So long India

The 10 day meditation went well. It was super challenging of course (not speaking for 10 days and meditating for 11 hours), but in the process I recieved many insights. Although the goal was to be both silent outwardly and inwardly, I wasn't as successful in the latter part. I did my best though and felt a huge sense of peace when I finished on that tenth day. I found myself really missing singing a lot; just making use of those vocal chords. And I really wanted to write out my thoughts, but that also was not allowed. So it was different not having any outlets in a sense. I had to keep so much trapped within. But this seemed to give me a chance to really know what was trapped in there. And I was so happy to walk away from the journey feeling content with who I was (having spent 10 days just with myself). In India they call it the monkey mind, as the mind jumps from branch to branch. The monkey in my mind is quite a jumper that's for sure. This is why I think meditation is really effective for me. So I think I will continue on this path in the future.

Speaking of monkeys, I'm sure the girls had a good laugh when I was giving my monkey a bath in the courtyard. But hey after 5 months of travelling with me in this dusty country that came to be one dirty monkey. I laughed when the protective Indian housewife saw the monkey hanging on the clothes line; she came running out to shoo him away, but soon realized it wasn't your typical monkey. We exchanged a smile.

Yesturday I travelled from Rishikesh to Delhi. I was blessed to sit with a 21year Indian girl and her mother. They were so kind with me, fed me delicious food, and invited me to stay with them next time I come to India. Since then I have arrived in Delhi and it isn't my favorite place, to say the least. I am practically counting down the minutes until when I can leave. My flight is at 8am tomorrow morning. That's approx. 10:30pm Monday night in Montreal. I will arrive in Montreal at 8pm the following night (around 5:30 am in this time zone). So it's almost a whole day of travelling I have ahead of me. It's good though, and I'm very excited. I have had an amazing time and I am looking forward to what life has for me back in the beautiful land of Canada. We are really so blessed to have such amazing lush forests, mountains, lakes, etc. I really can't wait to take a big fat whiff of Canadian air when I step off the plane.

So that's my final India blog. I hope you have all enjoyed it and look forward to visiting with you all at some future time :D

I haven't written in some time. I will admit that this past week or so has been quite challenging. I have suffered from the traveller's bug so many people do their best to avoid. I myself wasn't so fortunate. Things are looking much better now though as I prepare myself for my 10 day meditation session that begins on Saturday. So I just wanted to leave a few more pics as these most likely will be the last. After the meditation I have just a few days before I make my way to Montreal on April 14th, then Calgary on April 21st.

So much love and light to all. I hope spring is finding you all well. And I look forward to seeing you all so soon.

Some last shots

This is the Shiva statue that sits on the Ganga and faces the Ganga Aarti ceremony that I was invited to take part in.

There are several rituals involved in this ceremony. Here I am receiving water from the holy Ganga to drink and then wash my hands with.

The musicians.

These cows were hanging out during the holy day. They still have paint on their foreheads.

These two boys were having a blast trying to cool down on the hot hot day.They dug theirselves a pit and soaked the sand with the icy Ganga water.

Here in Pushkar we met some funny baba's. This pink one danced for us. The other one (who I never got a photo of) just laughed at everything (as he was in noble silence for four months and wasn't speaking).

Camels are so great!

I found this little boy out in the desert. I asked him to play me a song.

Sunrise.

Here's my full power camel foaming at the mouth.

Mr. Monkey was loving it!

Here's the group I was with for my trip to Pushkar (Danny, Natahna and Aruna). We had a blast.

Jai Ram Ashram

These are some shots of the ashram where I have been taking yoga classes in Rishikesh market area.

Here's a view of the Ganga where there are ceremonies every evening.

The Beatles ashram is the place where the members of the Beatles found their way to sometime in the late 60's, early 70's. They chilled out at this hot spot, that was the home of what is known of today as 'Transendental Meditation', and worked on their 'White Album'. For the past 20 years or so this place has been abandoned. Big problems came up when there were so many foreigners trampling through. Apparently it was George who led the boys out to India; John and Paul were pretty into it, but Ringo hated the food and wanted out immediately. The story goes that these boys got along for the time that they chilled out at this place. But soon after the band broke up.

