Om Namah Shivaya,
PS If you are inclined to pray or send hopeful thoughts, please send them out to those in path of Hurricane Irene. We are both glad to be here so as not to be in danger but also wish a little we were there in NYC to witness the power of nature.
After the last couple of fairly uncharacteristic self-disclosing emails, I am bringing this email back to the more day-to-day. I will say that many who wrote back described my last two missives with words such as "brave" and "beautiful." I am glad that for some, what I wrote brought quiet reflection, if it troubled others, that was certainly not my intention nor desire. The words flowed from such a bountiful place in me, I just decided to go with the flow rather than to censor myself--which frankly is much more characteristic for me--to keep such thoughts to myself. Anyway, they are now out there in the cyber-universe creating whatever vibrations and/or reverberations.
We are now into our fourth week here. As an update, my skirmishes with the ants and mosquitoes continues unabated. I have brought more strategies into my arsenal which have helped a lot and if there is a win/loss column, then I think I may be winning......famous last words...... I finally had to pull out the REI camping mosquito net (kind of a mini tent) that I brought just in case. Thank goodness I did. I set it up on my bed and each night I crawl into it, have Bob tuck me in and cocoon for the night. It's been very effective in stopping all night time mosquito bites and I am finally getting really good sleep. I feel like a butterfly emerging each morning now. Having to use the bathroom in the middle of the night is always a little tricky as there is no easy zippered opening, so I have to contort myself a bit to slither out and back in to it. The daily ritual is now for both of us to shake out the sheets and hang them up, put up the sleeping mat that is on the floor, sweep the flat every morning, and squish any live bug (ants, mosquitoes, and the occasional small jumping spiders) in the flat (the rare ladybug is the exception--she always goes free). Bob has been really caring and is now squishing the ants some times and I tell him that I am taking on his karma for acting on my behalf. I've also taken to hanging my snack bag up on our clothesline--very much in the fashion of how you hang food when you camp to keep it away from hungry bears. I also started smearing on this concoction of all herbs known to repel mosquitoes that I bought at the ecology shop here. It works really well bringing me much relief and smells nice too!
We found at least one of the elephants and were a bit distressed to see it chained to a close by tree displaying what looks like a nervous tic of shaking its head up and down--otherwise it looks very healthy. I was under the impression that the elephants were being kept in a larger enclosed compound that gave them room to roam. Maybe it was just an off day. We thought there were two elephants so weren't sure where the other one was, if it is still here, or if where it is, is a much better place than where this elephant was yesterday. None-the-less, we will visit this elephant at least once again and next time bring it some bananas as a treat.
We took our first long walk yesterday in search of the elephants and also the Ayurvedic Medicine College and Ayurevdic Hospital (this is a very specific approach to understanding disease and healing of the body). They are a good walk away from the Biotechnology building and are on a separate campus which means we had to cross a number of village roads, cow pastures, small homes, an outdoor temple, and village stores. We reached the campus in a rather haphazard way but were impressed with what we saw when we reached our destination. The hospital provides a wide array of outpatient and inpatient services and what looked like a well stocked herbal pharmacy. Just outside the campus they have a very extensive herb garden where they grow many of the medicinal plants they use as treatments. They have many beautiful murals related to vedic teachings and Amma around the buildings. There is a lot of construction happening at that campus as there is on this campus. Once the entire university is completed here, it will be really stunning.
I have to say that one of the fun things about being a TA here for Bob is that I have an official ID badge!! Anyone who really knows me or has read earlier entries to the blog I've been keeping since moving to NYC knows how much I love having a badge hanging around my neck. There is just something really grounding to me about having one. I've worn one for over 20 years while working at the Children's Hospital in Seattle and somehow having one just makes me feel more alright with the world. I think it is reflective of that little touch of Aspergers I think I have.
I have been able to spend meditative time at the beach on the Arabian Sea. The pounding waves are hypnotic and just soaking up all those negative ions being thrown your way is pretty soothing and healing on all levels. The sunsets are so beautiful and I especially like it because it is usually windy out there so less concerns about mosquitoes.
My niece was asking me about food here and I was telling her that the Indian food sold at the Ashram is very authentic (most of the people at the Indian canteen do not speak English) and really delicious and remarkably cheap. Bob and I can purchase very filling meals for about the equivalent of 50 cents at the most. Breakfast is usually only about a US quarter. Many of the foods I've never seen in the US and we have eaten at a lot of Indian restaurants. So we just take whatever is there and try it out. We've not been disappointed very often. We now have our favorites and are excited to see them when available. There is a Western Cafe and Western Canteen that sell much more familiar foods. Meals there are also inexpensive but about twice what you pay for a meal at the Indian canteen. I've not yet ventured over to the free Indian food line--it doesn't look very appetizing though hundreds line up for it (is it only because it is free???). It's a very watery, soupy boiled white rice with an equally soupy vegetable curry served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I really should try it at least once before I leave. Once I am over the sniffles I have, we are going to try the Indian milkshakes and lassis they sell here too. So far, with the yogurt and probiotics we take everyday, we've not had any GI problems. Keeping our fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say that I do love the sight of all the flowing white saris and shawls of the many, many, many renunciates and devotees here. There is just something rather surreal of so much flowing white.
I've made a long list of things I want to make sure I do before I leave here. Given the relatively small size of the ashram, it's actually quite surprising just how much there is to do here if you were to take advantage of every service or activity available. For all that I have done, and will do, before I leave, I doubt it's an exhaustive list by a long shot.
Activities to which I am looking forward:
Tomorrow (Monday) I am going to visit Amma's orphanage in a neighboring town. She was asked to take over this orphanage over 20 years ago when those who were operating it could no longer afford to do so. Those of us going will get a tour of the facility, see what the children are learning, be treated to cultural dance and singing performances, meet the children, and have lunch and tea there. When I signed up to go, I was encouraged to think of a song, dance, or game to share with the children once there. Hmmmmm, not sure what I will share--those activities are not exactly playing to my strong suit.
On Tuesday afternoon, we will take a 1 1/2 boat tour along the backwaters out to the Arabian Sea. We did this the last time we were here four years ago and it was so beautiful and relaxing. I am hoping for a similar experience this go around as well.
We start an intensive four day yoga training class on Friday with an orientation on Thursday afternoon. Lucky for me we are signed up for the Level 1 session. Friends here are taking the Level 2 now and it sounds really grueling. I am a bit concerned whether I will able to do 3 1/2 hours of yoga per day for the four days of training (split up between morning and afternoon sessions). I have been so sedentary since being here and haven't done any yoga since moving from Seattle. The hardest thing for me will be the heat of the room as there is no air conditioning and heat is supported as being good as it loosens the muscles and joints. I just wilt in heat. About 2 years ago, trying to do even one Bikram Hot Yoga class completely did me in. Bob will probably love it, as this is very much what he is used to, and has been very regularly attending his hot yoga classes in NYC.
Still trying to find the right time to meditate in a couple of very special and sacred places here in the ashram. Main problem is timing---they are only open to the public for slivers of time during the day. I need to get more focused on figuring out when to be at the right place at the right time.
Okay, more than enough for now.
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