I swam and sunned, and then when I asked about the sauna I was also handed a spa menu...
I spent a full hour going from the complimentary sauna to eucalyptus steam room, to hot tub to cold plunge. I moisturized and scrubbed, and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. I got a magnificent 90 minute deep tissue massage and a 60minute pedicure-- I am now a full inch shorter as she took off that much dirt and dead skin from the bottom of my feet.
After cleaning myself up, I threw on a skirt and headed down to listen to the live music and relax. Well, don't quote me and don't judge me, but I think I'm off meat and booze. When I settled into my chair at the lounge, I sipped a dirty martini and I didn't enjoy it AT ALL, i actually didnt even finish it. Then I was asked to dinner by two elder British gentleman, international exporters, to Thai supper. We had the chefs menu, which was a bit of everything- all of it perfectly executed and totally delicious. The prawns were the size of lobsters- and I ate everyone's share. These men eat like this regularly and had no problem leaving food on the plates- but this was a treat for me, so I ate my fair share, and then theirs as well! We had two bottles of wine amongst the three of us- and I sipped mine at half the pace they were consuming theirs. After one glass I was quite content and actually ready for bed, but I didn't want to be rude to my hosts who were being super generous, so I slowly sipped a second glass. Many of the dishes had some form of meat- and though I tried them, I didn't enjoy them so much- and instead opted for the veggie dishes. I didn't make it to bed until nearly 1am, asleep by 2:30am, and up at 4:30am for checkout and coffee and then I hopped into my 'personal car' to the airport. I felt like shit this morning, which I'm sure could be partly because of 6 hours sleep in two nights and a long travel day- but physically I feel it's from the meat and alcohol. I have been a "clean vessel", and I do not like how either of these things made me feel. I also have had a few coffees lately and I don't like the way that they make me feel either. So when I get home, vegan (ive discovered that cheese does NOT make me feel good....sad discovery, i was in denial for a bit...) and fresh seafood, *limited* coffee consumption and wine on the regular- but only a glass. And that's what I gotta say about that.
Cailin Callahan
www.cailincallahan.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Whoa! Whitewater Rafting!
Lap of Luxury.
Travel Treats, Calorie Free!
One day I decided that "travel days" are "calorie free" days. I'm not sure when or where I came to this conclusion, but this is probably one of the reasons that I don't totally loathe being in transit. The chaos and uncertainty of the journey is certainly abated with sweets and treats. One of my favorites on the railway and airport "calorie-free" circuit is the FRUIT CAKE and premade chai (so ordering it with "just a little bit of sugar" is out of the question). The fruit cake is basically an Indian version of pound cake, with "fruit" (pulp and artificial coloring). It's freaking delicious, not at all nutritious, and goes straight to my thighs...but it's only eaten on travel days, so it's guilt free! I'm already day-dreaming about the crispy, fried, spicy samosas that I'm going to enjoy once I arrive at the Old Delhi Railway Station....
Farewell Rishikesh, Farewell Mama India.
My last day in Rishikesh was, needless to say, beautiful. I was up bright and early; I packed my bags, read a book, and had Aloo Paratha with badgee along with a masala chai at Ganesha. Then I gave my first Tri-Fusion-Healing session to Xochitl...two hours of Thai massage, marma and reiki, and I incorporated crystals as well. She loved it, and now I'm feeling excited about working all of my new techniques into the bodywork I already do. Exciting stuff. Afterwards we chatted, ate some fruit salad, and then I booked myself into a proper 5-star hotel in New Delhi for my final night in India. Two hundred USD is what I've been averaging for 2 weeks in India- living a simple but good life, so to spend that on just ONE night and not 14 *full* days was a bit of a debate at first, but I've never experienced 5 star before so I figured that this is my chance in this lifetime...
