The bali spirit festival

After having volunteered for 2 days helping to make entrance tags and hang material up as dividers for all the healers that would be there, I was given free entrance for the first day of the festival. The cards were in my favor as each thing that I planned on doing did not work out, and only better things did!

It started off by walking to the nearby shuttle bus which was supposed to leave every 15 minutes to bring people the 20 minute trip to the lovely grounds out of the city. But when I got there, the man said there is no shuttle. Hmmm…so I just stood there, not really knowing what I would do… and gradually he invited me to join a car that was going there in a few minutes and for free…thank you! I was on a small budget, having had trouble changing one of the hundred dollar bills I had taken for the trip, so all I had left was enough money to get to the airport tomorrow and pay the exit fee. A fellow hooper had spontaneously and generously handed me 30,000 rupias ($30) when she heard about my situation…I think that was one of the few times that I was in a position in which I had to accept money that was being given to me out of the blue from someone’s kind heart, and that is not an easy thing to do…to receive…much easier to give.

So I was happy that I would have money for the drive to the festival, but in the end it was for free….nice…when I got to there, I wanted to sign up for a watsu session with Michael Hallock, who is a highly recommended watsu world specialist. When I signed up they decided not to take a down payment since he hadn’t arrived yet and they wanted to make sure he was coming. It would be all the money I had, apart from enough to get back to my homestay, but I figured I would treat myself to this special session,

Meanwhile there were 8 different areas where yoga was going on in all shapes and forms, this being a world yoga and music festival. I chose one that was highly recommended, and was supposed to be an older man, world renown, that would mainly be speaking, and not too many asanas…so that was perfect for me. As I sat in the big open tent waiting for the class to begin, a woman set her yoga mat down next to me and we introduced ourselves….she; born in Ireland, living in England, a yoga and dance teacher, 58 years old, came for the festival. As we sat and waited with the other 30 some younger people from all over the world, she commented that a teacher should start on time, and that it is already 15 minutes late….hmmm…hadn’t thought about the time. and suddenly a very striking older man strode up to the front, announced: “who is going to put a microphone on me?” no response. Then “who CAN put a microphone on me?” and still no response from the stage hands, and then he looked at a woman that was sitting there and earlier had made a magnificent yantra of beautiful flowers on the ground and held a meditation in the name of sending healing energy to Japan. He pointed at her and said: “You made a yantra earlier. You have already finished your work here.” Hmmm. Then he announced to all of us “everyone sit right here together in the center, now.” in a demanding tone. That was my cue to get up and leave…not my kind of energy, not my kind of teacher, not for me…so I left and as I looked for one of the other workshops that had the name “deeksha’ which no one could tell me what it was, but I liked the sound of it, I instead arrived at another area where they were just starting to do yoga and dance and music all together…ahh….that sounded more my style…so I walked in, after having received a flower placed behind my ear by the receptionist. And sat down in the circle of some 30 people as the leader began. She was a lovely young woman with an English accent, smiling, vibrant, happy, enthusiastic, and announced that there is no right way or wrong way to do anything and whatever we do is perfect….yes…that’s my style; loving, accepting, positive, receptive, and feminine. And for the next hour she led us through meditation, yoga, and a fantastic dance session where we all just discovered so many new movements with our bodies to great music, lovely instructions, and demos, and had fun laughing and playing and dancing with each other.

The festival is for 5 days and attracts a community of ex patriots that live around ubud, bali, and also many yoga people from all over the world. In the evenings there are international famous world music groups performing, and it is all in order to share community and natural products and healing styles and to encourage people to come and discover beautiful special bali. The conception is from an American woman married to an Indonesian and that has been living here for many years and trying to make a difference, and to give back to bali in gratitude for all the beauty and spirituality and creativity that there is here among the Balinese. So I think this is the 5^th year of the festival.

I suddenly looked at someone clock and realized I was late for my watsu session so I went running off before the end of our dancing. I ran to the receptionist who explained to me that he won’t be giving personal sessions, but only workshops once a day, and that today’s 2 hour one is ending in another 20 minutes…and that when Michael saw my name signed up he recognized it since we had written to each other, and he was happy to know I was at the festival and that we would meet…hmm..i decided to try my luck and went over to the infinity pool. As I walked by and I saw him in the pool with 6 couples that were doing the watsu workshop, our glance met and we smiled, and I knew that he knew I was my brothers sister, since we look a lot alike. I sat down at the pool edge and he said that it’s almost over, but he will do a demo with me as a body. Great!

So in the end, one woman worked with me as I received a little watsu swirl in the pool watsu is shiatsu in water. And then he decided to do a demo for everyone with me, showing many different ways you can do watsu with someone. After having introduced me to the group as the sister of his very best most amazing friend on the planer earth, he gently guided me around in the water. I couldn’t have asked for more! What a treat! Watsu allows you to almost return to the fetal stage, and just go deep deep into nowhere. When he finished, and gently brought me back to the edge of the pool to slowly return to reality, I had a big smile on my face. What a gift! As the workshop ended and I slowly opened my eyes, I asked him how I had deserved such a treat?! “It must be your karma.”

After that we stayed in the water and spoke. He is a very special person. It was a really inspiring talk about living in bali, which he does, and community, and making a difference here. That bali is in a fragile position of so many foreigners coming to live here, and that the amount is almost the same as the amount of Balinese, and that the island can just turn into one big resort and lose the magic that is here as the rice fields and natural Balinese lifestyle will slowly disappear and become westernized. Or all of us westerners, that can feel the spirituality that is in the air here and want to make this our home, can bring our wisdom and knowledge and help the Balinese learn about ecology, and recycling, and preserving nature and tradition, and that we can be in a mode of giving and not just reap the fruits for our own pleasure. He said that the Balinese call us by two different names; foreigners, and guests. He prefers the word “guests” which reminds us that we are a guest here. We spoke about different places to live; by a river, in a community of spiritual like minded people in the city, out in a small Balinese village....and as we spoke, the memories of the lovely village of tejakula where I had lived for the past month returned…and of the nice people there, and how I felt so at home and enjoyed teaching English to one of the girls, and was encouraging my guardian angel there to get started on the recycling of the garbage from the village, and the owners of my resort were planning another resort that would be totally ecological. In short, I realized that where I had been, and the way I had connected with the villagers and the ex patriots in the area, was where I want to be. That there I too can make a difference, and already was.

