaning off pain medications, and incorporating alternative healing methods like cranial sacrum, acupuncture, and meditation to regain strength of mind and body.
Alison used meditation to work through the pain, exploring its 'colors' and detaching from it. She also engaged in exposure therapy, intentionally getting back on a bus on the same road in Laos where the accident occurred, to confront and process her fear and negative experiences.
Faces of Hope was founded by Alison Wright to give back to the communities she photographs. It helps women and children in crisis through education and healthcare, providing a constructive outlet for people who are moved by her stories to make a tangible difference.
24 Actionable Insights
1. View Inner Qualities as Trainable Skills
Recognize that desirable inner qualities such as compassion, calm, patience, mindfulness, and happiness are all skills that are susceptible to training through consistent practice, rather than innate traits you either have or don’t.
2. Face Difficult Emotions Directly
Meditate even when experiencing difficult emotions like sadness or anger, as it’s better to experience them head-on rather than letting them lurk in your psyche and control you blindly. This helps you see things clearly and be less yanked around by these emotions.
3. Focus on Practice, Not Feeling
When practicing loving kindness meditation, the goal is not to force or be suffused with feelings of loving kindness, but simply to do the exercise of envisioning people and sending phrases. This consistent practice builds the ‘muscle’ of compassion and friendliness over time.
4. Release Attachment to Identity
Practice giving up attachment to your identity and possessions, as this can profoundly help you navigate life’s challenges and prevent your sense of self from being solely defined by external roles or achievements.
5. Cultivate Mental Strength for Recovery
To achieve physical recovery, cultivate strength of mind by pushing through pain in physical therapy, even to the point of crying, and reducing reliance on pain medication to fully engage with the healing process.
6. Use Meditation for Crisis Focus
In extreme crisis or pain, leverage meditation skills to achieve laser focus, preventing shock or fainting, and maintaining presence to navigate life-threatening situations.
7. Meditate to Depersonalize Pain
When experiencing severe pain, meditate by working into the center of it, observing its ‘colors,’ and viewing it as an external phenomenon rather than a personal affliction. This practice can help you become less attached to the pain and depersonalize it.
8. Recognize and Release Fear
Understand that fear, especially concerning what might happen or the unknown, is fundamentally just a thought. Practice noticing these fearful thoughts and then consciously letting them go.
9. Prepare for Life’s Inevitable Challenges
Acknowledge that everyone experiences pain and challenges (’logging trucks’), regardless of their severity, and that it’s crucial to prepare oneself mentally and emotionally for life’s inevitable ups and downs.
10. Measure Meditation by Real-World Behavior
Don’t use your feelings during meditation as the sole measure of whether you’re doing it right; instead, observe how you show up in the world. The purpose of meditation is to become a better human, not just a better meditator.
11. Maintain Realistic Meditation Expectations
When meditating, especially during difficult times, have realistic expectations; it’s not a magical escape or a ‘bubble bath,’ but rather a practice that can be a ‘rough ride’ as you face emotions. Its purpose is to help you see clearly and be less controlled by difficult emotions, not to instantly remove them.
12. Discard Guilt in Meditation Practice
If you feel guilt about not experiencing a rush of love and kindness during loving kindness meditation, discard that guilt and simply continue with the practice.
13. Be Your Own Healthcare Advocate
Actively advocate for yourself in your healthcare journey by seeking out doctors and physical therapists who align with your mindset and focus on what you can do, rather than what you cannot, even if it means changing providers.
14. Choose Supportive Medical Professionals
Actively ‘shop around’ for medical professionals who have a positive mindset and believe in your potential for recovery, rather than settling for those who offer only grim prognoses.
15. Confront Fears Through Exposure
To overcome post-traumatic stress and reliving negative experiences, actively confront the source of your fear (e.g., getting back on the bus after a crash) as a form of exposure therapy.
16. Focus on Breath in Extreme Pain
When experiencing unbearable physical pain, focus intensely on each breath (‘breathe in, breathe out’) as your sole anchor, recognizing each breath as a moment of continued life.
17. Practice Loving Kindness Systematically
To practice loving kindness meditation, systematically envision a series of people (yourself, a mentor, a dear friend, a neutral person, a difficult person, and all beings) and silently repeat phrases like ‘May you be happy, may you be safe, may you be healthy, may you live with ease’ for each.
18. Practice Vipassana by Watching Breath
Engage in Vipassana (insight meditation) by focusing on watching your breath, and when your mind gets distracted, gently bring your attention back to the breath and start again.
19. Meditate for Balance and Awareness
Meditate not necessarily to be happier, but to achieve balance and cultivate a deep sense of awareness, presence, and focus, which can be crucial for professional performance and daily life.
20. Find Constructive Outlets for Feelings
After working through your own feelings, find a constructive outlet such as volunteering locally, whether politically, at a hospice, or with an organization like the ASPCA. This is considered more beneficial than merely expressing anger on social media.
21. Use Meditation for Better Citizenship
Practice meditation to see clearly what’s churning within you, which can make you a more highly functioning human and a better citizen. This clarity can reduce the likelihood of spewing needless vitriol on social media and enable more sane, reasonable discussions with those you disagree with.
22. Seek Dialogue with Opposing Views
If looking for a constructive way to deal with political tumult, consider groups like Better Angels that facilitate healthy dialogue between people with differing political views (‘reds and blues’), as this approach applies marriage counseling precepts to societal divisions.
23. Daily Reflection on Kindness
Regularly reflect on what acts of kindness you would perform for a stranger, using this question as a daily practice to foster compassion and inspire altruistic actions.
24. Give Back to Communities
Consider starting a nonprofit or finding other ways to give back to communities you’ve engaged with, especially if your work involves documenting human stories, to provide tangible help like education and healthcare.
5 Key Quotes
You're not meditating to be a better, better meditator. You're meditating to become a better human.
Sharon Salzberg (quoted by Dan Harris)
I don't think it's going to be some sort of magical escape, nor do I think it should be because that's not the purpose in my view and in my experience. And on the other hand, I would also say that while those fears are warranted, it may actually turn out to be tough to meditate while you're experiencing difficult emotions. I would argue that it's better to experience them full, you know, head on, face first, rather than let them lurk in the shadows of your psyche and control you blindly.
Dan Harris
I knew I was in really bad shape. I knew my back was broken because I couldn't move. I couldn't walk. And I could hardly breathe. And when I looked at my, to see what time it was, my whole arm was like half severed off. And I, yeah. And I just thought, okay, don't go there. Don't go into shock. Do not pass out because you will never get out of this alive.
Alison Wright
I feel like there's something in our medical care that maybe they want to cover themselves or, you know, they don't get a lot of hope. And I found people within the system that had to believe in me, you know, that really, um, how'd you do that? Just by shopping around? Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Alison Wright
Every day people have a logging truck, you know? And, and even with some of the things I go through and people say, Oh God, well, you've, you know, gone through so much. And I'm like, yeah, you know what? An ingrown toenail still can hurt. You know, it's just, it's all perspective. You know, people's pain is people's pain.
Alison Wright