I had a slight hiccup in the afternoon, with a stressful schedule and a grumpy astrologer- so to save the day I blew off my astrology chart and instead opted for a final swim in the Ganges. I cooled down, came back to life and then started to make my rounds saying goodbye. First stop was my juice shop, and not only did I get a sweet heartfelt goodbye, but they also gave me my juice for free. Next was to buy some flowers and prezzies for friends- and the little old lady on the Ganga gave me the flower ensemble for free! Now I was running late for palmistry, and as I power-walked the long road from Ram Jhula to Laxman Jhula, one of my taxi buddies pulled over and insisted that I get a ride, and he refused to take any money. He said that I was always smiling and so nice, and that was enough. Palmistry was amazing, as always, and then the kindness continued. I stopped at the book shop for two more essentials, and I was a few rupees short- the man said "Koi Bhat Nahi, Hari Om" (no worries, god bless).
The night ended with a big gathering and feast at Ganesha, with lots of music, lots of friends, lots of prezzies for me!, and lots of food. I am so blessed, I am so blessed, I am so blessed. I love India. I love India. I love India.
I was up and out at 4:45 this morning and am now en route to Nepal via Delhi. I'm sad to say goodbye to India, but every end brings a new beginning. And I'm sure that I'll be back, Mama India's love is something you can't stay away from for too long....
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे à¤ारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
White Rice Diet...
Go figure, the first time I get "Delhi Belly" in India isn't from the dodgy 7rs badgee I ate in the Delhi railway, nor is it from the street food that I grub on as I wander, and it's certainly not from Indian food that I eat 3x a day at my beloved hole-in-the-wall, Ganesha Cafe. No, I have been toilet-bound for the first time in 4 months because I ate at a healthy restaurant serving Western food. GAH, someone please, put me out of my misery. I will never eat salad or hummus EVER AGAIN. I feel like death, and after spending too much time in my bathroom, I finally sucked it up- took some Imodium and ventured out for some fresh air. I just ate some plain white rice and plain chapati @ Ganesha and that has my tummy rumbling so I'm headed back home, cursing myself for straying from my down-and-dirty local-food-only policy. Hopefully my final two days in India won't be spent eating white rice in the comfort of my bathroom....
Monday, March 18, 2013
Love = Need
Love = Need
Yesterday I had my first session with Xochitl, who is an amazing life coach. I've never seen a therapist or have sought advice and insight from anyone aside from close friends. And though I love my friends, and their advice is great, I feel that in order to make a big shift and make some positive change that I need to talk to a professional. Luckily, Xochitl is a professional and also my friend, so I feel very comfortable expressing myself around her (ie crying, being vulnerable, etc). The way that I now understand it is that a life coach is better than a therapist, more down to earth than a spiritual guru, and an unbiased best friend- who isn't telling you necessarily what you *want to hear but what you *need to hear in order to grow. She assigns homework such as rituals, journaling, and affirmations to help you in whatever direction you're headed. As she says, there's no wrong or right- there's only workability...does it work for you? Or does it not work for you? What has not been working for me in the past are my relationships (she's also very adamant about not saying "I have shitty choice in men", or "I am insecure", because words are very powerful vibrations that shape out world). So, in the past I have had a tendency to be insecure and to pick the men that aren't the best for me and my path. The issue that we were able to identify is my Self Worth, and that I associate LOVE with BEING NEEDED. Many of you reading this will laugh at the idea that I have "self love", but that is 100% my truth. The way that Xochitl described it is because I am loved by so many, and have been since the day that I was born, I never had to cultivate my own self love. So by picking people who 'need' me, I am left with the feeling of love and self worth- alas, it's not coming from myself, but from being needed by another. Are you following? It is so simple, but seems much more confusing than it actually is. So...what to do? The medicine is Self Love, the poison is using these relationships as an escape. Relationships are truly a Spiritual Path (ie Tantra)...it brings you closer to the Divine (which remember resides within YOU), and this path begins with Self Love. How can you ever fully love another if you don't love yourself.
Why is this all coming up now, you ask? Well, my Dads passing had a lot to do with it. Basically he loved me so so so much since my arrival that I used his love as a sort of crutch. And now that he's gone I'm realizing that a lot of my sadness is coming from my lack of self love. So, as per Xochitls guidance I had a little ceremony that involved a letter, a candle on the Ganges, and lots of crying. I made a declaration to transmute all of the love that my dad has ever given me (which still exists now) into Self Love. "I'm committed from this moment on to live on the path of the most divine self love".
