Love over Iced Ovaltine & I'm in Love with Avocado Juice!

Hello lovers of life!!!
How is life for you? What's new in your world? How is your heart? For me, life is amazing! I am out off of Bali and now in Bangkok. Funny how just a change of place to a place you more connect with can completely change your whole disposition. I am so happy here waiting for my visa to India. Yesterday the creative bug caught me and I wrote over 20 or 30 pages. It was amazing. Really connecting to what is true for me, what I'm passionate about and who I am. Have you ever thought about why we go into a restaurant and no one looks at you? Why most of us don't chat up the person at the next table? Or why we say we are too busy to connect with someone we love? I've done all of this and I've done the opposite of this as well to get reactions of "do I know you?" and when I say "no" they respond with "then why are you talking to me", it's like being human and our need for connection isn't being honored or dealt with. I don't know about you but living in LA I see so many people wanting and needing to connect, dying of lonilness but we don't reach out for ourselves or others. I was coughing the other day as something went down wrong and well, no one even looked at me-I know they may think it's embarrassing for me if they look, and this isn't only here, it's every where, but my question is since when did we get so scared to help others, to notice one another and acknowledge each other as human?
I had the most fabulous trip from Bali to Bangkok, first flying into Kuala Lumpar, then a 2 hour lay over for a train, then an over night train to the border of Thailand-where I met a wonderful Indian family from Madras/Chennai, India, who invited me to come stay with them in India, I'm so excited about this, Í'm completely thrilled to live inside a Indian family to see how they live and be part of their lives and family for a short time! Such amazing people, I just love Indian people, I swear I was Indian in a past life as I just get near them and I feel so peaceful! Like connecting to another side of me! Then I had a 7 hour lay over at the border because the train was late. I met this amazing Muslim man that at first looked very stern, serious and looked like the Yul Brynner, but after a bit we got talking and he started telling me more about the difference between Muslims and Islam. There are Muslims and there are Muslims that are Islam. The Islam Muslims are very peaceful, pray 5 times a day, depending on where you live it can start at 4 or 5am and end at night. There is a certain way they pray and certain things they read, it's beautiful to hear about. Islam Muslims don't kill, they don't believe in it, some Muslims just take things to the extreme and discount certain things of their faith. The one thing I really loved that this lovely man said was "don't look at a persons skin or clothes, look at their heart, that is what is important". Wow, I loved that. It's so true. He was the most incredible with children, being he had 5 of them and they are all so close even though living so far away. This little girl got hurt on the train, they were afraid her wrist was disconnected. Wow, talk about community, who cares your faith, they were all there surrounding her trying to help and being concerned. He asked if I knew anything about this. Well I walked over thinking I couldn't help. But I told him if it was broken there would be swelling, there was no swelling and I think it was too much attention for her to handle all the people around. And sure enough within minutes she was fine when everyone cleared away. But how lovely to have parents and community all to join in and be concerned, how human. I really loved that. My friend, Rahman, was really concerned with the little girl, pretty amazing to see a strangers concern for another being. Well by the end of the trip he invited me to stay with his family if i get back to Malayasia. That would be really great as well. How fun and fascinating to stay with his family, I know that would be a great experince!
So I was traveiing for 2 days and 2 hours straight to get to Bangkok with 4 hours of train delays and not being able to get to the Indian Embassy that day as we were so late. But it was worth the connections I got and the lessons of letting go and realizing we don't have control and to just relax as it is all working out. And it did-I was able to find a place to start the process of my visa and bought my ticket to India all in one afternoon. So I'll have my visa Tuesday and in my other home of India on Wednesday!!! YES!
But to back up to Bali, my last few days was the best I had in Ubud. After I got all my things shipped home from sewing projects, fabrics that I couldn't get sewn, etc. I got to relax, hang out with my Indonesian friends going out dancing-they'd never been. They were so shy that they couldn't stay more then 10 minutes. It was sweet. It turned out we joked around, chased each other around the streets trying to keep them from going home, but it was all in great fun. We all had a blast! My other friend and I stayed and danced until I was pooped, not much of a night person myself. But it was great!
