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Published: August 7th 2007
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natalie, amit, me
this is amit's balcony there are moments when we're so happy, so excited, that i get so overwhelmed and feel my heart struggling to stay inside my chest.
our conversations are so enriching because our environment is so giving!
we're constantly amazed, even with getting sad, or disoriented, we always come back to the pure joy of india.
our days are so full, so relaxed, we laugh about it daily, pointing out how ideal everything is.
we wake when we want, which is always early, we roam about, get delicious food, smile, observe, interact with whoever comes into our sphere, learn in which ever class we've chosen to take part in, roam again, eat again, laugh, share, and eventually take our rest. our life is completely chosen by us each moment. beautiful!
we want others to know this. we're being changed.
an element today that we spent much time talking about, is the presence of spirit and magic on every corner, in every encounter.
we feel at home with the kinds of hearts and minds here.
yesterday we met amit, a new friend we found through a website for travelers looking for a place to stay. he met us for chai and
amit as baby
the black paint on his eyes is to protect him from the evil eye we spoke about india... and world travel. he is a teacher of both yoga and reiki at only 25 years old. he is very warm and inviting. he is actually leaving at the end of june for a three month trip through europe. it is his first time leaving india, so it's an exciting adventure he is about to embark on. he gave us tips about india and showed us his apt/studio where he gives his classes. it felt just like walking into the apt. of a friend back home. same kind of books, simple environment.
he showed us many photos of him and travelers/students he has worked with.
he invited us to watch -elegant universe- with him and another later that evening but we ended up seeing a movie on our own. we may meet him again before he leaves on his journey and before we go into retreat but... other fascinating opportunities have been presented so it may not work out.
after we left his place, we went to our mala class. we spent the day there, long and tedious, but meditative work. it is a little hut sort of shop owned by a woman named meena.
natalie and i
on the same balcony... it is she and her two cousins/siblings that hang out making jewelry together. they're great. meena is the oldest, very open and kind, offering us chai more often than we can consume it. she thought maybe i was indian, which everyone asks and says i look indian. indian actress, indian model, it's flattering and funny. when i told her i am mexican, she said that when she used to work in a place with many international people, that she was asked if she was mexican. same for people always thinking i'm asian.
we didn't finish before close so made plans to continue our class today.
later that evening we decided to see another movie. for under a dollar, how can we resist? we saw -the last king of scotland- a movie about uganda under the dictatorship of amin. we left the theater unsettled and restless. however, before the movie we met two folks as we were waiting, interestingly, one was staying in the hotel we just switched from, while the other is staying where we are now. the girl katie, has been traveling for six months once the moon is full and will be traveling a few more. which
in a store
as a cow approaches, yet again reminded me that we arrived to india on the new moon...she seems our age and is traveling alone. i asked her about the adjustment and how she's been on her own. she said she cried the first month and a half but now has adjusted for the most part. that was comforting to me because i've been going through the beginning stages of that process myself. less extreme because i have natalie. natalie said it took her about the same amount of time.
there are only a few main streets in this village and we always pass this guy on one particular street. he notices natalie because he says she is always smiling and me for my unique hairstyle. another person to think i'm indian, and another person to tell me that -jessica- is an indian name. we spent a few minutes talking to him, just to discover another very friendly person. we're always saying "he's so sweet" "she's so nice" etc. etc.
his reference to natalie always smiling was inspired by the day natalie saw a piercing place and started laughing out loud down the street in excitement. that was the secret. nose piercing.
last night we
the spirit blob
it's hard to make out, kind of ghostly as it ought to be. natalie's high school mascot. laughed hard about natalie's high school mascot, a spirit, that's not the funny part, she drew an image of it, describing it as a big purple blob. it just seems so intriguing, a purple spirit blob as a school mascot. we're always laughing or being driven crazy by the horns in the street. it's a musical. i keep saying i want to find a suggestion box for the city so i can suggest the abolishment of cars through out mcleod ganj... today i found a suggestion box by the only ATM in the village..maybe it'll work...
we had tibetan food for brunch. the place was full which invited two travelers to sit at our table. a girl from israel and a guy from austraila. again, two people, interesting connection, they too were on their way to finish their last day of mala classes at another place. we compared stories of mala and our works in progress. we shared other stories and said farewell.
today mala was great. funny note, as we arrived we were about thirty minutes late having waited longer for our food than expected. natalie was anxious about it, as we walked up she began to
i'm not undressing
you can sort of get a view of our mala necklaces, will get better photo later explain why we were late, meena says "don't worry... this is not america" which is exactly the sort of thing i would expect to hear. and natalie's heard it before.
we finished our necklaces and spent more time with our friends. imagine meena walking around her store which is very tiny, with three us sitting in the floor, she says her prayers, burns incense all around the room, throwing water, singing... we love it. a reiki teacher and friend of hers from canada shows up and stays most of the time we're there. their conversation was all about healing, what cosmic energy he uses with his reiki, metaphors about minerals becoming precious stones, views from traveling... we each have a crystal necklace, a crystal from these mountains! and we both picked the same stone, because it was the best. indian jade with some plant matter inside.
at one point meena asked about our sun signs. when i said that i was a cancer she said "ooooo" with a sour face and said "so heavy, so heavy" "and so sensitive" but that was matched by her saying my ascendant in aquarius makes me both "mindly and sensitive, good combination"
natalie
she so pretty. this talk is common place here.
now for the fascinating offer... she hosts a hindu ceremony once a year and invited us to come!
it happens to be this tuesday. our retreat starts by 1-2pm so we hope to get in a few hours at her place. we feel this is a great invitation and are honored.
went searching the city for a place to have a glass of wine today. found a rooftop place, got the cheapest wine, a terrible choice which recalled memories of strange tasting medicines of childhood. but we had a wonderful time talking, higher still above sea level.
we collected pastries and books for later and now i must go meet natalie! i'm late! and a monk just asked me to tutor him in english!
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Necklace
I like the necklace, sounds like everything is GREAT. xoxoxox