This is just a glimpse...there's a lot more work to be done, and I am committed to putting in the effort to reach my highest Self. Under the guidance and love of Xochitl I know that each day will be an improvement.
If anyone is interested in her services, she is based in LA but also has many many clients with whom she meets via Skype. Her sessions are $150/90minutes, and discounts are given for multiple sessions. I promise you that every moment spent in her presence will be positive and insightful. We're not good or bad human beings, we're all doing the best we can with the tools we have...sometimes you just need someone to help guide you a bit along the way...
Cailin Callahan
www.cailincallahan.blogspot.com
Yesterday I had my first session with Xochitl, who is an amazing life coach. I've never seen a therapist or have sought advice and insight from anyone aside from close friends. And though I love my friends, and their advice is great, I feel that in order to make a big shift and make some positive change that I need to talk to a professional. Luckily, Xochitl is a professional and also my friend, so I feel very comfortable expressing myself around her (ie crying, being vulnerable, etc). The way that I now understand it is that a life coach is better than a therapist, more down to earth than a spiritual guru, and an unbiased best friend- who isn't telling you necessarily what you *want to hear but what you *need to hear in order to grow. She assigns homework such as rituals, journaling, and affirmations to help you in whatever direction you're headed. As she says, there's no wrong or right- there's only workability...does it work for you? Or does it not work for you? What has not been working for me in the past are my relationships (she's also very adamant about not saying "I have shitty choice in men", or "I am insecure", because words are very powerful vibrations that shape out world). So, in the past I have had a tendency to be insecure and to pick the men that aren't the best for me and my path. The issue that we were able to identify is my Self Worth, and that I associate LOVE with BEING NEEDED. Many of you reading this will laugh at the idea that I have "self love", but that is 100% my truth. The way that Xochitl described it is because I am loved by so many, and have been since the day that I was born, I never had to cultivate my own self love. So by picking people who 'need' me, I am left with the feeling of love and self worth- alas, it's not coming from myself, but from being needed by another. Are you following? It is so simple, but seems much more confusing than it actually is. So...what to do? The medicine is Self Love, the poison is using these relationships as an escape. Relationships are truly a Spiritual Path (ie Tantra)...it brings you closer to the Divine (which remember resides within YOU), and this path begins with Self Love. How can you ever fully love another if you don't love yourself.
Why is this all coming up now, you ask? Well, my Dads passing had a lot to do with it. Basically he loved me so so so much since my arrival that I used his love as a sort of crutch. And now that he's gone I'm realizing that a lot of my sadness is coming from my lack of self love. So, as per Xochitls guidance I had a little ceremony that involved a letter, a candle on the Ganges, and lots of crying. I made a declaration to transmute all of the love that my dad has ever given me (which still exists now) into Self Love. "I'm committed from this moment on to live on the path of the most divine self love".
This is just a glimpse...there's a lot more work to be done, and I am committed to putting in the effort to reach my highest Self. Under the guidance and love of Xochitl I know that each day will be an improvement.
If anyone is interested in her services, she is based in LA but also has many many clients with whom she meets via Skype. Her sessions are $150/90minutes, and discounts are given for multiple sessions. I promise you that every moment spent in her presence will be positive and insightful. We're not good or bad human beings, we're all doing the best we can with the tools we have...sometimes you just need someone to help guide you a bit along the way...
Cailin Callahan
www.cailincallahan.blogspot.com
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Ninja Goddess.
