Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday. My plan was to spend it by myself, in silence. I woke up early and meditated in my favorite "do nothing" place withthe sounds of the breeze and the bugs and the frogs and a little Balinese temple music in the background. I feel happy, peaceful and content. Then I checked my email and got a message from my friend Susan that a terrorist attack happened in Mumbai. A few minutes later my phone rang and Anne Marie was in tears, worried about me and the world. If I was at home I would probally be at her table for Thanksgiving. As soon as we hang up my sister Robin called. The silver lining...alone on Thanksgiving I feel the love and comfort of my friends from a million miles away. I have been carrying Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, Awakening to your Life's Purpose around with me for months and decided to open to a message, page 224 " This, too, will pass". This was my message and so I let go of my fears and my idea of a day of silence and called a woman I met through a connection with Sherri Baptiste.

Ni Wayan Murni invited me to lunch at her stunning home about 15 miles outside of Ubud. Her driver picked me up at her resturant (Murni's Warung) and along with couple from Holland, we had a delightful day! Far from the noise and traffic of Ubud, Murni and her husband Jonathan have a beautiful home filled with antiques and collectables from around the world. The view is breath taking of the jungle and rice fields. The gardens are filled with statues, typical Bali structures, little bridges and an infinite pool. Yes, I considered extending my trip and staying, forever. But my VISA is running out so I enjoyed hours of great Indonisian food, conversation about world travels and then a tour of Murni's unbelievable personal collection from around the world. Textiles from Afganistan, puppits from Bali, jewelry, carvings, statues, masks. She could open a museum just from her personal collection. Check out www.murnis.com. Murni travels to San Francisco every year for the Arts of Pacific Asia Show at Fort Mason, Febuary 6-8. Anybody want to join me?

I spent the evening with Brian Johnson at the Yoga Barn. (BaliSpirit.com) Ever week he offers Philosophers Notes. An incredible evening of conversation about great books. Tonight was Rumi's Daylight. Tuesday we discussed Joseph Campbell. Big Ideas that help us on our heros journey-great quotes-something positive to think about. Brian offers a free subscription and as soon as I figure out how to pass it on I will! You can try philosophersnotes.com.

That is all for now. My travelers Thanksgiving was very special. I am grateful for this time away and that soon, I will return to my family and friends. Take a moment to listen to the wind or watch a butterfly and think about 5 things you are grateful for. Breathe...Peace...Breathe...Love, now smile:)

PICTURES FROM BALI

Bali Real Estate

Today I decided to do something different. I connected with a Real Estate agent from lovinarealestate.com. Ginny has a new listing for a property suitable for a yoga retreat property. Ketut, Ginny and there assistant took me to a lovely property about 10 miles from Ubud. It's about 3 acres of jungle with views of green for miles in every direction. Room for a dozen guest, very private, a pool and hot tub. Wonderful statues that look like they have been there for ever. We where served fresh scones and coffee on one of the many decks by Kevin the caretaker from Canada. Let me know if anyone is interested in partnering. Ginny says there are many great properties closer to the beach but this one was really special!

Off to yoga.

Lovely Lovina

The lonely planet guide describes Lovina as calm. The waves are calm,the people are calm, the bars are calm. Allyson and I had a very calm time. We left the busy Ubud with or adorable driver and our guide books. I love that Allyson had an itinerary planned and I could just enjoy! Our first adventure was a very non tourist waterfall called Sing Sing. Several locals greeted us at the car and we said that we did think we needed guides. They laughed and came anyway. We are off the beaten path in minutes and very glad to have our guides. I have always loved rock walking and this path really gave us the chance. Back and forth across the creek we come to the first waterfall. We uhhh and ahhh a bit and they point up a steep rockie path and say let's go. At this point I am very happy to hold hands with my guide as he carefully shows me the way and pulls me over the rough spots. We are delighted with a 40 foot crashing waterfall and big swimming hole. We enjoyed a lovely cool shower Bali style. After the barefoot climb back down we are delighted to pay our guides $5.

