I have loved this flat in Istanbul! But the time has come for me to let go and turn towards what is next. Old Constantinople is not going anywhere anytime soon – so it’s a great time to invest in this world class city.
Author Archive | Robin Sparks
Pigs or Politics?
I had dinner with 2 friends last night, both of whom have lived in Ubud for over 10 years. What do you think we talked about? Politics? Football?
No, we talked about pigs.
A New Face For Communal Living
I have dreamed of living in community for the past 3 years, and although I had thought it would happen in Bali, it has come to fruition in Marin, California.
Borders
How is it that we erect arbitrary lines between countries, keeping some people out and others in? Why do we do this???
Good Morning Bali
In this moment, in this skin, feeling this heart, sitting outside surrounded by rice paddies, bare feet, wrapped in a sarong, soft tropical air bathing body, tasting Bali coffee and cashew milk on my tongue, hearing a scooter motor past, birds twitter, and unseen things cackle and crow life into being, the flutter of wings, the buzz of a bee, all of us … greeting this moment.
Meanwhile, Back in Bali
I talked to my students about being in relationship to their writing as if the writing were an intimate partner. And so in honor of living what I teach. I’m here to say, I love you writing and I’m committing to more intimate time with you.
Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, October 2013
At the recent Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, there was an Indonesian author who touched me deeply.
Stepping Up
Most people don’t set themselves up to do things they don’t want to do. So why do I? I can’t really say. All I knew was that it was time.
Just Breathe
Whether you would like to recover from writer’s block, painful memories, negativity, the inability to solve a particular problem or whether you simply wish to experience incredible bliss, peace and blasts of insight that will change your life, breath work can take you there.
An Interview
So much has taken place these past 4 months…Now what? I’m packing up to return to Bali to facilitate “Breathe Life Into Your Book” at the lovely Kumara Sakti Resort in Ubud, Bali on October 6-13, 2013. We have just a few spots left, so if you’d like to join us, please email [email protected] ASAP.
Breathe Life Into Your Book – Ubud, Bali – Oct 6-11, 2013
Join me in Ubud, Bali for a writing retreat the week before the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. See you in beautiful Bali on Oct 6!
Breathing Underwater
Darth Vader-like, the manta rays arrived with mouths agape. I floated quietly gazing into their eyes saying silently, “You are such a beautiful creature”. Each one (there must have been 8-10 in all!) would appear, look me in the eye, then swoop away, bank like a plane, and return. Flashes of light sparkled through the water from divers wielding cameras on the ocean floor. I flapped my arms slowly, gracefully, mirroring (thank you NLP training!) their movements, and I did not follow or approach them, but waited for them to come to me, and come they did. Again and again.
I Dreamed I Met the Pope
I dreamed 5 nights ago that I met the Pope.
High Pea Allen Times Day
I have come alone to an Indonesian island called Nusa Lumbongan for a solo writing retreat.
One is the Un-Loneliest Number
My children and my former husband are boarding a plane in Bali at this very moment to return to California. As 2012 dovetails into 2013, I’m here to share with you something that is big for me. A long time dream of mine has come true.
Refugees – A True Story of Thanksgiving
Arim standing with his family of five says, “My life is in Iraq, my work as an English teacher. My home. My friends. But lately they are making it impossible for us to stay. When my daughter entered university to become a teacher like me, she was told to convert to Islam or she would be kidnapped and raped. It was then that we knew we had to go.”
Bangkok – So Bad It’s Good
I love big gnarly shiny Bangkok complete with all its jarring juxtapositions.
I am also in Bangkok for my yearly physical exam at one of the world’s most medically advanced and inexpensive (by US standards) hospitals. Kings and queens and just about everyone else with even a little bit of money or means in Asia come to Bumrungrad for medical care.
Out of Our Heads…with words
Tweet Words can take an us out of our heads and into our bodies…From intellect to full body sensuality From my favorite blogstress, Daniel LaPorte: “I want my day to feel like jazz. I want kissing to feel like eating an orange off the tree from Tuscany. I want my next success to feel like […]
Photos of Istanbul – December 2011
Last week I returned from a whirlwind business trip to Old Constantinople. Here are a few visual memories from my 10 days there.
Clicked My Heels 3 Times
Gated Communities and Homeless Dinners
I talk to some of the folks eating at the table with me, and it’s not entirely clear who is homeless and who is not. Except for the frightened wild eyed look in his eyes, the gentleman across the table could be from anywhere. I am careful to veer away from small schmooze – you know, questions like, “Where do you live?”
Decide to Rise
Decide to rise because you want to expand — your being, your life, your possibilities.
Decide to rise to explore your place in the universe.
Decide to rise because super powers are meant to be activated and applied to real life.
On the other side of deciding to rise is illumination, ecstasy, insight. And the angel of your strength is there waiting, smiling, applauding, with a goblet of endorphins for you. When you transcend circumstances you get special privileges. Like the deep knowing that life wants you to win, evidence that you are indeed amazing, and irrefutable proof that your mind chooses what matters.
Where to Live When All the World is Home
t got me thinking. I’ve been moving and living abroad in over a dozen countries on 6 continents for over a decade to learn who is moving where and why for articles and a book I was writing about expat life – and ultimately, to find my own way home.
I’m often asked what qualities are on my Where are the best places on the planet to be an expatriatelist. Here’s the short list
Safe
I was blissfully going through emails in my lumbong across the garden from my house in Bali this morning, when I read a friend’s newsletter. That was the first I heard about the recent “random shooting” in Arizona.
Wow, What a Workshop it Was
Each of us walked away from that workshop pregnant with cutting edge information about how to get our books out of our heads and out into the world.
Ready, Set, Back to Blogging
Hours later I was walking back home along Istiklal Avenue (a 2-mile pedestrian artery through central Istanbul with over 1000 restaurants, taverns and bars), when something caught my eye in a side alley way. Looking into an early evening summer sun, there in sillouette were several old Turkish men gathered around a tiny turkish table, a cloud of smoke billowing up behind them from the nargile pipe they shared, and I heard the click clack of backgammon pieces being picked up and set back down again on a wooden board. I was filled with something that can only be described as joy.
A Village
…at 3am I was woken by the sounds of chopping. I’d heard that Balinese men rise early to begin preparation of lawar before Galungan, but 3am? Yes, apparently so. One of Bali’s biggest holidays begins tomorrow, in celebration of ancestral spirits who come this time of year to visit.
Spirit of Place
Join us October 1-6, 2010 for Write and Sell That Book Now! An amazing adventure in Bali where you will learn how to get your book out of your head and out into the world! http://www.oneworldretreats.com/ubud_bali_yoga_retreat_robin_joanna.php
On Death, Aging & Ashtanga with Danny Paradise
So many yoga classes, so much time… Even though the festival is officially over, I thought I’d add a dash of after-blogging to the after party spirit.
Heal Yourself, Heal the World with Rebecca Pflaum
In December 2008, I heard there was a “famous” yogi named Rebecca Pflaum visiting Ubud. Having recently arrived in Bali after 3 years in Istanbul, and a year before that in Argentina, I was out of the international yoga loop. I’d never heard of Rebecca Pflaum and had never attended a Kundalini workshop.
