Peruvian adventures begin - Eco Truly village leading to a new direction

30 hours later, my flight from from Bangkok ended when I arrived in Brazil.  However, the journey didn't end there because I decided Peru was actually where I wanted to be.  Having no Portuguese was a deal breaker for Brazil.  Knowing some basic spanish from when I lived in Central America back in 2008 was a pull factor to Peru.  The airline ticket office wasn't open when I landed so I waited in the airport until 4am, to make a flight booking straight to Peru.  During the wait I finished reading the book I had started before I left Chiang Mai, The Celestine Prophesy.  It synchronistically crossed my path after having a conversation with another guest at the guesthouse where Jared and I were staying.  If Jared not been late back to the guesthouse that day then I may not have had the opportunity to have the conversation with this person in the first place.  Thank you universe...everything happens for a reason and there are no coincidences! I'd read this book several years ago and it was a significant piece of the puzzle that would help guide me towards my spiritual path.  If you haven't read this before then I invite you to read it because it makes so much sense echoing life's many mysteries.  Its based in Peru, so there's no coincidence that I've always had this connection to Peru but had forgotten why over the years.

After my arrival in Lima I took a taxi to a hostel where I spent 2 days in the women's dorm.  There was free wi-fi so I done lots of research.  Where would I like to go and where can I find a teacher in the Amazon?  Being aware of signs that may pop up, I met another woman who was staying in the same dorm and we talked about places to see in Peru.  She mentioned there was an eco village 1.5 hours outside of Lima called Eco Truly Park.  Her description of the place sounded wonderful so I decided to take a visit myself and check it out.  I took a bus to Huaral after mentioning to the bus driver that I wanted to visit eco truly park and boarded the bus.  As we drove through Lima I got to see the surrounding city suburbs.  I was aware prior to my arrival that Peru was quite underdeveloped but seeing it first hand it was clear how underdeveloped!  On the outer city limits there are lots of shanty towns scattered around, unfinished building projects and rebar sticking out of many derelict houses.  The messy infrastructure was pretty harsh on my eyes!  The coastline was fabulous though, seeing how extreme the environment is here, with a busy, winding road along huge dune like cliffs.  The sheer drop below makes it look surreal and made me wonder "how can a road be supported under such an unstable base: a dune?!"  Watching the big waves crashing against the coastline brought a warm fuzzy feeling into my heart as I looked out at the Pacific ocean.  Good surfing may be on the agenda at some point in the future during my stay here in Peru.  After 1.5 hours the bus was approaching the eco village because from the road I could see the big temple structures below.  Excitement to be visiting such a cool place and living in a sustainable community filled me up as I sat impatiently for my arrival.  The community is huge with many buildings dispersed around the property.  All the structures are made with adobe (a type of material made from sand, clay and water but can also be made with sticks, straw and manure.)

The main temple area is made up of micro temples all attached with a center space in the middle

Pathway leading up to the main temple area

When I arrived at the Eco Truly Park, I received a warm welcome from Priya (His Hare Krishna name) the village organizer.  Born in Chile but he has lived in the eco village for 6 months.  He explained the ins and outs of the community and how the volunteering projects worked.  After the introduction he mentioned that the yoga teacher was leaving the next day for some days, so there may not be yoga classes.  I told him that  I was a certified yoga teacher, being trained in India but hadn't taught for sometime.  He laughed out loud with joy because of how perfect my timing was and that the yoga classes could continue.  Its wonderful how the universe works!  I felt empowered to get back into my yoga teaching practice again and felt moved that I got to contribute to the community in another way by sharing the gifts I learned from my time spent in India.

The guesthouse area where visitors that are not volunteering stay

Here a couple of examples of the 'sustainable gadgets' 

a solar oven that was used to dry fruit and vegetables 

and of course a windmill...

