Following The Intuition Road to Oz

There was no question where I needed to go after Bali. Despite having been invited to join friends in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, too many signs kept pointing me in the direction of the Australian Outback. I was told by more than a few healers and psychics in Ubud that I now needed to go to the Oz’s Northern Territory, to be in wide open space, away from cities, away from large groups of people, a place to tap into and trust my intuition on a deeper level. But I was also warned that my trip would not be easy and several challenges would cross my path but that it was essential that I stick with it and not let the negative deter me from the beautiful experiences that would eventually unfold. This could not have been truer.

I flew to Darwin, located at the Northern tip of Australia, from Bali because the flight was cheap and the Outback trek that I wanted to do began there. Australia is a lot more expensive than India and Indonesia so my only accommodation option was to check into a hostel which ironically is more expensive than any hotel, guest house or ashram that I have lived in, in the past 4 months and it is also the most run down and the most challenging.

My flight landed at 3:30 am and I boarded a shuttle bus to the hostel. When I arrived, I was greeted by a group of very young, very drunk rowdy 20 year olds who were hanging out by the reception area. They set the tone for the next four days. My room was a shared room with two bunk beds. The carpets were dirty, the room smelled like feet, the mold in the shower was enough to make me almost not want to bathe and each new roommate was drunker than the last.

I sadly had to leave Bali early because my visa was running out and I could not extend it. I needed a couple of days of preparation in order to get ready for my 14 day trek into the Outback where, as I have been told, I will be living outside on campsites under the stars, with little to no access to the “real world”. I am now an official backpacker; my large suitcase is gone as are most of my belongings and I could not be more grateful for the lightness that that has brought to my travels.

I booked the trek with a tour company called “Adventure Tours” upon recommendation from a few friends that I met in Bali who had travelled extensively in Australia. Ideally I would have loved to have been able to explore the Outback on my own, and at my own pace, but given the size, depth and potential danger that exists there the idea was simply out of the question.

The tour bus picked me up at the hostel at 5:30 am on a Thursday morning. The other backpackers came from all over the world; Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Spain, Sweden and France. I was the only American on the bus which is something I have become accustomed to. Everyone seemed very sweet except for a frowning couple from France who did not speak a word of English. Because of this, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, introduced myself and let them know that I am fluent in French. They seemed thrilled that I would be able to translate for them if they were having trouble understanding our guide.

Our first stop was at waterfalls in Litchfield National Park. As the rest of the group swam in the first body of water, I found a remote rock, settled in, and began to meditate. The land feels alive with energy here and I felt so grateful to be connected with it.

We made our way to Florence Falls which features a gorgeous cascading waterfall with a very large natural swimming pool. As I swam to the belly of the rushing water, I began to feel overwhelmed with an enormous amount of humility and gratitude for yet another phenomenal experience. I thought about so many of my friends back home who have dreamt of coming to Australia for years but who have not been able to due to financial constraints. I am abundantly aware of how fortunate I am and because of this, have vowed to not take a second of my experience here for granted. As my new friends and I played and laughed in the perfect water, I noticed the French couple sitting on the rocks looking as though they were annoyed by something. As I made my way back to land to dry off, I asked if they were okay. Their response was that they were disappointed that there were so many people on the tour with them (12 of us in total). They then asked me if I knew how many more waterfalls our guide was intending on bringing us to. I knew that we had two more full days of hiking up to and swimming in various waterfalls in Kakadu National Park and that personally I was thrilled at the prospect of diving into more sacred water. The Frenchman snarled back “we would not be caught dead swimming in one of those dirty pools. That would be like bathing in someone’s dirty bath water.” Interesting view, I thought to myself. There is nothing remotely dirty about these pools by the way. They are exquisite, clean, clear bodies of beautiful water.