I have moved for the fourth and final time! I began by the Ganges, then was up by the jungle, then down in Swagashram on the first floor, only to be moved up to the second floor the next day. And now this is where I'll spend my final week. The room is 180rs (3$usd) a night, which is the cheapest gig in town. I have a king size bed in a big room with a bureau for my things and enough space for my meditation altar and my yoga mat. You open a door which leads you out onto an enclosed sun porch where I've set up my book shelf and the two comfy lounge chairs. Another door opens from this room and there is my bathroom. The spicket on the sink doesn't work, nor does the hot water- and there's no shower head (bucket showering!)- but the toilet flushes and luckily I have friends that live below me who have a hot shower I can use. It feels cozy and like home and I'm happy to be settled. I've been sick now for 3 days...after going years without a wicked cold, I'm fed up with my SECOND cold in the past 3 months. Alas, "grief" is associated with the lungs, so I'm about 99% sure that this is why I've been suffering from this damn cough/cold. As much as I think that I'm "working through" the grief, I've been having a hard time purchasing that feeling and exhausting it- because to do that you need to be vulnerable, and I just haven't felt comfortable enough to fully let go....
....and then came Xochitl (sho-teel). Xochitl is my friend Viveks girlfriend. I did the Tribe training in Goa with Vivek, who is from LA. We were great friends in Goa, and now that I've met his lady love we have become quick friends as well. She is a Life Coach and jewelry designer, with a huge heart and warm embrace. We have been doing the palmistry course together- and she's a pro already. I love the palmistry, and I'm okay at it- but Xochitl could probably teach this course once it's completed-- she comes from a long line of Shamans, healers and seers (she's from Peru), and this kind of thing is definitely in her blood. When I "moved into the neighborhood" aka Swagashram, I was greeted with a care package of bottled water and incense, along with a beautiful card from Vivek and his Queen. They constantly shower me with small random acts of kindness and warm hugs that really end up making my day. Yesterday Xochitl could tell that I needed a bit of "healing", so after our palmistry class she set to work. There was some burning of wood and incense, essential oils, chanting, affirmations, massage, energy work and some shaman-type healing process that ended with me curled up into Xochitls arms, bawling my eyes out. Snot, tears, saliva...all over poor Xochitls neck- but she didn't mind, and only spoke to coax out of me whatever I was holding onto, and only moving her hand to smooth my hair every now and then. I realized that its been a long time since I've been held by someone, anyone- especially someone who really cares for me. Xochitl held space for a sadness that was deeper and heavier than I had been aware of. After cleansing my energy and cleaning me up I drug myself upstairs to my bed for the longest and deepest sleep that I've had in the past 4 months.
Every now and then I'll feel the weight of the load get lighter and lighter, and the loneliness getting more and more comfortable. Big thanks to my shamanic ninja Goddess, Xochitl.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Palm Reading
Reiki Round 2
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| Dad always likes to remind me that he's around with rocks shaped like hearts. He would always pick them up.... |
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| We had some visitors at the waterfall, some local school kids. |
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| Jason. |
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| Village women, fully clad in saris and bangles, working hard in the field. |
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| Super cute, super friendly water buffalo. |
I loved my Indian teacher for my Reiki training...but we didn't learn much Reiki, and spent most of our time talking about philosophy, pranayama, and God. So, when I met Jason in my Marma Massage course, I decided that I'd do another training. Jason is a Reiki master from England, who spends a fair bit of time here in India. In my massage course he taught me so very much about the chinese meridians, and chinese medicine - along with some reiki pointers, so as soon as the massage course was finished I signed up for a training with him. Him, his girlfriend Allegra, Olga and I met in the morning and spent about two hours hiking up to a waterfall. We walked along a shanti village road, encountering many a friendly locals. While we were walking up towards the waterfall, we did a "walking meditation", which was BRILLIANT and worth the price of admission. Then once we arrived at our destination, I stood underneath the cold water and let it pound down on my crown chakra as I visualized my sushumna, ida and pingala nadis all being cleansed. It was a bit emotional, but powerful and beautiful. Afterwards I sat in meditation as Jason did an "attunement", passing along the energy of HIS masters and opening up the energy lines in my hands. We had done a bit of practice before the attunement - and I was impressed at how hot (energy) my hands got. Well afterwards I could have boiled water with my hands! We hiked back down and had some lunch as he answered any questions that we had. And then, practice. I was able to identify to the two injuries that my client had, which was very exciting. And afterwards she said that she felt a thousand times better. I'm so excited to start incorporating this into my bodywork sessions once I get back home!!! Yeeeww!!!