I was shown around, getting a mini tour of where the dinner hall was, the daily schedule and the expectations for the volunteers.  Settling into the dorm where I would be staying I met a wonderful gal Anna from Denmark, we hit it off immediately and shared the upstairs room for the time I was there.  It was really nice having a European english speaking friend there.  It felt quite luxurious having all that space and light to ourselves upstairs and we were quite blessed.  The dormitory building was great made from adobe with arched wooden window frames.  It reminded me of a hobbit's house from Lord of The Rings.  The whole village was "Truly" amazing because everywhere I looked there were unusual things to look at.  Many sustainable gadgets such as solar ovens, windmills, compost toilets (big plastic bin with a toilet seat stuck on top of it and when you've done your business you put sawdust inside) all throughout the village.  Composting toilet is very simple but so beneficial for the environment.  Lowering the impact on watercourses and oceans by reducing marine pollution.  No flush system helps protect our precious water resources so reservoirs and dams can spread over a larger population.  They can be also used in areas that have sensitive terrains for example swampy ground, rocky mountainous areas and in a place that is close to a watercourse.  The village was located right next to the beach, right on the pacific ocean so these toilets were ideal.

The Temple

The community is Hare Krishna (Hindu religion) so all the food was vegetarian and really delicious.  The schedule is similar to ashrams in India, Satsang starts at 4.30am (this is a time where people chant, read and share about truth) in the temple.  There are also offerings during the day, prayer and Satsang again in the evenings at 7pm.  The attendees played the drum, bells and sang the hymns in sanskrit and then in spanish.  The chanting is followed by a reading from the Bhagavad-Gita (the ancient Hindu scriptures written in sanskrit which is the ancient language in India) and a discussion with teaching on the text.  In the afternoons there are also times of offering, prayer and again in the evenings at 7pm.  These practices were optional for non Hare Krishna followers.  Guests were asked to respect the Hare Krishna beliefs and participate if one wanted to but there were no expectations.  I attended most mornings because it felt nice to wake up before sunrise, meditate and sing together afterwards.  I found this quite easy to do this because of the time I spent in different ashrams in my previous visits to India.  It was really special to be a part of this community here in Peru and I shared some of my stories of travels in there, which the devotees appreciated because they'd never visited India before.

In the evening when I arrived, I attended the Satsang in the temple which was nice to sing and participate.  Govinda (Her Hare Krishna name) one of the devotees who lives in the community was leading it and I really enjoyed her peaceful presence.  It was bizarre noticing how much spanish I actually understood during the evening.  I realized how much spanish I had from the time I spent in Central America.  Grateful that I had decided to go to the community to practice and learn more spanish.  Afterwards as we were all leaving the temple, I looked up at the night sky seeing a large halo (otherwise known as a corona which is the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere) around the moon.  I pointed it out to the others with excitement and we had a conversation about it, partly in english and partly in spanish.  We all agreed how auspicious the phenomenon was and shared in its delight as we walked to the dinning hall to have dinner together.

One of the micro temples inside the main temple where Satsang was held daily

Biodynamic farmer Rosario

On my first day I volunteered in the vegetable garden helping the Peruvian biodynamic farmer Rosario, he was a gentle man by nature.  I thoroughly enjoyed helping him because I learned some new words in spanish for the different vegetables that we were harvesting.  Working in the garden brings me joy, getting mucky and connecting with the earth.  Seeing all the plants, bugs, smelling the earth and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin felt divine.  We harvested many vegetables such as beets, celery and radishes later a large group was coming to visit the ashram to buy them at the vegetable market we created.   Gathering healthy food and being a part of the process providing yummy vegetables and salad bits to the people in the kitchen who were making lunch that day.  Later on Priya asked if I could teach a second yoga class the following day in the afternoon to a group of 10 Peruvians.  I was a little nervous accepting the request at first because of my limited spanish but it pushed me to learn some new words for different parts of the body I would need to know for the class.




On day 2, I helped in the kitchen for a while before I was called away to attend a Mantra yoga meditation  class that was then followed by yoga (which I was teaching).  My class went well and there was a variety of students, 2 had practiced yoga before but for the other 8 it was their first time.  Luckily there was a woman in the class who spoke enough english to assist me as well and it went pretty smoothly.  It was a wonderful experience to have the opportunity to teach, inspire, and connect with Peruvian people here on another level by teaching them yoga.  There were 2 reporters from a newspaper in Lima also in the class.  The woman (I found out afterwards was a reporter) practiced yoga and the man was walking around taking photos during the class.  It was a bit nerve wracking to have a camera in the class and anywhere I turned there he was shooting pictures.  I felt blessed though to have had the opportunity to put my yoga teaching skills into practice. I got over my nervousness pretty quickly by immersing myself into the experience of being present and seeing the gift of being a teacher again.  It felt great!