My favorite drink in Bali was Avocado juice, yes, it sounds weird, but it is heaven. You can take it two ways, one with just Avocado and a little water to make it blend and then they just serve it as is or they put liquid chocolate around the inside of the glass and on top and you stir it in for a little sweetness. No matter which the drink is lovely. Maybe you can try it at home.
I went for another hike through the rice fields and got some alone time to read. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the day we rented a jeep the man that drove us hasn't driven much in the past 16 years and took us into a ditch as he cut a corner too short. It was hilarious! Well, he didn't think so, he was embarrassed, but how fun to push this very light jeep that you can almost lift all on your own out of a ditch. No one hurt, not even the jeep, just Made's (said maa day) ego. The people that were truly my friends came to spend time with me, gave me little gifts of fruit and just sweet things. Some people think you are friends there only if you buy them, their time, etc. It was nice to see the difference. One of my friends invited me to go Jalan Jalan, which is walking. I got on the motorbike and asked her if we were really going to walk? (as Indonisian people don't walk, they ride their bikes!! ) she said yes, so I thought we'd walk, but she laughed at me later when we only stayed on the bike. But let me tell you, I saw the best rice fields there on that trip. It was great to go through these villages and people waving to me. How lovely. I've never known a culture to have so many holidays and celebration. At lease one a week. I got invited to one the last week but I just couldn't, but it was so sweet to be invited. I loved that you can touch these people, it was so nice, my friend Atik, would grab me, my arm, laugh in my face, bump me, put her arm around my waist, it was so nice to be touched.
Getting to Thailand has been great. I have really been looking at the people, men are so much more feminine, where as the women are so much bigger boned and most of them look very masculine. It's like some of their genes have been crossed, the men here are the smaller sex most of the time.
Oh, my first day here in Bangkok I asked this Thai man where he got his chocolate milk-they hold it in a bag with a straw and ice in it, this is take away for them. We talked for a bit and then he pointed out the place. Well I found the little stall that is driven around the streets on 3 wheels with all his tools too heat the water, have his ice and cups and plastic bags all there atop his bike wheels. I walked up to order and iced ovaltine and he wanted to talk and then he wanted me to take him to where I was going. I told him I'm going to India. He said no, he wanted to go to my home, when I said I wasn't going there, he wasnted me to go to his, I said no laughingly, as it was so funny to me. Then his friend said "he's in love with you". Well that's the fastest falling I've ever seen! Not mutual, sorry to say, but I did like his ovaltine. Then he offered me 500 (I assume baht) to go home with him. Wow, it's been a long time since I've been offered money to go home with someone. I just laughed, he laughed, I said no, as I walked off as he gave me my ovaltine and I haven't seen him since. "love over iced ovaltine!
I am so relaxed here, so at peace. Who could have thought you can be so relaxed in such a huge city of Bangkok. But it's like Bali took me to the extreme of everything and to my edges of patience so Bangkok is no problem, a breeze. Yesterday was so nice to just for hours, have no where to go. The travel bug has finally settled hin happily and it makes me very excited to embrace India and then Australia! Yet I'm so happy to be here right now, living in the moment, eating Mango with sticky rice every day-just drip some coconut with condensed milk over it, yummy!!! Sticks right to your ribs!!!! All this rice, goodness, I've never eaten so much rice, well maybe when I was 20 as I loved it so much then.
Oh, I went into a large store in Ubud and this was a new thing-bulk frozen carrots, corn, french fries all uncovered and there to measure out. I love seeing how creative and different cultures do things.
Last night walking down Khoasan Road, the main tourist road, going to see a band, I saw a stall surrounded with people. This stall was selling fried or cooked 2 inch cockroaches, 1-1 1/2 inch larve and worms, ant salad and frogs. hummmmm ......no thank you, If I need protein I can find it else where. But there were plenty of people/tourist brave enough to partake. I don't even kill most of these things in my home, why would I eat them...YIKES!!!
Wow, I just am loving life so much right now. I have lots of time to think and feel and meditate, watch people on the streets and just be. I wrote poetry for the first time in a long time yesterday, pretty profound and very different from my other poetry work.