Natahna and I spent an afternoon/evening there just checking out this abandoned, decaying and mysterious dwelling. The property was HUGE and connected to a Provincial forest with wild animals. The two of us were the only one's around for our entire visit, which only added to the magic of the experience. We were told to be very careful and come out ASAP as the cops may be patrolling and it was illegal for us to be there. I am not sure why there are so many fear tactics involved in a visit to this place.

The Beatles Ashram!

Natahna and I had fun climbing into these egg like structures on the property. It was a little scary climbing up the old ladder (because at one point I thought 'imagine this old ladder busted and I went flying?'). But once I was in the acoustics were just amazing. What an experience!! I can only imagine what took place in these eggs at some distant time.





An old abandoned school on the property.




























Pretty flowers growing in the decay.

























These were these little pod things that people used to meditate in. This little meditation pod dwelling is situated along the Ganga and next to the wild forest (where the people said there were tigers and elephants and that I should watch out!).

Crazy times!

Wow!!!
That was intense!!!!!!

It was a psychedelic experience for sure. The colors were so bright. It was amazing. But what wasn't as amazing was how aggressive many of the Indian men were (many times using this holy day as an opportunity to grab and grope the foreigners). Getting paint smeared all over your face, head and body can be a little annoying as well, to say the least. Although it can also be loads of fun too!. But with all the laughter and excitement I must admit that near the end I was finally brought to tears (and not happy tears). A big group of boys covered in black saw me approaching with the look that I was trying to evade the situation. I knew something was up but it was like walking toward my own doom with these boys. They launched theirselves on to me and smeared motor oil all over my face and neck! It was discusting. And I just started crying cause I finally had enough.

After reflecting on this experience with my friend Aruna I have come to see this reaction of mine in a symbolic way. I had no problems accepting the colors as they were smeared all over me; big, bold and bright pink, green, red, yellow and violet colors. It was amazing to see the world so bright and colorful. But it was the black that I had a problem with. And this I see as being one of my struggles in life; accepting the darkness (the darkness within me and within this world). So for me this was really a powerful learning experience which gave me deep insight into my own being.

But wow was it amazing how much of a natural high I felt just from being surrounded by so many colors!! So that's it for me now. I have many pictures to post soon!!
:D

Uh-oh!!!

I'm scared. Tomorrow is the beginning of a two day holy festival that happens across the entire country. All I really know about this festival is that it consists of throwing paint at random people in the streets. I also heard that by day two people can get really drunk and high on bhang lassi's (special yogurt drinks mixed with cannabis). The other thing I know about this festival is that it's holy, well obviously! The main difference with this holy festival, among the parade of millions of other random holy festivals in this country, is that it is actually called 'Holi'. I just learned this. Before I was confused when I tried to ask the Indian people what was going on tomorrow and they would just reply "holy, it's a holy festival". I guess this one is especially holy for some reason. This is a little ironic as I've heard (as I just mentioned) that people can get pretty wasted in the streets during these two days. And Rishikesh is a holy town to begin. Both the eating of meat and drinking of alchohol is prohibited in this town.

So, I'm not sure what I'm going to do as of tomorrow. The guy I just spoke with at the jewelry shop said that my hair will be multi-colored for the next few months after this festival. I'm not sure whether to brave the madness, or to just stay in and hibernate. Really, I think there's no way of getting out of this. I think I will just embrace it; and run whenever I feel it is necessary!

So that's it for now. I will update the blog later when the madness has passed. I'm sure whatever happens it will be fun!

Rishikesh

I have arrived in Rishikesh. I am staying in a nice room with a porch overlooking a big monkey playground. I will have 3 weeks of yoga training here with two different teachers. One of my teachers will lead me with basic yoga asana practices in the morning, and another will teach me about yoga therapy in the evenings. I am alone on the journey now. I miss my friends who are now on their way to the Taj Mahal. I could have joined them on that journey but decided instead to make the most of my time here in Rishikesh before I go to the meditation center at the end of the month.

The camel ride was amazing!! I will post pics when I get a chance. Camels are so cool. And sooo peaceful. I was told that camels never sleep. They just sit all night and make some strange noises. Other things I learned about camels: they live until about 25 years, and will spend about 20 working and the last 5 alone in the desert; if the males don't get a chance to have a lady friend they will be considered a full power camel and will foam at the mouth if in contact with a female (this was the case with the camel I rode).