The second half of our day was spent on a boat ride up the Mary River Wetlands where we were introduced to a variety of crocodiles, wallabies and other natural wildlife. Our day ended at a secluded campsite at Point Stuart Wilderness park where we cooked and then settled in for an early night’s sleep in free standing tents. The French couple continued to complain about the food and the accommodations but being that I was the only one who understood them, I decided to bite my tongue and vowed to try to ignore them for the next 13 days.

The following two days were more magnificent than the first. Kakadu National Park is a magnificent dream. After viewing ancient Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr, we made our way up to the top of the Nardab lookout where I preceded to submerse myself in a series of Sun Salutations. The vast and infinite landscape is so astonishing that it brought tears to my eyes. From there we made our way up Maguk (Barramundi Gorge) for a strenuous hike which was rewarded by gorgeous plunge pools. As everyone else swam and as I meditated at the top of the rocks, I noticed the French couple had not so much as dipped their toes in the water. I began to feel sorry for them. How could they be here, surrounded by such beauty and completely take it for granted. I wanted to scream and tell them how fortunate they are but knew intuitively that my words would fall on deaf ears.

The following day involved a lot of driving, hiking and more swimming in Jim Jim and Twin Falls. The pools at Twin Falls are fantastic and involve climbing up rocks barefoot to make the way to hidden pools in the surrounding area. A small adventurous group of us made our way to the furthest pool, and as we arrived at the highest rock, I taught a very short impromptu yoga class. The landscape here calls for yoga and I feel honored to introduce my beloved practice to my new friends.

As we all made our way back to the bus, an Aboriginal man (who we found out later owned the land we were on) asked our group if anyone had a cigarette. The only smokers in the group were the French couple (smoking like disrespectful chimneys in national parks ). One of the girls from Denmark said "the French couple have one but they don't speak English" to which the Aboriginal man replied "well can someone translate" so I did. I turned to the couple and said, in French, "can you spare a cigarette for him because otherwise he has to drive 3 hours (!) into town to get one". The Frenchman looked in my eyes and said, in French, " No. Mind your business. I understood what he wanted and I was not about to give a black Aboriginal man one of my cigarettes." I was horrified. Climbed in the bus and said "what an asshole", utterly disgusted.

We were heading back into Darwin for the night and made a pit stop for drinks. As I descended from the bus, the Frenchman was standing outside smoking and called me over to him and said "you know that stunt you pulled with me earlier. That is never to happen again. Do we understand each other?" I said "I am not sure I know what you mean." He said " I understood what the man wanted and I was not about to give him one of my cigarettes. You need to know when to open your mouth. You pull that shit again and you and I are going to have some major issues on this trip. Do we have an understanding?" I just looked him in the eyes and said "you are a real asshole of a man. Do you know that?" I walked away and could hear him behind me saying "As long as we understand each other. You better watch yourself!"

I walked up to rest of the group shaking. I felt threatened. I told the tour guide, she called the front office. They said unless he was physically threatening that there was nothing they could do, the only option would be for me to join another tour 2 days later. Although I was sad to be leaving the rest of the group, I knew intuitively that I would be better off. I could not fathom being stuck on a bus for 11 more days with such negative energy even if that meant enduring another couple days in a hostel in Darwin.

I am so happy that I listened to my inner guide. It was actually nice to be back in Darwin, to be able to pick up essentials that I had not thought of purchasing prior to my first take off and to better prepare myself for the next leg of my journey. The new group that I joined were kind, grateful and a lot of fun. We bathed in waterfalls in Katherine Gorge, took an art class with an Aboriginal artist, I did yoga in the light of the Full Moon, fed a camel apples right from my mouth, swam in a natural hot spring swamp which was like swimming in Heaven, meditated on top of a humongous rock in the sacred Devils Marbles desert and drank beers at the Daly Waters outback hotel, the Territory's oldest pub.

I have 10 more days left on my tour and I imagine each day will be better than the last. My intuition is in high gear, my heart is full of gratitude, my mind is clear. I am happy. Life is blessed. Australia is a dream. It is, as the locals call it, Oz .

