I would think (first time today, so it's not a habit yet) that readers of my book, Traveling, would be overjoyed to find only a few of my personal travel memories, included in that book.

My goal for Traveling, after all, was to break from the norm of so-much-yatta-yatta, and provide an accurate and concise non-jargony-how-to-for-you.

I was hopeful to suppress my ego (most of it:), and thus, avoid spreading too much me, into the mix of your learning to travel. Well, I apparently succeeded with keeping my ego to a minimum, and in writing the book that I had hoped to, but I am also incorrect in my thinking (not a first for me).

It appears from your always interesting and appreciated email, that you still want to hear more personal tales o' my traveling. Thank you, my friends (bowing respectfully).

If you would like to skip a bunch of fun-filled chatter and background build-up, you may click here and jump right to the focus of this article. But you'll miss out. So there.

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One reader writes:

Dear Alan, you dink,

Your book is excellent! It is remarkable and unsurpassed! I have learned so much. I even managed to travel twice already! But I want to read more of your personal travels. It would help me a lot. I'm interested. I'm impatient. Get on it. I can't wait for the sequel! Put some in an article. And sorry about that dink thing. I wanted to grab your expert attention.

Thank you.

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Hmm. Perhaps I should have picked another email example. Oh well. Except for that dink part (whatever a dink is), I guess that letter sums up the avalanche of email, regarding requests for my personal travels. In addition, this reader catches the crux of my sequel dilemma. Obviously, I don't wanna tell all of my good stuff before the release of the sequel, which is titled (drums roll, cymbals crash, elephants trumpet)...oh, as if I'd tell you yet. As if I'd tell me yet, actually. I haven't fully decided on a title for the sequel.

Perhaps you'd like to have a go at it. Best entry wins dinner for two at McDonalds (that's a ten dollar value)! If you win, I'll contact you for an address, and mail off your gift certificate.

Some official sounding rules:

1. This contest is presented for fun and nutritional supplement only.

2. All entries will be judged by me (duh).

3. The winning entry will be announced at some point.

4. I will still use my own title for the sequel. :P

:P is me, sticking my tongue out. And :) is a smile. See, the symbols are on their side. Hmm? What's that? You already know that? Hey, I don't invent 'em, I just report 'em. Some folks are new to the web, smarty pants, and I don't wanna leave them out. Nah, nah, nah and send me yours.

Oops. Where was I? Oh yes. My sequel dilemma.

Don't spill all the personal beans. But don't hold back in the articles, either. Oh, what to do? What to do? But wait. Why, of course! How silly of me not to notice this before. I am full of beans!

I have so much good traveling stuff in my head and zip-drive, my friends, that I can easily honor your gracious requests, to read a bit more of my personal travels. Who knew your were interested (grinning like alice's cat)?

However, I won't bombard you with my personal traveling tales. You reserve the right to change your mind, by typing stop or go, to let me know.

Yes, at least for this article (and part of the sequel, of course), I will toot, toot, toot a personal travel of this accidental expert. And rather than recite the written ramblings of a child (yes, I have a reason for going so far back:), I will just tell you about it.

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Oops. Take me back to read what I skipped.

So, without further ado (as there has already been too much ado)...

I present a travel:

You know some of my unusual childhood adventures from the book. What you do not know (because in the book, I only breeze past my past:), is what caused this strange phenomenon of traveling in one so young, and so often.

The simple answer, as to the cause, is me. I forced myself to leave my body. I know how it happened and I know why. And I have never written about it before (other shoe drops). I'll get to that in a minute but first, I will take you to a travel, that I recall right at this moment. (ooh. suspenseful, ain't I?)

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There was a time, as a young boy (9-ish, my second year of traveling), when being in bed was the scariest place I could be. In the dark, in the early morning, and always seemingly unwelcome, would come the electricity. And as the electricity arrived, my control of my physical body vanished. I would be tightly wrapped within the shaking and noise of the event. And to be blunt, my friends, I would freak out! This seemed to be my average response, from an average child of less than ten.

Following my initial panic, which did no good, I would focus very hard upon being relaxed, since I had learned, over many trials, that the electricity (vibration, of course) would soon become smooth. This was less frightening than the initially jagged vibration. I still couldn't move my physical body, but the urge didn't seem so great.

So. As I'm relaxing, to the best of my ability, I have an accidental focus. Just a simple thought. "I want to go to the woods (I did love 'em so)."

SNAP! I'm out. I'm above the covers, through the door, and down the hall, in one quick burst of thought. I blast through my sister's bedroom door, and out the large window that overlooks my backyard.

We have one huge tree in the center of our yard which I buzz past. I gaze with excitement as the ground I zoom over, slopes rapidly down, leading to the woods.

