I'm sitting here in our condo rental in Bangkok, Thailand..
It is, in all honesty, absolutely Surreal...
Ray is now retired from UPS as of January 21st (officially) and we have made yet another dream come true.
THAILAND!
The "Land of Smiles" aka "The Kingdom Thailand"
However you decide to say it, we Have Arrived...once again and this time for good.We brought our girl Fiona with us and she is just as lethargic and not too thrilled as she was the last time we decided to live in Thailand. But we had no choice, because rehoming her wasn't an option.
So we wake up with the birds, before the sunrise and we get her out for her morning walk/workout before the heat and humidity of the city starts doing it's thing.
We really don't mind our new routine either, because we get to bed early and it's just such a peaceful time and the weather is so fresh and new...like being reborn each and every morning.
I Love It.
Our new chapter.
We're still setting things up though, because we are renting this condo for one month and after that we don't know where we will be living in Thailand.
It's exciting and a bit nerve racking as we have Fiona to think about and we know we want a condo. This time we want a smaller place than we had the last time we lived in Hua Hin.
So we will go with the flow and manifest that perfect spot.
Here I am, sitting in the restaurant of the hotel here in Leh Ladakh..
Thankful to be here..
It wasn't such an easy start upon arrival.
It seems as though the program I am in accepted far too many students and they didn't have the rooms for them.
There were quite a few unhappy Yogis and Yoginis.
I was brought to a hotel that I never booked into and the room was like dark prison cell and cold. SO COLD!!
I was bundled up in a down jacket, gloves, wool socks and full clothing and under a wool blanket and my teeth were still chattering.
I went to the people who were in charge letting them know that I was in pain being in that room..literally. I have arthritis and that cold was chilling me to the bone.
After much back and forth with them (and 8 other guests who were equally unhappy)
they moved us to the hotel we were supposed to be in in the first place.
I think I cried my body weight in tears and after just arriving and being at such a high altitude it was not a good situation.
I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I was going to have to go to the hospital.
My head was throbbing so bad and I felt so nauseous and dizzy and my mouth was so dry and I had been drinking water All Day Long.
So I started deep breathing and took an Ibuprofen and drank even more water and somehow, after much prayer as well...I pulled through it.
I woke up this morning and felt so much better and when I pulled back the curtains the sun was beaming into my room and it was so bright and warm.
A new day. A better day.
I'm going to go forth with a positive mind set and get through my program.
It's not going to be a cakewalk thats for sure.
There are going to be so many challenges ahead of me on this journey I am embarking on.
11 hours of sleep and I feel zero jet lag. I'm staying in the sweetest Air BnB that Ray found online for me and other than the location, I love it here. It's immaculate and the hosts are extremely accommodating and have made me feel right at home. I'm so lucky I stayed here as there is a fabulous little 3 table restaurant right out my door and down the stairs and it's all inside, so I never have to leave my building. My hosts live up at the top of the marble staircase and they are such a cute couple. It's quite an unusual story in regards to their relationship actually.. Geeta and Vivek are their names and they are 20 something and she is a tall, slender gorgeous Indian woman with a cute short haircut and he reminds me of the actor Dev Patel who played in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.. speaking of which...their relationship is quite a lot like the couple in that movie! Let me explain... Geeta lives upstairs with Vivek and she told me that they have been in their relationship now for 3 years and her parents as well as his parents know of this and are fine with it.. they have just decided they will marry in one year. Viveks parents have the restaurant downstairs and she helps out there with Vivek and she also makes Chai for me
she comes to chat with me in my room and she told me that she loves to go to Rishikesh when she can as she loves the yoga there and she would love to go there with me one day. She does her worship of Lord Krishna and she enjoys it very much~ It's so nice when you find a like minded soul like this all the way across the world and you just happen to connect in such a beautiful way with similar interests. They have both helped me so much since I have been here to make sure I have everything I need..even to the extent of topping up my phone with minutes, bringing me bottles of water and booking my Uber to the airport when I leave for Leh on Saturday. Upon my return to New Delhi on my way home, I have one more night here with them and I'm so glad I do, theres no place I'd rather stay to finish up my trip back here in India.