The next stop is a remote Chinese Buddhist Temple and monastery. It is quiet and serene, filled with reclining Buddha, Buddhas adorned with flowers and other offerings and lots of cushions for meditation. I enjoyed this sacred place and practiced my favorite 2 minute meditation that I learned from Swami Rama.

A few minutes down the road we stopped at a hot springs that reminded me alot of Harbin. Lot's of locals and a few tourist (all with clothes on) enjoyed the warm healing waters.

At last we arrive at the Sea Breeze, a darling little resort owned by an Australian couple. It is calm. We relaxed by the pool and walked the beach at sunset. Then enjoyed fresh tuna and Bintang beers. A local group of musician entertained us. Early to bed and early to rise, we take a small motorized canoe to a great snorkeling site. The coral is sadly dieing but the fish are amazing. I feel like I am living with Nemo and all his friends. Paolo would love this! Tiny blue fish, schools of black fish, clown fish, angel fish, colorful fish all easy to see from the surface. A few hundred feet away we can see Balinese fisherman standing in thigh high water fishing for our lunch. We are driven back and forth from our dive site on the back of motorcycles. A taxi was not on option.

Before we head back to Ubud our Australian hosts wants to talk real estate and walks me down the street to meet his real estate agent. For less than $100,000 you too can own a piece of paradise. Tempting! Can I call this a business trip?

LolvelLovina

Monkey Forest

This afternoon I toured the Monkey Forest in Ibud. As I entered the forest dozens of friendly monkeys run to greet me. They are adorable and of course I open my backpack to get my camera. A young monkey thinks I might have food in my pack and jumps on my back. I scream which only gets the monkey more interested. He climbs on my head and peeks around at my face. Another visitor tries to calm me down and offers to take my picture. Proof will follow when I can post some pics. The forest is filled with monkeys, playing, schutping, swinging from trees and begging bananas. There is a beautiful temple with a ceremony in process. It is the Monkey Temple and all the statues depict monkeys. While in the temple and older monkey gets pisses that I am meditating in his space and he snarls at me and makes bad faces- again I scream and the temple attendant scolds him and he snarls again and leaves. I am far from home and this is a very usual experience

I have moved into a Homestay. It's $10 a night and beautiful. I have a nice room with a balcony over looking a stunning garden. I am looking forward to doing nothing. All but one of my new retreat friends have gone home. It feels strange to again say good bye to everyone and stay one. This is an amazing time of my life and I feel unbelievably lucky to have this time.

Very early this AM Allison and Rayna and I climbed the Batur volcano and then soaked in a beautiful hot springs by a lake, Toya Bringkah then had breakfast in Kintamani. Loving my Bali experience and enjoying my sabbatical.

Beautiful Bali

Today is the last day of my Bali Yoga retreat with Annie Carpenter. This week has been a great experience for me. It has been challenging, physically. I have been doing yoga 2-3 times a week for 2 years and here in Bali I have been doing yoga 2 times a day. Many students have practiced yoga with Annie for many years and are very "bendie". My first day I commented that I was amazed that everyone could do head stand...they laughed...now I know why. Feet behind head is common and balancing on arms while legs go sideways looks easy. I just show up and do my own practice. I love the deepening of my practice just by being present.

We are staying at the beautiful Kamandalu Resort. My Garden Villa has a outdoor sleeping platform... great for meditation and journaling. Yesterday we traveled to The Royal Pita Maha, a fabulous resort owned by Ubud's Royal family. It is a stunning property built into the jungle. Our yoga spot was at the bottom of deep canyon next to a river and a beautiful lagoon for swimming. Many river rafters screamed by while we quietly practiced. After yoga we were treated to a beautiful lunch of organic greens and avocado salad, a local fresh fish, fresh papaya juice or any fruit juice you can think of. It rains most everyday in Bali and yesterday it poured! Nine of us swam and played in the pools until the rain stopped then found a great local spa. Everyone indulged in multiple treatments. I had reflexology while having a facial then manicure, pedicure and shoulder massage for less than $30 total! Ahhhhh!

