RESTING IN RADIANCE
All phenomena result from tricks of the my mind
Resting in the radiance of Inner Space
Fearlessness takes my hand
Into the world.
There is no need to react.
©Tara Khandro 2012
Me, My, Mine Monkey Mind
The island of Bali is full of monkeys, called long tailed Macaques. Tribes of monkeys claim their territory at beach temples, in mountain forests and in the thick jungles along rivers. In Ubud’s Monkey Forest and in the monkey forest in Sangeh, Bandung regency, these monkeys are sanctioned as sacred. When visitors walk into these monkey sanctuaries they have an opportunity to commune with their distant cousins. We humans, as mammals are classified as primates, along with lemurs and monkeys. All primates have large brains, grasping hands and forward looking eyes. According to evolutionists our closest mammal relative is the chimpanzee. Scientists have conducted many studies and experiments with all types of monkey species to know that we humans and monkeys possess similar emotional, psychological and rational thinking processes.
Monkeys are highly possessive and territorial, characteristics that many humans choose to emulate. Scientists have recently discovered that monkeys experience self doubt. Researchers also discovered that monkeys will ‘pay’ to be in the company of a monkey higher up the hierarchy. Like many humans, they will also ‘pay’ to see another monkey’s hindquarters.
The Balinese believe that monkeys inhabit both niskala-beyond the realm of the senses- and sekala-able to be sensed- aligning with the human view of living in a dual world. As a primate, the Macaque’s social life is highly structured with a king leading the mysterious activities of the community. Monkeys found living in Balinese temple sites are revered and protected, as they are seen as guardians of the temple. Before a ceremony at one of these temples, they will be fed. These sacred protectors are content and leave the ceremonial proceedings.
The Hindu tradition even has a monkey deity, Hanuman. Hanuman is believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva. Hanuman is worshiped for his devotion, strength, perseverance and humility. Hanuman is called upon as an inspiration to face challenges with the courage of an open heart. Hanuman reveals how each of us possesses an unlimited power within that can melt fear, no matter what form. This monkey deity is the hero in the epic poem the Ramayana for rescuing Sita, the beloved wife of Lord Rama, from the evil king, Rawana.
The past three months I am in co-habitation with a monkey in my compound. Cinta- which means love in Bahasa- was a 9 month old when she was purchased in a pet bizarre in Denpasar by a New Zealand woman. Cinta accompanied this woman on a two month tour of Bali. When Cinta’s travel partner returned to her home country, Cinta began a life at the end of a chain. Cinta has adapted well to her captive life, is well taken care of, has many toys to play with and is loved by many humans. Since living with her I have come to more intimately understand what Buddha described as the ‘monkey mind’(kapicitta) of us humans.
Monkey mindis what I call the “mini me mind”. This mind is all about me, my and mine. It loves to focus upon very small, meaningless objects like jealousy, lust, and greed. It feels most comfortable when it is attached, craving and delusional. Cinta loves to chew, just like our judgments, guilt and fear gnaw away at our esteem. Cinta also has a small attention span, equating to our delusions which prefer projections of our feelings rather than feeling our feelings. Cinta is not content with allowing what is to be without commenting, narrating and jumping to conclusions. The mini me mind loves to posses, just like little Cinta. When I give her a banana, she swiftly takes it as far up the tree away from me as possible. When I come close to her, she screams at me, and then turns her back looking at me with hooded eyes saying: “Go away! This is my banana.” She is in full possession of her possession and she is possessed in that moment. The moment we choose to discover how to rest this restless mini me mind we begin to observe just how possessed with me, my and mine we are.
What separates us humans from our primate brothers and sisters is our brain’s capacity to transform the lower animal nature into an expanded consciousness. This consciousness allows us to be aware that we are Spirit in matter. In Sanskrit the word human is composed of two sounds: Hu meaning ‘divine’ and man meaning ‘mind’. Our essential Nature is ‘Hu-Man’. A divine mind is as vast as the sky abiding eternally in the here and now. The mini me mind has aligned itself with this greater mind. If we are to rest this restless monkey mind we want to make friends with it. Call this mini me mind Cinta. I have spent many hours with my Cinta mind as well as with Cinta. In communing with both I develop love for Cinta as separate from my divine self, yet inclusive of all that I am. Therefore, I do not want to reject my mini me mind.
As a result of making friends with Cinta she trusts me. When we play, she will stop and present her bottom to me. I am so honored. I then affectionately pet her soft back and stroke her very long, strong tail. This trust then enables me to, when appropriate, firmly say ‘No’ to behavior may not be appropriate towards developing good relations. We are developing a true relationship with boundaries and respect. Our monkey mind endlessly chatters away with meaningless sounds, just as Cinta does. I just calmly sit, breathe and watch Cinta chat about illusions of her own making. Eventually Cinta ceases her chattering. She will relax, open her legs, look at me and breathe with me.
This little love monkey has also shown me the power of play, curiosity and discernment. When I give her a piece of fruit or an object, she reaches for it, touches it, yet before she takes it she carefully looks at it and smells it. She never refuses anything and she takes it and explores it in its entirety before she discerns that it is not for her. When it is not for her, she is very clear of her choice, like a sword making a clear, clean cut. Cinta might become aggressively possessed and protective of her territory, yet she does it in the spirit of play and curiosity. When we sit with the monkey antics of our mini me mind in the spirit of play with curiosity we begin to ask questions that arise from wonder, not fear or rationalization. “Hm, I wonder what this anger is about when so and so says blah blah to me? How wonder-full that I am given this opportunity to look within to see what is creating my reaction and suffering.”