After the yoga class a few of the students stayed back to speak to me afterwards.  With my colorful spanish I managed to converse and share with gratitude having the opportunity to teach them yoga.  Another woman I spoke to asked what brought me to Peru? I told her that I had a calling to come and find a teacher in natural healing.  Her eyes lit up as she became overjoyed with excitement and said that I must meet a woman she knows who's a famous shamanness in Lima, Mary Ann Eddowes.  Very well known in Peru for her healing work and the deep knowledge she has with medicinal plants.  The plants uses in her healing workshops and ceremonies.  I felt tingles (usually a good sign that is someone I need to meet!) all over my body when I heard this.  The student gave me her contact details and I thanked her graciously.  I knew that being at the eco village was a way of connecting me with local people and that will lead me in the direction to finding my teacher.  Again everything happens for a reason and when we are open the signs start flooding into ones life.  The special people we meet along the way can give us a little push in the direction we need to go.

Believe, open, and follow your heart is what I'm learning each day on this magnificent journey.

A painting on the wall of the yoga space, one of many beautiful art pieces

Later that evening the reporters interviewed myself and the other volunteers because they were curious if we were Hare Krishna devotees.  We all had the opportunity to explain our beliefs which were: none of us were religious but had spiritual beliefs.  It was funny that we all shared the same ideas of spirituality coming from all different parts of the world; Denmark, Ireland and U.S.A. In Peru and throughout other Latin American countries Catholicism is the primary religion.  The interviewers were captivated after hearing we were not religious and that we would still come to a Hare Krishna community.  Our shared views went something like this; by remaining open to other belief systems means we can observe with a non judgmental attitude and appreciate the essence of faith in all religious forms.  I added to it, most of the great teachers around the world share(d) the same messages: love one another, treat people with respect, forgive, live with compassion and kindness for all living creatures.  Concluding that if we can apply all these principles to our daily lives, then it doesn't matter what sect or religion we belong to because we are living truth.

It's same same but different as the locals like to say in Thailand, there is a huge acceptance of different religions within this culture .  Also in most parts of India people of all religions Buddhists, Christians and Muslims live side by side peacefully.

On the 5th day at the village I decided to return to Lima to meet the healer I'd heard about.  Its too soon to get comfortable in one community as I still haven't found my teacher.  I do intend on living in another sustainable community but once I've found my teacher.  I know they will be living in an eco community and I can learn about natural healing in addition to other things.

Last night I met with the shamanic healer Mary Ann and we had a dynamic and powerful visit together instantly connecting like we've always known one another.  Giving me some guidance in the direction I want to go in to find a teacher in the Amazon.  She mentioned some names, that I quickly jotted down as she spoke to me explaining that she can recommend ones that are working in the light.  She warned me that there are many maestros in Peru and some are not good shamans, so to be very careful especially going to the Amazon.  Closure on our visit we discussed the different healing  work we both do and made a plan to do a healing trade tomorrow.  I'll be giving her an Ayurvedic yoga massage and afterwards she will give me a sound healing session.  I've never had a sound healing session before and feel exhilarated that I'll be receiving it.  Isn't it wonderful to have gifts to share with the world and in return receive healing too.

I've decided to head North tomorrow afternoon to a place called Huaraz.  It's located in the Andes, the  climate is a bit cooler and there aren't any mosquitos.  It sounds like a nice place to meet a shaman and begin my studies in natural healing.  Healing retreats are held bimonthly in the space.  The community is completed sustainable with a vegetable farm, fruit trees, all kinds of animals such as goats, horses, chickens and some more I read online.  After a conversation I just had with the person coordinating the center we discussed volunteering opportunities.  I offered my healing skills, yoga teaching and gardening.  When I arrive there tomorrow we'll talk more in length and see where my skill set can fit in.

More about the adventure in Peru later...

Light & Love to you all

Tam Wua - The magical forest monastery in northern Thailand

 

Once I completed my massage course I felt the need to get out of the busy city of Chiang Mai and return to one of my favorite sanctuaries in Thailand (where I spent Christmas 4 years ago).  Tam Wua, a monastery that is nestled among huge limestone mountains and forests in the North of Thailand, not far from Mae Song.