My time in India - a pictoral view

Top of the world


Meditation on the top of the world


With Mother Wongmo


The Wild Flower Hotel, Simla


The Glororious Taj Mahal


Khajuraho Temples


Amer Fort Jaipur


Rickshaw ride in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary


Asi Ghat - Varanasi


The Holy Cow


A day with street kids

Here today gone to Bali

I left India on the red eye and flew to Bangkok, about 3 hours. The airport is a city in itself. I walked for miles and saw every shopping opportunity imaginable. Very international and cosmopolitan. As I sat sipping my first cappacino in weeks, I observed a very rich diversity in humanity. After a 3 hour layover, I traveled 4 more hours to Bali and arrived exhausted. I am delighted to say that this resort is a tropical paradise. Check out Kamandaluresort.com. Thanks Michelle Fliegouf for all the back and forth emails and for encouraging me to come here. My room has an outdoor (and indoor) sleeping platform and is surrounded with lush tropical jungle. I am looking forward to 8 days in one place. Our yoga progam starts tomorrow. Signing off, happy, tired and filled with so many great memories of my travels through India. Namaste

Obama wins!

I heard the news from my sister Robin on my Blackberry as the plane landed in Delhi. Three other America's were on board the small plane and we shared this world changing moment. Obama wins by a landslide and the world is dancing in the streets! I have been far away from any television or even newspapers and feel that I have missed a lot of the celebration and have enjoyed calls and emails from friends and family. My dear 8 year old friend Rowan called me and was excited about this change in the world. Thanks Rowan!

I spent the day before election high in the Himalayas with Mother Wangmo. We drove to the highest accessible spot, Rohtang Pass at about 14,000 feet and meditated and prayed for world peace and Obama's Presidency and our life goals, family and friends.


The cave where we meditated for Obama, family and friends

These beautiful mountains offer an amazing vibration and energy. Very healing and thought provoking. The road to the top is barely drivable although hundreds of other cars, buses and trucks all shared the road with us honking and passing as I tremble. The monsoons wipe out parts of the road every year and road crews are constantly fixing it. I can not describe the majestic beauty of this place and sharing it with Mother Wangmo was very special. She is a Hungarian woman who has dedicated her life to service. She has lived in India for over 25 years and currently has a hospital for women and children in a remote area between Kullu and Manili at about 6000 feet.

Mother Wongmo in front of her hospital

She is also launching the first school of nursing in the area to service the medical needs of these remote Himalayan CFHI is currently sponsoring 5 students from the Spiti village to attend nursing school in Delhi. I am so appreciative of the opportunity that Child Family Health International (CFHI) has given me. I have been exposed to schools for street kids, rehabilitation programs for women in crisis, revolutionary sanitation efforts and the amazing work of Mother Wangmo in the Himalayas.

My trip to the mountains also include a few days of hiking and rest at the beautiful Wildflower Hall in Shimla. My room had a fantastic view of the distant snow covered mountains. I hiked through a cedar sanctuary and learned of the many healing plants from my guide.

View of the mountains from the window of my room

Hiking with a guide is important because it is very easy to get lost. The day before I headed out alone and ended up crawling over rocks and almost stumbling into a yak! Saw lots of beautiful Kingfishers, a big bird with a very long tail, monkeys and chip monks. I hope to figure out how to post pictures soon. I have taken over 500 so far!

Today is my last day in India. I leave for Bali at midnight. I have had limited access to computers and am not very fast. My last post got dumped after an hour of hard typing.

This trip has been challenging, exciting, emotional and thought provoking. I am so grateful to Sherri Baptiste for inviting me to explore India with her. We shared so many experiences with the 17 travelers of the first part of this journey . Sherri did a similar journey with her parents in 1996 and offered us an opportunity of a lifetime. With India Supra of Featherpipe Foundation and Raj Madaan of Multivision travel, we experienced so much. From the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Rishikish, Varanasi, Cochin and Kerila, every day was filled with yoga, meditation laughter and many meaningful experiences. I have only touched on a few highlights and hope to added to my story as I integrate all that I have experienced.

The most important news today-We have a new President!

Wildflower Hall, Shimla

I woke up before sunrise to watch the sky go from night to day. I have a stunning view of the snow peaked