Sending love a many blessings from Oz.
xoxo

Healing in Ubud

I have had a terrible case of writer's block over the past month in Bali or, as my mother cutely refers to it, “writer’s blog”. The experiences that I have had here are so surreal and beautiful that I feel like it would be almost impossible to adequately capture my experiences on a page. I could never do them justice but I will do my best.

The decision to come to Bali initially took place in December 2008 while I was in India for Ben and Ione’s wedding. It was my last night at Peedam and I had just experienced a private fire ceremony in the heart of Amma’s Golden Temple. My friends, Jo and Edo, were sitting in the dining room at the ashram and we were discussing dreams and my yearning to break free and travel for awhile. They mentioned that they might be going to Bali in June for a yoga retreat and would I be interested in joining them if they did. I was on such a high from the experience at the temple that I answered “yes!” without hesitation. There was simply no question that I needed to go. I am so happy that I listened to my intuition.

I booked the retreat while I was travelling in India in May. I did not know where I was going and never bothered to look up the Bagus Jati resort website. All I had was the date to arrive and an address. I was told that we would be located in Ubud, which I was really excited to experience since my last two weeks had been spent in Canggu which is more residential and not as hippie/ artsy as I understood Ubud to be. When I gave the address to Nyoman, the sweet taxi driver who had been taking such good care of me on my treks back and forth to the orphanage in Denpasar, he informed me that I would actually be staying a good ½ hour outside of Ubud. “You will be residing in the mountains, in the wilderness. It is a very beautiful, magical place.” He assured me.

Now I know I keep repeating throughout my journey that each place I have been to so far to be “breathtaking” and “mind blowing” but THIS place was unbelievable. I could have never have dreamed a dream as beautiful and serene as Bagus Jati. The property is located in the mountains, everywhere you look is green. My “room” was actually a self standing bungalow with a straw thatched roof. The interior was stunning with twin beds (my roommate was Dans, a yoga teacher from Australia, who I fell madly in love with) and the bathroom is equipped with massage tables. The landscape of the property is exquisite. We are living on multi tiered levels of what must have been rice fields at some point.

Each day of the retreat consisted of 2 daytime yoga classes, the evenings ended with Kirtan (devotional call and response chanting which is led by Edo and Jo and is quite possibly my favorite aspect of the retreat) and meditation. One day involved a gorgeous hike to the top of Mt Batur (1.717 Meters), a Balinese volcano, which began at 3 am. We arrived at the top for sunrise and proceeded to chant the Gayatri Mantra as the sun flooded the sky. Some of us proceeded to hike into a tiny cave inside the volcano and participated in an impromptu Puja ceremony which set my heart on fire once again.

The people that I met during the retreat are some of the kindest, most compassionate and inspiring friends I have ever made who came from all corners of the world: Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the US. On our final day, one of our teachers led us in an exercise called “Angel Whispers” where one yogi at a time was blindfolded and was led around the circle and each of us whispered what we appreciated about them softly in their ear. I kept my hands on my heart the whole time for fear that it might leap out of my chest if I let go.

After the retreat, some of us decided to take an impromptu trip to the Gilli Islands which are located off the North East coast of Bali. We spent four blissful days of snorkeling, bike riding, surfing, boat riding and sun bathing.

I returned to Ubud with Jo, Edo, Kay and Chrissi and checked into the lovely Ubud Aura which has been my home now for over a month. The hotel is owned by the local Guru, Mr. Ketut Arsana. He is a healer who also runs the beautiful Bodyworks massage center and Ashram Munivara. My room looks over acres of rice patties and I am woken up each day by the sounds of roosters and local farmers scaring birds away from their crops.

We are located right next door to Yoga Barn, the main Ubud yoga studio which becomes my home away from home. I attend classes daily which range from various Yoga styles to Tai Chi to meditation to lectures about life and spirituality. I am amazed at how much there is to learn and I am fascinated by it all.