Monday, March 11, 2013
BangBang...Lassis.
Yesterday was MahaShivaRatri, a huge day for Indians, whom make the long trip here to make the pilgrimage to the Neelgeet Shiva temple. It's a 30kilometer walk that is done by thousands of Indians; little old ladies, people missing limbs, and small two year olds- not only trekking up, but calling out the chants along the way. There are heaps of food stalls on the long way up giving free food to the hoards that pass. It's fascinating to see the Bhakti in these people and their determination. Some people come out of pure devotion, but some others (mostly young males) come for the ruckus and energy....It's a day for Marijuana. As I've said before, Rishikesh is a Holy Town...there is no drugs, no alcohol, and no meat. But alas, this is the plant of Shiva, so it's consumed- most often as a "Bang Lassi" that's made with the herb, cashews, dates, cardamom, and more. When you drink it it looks like a green smoothie, and tastes like a healthy one as well. I had two lassis, compliments of Deepak @ Ganesha cafe, the only "breaking of the cleanse" that I've done in these ten days. Drugs really aren't my thing, and I've never taken a liking to marijuana...but as I like to say, "When in Rome...". Well, my body is so Yang right now (Yin foods are fatty, comforting foods) so i actually wasnt too stoned! I think that the Yang part of my body was more powerful than the lassi, because I only felt a slight body high (the subtlety of which I was grateful for). After sipping lassi's on Ganeshas rooftop we cruised around town (Rory, Vivek and his lady love, Keiko and Fraiser) to witness the mayhem. Then we had a beautiful swim in the Ganges, the cold water giving us that jolt that we needed to come out of our bang-lassi-haze.
At night I headed to Sequioas for a Shiva meditation/sound evening. I love chanting, I love meditation, I love singing and I love 'spirituality', but I have discovered here in India that these are very personal things for me. And at the moment, they are things that I don't enjoy doing or sharing with others. So add onto that the fact that I was a touch high, only to get super stoned as we passed around the "sacred herb" (I always decline in these situations, but last night I felt it an obligation). After the 'sacred herb' was passed around, the question was brought up : "What does Shiva mean to YOU?". We went around the small circle and I just kept hoping that they would forget that I was there and would skip over me. Well, they didn't. And after a really long awkward pause I spouted out something while really thinking "Im so stoned, I'm so tired, and I don't know what the freaking fack I think about Shiva". Everyone gave these deep poetic discourses on what shiva meant to them, one person even cried...and that just made me even more insecure because I don't have a relationship with "Shiva" at the moment. So now the question really is, "What does Shiva mean to me?" I'll get back to you with that later this week....when I'm not Stoney-baloney....
The whole sound/meditation/shiva shibang ended super late and I have never been so grateful for my bed. Every day has held a lesson here for me, even if the lesson is about what I'm *not* interested in doing....it's all a blessing.
Cookin' in da Kitchen
Magic Moments on Mahashivarati
200hr YTT
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Farewell
I woke up this morning...6 months he has been gone now. I opened up The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran and it was the chapter on Farewell:
And now it was evening.
And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that has spoken."
And he answered,
- Was it I who spoke? Was I not also a listener?
Then he descended the steps of the Temple and all the people followed him. And he reached his ship and stood upon the deck.
And facing the people again, he raised his voice and said:
- People of Orphalese, the wind bids me leave you.
Less hasty am I than the wind, yet I must go.
We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us.
Even while the earth sleeps we travel.
We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.
Brief were my days among you, and briefer still the words I have spoken.
But should my voice fade in your ears, and my love vanish in your memory, then I will come again,
And with a richer heart and lips more yielding to the spirit will I speak.
Yea, I shall return with the tide,
And though death may hide me, and the greater silence enfold me, yet again will I seek your understanding.
And not in vain will I seek.
If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice, and in words more kin to your thoughts.
I go with the wind, people of Orphalese, but not down into emptiness;
And if this day is not a fulfillment of your needs and my love, then let it be a promise till another day.
Know therefore, that from the greater silence I shall return.