After the wonderful conversation with Michael, I went to a kirtin yoga singing session. i had no idea what it was, but there was a woman singing in such a beautiful voice with no ego in it and accompanied by a fellow on a guitar and some drums now and then. it turns out that this is a type of yoga ( yoga means union...i never knew that! i always thought it meant difficult twisting and breathing exercises...) where you connect with a higher force through devotional singing either together or in a caller/responder mode. some of the words were sanskrit, some english, but all with nice simple melodies and there was a beautiful flower yantra star in the middle of the floor and all of us 20 women and a few men, sitting around singing. at first i thought; why do we have to call this bhakti yoga , why not just say we are singing together and enjoying ourselves...but after we did it for an hour i could feel the difference when everyone is singing with an intention to unite rather than from the ego. it was very cleansing and sensitive.

A lunch break was my next stop and i was grateful to eat good healthy food! and while i was waiting for my salad, the hoola hoop instructor that was the stimulus for me opening up my heart chakra at the last sacred circularities retreat last march in bali, came up to say hello. she had come to teach a teacher training course here in bali and would also be hosting my own original hoola hoop teacher from california at her washington d.c. hoop cooperative, in 2 weeks! it was an opportunity to tell her how spending the week with her last year had changed my life and that i realized that all i need to do in life is listen to my heart chakra...all the answers are right there every moment, and that is how i ended up closing the pottery and coming again to bali! and such synchronicity that she and my first teacher had hooked up together! i love it.

Next was the/ Kecak session where the 20 balinese men that sing and move together, taught a few of us “guests” some of the different harmonies they use that makes it all so special, along with the body movements. We rehearsed together and had a good time, getting the feel of the traditional Balinese song and dance circle that was originally used for healing. Last of the adventures today was a “magic wand” that has crystallized energy in it and that you wave around your chakras and meridians and water and food and whatever and that aligns all the cells so that they are whole and healthy and can heal your body everyday, so that you are your own healer. As I approached their stand they were just about to close up shop, but…my lucky day…they offered to give me a free trial and 2 men waved the wands around me after having placed a gold locket around my neck, and that was nice having another healing done…never one to say no to having a healthy body! And then as I walked to find a shuttle bus back, and they asked for my ticket, but I didn’t have one, the man that had given me the ride in the morning recognized me, I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, and he waved me into the van which brought me back to “start”.

As I walked back to my homestay I noticed that the little store front that I noticed the day before that had a little sign saying “nail manicure” was open. Since I still had a little bit of money left from the gift I received I decided to treat myself, and had my first manicure! In the middle there was a power shortage in the whole area, and since it was already 6 in the evening, she could not see how to put the polish on my other hand….so she went and found a little lighter that had a flash light in it and I held it over each finger as she put the polish on…we laughed. And now, 2 hours later, as I sat with candle light writing this blog, suddenly I heard voices echoing in unison in the neighborhood “yeah!” and I realized the lights just went back on. This is bali, and these are the Balinese, so childlike and happy and simple. Not that there isn’t corruption and all the rest, but there is a basic nature of an open, friendly, smiling, welcome.

Today is my last night in bali. I have decided to return here again in the near future and spend more time in bali at this time in my life. It makes my heart sing, it brings out the best in me. I feel empowered and alive. I smile and laugh and feel part of something which fascinates me. I am grateful that I am healthy, that my kids are grown up and independent and that I can follow my heart. My 4 year old grandson summed it up the best when he was told that grama is going to be staying in bali. “Cool, we can go visit her there!”

So dear friends and family, this is my last entry for this 3 month stay in bali 2011. Thank you all for being out there in virtual space and sharing this journey with me. May you all be blessed and follow your heart. Love,

dewa

dewa is a "driver" here in ubud...that means that he stands outside hotels or restaurants and hopes that someone will need a ride, and tthat way he can earn some money,.,, a friend from the sacred circularities hoola hoop retreat last year met him as she walked out of a restaurant, and since then he has become the "favored driver:" for many of us...since she is such a friendly and interesting swiss woman she started up a conversation with him and it turned out that he just drives in order to help support himself and his parents that live together in ubud, but he is actually an artist; painter and sculptor...last year we went to the famous monkey forest with him so he could show us these huge dragons that he had carved from cement, which is a popular way of carving here in bali.

this time when we returned for our second sacred circularities hoola hoop workshop dewa was our driver again for excursions and airport transport and was also invited to hoop with us one night and to the tribal arts fair that we had one afternoon. he brought a smallish (60 x 60) canvas that was painted in shades of blues with an OM written in sanscrit in the middle.it was very beautiful...it turns out that he is part of an ashram and has been painting pictures of buddhas and other hindu gods and symbols and meditative images for the past couple of years.

we went to see his studio the other day. he is very humble and quiet and very nice. he is usually painting on canvases the size of a door and said that black and white are the preferred tones for sacred paintings but gold/bronze shade can also be added and he is experimenting with that lately, after having gone through a red period also...the huge meditative heads of buddha were beautiful. after seeing the studio we went up another flight of stairs to see his temple area and meditation room. as we looked out from the little porch he pointed out the soccer field next door where some men were putting things back into place after having used it for a cremation the other day.there were rice fields scattered below us, and the complex arrangement of all the family compounds back to back, and together with that, when you are in a family compound, like i am at the moment, it is as if nothing else exists...a world unto itself with many many small buildings some for family temple altars, some for sleeping, a communal kitchen, a bathroom, and interspersed among all the close buildings facing in all directions are lovely gardens with orchids and palm trees and tons of blossoming bushes and trees...so lovely and interesting.

to get to dewas place we had parked the car on a main road, and walked along a very narrow cement path with water rushing alongside in a canal, winding its way past all the little closed gate entryways until we reached his, and then you walk through the archway and you are in a whole other world that you didn't even know existed from the main road...that is bali...layers and layers of life inside, under around, together,

after we saw his lingum/yoni altar that he built for his meditation practice, with dragons on the sides, and all white in a tiny room, we then left for his ashram. my friend felt that it is only proper to get to know the entire person, and not just use him for transporting us, but also to see his studio and ashram. she had also asked him if he knows how indigo dye is made, and he said they have indigo flowers growing at the ashram! it was a half hour drive until we reached a small entrance with a little sign saying ashram. there he showed us around the place, where they teach yoga, have kids activities, organic gardens with rice, basil and many other spices and flowers. but no indigo,,,he had been mistaken...

