62 Minutes
It's been more than 62 minutes since my last confession, but it's impossible for me to write regularly. There's just no time in the day. I feel much better connected since I got a local cell number with a 3G card so I can check email and upload pics to Face Book. But writing long logs on the phone is not an option, so I have to wait for the optional moments.
The deepening process in this course is so intense and also challenging. I'll say something about this at the end of this piece.
A couple of highlights:
A long 'Breath Walk' through the mountain, touching the edge of the jungle and culminating on a rocky beach at the Ganga. Let by GurShabad and his lovely daughter. We walked in silence, and used a moving hand mudhra with a silent chant. Very spacey. I'm so happy when I'm walking. In my heart I'm still a Pilgrim and my strength comes through so sweetly. If a Pilgrim is someone who prays with their feet, then I'm praying and praying. When we reached the beachy part of MataGanga, everyone found a place, a rock, or a bit of sand and we spent some time there. No talking at all. At some point movement started again and we all began to walk back to the path and then back to the meeting tent.
A 'Yagna' ritual at the river led by Gurmukh. She suggested the day before that we all write something down that we want to let go of. Then once again all 150 of us, while clad, bare foot and in silence traipsed down to the river where the monks (some of them very young boy monks) had prepared a fire in the ceremonial place just in front of the massive statue of Shiva. We partook of the ritual of chanting and casting a mixture of seeds (and maybe cow dung? tee hee, and other bits and pieces of 'stuff' into the fire). The boy monks led the chant. So stunning. The river is huge here and flows very very fast. It's clean, being very close to source, so safe to step into and dunk down if you wish. Eventually we were all given a seed, which we wrapped into our papers and cast into the fire. I stood for ages on the steps leading into the water,with the cold powerful river rushing over my feet. Strong experiences.
A delightful party, held for us at Hotel Nirvana where they garlanded annointed and fed us all. Very opulent affair and we all got a chance to wear our 'Unwhites' or civvies.
I've just dined at The Green Hotel, next to the hotel that Micky and I stayed in in 2011. Free internet if you eat something. I ordered hot honey/lemon/ginger drink. Love it. And a pasta with tomato, green pepper and aubergine. Heavenly. A good break from all the ayurvedic food we get every day.
I'm very tired today. It's day 13 of the course. Therefore we've passed the halfway mark. It's an incredible process. I'm describing it thus, tho perhaps my darling Micky is the only one who will understand the distinction between experiences.
I've walked many pilgrimages in Spain. And on Camino there is a sense of the flow of energy and people pass along the way. You slip into the river and go along in your own stream. There are always those that pass you, and some you leave behind in an eddy of some sort. Then there are some precious few who move in the same stream as you do, either by your side or just in front or behind. You can't stop the flow. And if you step out of it, you may lose the companions you've found thus far. It's always a choice.
This experience is different. I understand immersion now. It's like dipping in the deepest pool imaginable. Everyone else is also dipping in, but you go in alone. You know they're there, but you're inside your own process. I dip in and go down deeply, then rise again to the surface. I still need to breathe the air. But every time I go more deeply into the liquid substance, stay longer and come up for shorter times. I imagined in one of my meditations that eventually my being will become so transformed I'll be able to breath inside the deep pools of altered states. Perhaps I'll grow spiritual gills and swim in states of ecstasy. Don't get me wrong. I'm not losing my marbles, but I am having some utterly incredible experiences which defy description by normal language. I hope and dream that when I'm home I can express some of these experiences through my art, as often the experiences are very visual for me.
I'm very tired. Rising at 03h12 every morning for Sadhana is taking it's toll. Fortunately we've had an extremely boring teacher the past two afternoons. A precise Brit who talks so slowly I find myself slipping into the spaces between his phrases and losing consciousness. The sleep in delicious. I'll look the stuff up in books later.... I suspect I know it all already anyway :-)
It's been more than 62 minutes since my last confession, but it's impossible for me to write regularly. There's just no time in the day. I feel much better connected since I got a local cell number with a 3G card so I can check email and upload pics to Face Book. But writing long logs on the phone is not an option, so I have to wait for the optional moments.
The deepening process in this course is so intense and also challenging. I'll say something about this at the end of this piece.