The mist that drifts away at dawn, leaving but dew in the fields, shall rise and gather into a cloud and then fall down in rain.
And not unlike the mist have I been.
In the stillness of the night I have walked in your streets, and my spirit has entered your houses,
And your heart-beats were in my heart, and your breath was upon my face, and I knew you all.
Ay, I knew your joy and your pain, and in your sleep your dreams were my dreams.
And oftentimes I was among you as a lake among the mountains.
I mirrored the summits in you and the bending slopes, and even the passing flocks of your thoughts and your desires.
And to my silence came the laughter of your children in streams, and the longing of your youths in rivers.
And when they reached my depth the streams and the rivers ceased not yet to sing.
But sweeter still than laughter and greater than longing came to me.
It was boundless in you;
The vast man in whom you are all but cells and sinews;
He in whose chant all your singing is but a soundless throbbing.
It is in the vast man that you are vast,
And in beholding him that I beheld you and loved you.
For what distances can love reach that are not in that vast sphere?
What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight?
Like a giant oak tree covered with apple blossoms is the vast man in you.
His mind binds you to the earth, his fragrance lifts you into space, and in his durability you are deathless.
You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link.
This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link.
To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of an ocean by the frailty of its foam.
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconsistency.
Ay, you are like an ocean,
And though heavy-grounded ships await the tide upon your shores, yet, even like an ocean, you cannot hasten your tides.
And like the seasons you are also,
And though in your winter you deny your spring,
Yet spring, reposing within you, smiles in her drowsiness and is not offended.
Think not I say these things in order that you may say the one to the other, "He praised us well. He saw but the good in us."
I only speak to you in words of that which you yourselves know in thought.
And what is word knowledge but a shadow of wordless knowledge?
Your thoughts and my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of our yesterdays,
And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,
And of nights when earth was upwrought with confusion.
Wise men have come to you to give you of their wisdom. I came to take of your wisdom:
And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.
It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,
While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the withering of your days.
It is life in quest of life in bodies that fear the grave.
There are no graves here.
These mountains and plains are a cradle and a stepping-stone.
Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.
Verily you often make merry without knowing.
Others have come to you to whom for golden promises made unto your faith you have given but riches and power and glory.
Less than a promise have I given, and yet more generous have you been to me.
You have given me deeper thirsting after life.
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
And in this lies my honour and my reward,--
That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty;
And it drinks me while I drink it.
Some of you have deemed me proud and over-shy to receive gifts.
Too proud indeed am I to receive wages, but not gifts.
And though I have eaten berries among the hills when you would have had me sit at your board,
And slept in the portico of the temple where you would gladly have sheltered me,
Yet was it not your loving mindfulness of my days and my nights that made food sweet to my mouth and girdled my sleep with visions?
For this I bless you most:
You give much and know not that you give at all.
Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone,
And a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.
And some of you have called me aloof, and drunk with my own aloneness,
And you have said, "He holds council with the trees of the forest, but not with men.
He sits alone on hill-tops and looks down upon our city."
True it is that I have climbed the hills and walked in remote places.
How could I have seen you save from a great height or a great distance?
How can one be indeed near unless he be far?
And others among you called unto me, not in words, and they said,
"Stranger, stranger, lover of unreachable heights, why dwell you among the summits where eagles build their nests?
Why seek you the unattainable?
What storms would you trap in your net,
And what vaporous birds do you hunt in the sky?
Come and be one of us.
Descend and appease your hunger with our bread and quench your thirst with our wine."
In the solitude of their souls they said these things;
But were their solitude deeper they would have known that I sought but the secret of your joy and your pain,
And I hunted only your larger selves that walk the sky.
But the hunter was also the hunted:
For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek my own breast.
And the flier was also the creeper;
For when my wings were spread in the sun their shadow upon the earth was a turtle.
And I the believer was also the doubter;
For often have I put my finger in my own wound that I might have the greater belief in you and the greater knowledge of you.
And it is with this belief and this knowledge that I say,
You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor confined to houses or fields.
That which is you dwells above the mountain and roves with the wind.