again, as you walk through the gateway, you have no idea that you will be walking on and on thru so many caves and temples and rooms and streams and meditation huts.

the 4 of us were led through the temple area by dewa, as he explained how they pray each evening. he taught us the song and dance they sing as they first cleanse themselves in the spring water before entering the temple area. we could see all of the artistic carvings and paintings he has done for the temple along with other members. as we walked around the temple praying to the nandini cow statue, and then to durga and then to ganesha inside a cave, he explained the symbolism of each of the images. ganesha being the symbol of wisdom and so when he bends down on the ground and kisses the feet of the elephant sculpture it is in order to show humility, a lowering of the ego, before wisdom. hiding behind ganeshas right leg was the image of a big rat! me and my rats! when i asked him what that was, he said that it represents "doubt" which is like a rat that peeks in and scuttles around when no one is looking but you can see it sometimes coming or leaving. later we arrived at the images of guru which were placed in 4 directions symbolizing the need to disseminate the teachings of enlightenment to the whole world now...

i found it very interesting because it contains all the same elements as the kabbalah that i study.. so it doesn't really matter if i am visiting his ashram, or at a mayan calendar reading describing the role of the "world bridgers" or the "solar dragons" ...they are all speaking about the present need for everyone to connect to the higher worlds and the need for us all to awake to our higher purpose of unity and love.

i shared these thoughts with dewa. he had never heard of the kabbalah.but it was a good feeling to know that we are all striving for the same goal. i told him about the book Mount Analogue by rene dumal, and how there are many paths to the Truth, and that the important thing is that we are all walking it in the way that rings true for us.

our visit, which we thought would be an hour or two turned into a much longer trip and my friend suddenly said that we have to leave now. i was so impressed how laid back everyone was until now..no one rushed anyone, or tried to speed things up we wandered along through the studio and ashram...and i just went along wtih them all...and suddenly it was almost sunset and we had to go and just as we were about to exit the ashram we passed by a woman collecting the seeds from the basil plants. dewa introduced here as the gardener, and my friend who had been searching bali in hopes of discovering the secret ingredients for indigo dye, asked the woman if maybe she knew how it is made. and the woman laughed and said she just finished planting tons of seeds to sprout indigo plants for the ashram. my friend wanted them for her friend who is in senegal and trying to get hold of the dye for indigo. we laughed about the synchronicity of it all, on her last day in bali, as she suddenly announced that we must go back home now, and that is how we met the woman that could give her the indigo seeds, catching her just as she was walking out of the ashram....that is typical here in bali...all the time...numerous stories like that.

kecak

What a wonderful surprise it was going to the kecak performance last night. We were greeted at the entrance to a temple by some men that placed a flower behind our ear as we entered the small courtyard and picked among the plastic chairs that were set up in a u shape facing the inner court. In the center was a circle drawn on the ground which would be the stage. We were about 40 foreigners sitting there and suddenly, in the dark of the night we heard 100 men singing rhythmic sounds from either side of the inner courtyard. And out came these men, bare chested with black and white plaid sarongs on, and while chanting their beat quickly formed 3 concentric circles one inside the other around the drawn circle on the ground…and the show began.

It was very powerful seeing them sitting one foot away from us, not on some stage with stage lights, and swaying and moving their shoulders all in unison with at least 4 part harmony going on and no accompaniment. The smaller inner circle had a pillar of fire made with small oil containers with wicks lit, which provided the lighting for the performance. The story being enacted was from the Ramayana, and soon the two female dancers (one playing Rama, a male) entered the circle and the musical began.

They were excellent. I had seen the same dance done several times already by young girls in the village, but these older girls were so skilled in not only the dancing but also in emitting the emotions of the love scene through their small head, eye or finger movements. No words were spoken by them, There was a storyteller in the circle of men that chanted out every now and then in Balinese the story and its lessons.

What was so fascinating for me was that there were no props, no stage set, no microphones, no conductor, no musical instruments, no translation, no stage lighting, and you felt like you were in the greatest musical ever done. The characters in the drama are always shown with the same physical attributes; the bad guy being wide shouldered, barrel chested, big black mustache, etc. these are the permanent costumes and features used, just like santa claus always looks the same for us,.

After the hour performance of sound and dance and opera and drama we applauded, and then they put metal borders around where the actors had been and poured a pile of dried coconut shells in the middle along with tons of kerosene poured on them and lit it. As the huge flame rose, some of the men returned and began chanting again and another one walked into the middle of the burning embers and just started kicking them all about, barefoot, against the metal borders. Each time he would finish doing that, two others would come and gather whatever embers were still left into another pile and exit and again he stomped on them all, barefoot. I had never seen someone in a trance that could walk on fire without being burnt and it was quite impressive, especially being a foot away from them.

In the end, we were invited to take photos of the soles of his feet, and to tell all of our friends how much we enjoyed the performance and that they should come to bali to see kecak performance in ubud…but only at this temple, and not the other one!

this morning during the yoga class that a lovely young swiss man teaches us, he mentioned that what we saw last night, with the balinese men sitting on the floor, chanting to the right, bending to the left and making a exhaling sound, raising their hands to the sky etc, is exactly the same as what we are discovering in yoga asanas, and sufi meditation, and going to our place of "flow" while hooping ...that all of these are means to reach that quiet place within where we feel connected to our "source". it is very strong here in bali....

purifying

The trip to the water temple was nice. It was a chance to have some empty time in the car to be in close contact with random people from the group that happen to be sitting next to you during the half hour ride. Everyone has such interesting stories to share. One of which was on the way back to the parking lot from the temple there were some 50 souvenir shops where they try and catch you by saying “only $1, only $1”. One of the women decided to buy something and came back to the car with her white and purple striped plastic bag with a blouse inside. She said that someone told her last year that they have three colors of bags; white, black and striped which your merchandise is packed in according to: If you are loaded and an easy target for money then you get one color, (lets say white) if you know how to bargain but are interested in buying more stuff you get the other color, and if you are a toughie and no point in even starting up with you then you get the black. I marvel at this…that first of all someone thought it up! And second of all, that camaraderie…that they want to not only make some money for their own pocket but want to help the other 49 vendors who will see you walking with your bag and already know how to approach you psychologically...all because of its color, that you are not even paying attention to!…maybe it is even a cooperative!? This is typical Balinese ingenuity and unity.

