Sri Lankan Service Retreat

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India to Sri Lanka

It took 34 hours with 2 hours of disjointed airport sleep in between, but I finally made it from India to Sri Lanka! India, you taught me a lot and introduced me to plenty of beautiful people, but you were rough. So grateful to be in a quiet town with an empty beach now.

Plans shifted and I've learned that there's no use in fighting what the universe presents. All the struggles and things I wouldn't have chosen are just opportunities for something new. So when orion told me he wanted to split up and travel with someone else for a while, I knew better than to argue. Sure I'm not happy about it, but it's about time he and I take some space from each other. So while he is in Nepal, I'm on an island with a German Buddhist spending my days on the beach, reading, writing, and volunteering at a local animal shelter. Having a purpose and being able to serve has never felt so gratifying. I'm learning a ton about Buddhism as well. I could sum it up as a natural law of cause and effect, which we often colloquially call karma.

The shelter houses 1000 dogs and about 90 cats. They were saved from the streets and many of them suffered serious injuries from torture, being hit by cars, abandonment, etc. Yet, despite the cruelty some humans can display, dogs truly are the most genuine example of love. Most of them are eager to jump and cuddle, but even the ones who are still too afraid show appreciate just for our presence. So I'll spend the days there for about a week. Basically I just pet dogs, but we will also bring the disabled ones to the ocean and help with hydrotherapy.

Before we left Rishikesh I had visited a Vedic astrologer (twice actually) and one of the random things he told me was that I should be around dogs and that feeding them would make MY stomach feel better. How serendipitous that I should be offered the chance to volunteer with dogs a week later.

The astrologer was a trip. He's a wizard of sorts- uses an astrological birth chart to read past, present and future and explain certain traits of this life. For example, he told me I'm well suited for healing work, therapy and teaching. That I'm attracted to and should work with foreign things. Dancing is better for me than yoga. He also told me stuff about my potential future lover, but I take that with a grain of salt because I believe I'm going to know love before 2019.

I also had kambo again before we left. If it didn't leave marks on my body (and if Deyan were accessible) I would consider the cleanse a few times a year. It just goes so deep. The first time I tasted the powdery coating from the antidepressants I took in college. Second time was less remarkable but I still can say I feel more vibrant after it. It cleans toxins from places so deep I can't even identify them, but the effects are subtle and beautiful.

Rishikesh gave me so many new friends, a soul tribe I hope to stay connected with for years to come. I experienced Love, free expression, strong sangha... it was hard to leave them.

Oh! And I got to teach yoga! I can officially say I've taught yoga in Rishikesh!

I'm going to soak up this Retreat time in Sri Lanka and hope I can carry the sense of peace with me as I continue on. Who says life has to be hard or stressful?

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Photos

Yoda
4 month old puppy outside of Himalaya Yoga Retreat