Well my time is up now on this computer. I will write again soon :D

shopping madness and 'holy' men who want your money

I've been in a town called Pushkar for the last week and a half. This town is in the Northwest desert region of India; the state is called Rajasthan. I have been hanging with three awesome friends during my time here (Natahna and Danny from Prince George, and my friend Aruna from Switzerland).

Pushkar has been a completely different experience for me than any other so far. Many of the foreigners seem to come here for business and leisure (mad shopping). The locals seem to be taking advantage of the foreigners, and the foreigners are either fighting the locals to stop heckling them or trying to get a sweet deal on an item of clothing, etc. And meanwhile no one is really communicating all that well due to language/cultural barriers.

As for me when I got here I found myself spinning around in shopping land trying to see what I can buy and eat. In the midst of it all I was dealing with a lot of guilt and worry about being a consumer. And I've never really been one to want to sit around too much and just consume. This is quite the contrast to the previous 3 months I spent practicing and studying yoga up north. That lifestyle seemed to help me to feel more balanced all round.

And on top of everything this is supposed to be a 'holy town'. Yet I have not had any experience of holiness thus far. The first day we got here Natahna and I were forced to take a 'holy' flower for the 'holy' lake. When we got there the men were shouting at us to throw the flower in the lake and give them money for blessing us. Needless to say our experience here got off to a rather unpleasant start.

This is quite a shock to me as it is the first experience I have had in India (minus the madness of Delhi) that seems to be poverished on a spiritual level due to a fixation on money. I just don't like to be a part of the whole thing which is why I am feeling a bit of guilt. With all this it isn't surprising to me that one of those nicely dressed women who stand on the corner and beg found her way into my purse when I was passing by and stole my cell phone. Theft is something I haven't come any where near to in this country until I got here.

I am really glad to have had this experience though. I have learned so much about myself and have experienced many new insights about what I want to do and how I want to live when I return home. I leave for Rishikesh again on Sunday where I will continue my yoga studies for 3 and a half weeks. After that I will do a 10 day silent Vipassana meditation retreat. Then I will just have a week before I head on home!!

In a few hours I will be going on an overnight camel safari!!!!! These camels are huge! I'm so excited. So I best be off to prepare for that adventure. I will add some pictures another time.

Lots of love to all
:D

Beautiful Gauchar

This was a tree outside the temple. It looks like a woman.

This boy sang us hindi music while the other girls cooked us the most delicious food.

Anand's sister and mother.

We went to a temple one evening.

On the rooftop where I was staying.

Shopping with Anand and his mother at the local market. The tree in the background is considered holy in this country.

A small mountain village named Gauchar and a few funny stories

I just returned from an amazing trip.



I took a bus with my Indian friend Anand to a very small mountain town about 6 hours east of Rishikesh called Gauchar. The bus ride was a little scary as it swirved in and around the cliffsides along the Ganga river. It was great travelling with a local who took care of all the business matters though. I did not see a single foreigner over the entire trip. So although this trip was amazing, it wasn't without it's elements of discomfort.



We went to this town because Anand's mother and sister live their as his sister is an english teacher and has been posted to that location. Upon our arrival Anand asked me to touch his mothers' foot with my right hand as a sign that I acknowledge that she is my teacher and will be teaching me over my stay. My hope was that she would teach me how to cook Indian food because I love it so much and I want to make it in Canada!



I don't know where to start in describing the impact this woman had on me. I can truly say that my life will forever be changed. Any choice of words to describe this woman and our encounters together would just be limiting.



I was so happy to have an opportunity to have an inside view of the Indian culture. Aside from the fact that I stuck out like a very sore thumb anywhere I went, I had a glimpse of what it would be like to live there and be an Indian. I spent 3 days cooking, relaxing and adventuring around before it was time to leave. The place that I was staying was just beautiful. It was surrounded by mountains on every side and had a rooftop patio where I could just hang out and spend time meditating, doing yoga, reading, and observing all the life around. I could see everything that was going on in the town below: children playing, mothers' cleaning or doing laundry or just relaxing, animals milling about, men playing card games, etc. And on the side of the mainstreet I could see the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Up high no one noticed me and I could just blend in to the surroundings and enjoy the mountain setting.