When we arrived, dressed in our temple clothes, we passed a huge sacred tree, which stood in the outer courtyard. It looked like about 10 trees huddled together. An altar was set up in front of it for the visitors to pray to before entering the water temple grounds. On one hand it may look like a religion that prays to nature and animals and things, but in fact, they just feel the life force that is expressed so strongly in such a huge tree and recognize its creator and want to acknowledge that one GOD that exists in all, and thus have made a small cement platform where people can come to give recognition to that force of nature.

Then we entered the inner court where there was another inner courtyard where a spring of water had been designated in the year 960 by some Buddhists from Java, as a holy site, and named Ubud. And from that came the name of the city that is known as balis' artist village, and where people come to purify themselves in the “holy” spring waters, (again just a recognition of the life force that exists in nature and giving it a place of honor and respect and acknowledging that here is a place that one can connect to God where it is also physically a powerful reminder of his/her presence. The water came shooting out of twelve old stone spouts along a wall in the first open area. You stand in a pool waist high in cold water that you have jumped into and proceed to stand one behind the other at the first spout awaiting your turn. Each person chooses his own ritual of purification as he approaches the spout. Since tomorrow is the full moon, the place had even more visitors than during the rest of the month.

I actually enjoy the freedom of not knowing anything about Hinduism and not understanding the language, and can then just invent my own prayer from my heart. Often I take a cue from the actions of other devotees around me. So as I stood there I watched a few of them; one was hitting the back of his neck with his hand as the water poured out onto his head. Aha, I will call that the “witness” and use that too. Another one was putting his head under the pouring water and going over his head from forehead to neck with both hands in three long movements. That I will call “pure thought”. Next he drank the water and spit it out of his mouth three times, and then again drinking three mouthfuls and swallowing it. That I will call “pure speech” and “healthy food”. Another looked as if she was cleaning out her ear. That I will call recognizing all sounds as the sound of God. Another was hitting their shoulders and another their upper arms, which I interpreted as “not to carry any burdens on my shoulders” and that all actions that I do (my hands symbolizing the part of my body that does many actions) will be for the sake of bringing me closer to doing Gods’ will. And after that I myself added “seeing all as things as God” thus wiping my eyes three times, and also rubbing my “third eye” to encourage intuitive messages from God. And also rubbing my heart in hopes of purifying my heart to be loving. I went through all of these motions while standing, after I first took a few moments to say my intention in my heart before actually standing under the powerful flow of water, I had also seen someone dunk themselves completely under the water three times. So, since it reminded me of what one does in the mikve, I thought that it too could be symbolic of the ongoing process of left,right, middle; that first I get thrown to the “left” and think something has gone wrong and oh no! then I pray and get thrown to the “right” and see the light and realize that God has actually planned this all and has my best intentions in mind, and then I create the middle path, which is my individual path of returning to my Source, and which only I can walk one step at a time.

So it was interesting for me to slowly build up this ritual as we would finish the first spout and then go to our right to the next one and the next one, and by the twelfth one I had discovered all areas that I wanted to purify and had quite a long little ceremony before each spout. Then I saw that there was another pool if you go through a small entrance, and there I continued it all another 10 times I think, and by the end, felt quite loving and grateful inside and out. There were streams of people, men women and children, of many nationalities all waiting in the line to be purified by these holy waters. Those that did not or could not enter the pool ( a great sign that said “those menstruating are not allowed in” and then in parentheses “(applies for women only)”…which means that if you are a man and menstruating you ARE allowed to enter?!)…had brought containers to take the holy water home and do it another time. so they were filling up huge bottled water bottles of 50 liters with this water.

Once I had finished I was waiting on the side and there were some tour guides telling the tourists some stories. I decided to eavesdrop and heard him point out to her that you are not supposed to go in the last spout because it is only if you have nightmares….uh oh,,,,I went there too! Didn’t know what the little Indonesian words on the small signs meant next to certain spouts, and everyone ahead of me was going there so I thought….but after my first regret I realized that sometimes I do have nightmares, so I’m covered there, and secondly, someone, at some time decided which spout represented what, and before that it was just the same spring water pouring out of the ground, so I can make up my own interpretations too. What was important for me was the intention. And it felt nice having these intentions.

While waiting for everyone in my group to finish, there was a 4 year old girl holding her baby one year old brother in her arms as he cried for his mother who was going through this whole series of purifying pools, and I thought, why not help? So I tapped the little girl on the shoulder, motioned to her brother and put my arms out. She readily handed him over to me and I heard myself suddenly singing to him the stupidest song I had ever heard from summer camp when I was 12 years old:

“Oh, I was born one night one morn when the whistles went boom boom,

I can fry a cake I can bake a snake when the mud pies are in bloom

Does six and six make nine, does ice grow on a vine

Is ol black joe, an Eskimo in the good ol summer time,

Oh hoop de loop in the noodle soup just to give myself a shine

I’m a dirty shmoe I stole the dough

Three cheers for ol lang sine

Way done in barcelonia they speak in to the phonia

And this is all balonia

Peterusky blow your horn toot toot”

As I sang he stopped crying, and I was laughing so hard inside that of all the songs “I” could have possibly chosen, out came this ridiculous song that I haven’t heard in some 45 years! Ah, what a purifying ritual can do for the soul! I love it.

rice

being in ubud at the resort here where twenty three of us have gathered for a sacred circularities hoola hoop retreat is quite the different experience then the two months up north alone by the sea, temples, villagers...at the moment i am sitting outside in the open air pavilion in the center of bali in ubud, watching the group of six women working together harvesting the rice from the paddies that are dotted among the different areas of the resort which has over the years made extensions in all direction. it is a scene i had been hoping to witness this trip, but since the cycle is usually 3-4 months, when i came they had just harvested, and so i didn't think i would find a paddy that still had rice ready for harvesting. the most impressive thing for me is watching the team work, always,...people just do things together, in couples, whether it is sieving the sand or beating the long sheaves of rice onto a board in a big basket so that the grains fall into it, and then throwing the stems on the ground later to be burnt. lots of giggles and chit chat between the six of them as they work at a comfortable pace together, but still physically demanding, with three of them bending down all the time to cut the sheaves and gathering a big enough quantity to toss the bundle into the arms of her "partner" that catches it and turns around and bangs it four or five times onto the board in the big basket, that has a tall screen around 2/3 of it so the grains don't fall out, and then they just drag the big basket by the big bamboo handle, through the field wherever they are harvesting.

