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.