A couple of highlights:
A long 'Breath Walk' through the mountain, touching the edge of the jungle and culminating on a rocky beach at the Ganga. Let by GurShabad and his lovely daughter. We walked in silence, and used a moving hand mudhra with a silent chant. Very spacey. I'm so happy when I'm walking. In my heart I'm still a Pilgrim and my strength comes through so sweetly. If a Pilgrim is someone who prays with their feet, then I'm praying and praying. When we reached the beachy part of MataGanga, everyone found a place, a rock, or a bit of sand and we spent some time there. No talking at all. At some point movement started again and we all began to walk back to the path and then back to the meeting tent.
A 'Yagna' ritual at the river led by Gurmukh. She suggested the day before that we all write something down that we want to let go of. Then once again all 150 of us, while clad, bare foot and in silence traipsed down to the river where the monks (some of them very young boy monks) had prepared a fire in the ceremonial place just in front of the massive statue of Shiva. We partook of the ritual of chanting and casting a mixture of seeds (and maybe cow dung? tee hee, and other bits and pieces of 'stuff' into the fire). The boy monks led the chant. So stunning. The river is huge here and flows very very fast. It's clean, being very close to source, so safe to step into and dunk down if you wish. Eventually we were all given a seed, which we wrapped into our papers and cast into the fire. I stood for ages on the steps leading into the water,with the cold powerful river rushing over my feet. Strong experiences.
A delightful party, held for us at Hotel Nirvana where they garlanded annointed and fed us all. Very opulent affair and we all got a chance to wear our 'Unwhites' or civvies.
I've just dined at The Green Hotel, next to the hotel that Micky and I stayed in in 2011. Free internet if you eat something. I ordered hot honey/lemon/ginger drink. Love it. And a pasta with tomato, green pepper and aubergine. Heavenly. A good break from all the ayurvedic food we get every day.
I'm very tired today. It's day 13 of the course. Therefore we've passed the halfway mark. It's an incredible process. I'm describing it thus, tho perhaps my darling Micky is the only one who will understand the distinction between experiences.
I've walked many pilgrimages in Spain. And on Camino there is a sense of the flow of energy and people pass along the way. You slip into the river and go along in your own stream. There are always those that pass you, and some you leave behind in an eddy of some sort. Then there are some precious few who move in the same stream as you do, either by your side or just in front or behind. You can't stop the flow. And if you step out of it, you may lose the companions you've found thus far. It's always a choice.
This experience is different. I understand immersion now. It's like dipping in the deepest pool imaginable. Everyone else is also dipping in, but you go in alone. You know they're there, but you're inside your own process. I dip in and go down deeply, then rise again to the surface. I still need to breathe the air. But every time I go more deeply into the liquid substance, stay longer and come up for shorter times. I imagined in one of my meditations that eventually my being will become so transformed I'll be able to breath inside the deep pools of altered states. Perhaps I'll grow spiritual gills and swim in states of ecstasy. Don't get me wrong. I'm not losing my marbles, but I am having some utterly incredible experiences which defy description by normal language. I hope and dream that when I'm home I can express some of these experiences through my art, as often the experiences are very visual for me.
I'm very tired. Rising at 03h12 every morning for Sadhana is taking it's toll. Fortunately we've had an extremely boring teacher the past two afternoons. A precise Brit who talks so slowly I find myself slipping into the spaces between his phrases and losing consciousness. The sleep in delicious. I'll look the stuff up in books later.... I suspect I know it all already anyway :-)
This morning in our incredible class with Sat Siri, we sat in rock pose, hands above our heads in a mudhra, chanting Sat Nam. I am Truth. 62 Minutes. I will never be the same again XxxxX
And so so very much more. But I'll stop for now. The pasta was so good I may be back tomorrow for more, and more writing. Tomorrow we all have to do a presentation to our groups and lead them through a meditation. I'm solid. Thanks to Patwant in Cape Town who already gave me a taste of taking the class through meditation.
I hold you all in my heart. Deeply missing my darling kidlettes and little grand kidlette and kitties and all you other darlings. Oh, and Cape Town, what a rocking place.
Sat Nam
Mel
And so so very much more. But I'll stop for now. The pasta was so good I may be back tomorrow for more, and more writing. Tomorrow we all have to do a presentation to our groups and lead them through a meditation. I'm solid. Thanks to Patwant in Cape Town who already gave me a taste of taking the class through meditation.
I hold you all in my heart. Deeply missing my darling kidlettes and little grand kidlette and kitties and all you other darlings. Oh, and Cape Town, what a rocking place.
Sat Nam
Mel
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