This enlightening place brings me to another level of awareness by touching the deepest parts of my soul and helping me to be present in the Now.
Inspiring me to write as the words were flowing through me like the sound of flowing river nearby.  Being a power place, the frequency of the energy there is quite unusual and it caused me to feel really open, happy and more light.

My hut (Kuti) was very basic but comfortable

The living arrangements are quite simple but comfortable as you get your own Kuti (small wooden house, with bedroom and attached shower/toilet).  Behind my Kuti was a small pond with Lilly pads and blooming Lotus flowers.  White and pink Lotus flowers are a reminder of the blooming of our true selves into a different state of consciousness.  This auspicious flower in Southeast Asia and other parts of the East is the subject of paintings, sculptures and of spiritual artwork in monasteries all over these parts.  Quite synchronistic because I had just written a poem the week before about a Lotus blooming.

The Blossoming 

As I look inside myself I see a flower beginning to bloom. 

The bud is ready to open to it's divine beauty. 

There is no need to fear when love is here.

Cycles of life unfold with so many lessons learned,

With lots more in the future to be discovered.

Let these thoughts dissolve now as I rest in this moment where the truth lies.

The Lotus flower cannot rush the process of blossoming. 

It waits patiently for it's opening, relishing in each moment of growth.

The flower being the fruit of the timely ripening,

Yet the beauty is in it all; its essence, bud, growth and flower. 

Life is the journey,

Growth is the gift,

Awakening is inevitable on the spiritual path.

Daily practice of Vipassana (insight into the true nature of reality, through self observation and introspection)  and mindfulness is encouraged in everything that is done during a stay there.  Sitting, walking and lying meditation are tools that are taught to help create mindfulness.  There are four monks altogether that live there.  The main monk Tan, is the teacher who liaises with the visitors speaking in Thai and English sharing his insight with us.  It felt like I was in the presence of Buddah (the awakened one) because he's reached a point of knowing the true nature of reality.  After spending 7 years, 7 months, 7 days in one of the meditation caves there, he became enlightened.  Although he doesn't advertise the fact that he has reached that level, he shared some of his story of those years in the cave.  It was very obvious to me while in his presence, listening to his teachings and seeing his compassionate smile I knew he's reached another level of consciousness.

During my visit to the forest monastery I volunteered by helping to clear the trails for walking meditation.  It was fun to contribute and share time with other visitors which included Thais and other Westerners.  We made some stairs with rocks and dirt to protect a hilly part of the pathway from erosion during the rainy season.  While we were working, the teacher monk Tan was coordinating the team guiding us in what he wanted us to do.  He offered a teaching to a few of us as he noticed a large boulder surrounded by a Banyan tree.  He said "The rock is the heart and mind, the tree is Vipassana, surrounding and protecting them from suffering."  That was one of the great things about being in Tan's presence, he would use symbols to give us teachings on Dhamma/Dharma (the law of nature). 

It inspired me to write a poem about the teaching, which I gifted to the monk afterward as I was leaving the monastery.  By placing the paper with the poem on the step next to him (tradition is that a woman can never hand anything to a monks) thanking him for his wonderful teachings on Dhamma as I said goodbye. 

The lesson on Dhamma

"The rock being the heart and mind, the tree is Vipassana, surrounding and protecting them from suffering." The monk shares his teaching with us.  

Surrounding, protecting, balancing the heart and mind as one moves effortlessly through life. 

The road has many obstacles, adversaries and challenges along the way,

Yet Dhamma makes life so simple each and every day. 

Freedom to choose our experience in life - to react or create

Will it be love or hate?

Reaction is exhausting with nothing positive to gain,

Creation makes peace and happiness possible, with no room for pain.

When one is not playing a victim in their life, there's always a choice.

Why not be responsible for your own happiness, choose Dhamma and rejoice. 