If there is one thing in this life of mine that I know to be true, it is just this. You have the capability to Manifest Whatever You Desire. Let me repeat that. You Have The Capability To Manifest WHATEVER YOU DESIRE. I have done it numerous times in my life. From living in countries that I love, to moving to new places that I really wanted to live, to trips that I wanted to take that seemed Impossible to go on. I Manifested each time to make each one of these dreams and thoughts a Reality. You can do it too. It is Not Impossible..because actually that word Impossible broken up is I'm Possible. You are! We are! And everything you truly desire is as well. I am now out of that Darkness and Rain of Washington and in my new home in SUNNY Palm Springs. I am in a Vintage Retro Park about one mile from downtown Palm Springs and this particular park is one I had been researching and wanted to live in more than anywhere here... the thing was, was that these places Very Rarely go up for sale and when they do, they usually sell in a day or two because people are watching and waiting... We were here for two weeks and we found ONE in the park and it was only for rent.. I asked if they would sell it and they said "Regretfully not at this time. We want to rent if for at least one year" So we signed a One Year lease.. but everyday I kept thinking in my mind.."I really don't want to rent for a year, I just want to buy it"!! We were in here for one week and the owner came to our gate one morning at 10:00 am and he told us that he was thinking about things and he felt like he was taking our money and it wasn't fair. He told us that he would be back in one hour with the papers and we could buy the place!!!! Did it Again! We are in the park I wanted, in the cutest place imaginable, with RENT CONTROL and the Funnest Neighbors and the Best part of town and we Own our Place! Never underestimate the power you hold in your mind and your thoughts. Never.
I have to be completely honest.. as if you didn't already guess.. I've been sad lately. It's so not my character and some days I didn't even recognize myself. I'm the kind of girl who wakes up in the morning and sings. But not these days.. It's been a very long and very sad 7 months. I tried most everything I knew to try and pull myself out of it, but nothing seemed to work. I ran. I practiced Yoga. I meditated. I did Pranayama. I walked. I read. I prayed. I asked for guidance from the Universe. I asked the Angels to help me too...
but then I was just there, in the sadness still. It all started when we moved back from Thailand. When we moved to the PNW. It's so gloomy most days and it rains when it really shouldn't rain (at least not where I come from) It snowed...more than it ever has in the history of this town, so they all said. It was cold, so cold that my body ached from the cold. I've never been the type of person who doesn't go outside. Every. Single. Day. but I didn't go outside for a lot of days.. days that turned into night and I thought they would never end..those days. But things are beginning to change now. We are having some sunny days, and yes, it still rains on days when it really should not (at least not where I come from) We are getting this Tiny House we bought back on the market. There are so many people who drool over our place when we tell them about it. People who live here and Love it here.. I still don't get it, but I have come to realize that thats a good thing. Just imagine if everyone was unhappy in the same place.. can you? It would be terrible. So this girl is starting to smile more and on some days you can hear her sing in the morning again. She's excited about her new future. Sun. Warmth. Outdoors... Everything takes time. The hands of a clock never stay in the same place. She won't either.. at least not here. It's not her place. Oh this life. *deep sigh* Life goes on and on and on. Some days are just better by the moment. And she likes these days. A Lot.
Getting ready for some more changes in my life once again... Always anticipating and embracing the new and sending out the old with a hug and hands in Prayer. Thankful for it all... Time to get the blog opened up again.. it's been a bit. The Himalayas are calling and I will go in September, but first we sell our Tiny House in the PNW and move to warmer and sunnier climates. It's always where we are the happiest. Stay tuned.. more to come shortly!
Yesterday was a completely full and wonderful day! It started out with Chai at Sri Durgas with my good friends here in Mysore and they invited me out to the Cinema to see "Lucy" with Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson... It was Intense to say the least and we All Loved it!!
It is actually my second cinema experience in India. My first one was seeing the movie "Rambo" with 4 Tibetan Monks about 6 years ago...
Don't ask. Oh the fun I have had in my life! Afterwards we scooted back to Gokulam as I had a date with some of my Facebook friends, one of which I had never met and one in which I had! They are newlyweds who met 4 years ago on line and they are the most adorable couple and SO in love. Kamakshi and Harish. We met at the Coconut stand and had a coconut together when up walked one of my dearest friends here in Gokulam! Pavi from "The Green House". The really ironic part of the whole thing was that Kamakshi had wanted to go and meet Pavi and we had planned on going to see him..and he just appeared! It was crazy and wonderful! We all walked back to The Green House, Pavi's little store on Shala Road and we had such a great visit, as we always do at Pavi's. He is a treasure chest of the most wonderful knowledge and I honestly could sit and talk with him for hours on end...and we did.