Now on the way to lunch it was possible to watch the women ‘winnowing”(?? I may have just made up a word!) the rice from the chaff (here too!) as they emptied out the big basket of rice grains onto a big sack in the middle of the field. They then proceeded to scoop onto a woven bamboo tray with two inch sides a quantity of rice and then in circular movements horizontally swished it around about 3 times, and all the stems and leaves rose to the top as the heavier smaller grains stayed on the button of the tray. She then removed the few stems and dumped the tray of grains into the empty rice sack. This they did in twos…and when the bag was full, they placed a heap of the cut rice sheaves on top of it so that the rain that suddenly comes down, and which is coming down now, will not dampen the harvested grains. The sack is lifted by both women, (how many kilos are in those huge sacks of rice?!) and placed on the head (YES!!!!!!!!!!) on one of them, and she could even be my age!, and is carried to the rice company, where it is then spread out on the ground on big tarps and is raked every now and then so it can dry in the sun, and then again placed in sacks and sold to the people either by the sack or at kiosks, in smaller quantities. The day for harvesting is of course checked on the calendar, and since tomorrow is the new moon, today is an auspicious day for harvesting.

All very fascinating, for someone like me that opens up a plastic bag of a kilo of rice at home and measures out 2 cups to cook, without really knowing what was involved in growing the rice that I eat.

tsunami?

life was chugging along as usual and suddenly nicole began to receive phone messages from a friend in australia and another one in sri lanka, notifying her that there has been an earthquake in japan and there is a prediction that it will also hit bali as a tsunami and to leave the resort by the sea.

hmm...everything looks so peaceful and simple, like always, so who do you believe?

she began to try and find out information on the internet, and to check with the locals, but it was a mixed bag....no one could say that this north eastern coast of bali was in danger, but, when it hits it hits, so do we chance it? the gardener and maintenance man, madie, is also the head of the fishermens clan here, so they called him to see if he knows anything. he is so nice and quiet and clever and humble, and he said that the fishermen will keep an eye out and let us know if there is any danger...okay...so instead of listening to all the world forecasts, we will just listen to the fishermen....hmmm....

now there was already fear and tension and uncertainty in the air....along with photos of the damage done in japan, and the warnings of how it can hit australia, indonesia, south america, hawaii....in short, the world!

do we just trust our natural instincts that all of us felt totally safe and normal or do we go along with the precautions necessary if there is a tsunami warning and go inland into the mountains?

we were only 8 of us altogether; an english woman that had just arrived the night before and all she wanted was to have a quiet day here, after finally getting to this lovely paradise, and there was a family with a mother from jarkarta, her german husband, and their 2 sons aged 1 and 5, me, and then the owners, a german couple....as we gathered around the computer and tried to verify what is really necessary to do at this moment, the little 5 year old walked into the courtyard with his just packed backpack and shoulder bag on him, and seriously marched up the steps to the porch where we were gathered around the laptop....

my heart broke. this young 5 year old was so serious and so certain that we must pack our bags and leave now, that that is just what he had done and was requesting us to do also, but in silence. it touched me so, to feel his fear and to want to assure him that we are safe....but he is clever and knows all about the past tsunami and the destruction it did, and he wants no part of that. he just remained silent, prepared to leave at a moments notice.

an attempt was made to verify kinsiologically if we need to leave, and the answer kept coming up: yes. so, what to do? i suggested we rent a car now and drive up to their mountain property that is about 15 minutes away. i was planning on going inland anyways first thing in the morning, and wondered whether i should just order a car and leave already, but there was a feeling of " abandoning a sinking ship" and so i decided to stay with them too, but with my bags packed in the car in case i need to leave from there later.

the english woman was not happy about the decision to leave. she and i were just on our way to visit a balinese family in the village, and not this?! she refused to budge. i went to the car with the things, and met there one of the villagers, out with his knife to cut grass for the cow, we spoke...so sweet...asking me if i enjoyed seeing his daughter dancing on stage the day before, and when i will return, and if i am going to say goodbye to my friends in the village now.

it was so strange to see the men out fishing as usual, life just going on, and us busy packing up our things and driving off into the mountains for safety, the 2 cooks at the resort were sitting on the floor preparing the coconut fish mixture for dinner which would be soon, and couldn't understand why they were being told to go into the double walled cooling room if they see that the sea has suddenly receded very far back. that they should stop the cooking and close themselves inside it ...they smiled and said yes, yes, but asked what time we want to have our dinner? what is reality??

i tried to walk over to the little girl i tutor in english to say goodbye before driving off, and when one of the young fellow in the gang that were hanging out by the sea saw me, he said "tsunami". i thought that was very kind of him...to let me know, even though he and his friends were not going anywhere...he was warning me.

the forecast was that between 6-10 in the evening it could reach bali,so we left quickly at 5:30.. we were the only ones from the village leaving...everyone else just carried on as usual. the english woman was in the car, but angry. the little boy in the back seat was relieved, the owners in the front seat were doing their best to stay calm and confident that we are safe and i was trying to share with the english woman that according to my kabbalah studies, the effort we are invited to make now is that their be unity among us and not dissension and that even if we don't agree, can we agree to go along with someone elses decision and not be in disharmony amongst us, eight people in a van....she was not interested...i let it go...tried to make conversation unsuccessfully, and then just remained silent.

when we got to the property, i took out my laptop to check e-mails and the first one i opened was one that said "LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL" from mitha, the 13 year old that i have befriended....she had again saved up her money and had gone to the internet cafe to open her mail and see the photos i had taken of her dancing the day before, and now, while we are rushing off, she is sitting there writing me that life is beautiful...