Visitors are invited to visit the meditation caves and I visited them on a number of occasions.  Meditating inside a cave is an amazing experience!  In the complete silence of the cave, I was present to the vibration of my own body, the electricity flowing through each and every cell.  It felt like I was inside the womb of the earth, feeling it's pulse and knowing that I'm always connected to this great mystery of life.  There's no separation because everything is connected in this cosmos through the cosmic web of energy.  This energy flows through every living thing on the planet making up the collective consciousness where everything is possible inside the quantum field.  Like a fractal if you break it into smaller pieces, each piece still contains the other parts but is fragmented - Nothing can be destroyed only transformed into another form.

Another blooming lotus behind my hut

What an amazing creation - life on earth! Our senses, the experience of being human, how life evolves and changes in every moment.  This is the only certainty in life - Change.  No matter what we do, see, feel - everything changes and there's no way of stopping it...just observe, observe, observe because that too will eventually change!

The land of smiles - Sawadee Ka

Returning to Thailand after 4 years, the land of smiles feels like a home away from home for me.  The warmth of this culture, friendly sunny smiles of the people and delicious food brings a wonderful feeling into my heart each time I visit.  Of all the places I've visited in the world, Thailand has really got something very special and unique.  The happiness that emanates from the locals here is obvious as their moto is "sebi sebi" which means happy happy!

Jared & I arrived in Bangkok after a short journey from Nepal.  We spent a couple of days in the crazy capital of Bangkok.  Catching the metro from the airport was fun, taking us right into the train station in Bangkok where we took a tuk tuk (small taxi) to Kao San road (the tourist hub in Bangkok) where we stayed.  After making arrangements of where we wanted to go next, I flew first to Chiang Mai because I'd registered to begin a course that was starting on Monday the 7th Nov.  Arriving first I found a good room in a lovely guesthouse with friendly people and a very cute dog named Milo. Jared stayed in Bangkok until that evening because he wanted to travel by train to see some more of Thailand, the flood conditions and to save some money.  After 14 hours of traveling, he reached Chiang Mai, where I met him at the train station at about 1am due to delays because of the flooding!

I started my Traditional Thai massage course the following day and the class was all women from multicultural places.  Some of the students were Italian, French, one Dutch, and one Austrian.  The group were great and we all connected very well as the teacher pointed out on several occasions!  Our teacher was Thai and we learned many things about Thai massage and the philosophies of this tradition from him.  I was surprised to learn this style of massage actually originated in India from the Ayurveda style.  As it crossed over from India into Thailand different adaptations were made to create the Traditional Thai massage. This news brought a smile to my face because I'd already learned Ayurveda yoga massage and their connection was apparent in many ways throughout the course.  It also gave me another perspective and building more skills in the massage field.

Sunshine school Chiang Mai (www.sunshine-massage-school.com) is where I took the course and it's a really good place to study massage if one is looking into this training.  They are accredited by many countries all around the world.  The professionalism, friendliness, good energy of the staff and teachers flows through the whole place.  The teachers love their work and the joy of teaching shines through in their lighthearted but thorough delivery of the course work.  Their passionate ways of expressing themselves is individual, as each teacher has their own unique way of inspiring students.  I enjoyed going to school each day and learning something new was truly rewarding.  Most mornings before class, I had a lovely yoga session by myself in one of the spare rooms there, to start my day flexible, centered and very clear.

Jared also done a 2 week training in a Lahu (name of the hill tribe) village in the North of Thailand through the Sunshine Network.  He really enjoyed his course too and learned many new things while integrating with local life in a small primitive village.  We just met up in Pai when he completed his course and yesterday we just exchanged our new skills.  It felt good to be able to help one another fine tune our own techniques by offering feedback to one another.

Now we are in the processing of working out the next stage of our journey...

Life, Love and Light

I just wrote this poem this morning over breakfast.  I don't usually share my poetry with others out of shyness.  However, now I've decided to move out of fear into love and share myself on another level with those that I care about.

Life, Love and Light

Light bounces off the water creating beautiful sparkles on the trees,

Light everywhere I look, the world is alive and vibrant.

Perception is the key to unlock the mysteries of this earthly experience,

Opening the heart, letting go of the mind to deeply feel this connection to the heavenly plane.

Love is in every plant that I see, a flower, a leaf, the trees all around,

A persons smile or twinkle in their eyes as love flows unbound.