I've also been thinking about a lot of things concerning honesty and communication. Have you have stopped to thimk how many times we don't tell the full truth? Or tell a white lie as many say they are and how this destroys trust in so many of us. It's pretty huge for most people. I've been thinking of children, how honest they are and how to adults it's embarrassing or they get punished for being honest. When how refreshing it is for someone to say "that colors looks like crap on you". For me I've always liked it when people tell me when I have something on my face or if something wasn't right, I love the truth, even if it hurts it's what I strive for all the time. I find myself putting my foot in my mouth all the time with how to tell the truth without hurting the others feelings. Also I've lost friends by telling the truth, it's like where is the trust gone that you can tell the truth and the person will still be there, be mad or hurt and come back the next day or in the moment and tell you how they feel and work it out. I had a great roommate who is still in my life that I got really upset with, I was always so PC with her and I watched her being of Latin blood yell and get passionately upset with people she loved and the next day be fine. Well this one day she came in and asked if I was upset and I just let her have it and she yelled back and it was amazing. By the end of it we were laughing and she said "thank God, it's about time you get angry". Then we laughed more. But I hadn't any fear she would leave me. I knew we'd make it through it and still now we are friends, probably reading this right now actually! But it was a great lesson in trusting someone will be there even when I was hurt and angry, most people just hide or never talk to you again if you show such emotions, so we learn to hold it in. I've not had to yell since then but man oh man that felt good. But I've learned to get upset and let it show, sometimes to my embarrassment. But oh well. Anger is just another passionate feeling. What I'm saying or asking is how many of us have friends we can be totally real with, show our anger and know they will still be there, show our enthusiasm for life and have them still be there? I'm just not sure, but many of us were trained not to get upset and so when we get upset we shove it down. Yet I don't really promote going around yelling either. But if we had a healthy way to deal and express our anger there would be no reason why we'd need to yell.
Ok, who knows if you are interested in this at all. This has nothing to do with all the travel stuff, but the things that have been in my heart for a long time dying to come out and to relate to you on this level. To get our feelings on this, to get your opinions on these subjects. I'd love to know, do you think of these things? I could go on forever, as yesterday I just touched the surface in my writing and this here is only a smaller portion. But let me tell you being here is the perfect grounds for watching relationships, seeing how people are, seeing how families rely on each other, touch each other, protect each other, and let the children get hurt when it's for their own good-in little ways, giving their children responsibilities at a young age with money, selling, going to the store, talking to strangers, rocking the babies, feeding the smaller children. It's pretty amazing what children do here. We tend to protect so much in the US that children never learn to children or adults, it's like they get trapped some where in between. What do you think on this?
I am loving having the time to really go deep into myself on these subjects that I've loved so much for so long and get clarity on them within myself. I recommend time to yourself to go in like this, yet social time is needed too, connection is so beautiful! If you get the urge I'd love to see you if you want to come over and play, travel, explore. I'll be in India starting on Wednesday in Calcutta, then on to Madras to see this family and then on to Kerala where Amma is for 9 days at her ashram before she goes out on tour again. I'm excited to see her, be at her home and to be embraced by her love and warmth again.
Ok, that is probably enough for now. I love you, I'd love to hear from you, know about your lives, hearts, your opinions anything you'd like to share. Or just a simple hello so I know you are there would be great! I send you love and many hugs, Heather ; ) peaceful in Bangkok!!!

Celebrating Life Each Moment!!!! Gili Air-A Little Peice of Heaven!

Hello there Dear Ones,
Wow, life is amazing, I am forever being blown away by life right now. My intention for life right now is to celebrate every moment! This has been blossoming in many ways for me-talk about the power of thought, thought creates your world,life and reality. Well life has opened, calmed and gotten more exciting since I have last written.
I had to get out of Ubud, I wasn't feeling connected to it any more with all the noise and pollution and too many things I was thinking I had to "do". YIKES!!! Who wants a list of things to do on a holiday-whether it is to see things, heal or listen, a list of things to do is not on my list of wants and desires in my life. Yet some lists are very nice.