After a few days I was ready to make my way back to Rishikesh although I had to travel alone this time. Traveling alone as a foreign woman in this country can be quite annoying. At one stop I went out to go to find a bathroom. The 'bathroom' was situated directly outside the door of the bus. It was a cement wall about 4 feet high for me to squat behind while everyone on the bus watches me from the neck up. And just when you think it couldn't get worse some random guy came in and tried to pee with me. I was so discusted and immediately ran out of there. Sometimes the men in this country can really get the better of me.

When I arrived in Rishikesh I found myself in the beginning stages of a two day intense thunderstorm. It was awesome! My roommate Natahna and I just spent the day relaxing and enjoying the rain. And after the showers the sun came out in the most magical way. Since then we have been on top of the world enjoying what this town has to offer before we go on our way to the desert next week.

A quick story about what happened to me the other day: I was chilling on a patio enjoying the Ganga and the sun. I set down my sunglasses beside me. Suddenly a monkey approached. I ignored him and he may not have appreciated this because immediately he ran over snatched my favorite sunglasses and ran away. And those were my favorite sunglasses so I went after the monkey slowly, asking if he could maybe give them back. He began threatening me by bending the sides of the glasses and attempting to break them. I was like "no monkey, please don't...I love those glasses". Then he began trying to put them on his face which I had to admit was hilarious. Finally he decided they weren't worth his time so he chucked them on the ground. Natahna said I should try and scare the monkey off at this point so I went for it. I began shouting at the monkey and immediately he began charging at me trying to attack me with the most evil eyes and frightening teeth. I was so freaked out! But then he stopped, slowly walked off, and I got my glasses back. From now on I think I will take it a little easier around the monkey's.

Right after that incident Natahna and I went to the yummiest and most beautiful cafe. When we walked in the door she told the cashier her name and the guy beside her said "wow, that's my daughter's name too and I have never met another with the same". Natahna agreed to that in amazement and asked what the girl's birthday was. She told the man that her birthday was July 27th. The guy was shocked and said "no way, that's my birthday too". And in the distance the man sitting at a table by the window said "who's July 27th, that's my birthday too". All four of us were laughing our faces off. We found ourselves in a room with 5 people and 3 with the same birthday. Anyways, I just added that little story to let all know that things are getting funny and sychronistic around here. I think it's a good time to head to the desert; which I'm planning to do on Tuesday with Natahna. We are off to Rajasthan (for some camel rides and such) and from there will make our way east to Varanasi. From there I have plans to head up north to the beautiful Dharmsala (home of the Dalai Lama). Then I am planning to make my way back this way for some more yoga training with my teacher.

So that's the scoop on me for now. I am sending lots of love and wishing everyone well.

Adventures, monkey's and nummy bites

This was a poster taped to a local hospital. I thought it was great.

I spent a day riding a motorbike along the Ganga with my friend Anand. It was really beautiful as you could imagine. We stopped just up from here, got some chai's and spent hours hanging out on the Ganga in the sun. It was one of my favourite days so far.

I like to keep Mr. Monkey on guard while I'm gone to keep the monkeys under control. It's funny to see the monkey's reactions when they jump up to my window and see my monkey inside.

Monkeys come to my window every day looking for scraps; or just to see what's going on. I usually pass them a bite of something. But sometimes I flash a mirror in their face for a good laugh. These monkeys are so animated.

Give it up for the Himilayan Health Pancake!!! What a marvelously delicious treat!!!

A journey through small mountain settlements

Hello all,
Before too much time elapses I want to share a little about the epic journey I went on.

So, early around 4 am on the 2nd of January I rolled out of bed and got set for the journey into the Himilayas. A yogi student came to pick me and another foreigner up closer to my home. He suggested we both squeeze on the back and hold our bags on our laps. I got on, my friend and I looked at each other and the two inches left of space on the bike for him to squeeze into and thought 'maybe you could make two trips?'. And so the journey began.

There were about 50 yoga students in total plus the Guru and a few teachers. Then there was myself and the other foreigner from Finland (Veli) on for the ride. The Guru ordered us a special car with two fun characters. I may have enjoyed this fact if I was not permitted to see outside the front window of the vehicle. However, within the first minute of the drive I found myself gripping on for dear life. Not only was our driver a mad man who needed desperately to be the king of the road, the fog was so thick you couldn't see 20 feet ahead. And you can bet we spent 3/4 of the drive on the wrong side of the road passing anyone and everyone. So I just had to condition myself to look away out the side window whenever my head naturally drifted forward (kind of like what I do when I am watching a horror or violent movie).