Light shines through, creating rainbows as this spectrum radiates in every living thing,

Vibrating with life force; energy, consciousness, spirit - whatever the name.

This experience of Life, Love and Light...

It's all there IS in this sacred moment called NOW.

Dreams are for living

My last post was an update on the past months of the adventures of Jared and Jane but I left out how this trip came to fruition.

I met Jared in Alaska during my world trip and my travels slowed down for a couple of years so I could wait for him to finish with his career in the US Coast Guard.  Since meeting me, he felt inspired by my life of living my dreams and wanted to start living his own dreams.  Remembering some of his dreams of travel and helping in the sustainable development field with environmental issues we decided to travel together and marry.  The plans for the trip began and we both got very excited with the many possibilities the world had to offer and what we have to offer the world with the gifts we've both been given.

Some background on me and what led to my wanting to travel the world before we met.  The purpose of my journey I've been on since leaving London in 2005.  Pursuing my dreams and having a life that I love while making a difference in my life.  I've always wanted to live a life that is extraordinary!  My purpose: to learn about alternative healing modalities such as Reiki, yoga, massage, Ayurvedic medicine, herbal remedies and naturopathy. 

The first seed of inspiration was planted when I was 17 years old, I was sent by my school to go on a trip to Lourdes, in France.  For those of you who are not familiar with Lourdes, it's a sanctuary and considered a sacred place located in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  It's the place where "Our lady" (Catholics believe in the Virgin Mary) met with a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous 18 times.  People from all over the world pilgrimage to Lourdes to get blessed in the baths that are there.  The spring water in the grotto is renowned to be blessed and has healing properties.  It's recognized as a miraculous place and many miracles have been witnessed there since 1860.  During the time I spent at the grotto, I seen many apparatus for example: walking frames, walking sticks, and crutches people use hanging from a line over the main area inside the grotto indicating when a person is cured they no longer need them.  Seeing this miraculous place as a young teenager, I was deeply moved by it.  At the same time helping the elderly people (from the diocese I was a part of) gave me a good feeling inside  by helping them by taking them to the grotto for the prayer blessings and masses.  My mind began to open with awe that there are places in the world like this.  These were my first memories of being inspired to travel the world, wanting to visit other amazing places, and witness the power of miracles first hand.  Seeing new cultures, learning about their customs, exploring new ways of living while experiencing new perspectives on how to look at life.

Leaving Ireland in 1998, I moved to London and worked as an investment banker for 7 years. During that time I visited 6 countries; Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Egypt and Denmark.  The trips were short lived and I would always feel a bit sad returning to the corporate world afterwards.  The longer I worked in that industry the harder it became for me to live in that fast paced and cut throat world.  Practicing yoga and meditation definitely helped me, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling; what am I supposed to be doing with my life? Do I have a purpose to fulfill?

Am I living an extraordinary life? Were questions that started the inquiry into the very meaning of my life and who I am.  I felt empowered to explore other possibilities of how to live my life, I have a choice! If I'm not happy, who's responsibility is it to change it?

"The Soul is the one thing you can't compromise" (are the words of a song by David Gray that touched my heart)

In 2005 I was fully prepared to leave my career life in London and jump into the unknown world of infinite possibilities!   My journey has gone in many directions and it took me to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Alaska, India, Alaska, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica then back to Alaska again (That's when I met Jared)

This blog is my opportunity to share a little of myself and my travels with those that I love. During my previous trips I've written a lot but mostly in my journal and through group emails I'd share some of my stories.  This is a way of documenting, sharing and mapping this auspicious journey through the world as I go.  Hopefully inspiring others out there to live your dreams too.

If we get one chance at this life - why not live it extraordinarily and be open to all the possibilities we can create through living our dreams.

How time flies...

The Temple was a spectacular creation! Bells chimed inside it for 24 hours a day and gave the atmosphere a wonderful vibration to spend time in.  On the day of its burn there was a drumming circle and we danced in the baking sun - it was really symbolic

One of the 259 art pieces in the black rock desert

The art work went on and on taking days to check it all out!

The Burning Man

The Temple burning on the last night of Burning Man

Our visit to Malahide Castle in Dublin

My brother and I getting ready to play in the surf on the West coast of Ireland

 

More updates later....