Some people come to Bali, specifically Ubud, from all corners of the world to heal; the healing can be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. Whatever ailment or suffering you are going through, there is most likely someone here with a remedy for it. Although I was not ailing from anything specific, I was still curious and open to meet with healers per friends’ suggestions.

The first healer I visited with in Ubud was an elderly man named Jokrta Ray (sp?). He is supposedly in his mid to late 80s but looks about 60. He spoke very little English but lead me to sit down on the floor between his legs. He proceeded to dig his fingers into different parts of my head, some areas hurt more than others. He told me that all of my organs are functioning properly except my mind. “You think too much. Your mind is overactive.” He then layed me down on the floor and began to press into my toes with a wooden stick. As tears streamed down my face, he started to make some drawings on my stomach while chanting in Balinese. I was then sat up and told to look at myself “in the mirror every day and smile big, then swallow your smile and feel it in your heart, solar plexus and sex organs. Then bring the smile up to your face again. No more living in the past. No more living in the mind. Now is what you have. The present time is all that matters. Enjoy your life completely and laugh out loud every day.” He then patted me on the back and sent me on my way. When I met up with my friend Ged (my gorgeous English neighbor/ soul sister who has been living in Australia for the past year) afterwards, she said I was glowing. I had no idea what had just happened but something in me felt lighter.

The following day, Ged and I went to our appointment with Wayan, the female healer who became famous after Elizabeth Gilbert’s account of her in “Eat. Pray. Love.” My session at the Balinese Healing Center has been a definite highlight of my trip, an experience I will remember forever. Wayan is a nice looking Balinese woman with a spitfire personality. Her “office” opens onto the street and my initial “consultation” took place in front of complete strangers (this tends to be the norm with healers in Bali, there is no room for shyness or secrecy here). She began by examining my legs and back, looked into my eyes and at my tongue. Her assessment of everything was exactly right on point from the ligament issues that I have in my left knee to the lower back pain that I occasionally suffer from. She then read my palm which was also accurate. From there, I was escorted upstairs to a room where I was instructed to change into a sarong. I was then sat down on a chair and for the next hour and a half my body was scrubbed down with herbs, mud and potions by 2 to 3 people at a time. Wayan stood over me occasionally, chanting over my body and blowing on my stomach at random intervals. This was followed by an hour long massage, shower with herbs and the most delicious meal that I have had to date. At the end of the session, Wayan stood me in front of a mirror and asked me what I saw. I saw happiness. My skin and spirit were glowing. I feel grateful and fortunate. As I hugged Wayan goodbye, she whispered softly in my ear “you have a beautiful heart. Don’t get stuck in your mind. Live for today; not for yesterday. Now is all you have.” If I was a skeptic, I would have thought that the healer from the day before had called her up and warned her that I was coming but being a believer, I decide to take their guidance to heart. I too had something to heal, as do we all.

I have visited with psychics and Qi Gong teachers, spent days bathing in holy water with Balinese devotees, taken a trip to Nusa Lembongan (a little healing island just South of Bali) and even went in for a “chakra tune up” and so far the most healing experience I have had has been the time that I spend with the children at the orphanage teaching yoga. That is when I am most “present”, feel most grateful and most at peace. This is how I know that I have found my calling. When I look at photos that friends have taken of me teaching, I see the same “glow” in my face as the day I spent with Wayan. The children are my healers and my teachers and they are the reason I set out on this journey. If someone had told me 10 years ago while I was working as a publicist in New York, promoting Hip Hop stars and fashion designers, that I would end up teaching children yoga and meditation, I would have probably thought that they were crazy. And not crazy in a bad way, crazy in a “that’s too good to be true way". India and Bali have shown me that when you follow your heart and have faith in yourself, anything is possible.

Sending healing love and light from Ubud.
xoxo