I met a monk in Oslo

This is a spiritual view of Oslo. For an artistic view, look at ''Oslo and the screaming Edvard Munch''

​I walked around Karl Johann street in Oslo in December and one man with a little paint on his face approached me. People tend to approach one another in the streets of Oslo. But people don't tend to have paint on their face.

I didn't get a photo of him. So I made a drawing of my impression of him.

It was about meditation

​The man's name was Mark. He is a Buddhist. He wanted to share the wonders of meditation. At first, we talk about how it decreases depression, regulates anxiety, increases concentration and gives strength during the painful days of life. I mentioned that I just saw a YouTube video that said: ''Meditation prepares you for the worst day of your life.'' Which could show that our meeting was the plan of the universe?

Materialism and todays situation

​I said that if meditation is to concentrate on your mind and being one with only oneself and reach a higher awareness. Then pretty much the opposite would be to focus on something outside of one's awareness like the screen we have in front of us so much. If meditation is good, That means the screen is bad. Especially if it hinders the mind from meditating.

​He then said meditation and Buddhism help us escape the material world.

I said Oslo is awesome. There are so many things to see. You can visit the King's castle, Tusenfryd, and the national opera.

He said those are nice too when we have become nice to yourself first. It is about the state we are in that makes us appreciate what we see. First, make your mind go into a healthy state and then have a healthy outlook on the outside. The images on the outside travel through the internal system in your brain to make you see them. So make sure you don't have any system errors inside there.

What was our meeting really about?

​I wondered a lot why he approached me. So I asked why. I tried to ask in a humble tone so that he wouldn't act defensively. He said he had a book he wanted to give me. It's called ''Bhagavad-Gītā — As it is'' by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I said thank you so much. He asked: ''How much do you want to give?'' I said: ''Oh, here's 150 NOK.'' So he gave me a book.

Should strangers approach each other?

My friends usually don't like it when strangers approach like this. I think those who believe in their message should approach. When they approach, and they don't believe in what they sell they are wasting our time. When they do believe in what they sell, they are doing us a favor by approaching us. I'm only arguing like this because I really don't want to feel tricked and buy something I don't need. I walked further on my Oslo trip with a positive mindset. Maybe meditation is something for me?