May 31, 2005

I've just returned to New York City after spending 11 days in Bali where I embarked on a sacred journey with 19 other woman from around the US. As a world traveler, I must say I was dually impressed with the Kuala Lumpur airport. It is the most technologically advanced airport I've ever seen. The main lounge has showers, massage chairs, or massages for weary travelers, and a variety of food and drinks.

My two friends, and I, finally arrived at our first destination, Ubud after 32 hours of traveling. There we joined the rest of the women and our teacher. And so our spiritual journey began ... far from the noise of the city and the pace of human experience, someone in another part of reality.

The Ubud Inn and Spa was reminiscent of old Hollywood Beach, Florida where I spent much of my youth. The gardens are lush with tropical plants, lots of Hibiscus and different kinds of palm trees. Three times a day, the cleaning staff at the Inn, would leave lovely floweral arangements outside our rooms. As an offering to the gods they also left fresh fruit, flowers, palm leaves in a design to hold the flowers, and burning incense. I will always remember Bali when I smell Frangiapani!

The massages at the Ubud Inn were wonderful, costing 100,000 rupia which comes to approximately $10 US. Much is done out in the open including baths and showers which are open to public view, which I didn't realize at first. What a surprise to have a group of people walk by as I took my first shower there. Ooops!

Unlike massages given in the US, Balinese massages are done on the front of the body as well as the back, including the stomach and breasts, which may not be 'comfortable' for everyone, but can help clear stomach and breast problems, the part of the body where people hold onto negative energy.

Let's begin with the drive up to the temples ... We traveled by taxis and buses. Everywhere in this serene paradise, they drive like lunatics, on the left hand side of the street. This was very 'hairy' for me as I and am a great driver at home, used to the chaos of Manhattan traffic, but not expecting the harrowing experiences we encountered along the way. The city streets are filled with motor scooters competing with taxis, which result in lots of accidents. The mountain roads were totally scary! But you forget all of that once you arrive at your destination, the breathtaking temples.

Bali is sometimes called the "Island of 10,000 Temples" or "Island of the Gods" and this is not exaggerated.

There were large temples set around the island, positioned at specific places for different reasons. Our tour guide, Dharma, explained that it had to do with the sacred geometry of the land, ley lines, and major grid points.

Temples are erected everywhere.Some of the temples are to keep the character of a person, good, as Dharma explained to us.

Throughout the trip, every member of our group was aware of the spiritualness of the Balinese culture and people because it is such a natural part of their everyday life.

The Balinese people live in family compounds, several homes within gated areas, each having at least 3 temples which serve different purposes.

95% of the people use only 4 names given to their children at birth, although they usually have an affectionate nickname inside their family. If you have more than 4 children, you start over with the same names. The first child is always called Wayan, the second Mada, third child Nyoman, the fourth child Ketut. Male or female it's the same.

Bali is very much a caste system each with its own set of names. 5% is the Ruling or Warrior Caste. Other castes include the priest/priestess caste and the skilled tradesmith caste.

The Balinese religion, Hinduism, is very much alive. Each morning in Bali you see everywhere groups of men and women bringing offerings to a temple. It often felt like a scene in a movie or a step out of time.

Important festivals are celebrated by everybody with large processions to the temple that are accompanied by gamelan musicians.

Every village compound has at least three large temples: the Pura Desa, where religious festivals are celebrated, the Pura Dalem for the Goddess of Death (this is the place where the funeral cremation rites start), and the Pura Puseh that is dedicated to the Gods of Heaven. Temples are everywhere, on the mountains and in the valleys, in the ricefields (they are small shrines for the Rice Goddess), and on the seaside, and every temple is different.

There are generally between five and eleven temples inside the gates. Every temple in Bali receives several offerings each day. It is a natural part of their daily experience, like breathing the smell of incense everywhere we went in the villages.

Everywhere, you see people all day long making offering containers in a flowery design out of palm fronds. Every store has one or more containers on the sidewalk, just outside the store, with burning incense. It is such a wonderful part of the Balinese culture.

The Water Temple is actually a private residence (compound) with beautiful water gardens and a stone-water labyrinth. It is located next to the Prince's residence. It was built by the last king of Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut, in 1947. Much of it was destroyed by the 1963 eruption, but the famous bathing pools remained intact. This is a place of great cleansing, peace, and connection to creational forces.

We stayed there for five days and swam in pools filled with holy water from the main spring. The water felt cleansing and wonderful; the energies were amazing as if not being in physical reality. We meditated, practiced yoga, swam, and shared our lives.

Everything is done in three's including the pools. The first pool, the highest one, is called 'Heaven'. The second pool is 'Mid-heaven'. And the third pool is the 'Underworld', as they celebrate all 3 aspects of life.

Mystical Paradise

Joglo

Sacred Pool at Water Palace

Family Compound

Water Palace Grounds

People sit in front of the temple to receive a blessing under the Tree of Life.
The tree is so large, its base is the large brown area behind the temple.
Water flows from the base of the tree into sacred pools after which it is released into the rice fields.

Rice Fields

For 11 days we traveled to the temples raising our spiritual awareness in this majestic land. Much was about the return of the feminine energies and messages received from god and goddess. On the last day, as we sat in a circle, I remembered Ellie telling me that Z would be part of the trip. I telepathically asked Z for confirmation. A woman in the circle stood up and asked if we would do a prayer linked to Zoroaster. I laughed out loud, though no one knew why!

There was much discussion about the earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004 in the region and its symbology on a spiritual level. These events were metaphors for the flow of the collective unconsciousness, reawakening in the quake of time. Those events realigned the Time Grids and introduced a different planetary code. Events are about planet Earth and the souls, terraforming themselves.

Here is a fascinating true story, told to us during our journey, and linked to the return of the feminine energies.

At the time of the tsunami, December 26, 2004, on an island in Indonesia that is Moslem, the only remaining safe building was a Mosque. Survivors fled to the top of the mosque when the tsunami hit.

As the giant waves crashed down, creating destruction in their 'wake', a pregnant woman watched as her 3 young daughters disappeared into the sea. Prepared to meet a similar fate, out of nowhere, a large water buffalo lifted her to the top of the mosque, where she went into labor. Among the survivors on the mosque was a mid-wife who delivered the woman's healthy baby girl. [Metaphors abound, 4 daughters, 3 were gone.] The woman's husband also survived the tragedy.

This story is looked upon as a prophecy about the rebirth of the feminine energies. This clashes with religion doctrine which has little meaning for evolved soul. When I read Ellie's World on May 27, I had to laugh, but was not surprised that she had mentioned the Birth of a White Buffalo and its prophetic link to White Buffalo Calf Woman and the rebirth of human consciousness. It is all connected by synchronicity and design. We learned much about animals leading people to safety during the underwater earthquake and tsunami last December. Animals know ... they bring messages. Look at how the elephants helped during the tsunami. Watch for the continuing flow and signs of change .... revolution, evolution.

This is the Baiturrahman Mosque after the tsunami hit the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh
on December 26, 2004. Everything in the area was destroyed except the mosque.

One day I hope to return to Bali.