And poof, I'm there. No problem. The young accidental expert in the woods. Flying here, flying there. Traveling quick, without a care. (such a poet:)

That was a delightful travel, which I've repeated many times as a child, young adult, and even, recently. I have always had my favorite spots and my favorite ways to get there.

On this particular travel to the woods, nothing exciting happened, other than the obvious aspects of traveling (which are amazing enough). It was just a romp, feared at first but later accepted, and adapted. A travel of no greater significance than any other that I might have. So, why did I choose this particular example, as a response to your email requests? Well, my friends, it is time to reveal myself, and to add a little something to your travel attempts.

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Let's step further back, to see how my travels started, for it was the impact of my first few travels that opened the flood gate. Following that, it might take no more than a simple, random thought (i.e., "Go to the woods.") to knock me from my body.

-Flashback Wavy-Lines Appear And Backwards-Music Plays-

I was (and am:) a happy child. But in my opinion, by the age of eight, I was also a child on the brink of needing some counseling.

This is not so dramatic as it sounds. My childhood life was really average. By my eighth birthday, my family consisted of two sisters (I am the middle) and my recently divorced mother. My father lived elsewhere in the state and I saw him when he could make it. I knew a few fair-weather friends and a few that I wish I could find today.

But it was around that age, that counseling might have helped. A combination of family and peer events, had made me feel that I was an outsider. It was as if I was all alone. My troubles seemed too big to handle. Had I received some wise words at that time, I might be normal today (grin). But also, I might never have taken my first travel.

Whoop, whoop!!! It's Tongue Twister Time! Outloud, three times fast please.

To tell the times that I have thought these thoughts that I now tell, would take tremendous time. True today, thinking these thoughts, would trigger a travel tonight.

Whew, take a breath while I bring it on home.

There I am, an eight year old, barely coping with the above mentioned stresses. I am thinking in bed. It has been a terrible day. I am hurt and mad and I feel alone. And suddenly, I just start screaming in my head. The screams seem so loud, I'm sure that I have actually done so. After a moment, the random chaos of my thoughts begins to focus, and with a string of mentally-shouted sentences...

"I WANT TO LEAVE! I WANT TO GO! I WANT TO GET AWAY!

...and to my surprise, I trigger my first conscious travel. I am launched, full throttle, from the bed and bounced into the far wall.

While I didn't connect the hows and whys of traveling then, I did dwell upon those mental-shouts during that period in my life, for as I say, I was confused at the time. And this is not a contradiction to my earlier "happy-child" reference. In fact, it supports the reference (here comes the topper:). It was traveling that, once again, brought me back to being the happy child, that I was before.

As these mental-shouts quickly settled in, and initiated my early travels, I had a distraction. The distraction at first, was fear. Then, it was curiosity. In a short time, I had forgotten all about my woes. I was focused inward, on getting "outward." I was happy again.

Weep, weep, weep. Wasn't that just the feel-good-story-of-the-day?

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The Motivational Factors Of Traveling

The reason I started to travel is not unusual. I wanted to break free of my worries, and traveling was the result. You too, can use a motivating factor to assist your travel attempts. Your motivating factors can be anything of personal significance, that pulls you towards wanting to "get away". Of course, your motivational factors do not need to be as severe as my childhood explosion:).

Here are a few examples to consider:

The weather is too frippin cold. I want to be someplace warm.

My job is bumming me out. I need a vacation.

I wonder what that face on Mars looks like up close?

My insignificant other is a drag. I wanna get away for a bit.

Ooh, if I could just see that old school again.

I don't wanna be stuck here in ___________.

I wish my love and I could be together.

I wonder how little kitty is doing back home?

I want to visit the author of this article and give him a doughnut.

Okay. I'll stop now. You probably get the idea. Your factors to travel are in your head right now. Yup. There they are. Just waiting for you to use them in your travel attempts. What a bunch of swell factors they are. So pick a factor, any factor, and add it to your travel attempts.

For example, if your factor du jour is the: I-wish-my-love-and-I-could-be-together-factor...

Try to really let it into your focussed thoughts, as you attempt your travel (and fill in the blanks:)...

I miss _______ so much.

I want to be with _______.

I want us to be together.

I need to be there.

I want to go.

I want to let go and be with _______.

If you stay focused and the factor du jour is of great significance, you will pull yourself towards the only present solution, to your desire.

That solution is traveling. You can not physically do what you desire, and so, your nonphysical does it for you. I call this tricky bit of factor motivation, "The-Do-It-Cause-Ya-Can-Method-Of-Traveling".

Again, my friends, thank you.

It was very kind of you to request some "more of me".

As always, please write regarding your questions, attempts and successes.

Alan Guiden