i was wondering what we should all do now sitting together on an open bamboo platform with a thatched roof for the next 4 hours? sing? tell personal stories? jokes?play games? do a workshop? hmmm...and then i opened up the next email i received which was a "message from the universe" that i receive everyday and it said "wisdom is in silence"...okay got the message! and chose to sit and meditate for the next hour, while everyone else sat their chatting quietly or reading their emails or calling friends to find out what they know and think is the situation at present.

the funniest was that about once an hour madie the 40(?) year old fisherman/gardener would call and say "i look at the sea, it look quiet". or "dinner is ready, you come back home now to eat?" . and here we were looking on the internet at all the headlines and world news reports...who are we supposed to believe,.,,the fishermen and villagers that are so in touch with nature, breathing, living and praising it 24 hours a day, or some professionals that understand global repercussions...and this was global...in almost every direction in the world people were being warned....globalization...

next, each one of them received an email from a different place in the world from family or friends, notifying us that it was safe to return. it was over. our 4 hour stay in the cool air of the mountains, overlooking the sea, with the crickets as our only background sound, and our pleasant time together in this emergency situation had ended...and as we drove back home i wondered how the villagers had chosen to remain in the village? was it from naivete, from intuition,from experience, or from faith?

something much greater

a few minutes before five i awoke, and then the morning chanting began. so the long slow melodic voice echoed out from the darkness of the predawn world, making me feel a part of something much greater as soon as i heard it. i showered and walked over to the outdoor pavilion to sit at the big table made from a slice of the length of a tree trunk, and began to journal. i sit at the head of the table so i can be looking out at the sea as the sun begins to rise, not needing to watch my fingers as i type.

slowly the dawns early light began to glitter on the flat surface of the sea, and the long narrow fishermens boats were silently gliding across the sea, the lapping of the small waves against the shore made me curious to see them and not only hear them, and i decided to go outside the low stone wall that surrounds the resort, and sit right out there on the shore with my laptop.

as i found a comfortable spot i realized that at every moment i have a choice; i am the one creating my own reality every moment. so why not make it just the way i want it, with the view of the orangey pink sun coming out of the sea for a minute and then it is already above it and shining in the sky. i love seeing the sunrise. whenever i used to take my daughter down to the bus stop for 3 years at dawn, i was always grateful that i could see the orange colored clouds above the valley and distant rolling hills as i drove out to the intersection and back. it is so nice to start the day with watching the sun rise....and i always wondered how i could have a house where i would be able to see it everyday. and now here i was, awakening before dawn and watching it rise over the sea, with the boats, and some roosters crowing, in the pleasant morning weather.

two 14 year old girls walked along the shore in their school uniforms and mandatory pigtails, a boy passed by after them, smiling hello. i wondered what it does to someones soul everyday to walk along the seaside and cross the little stream in order to get to school with the morning sun rising,,,,or what it does to the fishermen that see this magnificent site every morning as they sail out at sea in their fishing community, usually two to a boat.

for me it is a kind of nourishment for my soul that i need. and as i connect by journaling, and praying, and then doing tai chi and my new routine of the 5 tibetan breathing exercises, i feel ready to go out in the world from a place of gratitude for being given another day of life to live in the healthiest, most beautiful and inspiring way i can.

jochan had shown me the book about the tibetan breathing exercises a month ago and i decided that if he recommended them and i was here, why not try it out during my stay. it is interesting. and once i had the whole series down pat, he translated the affirmations that i am supposed to say while doing them. i have quoted a few of them below, since they are very inspiring for me and help me start the day from a place that feels positive and empowered. maybe others can gain from them also, so here are some:

My mind and my heart are in balance

I trust the wisdom of my body

My inner world and my outer world are in balance

I am always at the right time at the right place and I do successfully exactly the right thing.

I allow my body to follow the rhythm of its ebb and flow

I feel and enjoy my vitality

I open myself to the beauty of life

these are some of the things that connect me to something much greater and lead me to make the choices that i do.

come dance with me

on the last day of the tejakula arts festival i went to see mitha performing on stage with 3 other girls in a balinese dance. i thought i would come early and photograph her as they put the heavy exotic make up on them, but that 4 hour ordeal was done at the home of the teacher, and not where i had arrived at, so i missed that. and as i sat with her family, happy to get a front row seat before the crowds arrived, i realized that the price i was paying was that my eardrums were being blasted by hard rock and electronic music at full full volume a meter from my face as background music before the traditional gamelon band would accompany the dancers...again the mayor came up to me, since we were sitting in the first row, but i had purposely sat us down on plastic chairs on the side, knowing that the upholstered sofas next to me would be for the elite (high priest of the village, governmental officials, mayors family....) and he shook hands with me and motioned that i am supposed to be sitting on the upholstered sofas...i motioned to him towards the 4 balinese that were with me so that he would understand that if i move, they move with me....he gave a glance, understood the situation, and chose to then motion at the little containers of water that were on the tables for free for the elite guests, so that, at least i should take a free water....thank you mr, mayor. and he walked away and continued scanning the crowds that were arriving in order to filter out who gets to sit on the sofas...

eventually the show began with three 2o year old balinese beauties that were as if dancing traditional balinese style but they had added a hip sexy twist to their movements and it was great! usually the balinese dancers are "wrapped around" with ceremonial cloth from top to bottom, giving the appearance of a colorful ice cream stick...flat chested, flat stomach, tall and thin. and then when they dance they stand quite erect and make sudden slight movements with their fingers, or eyes, or neck and lifting up parts of the material to hint at wings and tails of flirtation between 2 birds as they tell some drama of love or betrayal and overcoming the demons, etc. these girls added long long yellow scarves to their costumes and they made exaggerated movements of their hips and more sensuous slow hand movements to the rocking beat of the gamelons. when they were finished, or so i thought, they walked off the stage into the audience...as we all applauded. and then suddenly they were each taking their scarves and putting them around the necks of the guests...how cute! and when one came up and lassoed me with her scarf around my neck, still rocking her hips and waving her fingers, i thought, isn't that nice, and i smiled...but she quickly sign languaged me that this means i am supposed to stand up and join her in a dance on stage.
me being the "ham" that i am, laughed loudly and immediately i began mimicking the exaggerated hip and hand movements as we tangoed onto the stage, along with the two other lassoed men that were grabbed. i managed to remove my flip flops on the steps as i ran on stage following her, and the crowds loved it! laughing and applauding and enjoying the "kerioke'-esque" event. after a few minutes of me mimicking them she again sign languaged me that we are done and to return to my seat as she goes out to catch another innocent bystander for the entertainment. when i was seated i too was able to laugh and enjoy the hams that were up there having fun dancing with these attractive women....all men, with their sarongs, and all very talented, including the overweight mayor that looked so cumbersome until now, suddenly turning into a sexy balinese dancer too!