It's Monsoon season here in Mysore so we had intermittent rain showers so we sat and talked and learned things from Pavi and we ate home made Banana Chips from Pavis store and they were Sooooooooo Gooooooood, that I Had to buy a jar to take home with me!! Seriously the Best I have ever had in my life. It was late when we finally said our good-byes and I had a long walk home which wasn't bad, but it had gotten dark and I am always in by nightfall here. I made it home safely and realized I had to get my bucket bath and get ready for bed and quick as I had to be up at 5:00 this morning to get ready for my first day at the shala with my teacher!! Bright and early this morning my driver and good friend Raju was right on time to collect me for my class and off we went into the fresh, dewy Indian morning...me happily in the back seat of a rickshaw!
This is day three of my entry back into India and I have been BUSY! To update you from yesterdays post.. my how things change and Fast! Remember how I was just So Brave yesterday? Ya, well, today is a Completely Different Story my friends... I was So Brave for sure when I had my entourage Chris and Warren and I was sandwiched in between them on these quite crazy and confusing and dangerous roads... but the very Second they weren't there protecting me..guess who got scared to death? Ya, you guessed it..This girl who has been riding a Vespa for about 6 years now and is Fearless on it...IN The US that is!! I had a Very Close Call yesterday with a car and a rickshaw and I don't think I have to tell you that I trusted my gut and my intuition and I returned the scooter yesterday. At least for the time being as I am living much too far out to even consider it again right now. Besides all the rain we have had and the Winds!! I do Not remember ever having winds this strong here before... but to be perfectly honest with you.. it isn't the Rain nor the Winds that scare me. It's the roads and the people driving on them.. you see the roads here are really quite unpredictable. You have pot holes Everywhere and they range from tiny to HUGE and you don't know how deep they go and after my phone call to Chris yesterday telling him of my plan to return the scooter and mentioning the pot holes, his response was "Oh, tell me about it. Those pot holes have KILLED people" Need I go on? He had me at Killed. Not to mention the Speed Bumps (or Humps as they refer to them here).. I don't think I have ever ridden over so many anywhere in the world I have ever driven.. they are literally Everywhere! Then we have the rules to the road... There. Are. None. Do I need to continue? I was a hot mess on a cloudy day in August yesterday and I have never felt such a sigh of relief as when I handed over those scooter keys back to Harish. I felt as though a bad weight had been lifted off my shoulders. So...this presents a new challenge.. Plan B on getting to my Yoga class at 7:15 a.m.
Safer, more comfortable and protection from the early morning rain. It's a no brainer for the time being anyway. I start class tomorrow... and I feel a sigh of relief.
I left the states on Tuesday the 29th and here I am in India on August 1st. I am of course one day ahead and you know what else? I don't have ANY JET LAG this time around!!! I feel SO well rested and refreshed!! I'm not sure if it was the Melatonin I brought and started two days before I left..or the first leg of my flight over here...
we won't discuss the second leg other than I am deeply Grateful I arrived on time and safely~ The driver was waiting outside of the Bengaluru Airport and my eyes spotted him the moment I exited the doors. Perfect! Lokesh escorted me to his awaiting car and loaded up my three suitcases. Yes, I did say Three Suitcases..one was filled with things that won't be coming back home with me..so I can do a teensy bit of shopping while I am here.. and we were off to Mysore! He got me here in Record time!! One hour ahead of schedule in fact. Perfect! We arrived in Vijayanagar at my hosts beautiful home on a quiet, quaint street with beautiful bungalows all lined up with a peaceful park directly across the street where Indian men and women get their daily exercise whilst walking round and round the huge grounds. (blog post to come on that) My adorable little in law apartment in separate from the beautiful main house in which my hosts Chandon and his wife Juhi reside along with their 20 year old son, her mother (who is away for two weeks in Pune) and her very sweet father Abi!
One hour after I arrived, I was served the most wonderful breakfast of Idli's with the customary Coconut Chutney and Sambar!!
Then this morning Juhi brought this to me...
she told me that today was Friday and she had a special meal for me with sweets...SOOO Delicious!!! I did eat one sweet and saved the rest for later though! And some more photos of the home I am staying at....
I'm really comfortable here and it is so quiet and cozy. I feel so lucky to have found this place. I will have to scooter over to my TTC though, but it will be a breeze..
India, it's great to be back after only 8 months, and if my love were here with me..it would be even more wonderful.
I don't usually talk about things like I am going to talk about to many people.
Only because when these things happen, they are such a gift and I know they are just so beautiful and that not many people will understand the depth of the gift...but I always do.
The reason I am going to write about it today is because I think that in doing so, maybe, someone will benefit from it in some small way.