It is not a thing that crawls into the sun for warmth or digs holes into darkness for safety,
But a thing free, a spirit that envelops the earth and moves in the ether.
If this be vague words, then seek not to clear them.
Vague and nebulous is the beginning of all things, but not their end,
And I fain would have you remember me as a beginning.
Life, and all that lives, is conceived in the mist and not in the crystal.
And who knows but a crystal is mist in decay?
This would I have you remember in remembering me:
That which seems most feeble and bewildered in you is the strongest and most determined.
Is it not your breath that has erected and hardened the structure of your bones?
And is it not a dream which none of you remember having dreamt that builded your city and fashioned all there is in it?
Could you but see the tides of that breath you would cease to see all else,
And if you could hear the whispering of the dream you would hear no other sound.
But you do not see, nor do you hear, and it is well.
The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it,
And the clay that fills your ears shall be pierced by those fingers that kneaded it.
And you shall see
And you shall hear.
Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness, nor regret having been deaf.
For in that day you shall know the hidden purposes in all things,
And you shall bless darkness as you would bless light.
After saying these things he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the distance.
And he said:
- Patient, over-patient, is the captain of my ship.
The wind blows, and restless are the sails;
Even the rudder begs direction;
Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence.
And these my mariners, who have heard the choir of the greater sea, they too have heard me patiently.
Now they shall wait no longer.
I am ready.
The stream has reached the sea, and once more the great mother holds her son against her breast.
Fare you well, people of Orphalese.
This day has ended.
It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its own tomorrow.
What was given us here we shall keep,
And if it suffices not, then again must we come together and together stretch our hands unto the giver.
Forget not that I shall come back to you.
A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body.
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.
Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with you.
It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of your longings have built a tower in the sky.
But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over, and it is no longer dawn.
The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must part.
If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky.
So saying he made a signal to the seamen, and straightaway they weighed anchor and cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward.
And a cry came from the people as from a single heart, and it rose into the dusk and was carried out over the sea like a great trumpeting.
Only Almitra was silent, gazing after the ship until it had vanished into the mist.
And when all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall, remembering in her heart his saying,
"A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me."
Indiafied.
I am India-fying myself day by day because I freaking love this country. I have had the bindi, today I bought the bangles, and this week I'm going for a sari! Yeeeew. Today I finished my Marma massage course, so I treated myself to some shopping, and bought heaps of fun stuff for my friends...along with some beautiful malas to sell at the Zen Den! Hari Om, my friends. Photos will come soon, but now wifi is still down...so until then....
Thursday, March 7, 2013
HATHA
10 Day Brown Rice Fast
"Rice, one of the oldest grains known to man, is traceable to Northern India as far back as 8000 BC. Brown rice differs from white rice in that the bran portion of the grain remains intact. This portion is desirable in a healthy diet. Traditionally, a brown rice fast consists of nothing but eating a gruel made from the grain for a period of 10 days in order to balance the body’s natural rhythms."
You can also drink Tulsi (basil) tea and cinnamon tea, and BE SURE TO DRINK LOTS OF WATER because your body will be ridding itself of many toxins.
I'm sleeping 5 hours a night, and I have more energy than I've had all year (and I'm doing yoga, massage training, and lots of walking). I highly recommend this, and if anyone has further questions, please feel free to email me: cailin.callahan@gmail.com
Monday, March 4, 2013
Cow Pies
There are cows everywhere in India. Which means that there is a lot of cow shit in India. And though occasionally you'll have close encounters with it, I've been surprised that there's not more of it. Or the thought of "Where does it go? Does it vanish?" pops into my mind a lot. Well today, my questions were answered. I saw a young boy shoveling some up off the ground, running it over to his baby sister...who was squatting, making "cow pies" as fast as her little hands could move. She then lined them up in the sun along the wall to dry. The cow dung is used as fuel, among many other things. It was one of those moments that I felt really grateful for where I was brought up...in a world where making "cow pies" was a joke, messing around in the mud for fun- as opposed to literal cow pies, working hard for a few rupees, at the young age of 6. Another insightful morning in India...
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