so if the villagers haven't noticed me until now....they finally had their chance to watch the strange foreigner that has showed up in their village enjoying all the interactions with them all whether at the temple ceremonies, or walking along the road with the ogoh ogoh parade, or sitting at the internet cafe, or just "jaleng jaleng" ("walking - walking")....which they don't really understand....since, why would you just be walking???

a late night at the internet cafe

after the drama with my computer, and happily finding someone that could drive the virus out and install new insides to it, i needed to go to another computer man to reinstall new insides. i went to my local tejakula hotspot (wireless internet cafe) and the man worked on it for about 10 hours, receiving a big $5 in return, and suggested i return again the following day since it was already midnight and there was still work to be done. i had had enough of it so i just let it go and figured i would manage with it the way it was...but each day i discovered something else that had disappeared with the formatting and that i needed in order to breathe with my computer everyday; blogging, photographing, studying kabbalah, e-mailing, and browsing....so...off i went again last night after dinner, to the tejakula hotspot!

the owner a young man, only arrives at 7 p.m. most evenings, after he has finished his regular job, but when i got there at 8:30 and was surprised to find the young girl there instead of him, and sign languaged my disappointment and confusion and need, she sign languaged me back that he would soon return ...so i sat down and waited...dripping sweat after the walk and the still air that filled the small internet cafe, wondering whether to ask her to turn on the ceiling fan, even though she herself was wearing a long sleeve sweatshirt on top of a t-shirt....hmmm,.,.i let it go...all the balinese sitting behind the computer screens in their partitioned off booths seemed quite content too...so it was just me.

every now and then i glanced up at the clock as it ticked away wondering how long i will peacefully accept the circumstances believing that everything is perfect and the timing is right and all is exactly the way it is supposed to be at this very moment....every now and then wiping the sweat from my face, back and neck and glancing around again to see if maybe someone else also thinks its a bit hot and lets use the fan...one 20+ fellow smiled at me and said in quick perfect english "it's very hot for you." "yes." silence.

each time another motorbike parked in front of the open fronted room (no door) that faced the main street, i thought, aha, maybe it is him...but it was usually another young teenager, smoking a cigarette, or wanting to buy some (they also sell cigarettes, make cell phone calls for you, sell soft drinks...). finally "the boss" arrived, and we smiled at each other, since i am a regular there already. when he finished doing the urgent things he came over to ask what he can do for me, and i told him that i need hebrew back on my computer...and that i have indonesian. he smiled, "ah, yes, when i install, i forget and put indonesian" smile smile smile. and then for 2 hours he tried to get hebrew, which apparently is not the most popular or even recognized language here in indonesia where israel is not even recognized as a country that exists....so also no hebrew as an option on all of the paths he diligently tried to improvise in order to help me.

second problem: (2 hours later) that ever since he reinstalled the insides, i cannot download my videos that i film anymore! and that is most important! he knew it was most important, since the last time that i spent an all nighter there with him, it was the night before the new year celebrations and the chanting in the temple opposite the hotspot went on all night instead of the usual half hour, and i was so thrilled that god had arranged for me to have to sit there all night, and thus enjoy hours and hours of the once a year chanting close to the source! and as he worked on my computer that evening, waiting for programs to slowly (very slowly) download, i kept standing at the entrance with my camera shooting into the night sky with my camera on "movie", using it like a tape recorder just so that i would have recordings of the chanting to later listen to and possible imitate and enjoy. he and his wife and father, who had all gathered there with us as he worked on and on to help me, wondered what i could possible be photographing in the pitch dark? and i eventually explained that i love to hear the mans voice that is singing these long slow drawn out mystical chants about the meaning of life and our connection with god (my liberal translation of what i hear since i do not understand a word of balinese or indonesian, but can just feel the vibrations entering straight into my veins.). they smiled....ah, yes.

so, he understood the importance that my videos will be on my computer. "please give me your camera so we can see" oops....didn't think to bring it! ugh...so i quickly pressed on the picasa icon to just try and explain to him how all the photos download or upload or whatever it is, and it is just the videos that don't. and as i am saying that, he points one of his long thin delicate fingers to something on the screen and gently says," here are the movies. they are now transferring, it take long time, need patience." sure do! videos from yesterday were only know appearing on the computer, even though it had been on for almost 24 hours....i love it! so all the gamelon music and chanting was not lost after all!!

but when he caught a glance at my photos, of ogoh ogoh and the music and dance festival, he asked if he could copy them onto his computer too. of course! it hadn't dawned on me that someone without a camera and who had been stuck in the internet cafe or at work all day and night would enjoy these colorful memories of the happenings in his village. me being very computer illiterate thought it would be a few minutes and then i can finally go home since it was now very late and i had been up since before dawn...but....yep, just like it took a whole day to get them on my computer....to copy them also took a very long time, since he wanted the videos too....

he asked if i could please come back the next night so he could copy all my photos, but i told him i was leaving in one more day for another city and then back to israel...so, instead of going home and showering and having something to eat finally after a long day at work, he just lit up another cigarette and took his USB stick and started quickly choosing what albums he wanted. and as we sat there we began to talk.

i asked him if he is a dancer, since his hands and feet sure look like one, and he laughed and said "oh no, for dancer you must have inside you special feeling," "so, do you play an instrument?" "yes, some guitar, organ, and harmonica" .
"and how what do you work at during the day before you come to the internet cafe?" "in the government, family planning...i go to peoples houses 5 days a week and teach them about contraceptives." I asked if he also makes sure to go to the junior high and high schools and he said he does. good to know...since there are a lot of very young women here with babies that found themselves after their first flirtation, pregnant, then married, then unhappy (universal theme not praticular to bali, but at least nice to know they are doing something about it)