I told one of my very best friends yesterday while on a long distance phone conversation with her and she was just so astounded and touched by it, that I felt I should share this with you, my readers.
About Three months ago I went to see a psychic medium.
I was having mixed feelings about going off to India and I felt that I needed some clarity.
It was the last question he answered of mine that day...
and he told me quite adamantly that I should indeed NOT GO TO INDIA.
He added that "You should take this advice to heart"
So I came out of the reading with the decision that I would indeed Not Go to India this year.
Each day that passed I only wanted to go more. I talked to my husband about it and he kept telling me that I should GO! He felt that I would be fine and that I needed to Do This!
I agreed.
I booked my flight, booked my room, and started to prepare for my journey.
But as each day subsequently passed I had this underlying dread that perhaps I shouldn't be going..then my mind would go to those places that I didn't like it going to...
Three days ago when I woke up I went through my daily morning routine that includes my morning puja ritual. As I finished my puja I said my prayer for the day. I asked to be given a clear message. I asked for this dark dreaded lingering thought to be lifted from my mind. I then said "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You"...
At 1:30 that day I headed off on my vespa with my yoga gear and headed to my class.
I was early.
So was another student who I sat down next to outside of the room.
She was a woman of 50 with beautiful big blue eyes and a sunny personality.
She started out the conversation complimenting me on the colors I was wearing and I in turn complimented her on her colors...the conversation somehow lead to my leaving for India and for reasons I cannot explain, I told her about the psychic I had gone to see and how he told me what he told me...
I noticed immediately how her expression on her face change suddenly and she blurted out "You're telling My Story, Oh My God" !!!!!
I stopped speaking.
I looked deep into her eyes and simply said "What do you mean"????
As she proceeded to tell me this...
"I booked a flight to India last year too. But before I left I went to see a psychic, a woman. I asked her that SAME question. She told me that SAME answer!!!
So I went home and I cancelled my flight right away!!
Later that day my daughter called me and told me that there was a random India movie previewing at her friends home out in Malibu and would I like to go with her and see it?
She said she went..
and that random Indian movie was about the Guru she was going to go spend a month with in India!
As she watched the movie with her daughter she grew more and more excited...after the movie ended she said her daughter looked at her and said "You're going to India aren't you and she said YES, I AM"
I sat there quietly listening to her story.
Then I asked her "So you went, and did anything bad happen to you while you were there"?
To which she looked deep into my eyes and said "NO, in fact it was the most Incredible month of my Life and I loved every moment of it! I want to go back!"
I got goosebumps.
Then I simply said "Thank You for telling me your story" and then we both commented on how Ironic it was that we had the conversation to begin with, let alone the Exact same experience....
I got my answer.
It was clear as clear could be.
I no longer have the dark dread hanging over me.
I feel light inside and Know that I will be just fine.
left now until I take my departure for India. I'm getting things in order around the house and training my son to feed and take care of Fiona and Bindi..just like I do..I tell him as I show him each thing..make sure they have a lot of attention and so much love...I tell him as I fight back tears about leaving for two months. What will you guys do without me I ask, they both look at me, not knowing the reality of my leaving. Skype. That is all. I am so Grateful for Skype. It's my best friend when I am away from the ones I love. I am ready to go though. I feel like I have tied up all those little loose ends that need tying up before such a trip. I've actually never been so relaxed about it as I am this time... must be all that yoga I have been practicing. It works wonders. I can't imagine what I will be like after 8 weeks of a 6 day a week practice. I'm excited though!!
and what a night it was!! A gathering of like minded souls..the crowd was incredible at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre! I was amazed at how many people knew one another..you would think here in Los Angeles, being the Huge city it is..it was Wonderful to see! The Theatre was just beautiful!
we had some pretty good seats, but really, anywhere you were sitting would have been perfect because it was all about the Kirtan and KD's mesmerizing voice along with his harmonium and accompanying band members.
The energy was wonderful and I took it all in. I have been listening to KD at home for Years. I have every CD he has ever made and I love them all.. He has a wonderful sense of humor as well! But his ending words before he left the stage were what hit me most.. after we had some moments of complete silence, in which you honestly could have heard a pin drop. He said to us all.. "If we know anything about a path at all, it's only because of the Great ones that have gone before us. Out of their love and kindness, they have left some footprints for us to follow. So, in the same way that they wish for us, we wish that all beings everywhere, including ourselves, be safe, be happy, have good health, and enough to eat. And may we all live at ease of heart with whatever comes to us in life." Profound and Quite Powerful, No?
.jpg)
.jpg)