So I took off to Lombok and fell in love. I mean, fell in love.....in love with life again! I saw where I was holding back and now I see where I can open and live full on. My experience there on Gili Air was heaven. Awaken at 5:40am, go to the beach, write my intentions, meditate, do some yoga, and then lie in silence sometimes looking up at the gorgeous blue sky and green leaves of the trees above my head and then sit up to see the sun coming up over the great mountains of the mainland of Lombok-GORGEOUS Island! So lush, green, wet-especially now, wet season and the people are real there. They can live without tourism so not so much pushiness of need. Yet on Gili many live off of tourism. So my day then would go to having a banana pancake for breakfast with tea and fruit salad and then to my FAVORITE part of my day. The underworld that brought me back to life and healed some part of me that I can't yet explain. Try to imagine, drifting, floating, looking around and seeing light blue, and then you realize you might fall and trying to catch yourself when you realize you are being held by the gentle warm water of the sea surrounding you, watching fish of all different colors, shapes and sized all around you. The coral gleaming in orange, purple, green and yellows. Watching the sea plants swish along with the waters current back and forth, up and down in brillant colors! And then there are the turtles, what can I say, I was there long enough to hear their voice, they talked to me, I'm not joking. Not physically, but in a telepathic way. I would be swimming and I'd hear inside myself, "go to your right and you'll see a turtle". So I'd swim there and sure enough there was a turtle, brilliant with green and white spots, just drifting, floating to the surface and back down again in utter peace and joy! Then another time I was swimming to the deep cliff under water and something said "turtle" and told me to look to my right and there he/she was, it looked at me as if I was blocking it's safety route to the sea and so I moved a little further up and then it gently started moving toward the deep part while looking at me, communicating things of what it was feeling and sensing. I felt like these turtles were good luck, and healing, I felt lucky to have seen them, felt them and be with them if only for a few minutes! I fell in love with diving under the water and seeing everything closely, in my face. Watching the big brilliantly blue lips of clams go in and once I was gone go back out again, the fish that would come up to nibble on my fingers as they thought I had food, I watched all the fish going in and out of the coral and plants and the fish that lived on the floor of the ocean that matched as well as the shark like skinny fish that swam only on the top of the water, they love to watch people and swim near but not too near us. This is the most calm, most in love and best meditation I have had in a long time. I'd feel like I'd been gone for 30 minutes and it would have been 1.5 hours. I really fell in love with life there, they underworld life and the ocean is where I am at peace, feel at ease,understand life and do some deep healing.
In being there I realized that it's time to leave Indonesia, though I'm not done seeing what I would like to see, Kerala, India is calling. I really need to follow this feeling. So I'll be leaving when my visa is up on April 22nd. A little sad to leave as it feels like I've explored so little, yet learned so much. The great thing is I've had 2 full days of hiring a jeep with friends and going around Bali-get this, renting a jeep is only $10.00 for a day and then the guy that takes us around works on donation and really feels like more someone to hang with then some cold guide detached. Well, actually, I have to tell you, that I've been proposed to....yes, it's true, the guide is a local man that is very spiritual and getting into Tantra and within 1 hour of knowing me proposed. He told my friends yesterday we are getting married next year. I didn't remember saying yes. He's already got my career planned. Get this, I/we will be teaching couples how to kiss, well, locals anyway as he feels that locals here don't know how to kiss and need lessons. One of his first questions to me was if I thought I was a good kisser and I guess from my answer he gathered we could teach this course. Of course I wouldn't kiss my clients and the classes would be 50,000rupiah per class- $5.00. What's funny is he's never kissed me and I can't see that happening but it's funny to see how he puts me in a career. Then I will also making offerings for celebrations and oh if I want to yes I could do my movement classes if I had to. Pretty funny. Oh, and he wants 3 wives, one from Europe, one American and one local. I told him we'd better get along, but if we got along too well we may not want him any more!!! ; ) Pretty funny. So, no I don't hear wedding bells with him. But he is our guide and he takes us on some incredible journeys to temples, to the jungles to see gorgeouse parts of Bali that are breath taking and mind blowing. I have to say I was not open to Bali until coming back from Gili Air, I wouldn't have enjoyed this trip as much before. I needed the beach to relax from life to take it in. Now I walk down the street and I look everyone in the eye and I feel relaxed and in love with traveling and all of our differences fade away to a place that they are all safe and embraced with newness!