"and how did you have enough money to buy 7 computers for this internet cafe?" "from the year 2002 i lost my WINDOWS and i not know what to do. so i ask friend:what to do for WINDOWS and i try, and other friend tell me something and on and more. i buy DELL, you know DELL? I buy parts and put together computers, much better, also cheaper, but very good computer. Now i want to bring hotspot to all of Tejakula village." "Great! when?!!" "Have no time, this is hobby, need time to do geographic measurement, so tall towers at right distance, ""But don't put any antenna es next to the resort! It isn't healthy." "Need tower to be taller than coconut trees. Must measure" so, my sweet computer guy loves computers and wants his village to have wi-fi...so nice...he doesn't really think about it for the money but because he wants his village to grow with the progress in the world.

i told him i want to come live in tejakula. he listened to that sentence and then asked me "why do you like Tejakula?" Oh....i know that every single person that i am in contact with is god in disguise...and here i was, faced with a very simple and straightforward question....why do i like tejakula....hmmm....no beating around the bush here...really...why do i like tejakula? how to put into words the feelings i have inside of me from the moment i drove down the main road the first time and they had decorated the streets with the palm decorations and everyone was out on the sides of the road in their temple clothing with the offerings on their heads getting ready to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated temple, and i went driving through them all, with my window open, in the old broken down bemo van, the foreigner coming into town....and i felt i had just entered a fairy tale...

"The people are always laughing. everyone is friendly, i love the chanting and the temple life, i love the sea, and the fishermen, the gamelons, everything is slow,simple."

"You trust in god?"

"Yes"

"Ah."

"In bali many religions: hindu, moslem, christian, and you?"

"Jewish"

"Jewish..."

by now, all the photos had finished downloading and i was ready to walk back home, the gang was still drinking and smoking and sitting on the steps by their motorbikes laughing and talking, men only of course, and as i was slipping my tongs back on my feet to start my walk home, the one that spoke to me previously asked" do you prefer to walk or would you like a ride back?" "oh! if you want to take me for free, i would like a ride, if not i will walk." "Yes, sure." and i hop on the back of his motorcycle and we ride down the main road a bit and then down the narrower dark side road that ends at the sea. i start up the conversation in the back asking him how he knows english so well? from "transport" (being a driver for tourists) and now he is learning italian and he knows also some german. and he likes the sound of american english. i asked this 20+ year old how he did when he was in high school.... "not so good" yeah, and now he is motivated and enjoys learning alone how to speak foreign languages and it is nice to see. the same thing happened to me on the beach the day before as i walked back from the festival. a young 14 year old girl proudly approached me with her friend and said "hello, what is your name" "eileen, what is your name" " Itu" "How long are you staying in bali? and then after a while i asked her "How do you know english?" "I like hearing and speaking it so i take every opportunity when i see someone that i can speak english with so i do. it is fun." good for her! she will go far. it is that inner drive, not because of the english, but because they want to succeed and discover the world and enjoy it, like mitha who wants to win the english storytelling contest for bali junior high students, and be a tour guide or elementary school english teacher.

a few minutes later we had reached the 4 steps that lead down to the sea and where i have to cross a tiny stream of water and go past the fishing boots into my entrance at the resort. he says he will keep his light from the motorbike on the way so i can walk and see. i laugh and say that i have a flashlight, thank you anyways,,,and start to feel my way down the steps to the sand. once i crossed the little stream with a jump i waved him goodbye so he could see that i was fine. he waited. i walked another few steps and reached the fishing boats and looked over to him. he waited, when i reached the entrance to the resort he gave a little beep "goodbye" on his horn and drove off....that is tejakula....that little extra act of kindness and concern and parting comes from a place much larger and deeper than i can describe here.

the royal treatment

the day after the new years day of silence, the village staged a 4 day dance and music festival with local artists. this was the second year they were having it in an attempt to allow all the talented musicians and dancers in the village to perform for each other and for special guests to see what a great place tejakula is! (and it is!) i went with mitha (13) and gita (8) and we were among the first ones to arrive for the 10 a.m. opening down by the sea to the site they had set up outdoors with a stage and a partitioned off area with a combination of seating options: the first row was 5 burgundy brocade upholstered sofas, behind that were 3 rows of red and white satin covered folding chairs and long tables with bottled water and little cardboard decorated boxes with food at each setting. behind that were more rows of tables and chairs without red and white satin and beyond that was a rope partitioning off the area...

as we walked on the dirt path past the fast food stands of fried doughy stuff and the cotton candy and the plastic inflatable toy vendors, an official from the city council approached me and pointed towards the satin covered chairs and told us to please sit down,,, who me??! yes you!,,,okay...but why??

and as i sat down with my 2 balinese girls from my "adopted family" that i tutor, a big english speaking american boisterously introduced himself and told me a concise version of his past 10 years of living here. as more and more people arrived, i noticed that all the balinese were standing on the outside of the roped in area, and all the foreigners were being seated in the covered decorated area, along with balinese officials and other elite....

it was meant to be a gesture of honor, but very uncomfortable for me to have that division going on between me and the balinese. i forget that there is still the mind set of caste system from hinduism..,,i asked my neighbor why we got to sit in these seats with the little boxes filled with rice sweets wrapped in palm leaves in all kinds of triangles and rectangular shapes. he said that he donates money to this...ahh...so they thought i was a rich foreigner that was going be a future investor.

i knew this must be very exciting and strange for mitha and gita, who live in a straw hut together with another sister and parents on 2 beds without mattresses, and take a shower by pouring water from the neighbors hose into a bucket and pouring it over themselves in a small area closed off with some bricks for privacy...but riding with them on the motorbike to this show was actually a real eye opener for me i was the last one in the back on the bike, and as mitha drove us the 15 minute ride to the festival i could smell the sweet clean scent from them both after their morning shower...and me....uh...didn't even shower...let alone sweet scent....

i watched them as they kept their eyes on all the villagers that were arriving, and gave a little wave or smile to their relatives and friends from the "elite" chairs...i think even just sitting next to me, a foreigner, is already a very high status for them...and for me,,,,it is a high status to be with such simple sincere happy people. i thought that the first thing they would tell their parents when we got back was where they sat! but after a while when i asked her father if they told him, he said no...but gita was kind enough to save one of the sweet rice treats that were in the box by her and gave it to her younger sister upon arrival home...i on the other hand, took mine and quickly ate it as we got up from our seats at the end of the performance, greedy not to leave any free food that i was given!