It was about a 14 hour drive to get to our destination. The last 5 were spent swirving back and forth, back and forth as we cruised up the mountain (my mind still wondering why our driver had to burn like a maniac around every corner). But, on the lighter note, we had some seriously fun bollywood music to keep us rolling in style. It's like music you'd hear in old classic films, just with Hindi lyrics and a much different style of singing (which I quite enjoy).

Our destination for the first day was a popular Indian honeymoon location called Nainital. When we arrived that evening I was ready to flop down and read a book in my own space. But I soon realized that that's not how the Indian people roll and not how my trip was going to unfold. Right away the students got busy playing games, music, singing, shopping and drinking chai. No one spoke much english, everyone on the streets glued their eyes on me, the weather was cold, my room was dark and there was no hot water in the hotel. I felt cold, hungry and isolated. And finally I knew what my foreign friends (as well as the international kids I used to work with at the camps) may have felt like when they couldn't communicate in their own language. It's not too often you have to feel that way when you speak english in this world.

I'm a strong girl though and these challenging aspects of the trip didn't get to me too much. I felt blessed to have been taken on this journey and to get a real glimpse and feel for the Indian way of life; both through my eyes as we travelled through various small villages, as well as through sharing the daily activities with the students. Together we travelled to different ancient holy temples and ashrams, rang bells and recieved blessings, made and ate yummy foods, sang songs, played music and adventured around different parts of this north east section of India (Uttranchal).

One thing about these people is that they LOVE to be together. It doesn't matter what activity they are doing as long as they are in the company of others. When we arrived at the second hotel the Guru sent me to a room and had five of us girls share a bed. A very large bed mind you, but it sure made the girls happy to know they would be sharing it with a pile of friends. Again, no one spoke english so I resorted to smiling, using my hands and attempting to learn some Hindi.

Overall the journey left my heart deeply impressed by the simplicity of the Indian way; particularily in the settlers of the various small mountain villages we passed through. In the early morning I would see lone men and women walking around the twisty roads miles away from any visible community carrying water, shrubs and random objects on their heads peacefully making their way to some unknown destination (that or just sitting on the side of the road). I would find myself wondering what this person was doing in what appeared to be the middle of no where and what their typical day would be filled with (also what their concept of time was like; moving at such a slow pace). One thing goes without saying, it's definitely different from mine.

So I am thankful for this eye opening awe inspiring journey. It left me feeling thankful for many things, including hot water and food that is not fried. But mostly it left me inspired to find new, harmonious and simple ways of approaching life.

:D

Nainital, Kausani and Almora with a bunch of Yogis

On the way home we had another flat so the boys got busy and made a crappy fire on the side of the road.

This is Surya Prakash (sunlight) and Nitesh. They were the two students the Guru sent with me for the drive. We had our own personal vehicle. It's too bad the driver had to be a mad man.

The students got busy dancing and singing for hours and hours on the last night. And just when I thought it might be over the guy playing guitar decided to sing a song for everyone (about 50people) in the room. The song he chose for me was 'you look wonderful tonight' by Eric Clapton.

We were waiting for dinner so the students had another jam session.

This is one of the girls I shared a room with.

Here's a photo from behind the Temple around Almora.

This is me and my beautiful Yoga instructor Arpita.

Here's a photo with me and the whole group outside a holy ashram. I can't remember the name of the Yogi who settled here while he was alive but it was a special place and the students put on a ceremony of chanting, singing and performing advanced asanas during our visit.

Big Hanuman! For those of you who are unaware, Hanuman is the monkey god of the Hindu faith. He's all over the place around here. He is the great devotional figure and is very strong.

This big board of Jesus with Hindi print was on the side of the road in Nainital. I love how Indians seems happy to embrace different religions. Here it seems as though devotion is what's important.

Here is a photo of me chilling on the side of the road in Nainital.

Outside our hotel in Nainital.

My Yoga teacher and the Guru. Hindu's have Guru's to help people on their spiritual path. This one reminds me a bit of Little Richard.