Lombok is mostly Muslim. How I'm getting to know more about this religion/culture and people. They are great people, so beautiful. They believe in no killing-ok yes we in the west think differently of Muslims as for our "experiences" with them or what we've been also told to believe. But the Muslims here are gentle, caring, spiritual, they believe in no lying, killing, praying several times a day starting at 4am. Mohammads birthday celebration landed on Easter funny enough! Well the celebration was grand! I have to say I love the that holidays here in Asia are surrounded and based on the kids. They put up a huge tree pole, grease it up with black thick grease and then the kids take about 3-4 hours to try to find a way up to the top to get gifts at the top they throw down to the others and some they get to keep but most goes to the adults-parents, etc. But they work as a team like I've never seen before, well except in Latin Culture they do it too. The kids were trying to climb the pole one by one, then they'd crawl up on each other-talk about kids not being breakable, these kids would be stacked up on top of one kid and that kid would twist out from under them and they'd all fall down. There no anger, whining, no parents running up to see if they were ok, they all just laughed. There was no violence, hitting, shoving, just laughter, fun and playfulness and working together as a team. Finally the adults got involved and one got to the top to wipe off the grease and after that, this very limber boy, who I thought would make it to the top when I first saw him, he did and he got the big prize that he got to keep!!!! 5,000 rupiah (.50 to us). All the others climbed to the top and the crowd would tell them which gift to choose, they all worked together in it, it was beautiful and peaceful. I can now see why western people can fall in love with Muslims. I met one man/boy and I could see how one could fall for him, or at least easily have a crush on him anyway. Gentle, spiritual, light, caring and very into his religion. They don't have sex until marriage, they choose their partners, they don't marry for at least 2-3 years to make sure they know each other and it will work between them. Wow! They really blew me a way. I love it!
So now I'm back in Ubud to finish things up with Batiking and seeing more of the island before I leave. I'm excited to be here, really excited, embracing life and travel like I hadn't before. Something really took me and opened me being in Gili and it made me love life so much more! Can I tell you that enough!!! Who knows.
The one thing that was funny and a little annoying in Lombok is they'd call you by what they know of you or see. Like they'd walk up and if there were tourists there they'd say "hello American, Japanese, or what ever you are, German". Instead of calling us by name as they all probably know us by name by then as there was only about 20 tourist on this whole island. My favorite was coming back and being in the bus and I was talking to someone and at the window this kid says, "noodle hair, water"? That is how he saw me, with noodle hair, and he wanted to sell me water. Pretty funny. He was persistant so after saying no kindly I closed the window and my friend just laughed so hard! I'm not used to so much persistance but I'm getting used to it.
Walking around Ubud seems new to me now as my head is up not nervous of all the people trying to sell me something. I'm learning a ton about myself and them and this country. It's been eye opening and every moment there is more to explore. Though I'm sad to leave I'm ready for India and the healing I have to do there and explore. I get that I'll be looking into Ayurvedic cleansing and yoga and see Amma as well as some other teachers possibly. But I'll be going up to Ko Phangan first, in Thailand. It will be nice to be at the ocean on my favorite Thai island. I actually just found out there is a Tantra Yoga class there that goes into cleansing, Ayurvedic healing, etc, so I may have to check it out on the way-they have up to a 40 month training course-no I won't be joining that!!! I don't have a huge interest in learning Sanskrit but I'm sure the training is great. I met the teacher 7 years ago, we'll see how I connect with his teachings now.
So there is a million other things I'm sure I could share with you but this is probably getting long. I would love to hear from you. I hope you are well. Oh, I read something went something like this "the past is a cashed check, the future is a promisary (sp?) note and the present is like cash, spend it now as you won't have it again". I love that. Makes you think, if I were to die tomorrow what would I have wished I'd done? For me, it would be dance/perform more, sing more in front of people, build more of a community of people around me, make more time for the people in my life with dinners, talking, laughing, sharing, games and just being. I'd let go of the stress of making money, saving money and let life be and give and receive love from the ones that near and dear to me. What about you? If you had one day or a week or maybe even 6 months to live, what would you do? It's a great question to see what is important to your heart. We can't take money with us, but to love our soul takes us so far before we pass away.
I send you love, gratitude for being part of my life and I so look forward to hearing from you. Love and blessings, hugs and kisses, Heather