I was sitting in contemplation by a river when I heard a loud shaking of the tree behind me. When I turned to look I glimpsed movement passing to another tree. A few moments passed before I saw King Monkey and he saw me. We communed, and then he continued leading his tribe across a very wide and deep gorge.
I was in awe of these little beings that are so much like me. The mothers carefully carried their babies and older little ones discovered the power of their tails and feet to propel them across empty space. Monkeys are fearless. They just leap with an open heart, spreading their arms and legs wide allowing gravity to pull them down, eventually they find a limb to grab onto and continue their trek. These wild monkeys moved with such confidence, grace, trust and agility inspiring me to feel and cultivate these same qualities as I move through life.
Om Swastyastu
Tara Khandro
Biking on Bali
Bicycling has been an integral part of my life as recreation, sport (training with my Olympic biking buddies) transportation and even a livelihood-as bike messenger in Chicago-since I was 8 years old. A midnight blue Huffy bicycle was my life’s first major purchase. My Dad became my first employer as he paid me to take off bagworms from evergreen trees, cut the grass, and clean his workroom. He also taught me the power of visualizing my desire into actualization. Dad secured a magazine page advertisement for the Huffy bike onto the ceiling above my bed. It was the last thing I saw before I went to sleep and the first thing that I saw when I arose to a new day. With the ecstatic power of achievement I walked into the Danville, Indiana bike shop, traded my fistful of dollars for the Huffy and rode away on my new shiny one speed steed.
I was reminded of that first bike when I accompanied Bagio who owns Banyan Tree Bike Tours in Sayan and his 8 year old son Yogi on a ‘Fun Bike Cross Country Tour’ organized by Banjar Samu on a gorgeous Sunday Bali morning. Hundreds of Balinese of all ages and riding levels gathered at the starting gate as Cokorda Ardana Sukawati, a member of the Ubud Royal family, waved the black and white checkered flag to officially open the event. The fun tour included routes for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders. Bagio and I chose the 18km advanced tour, leading us along rugged dirt jungle trails, through rice paddies, village roads with no traffic and main roads leading through Bandung and Gianyar. A 15,000 rupia ticket earned an entry into a raffle with prizes such as cell phones and bicycles. The grand prize was a Yamaha Mio donated by Waja Motor.
I met Suara Cita as we deposited our tickets in the raffle box. I asked him if he was a veteran bicycle rider or a beginner: “I have been riding a bike for 9 years’, he proudly declares. “I like to ride a bicycle because it is fun and it eases my stress. I like to come to these events because I meet friends and establish relationships. Maybe your ticket is a lucky number!” My ticket not so lucky, yet Suara’s number gifted him with a new cell phone.
The past two years has seen an increase in the numbers of Balinese youth and adults riding bikes on the island. Marde Sumardi owns Wim Cycle in Peliatan. He said that in the past 8 months sales have increased: “More people want to ride bikes to be with friends, to have fun and to improve their health.” Bike riding is a flat out fun holistic form of exercise as biking uses every part of the body. Cycling is an inexpensive, non-competitive activity that increases cardio vascular health, improves muscle tone, eats up calories, builds stamina, flexibility and coordination, releases stress, and improves mental acuity. During the Sunday Fun Tour, as we were riding on narrow rice paddy trails, my concentration swayed when I heard an inner voice say to me, “You are dehydrated.” In that moment I lost control of the bike and fell head first in an irrigation ditch. As I sat in the ditch and watched the stream of riders flow past me a few voices queried: “What are you doing down there?”
Marde feels that “Bicycle riding has many benefits. One of them is that bikes do not pollute the air.” Marde employs 6 men in his busy bike shop that sells new and used bikes, repairs bikes and makes custom mountain bikes from old bikes. The shop also sells new bikes for children from ages 2-6. A new adult bike at Wim Cycle can cost 500,000-1,500,000. Marde rides with his family at least once a week. Sometimes he rides to Peliatan from his home in Blahbatuh, and his favorite route is up to Bangli.
Many resident expats ride bicycles as transportation in Ubud while others who love bike riding find the experience on Bali, with the packed, narrow roads harrowing. The few times I rented a bicycle for a day I made it out on the roads before the motorbike mayhem started and had an easy, breezy ride. Although I am one to explore new ground, I found it challenging to find lesser traveled roads without a map or a guide. My experience of bike riding on Bali expanded when I received a bike tour for two with Banyan Tree Bike Tours as a prize for my poem in the 2010 Ubud Readers and Writers Festival Poetry Slam.
Banyan Tree Bike Tours (recommended by Lonely Planet) arose from Bagio’s desire to create a business where he could spend more time with his family. “When I left the cruise company I sold tickets to the Legong and Kecak dances. I was also a driver. When I did this I asked people how and what they wanted to experience about Bali. People responded that they wanted to experience the nature of daily life. I used to ride my bicycle from Sayan to Denpasar to university from 1987-1990 where I was enrolled to study to be a Senior High School teacher. I used a small racing bike so I got to know all of the shortcuts.”
My friend Liz and I embarked on an intermediate level bike tour with Bagio, taking us from Pecang near Mt. Batukaru (where we had an organic breakfast) finishing up with a traditional organic Balinese meal at Bagio’s family compound in Sayan. Five knowledgeable, attentive and fit guides accompanied 14 cyclists on a spectacular 4 hour tour through Bandung and Gianyar regencies. “It took us a long time to find these routes. We just set out on our bikes and started at 6 different locations and talked with the people in the villages.” Bagio tells me.
The route takes us on little traveled roads with very few motorized vehicles, through rice fields and small villages, down and up steep hills and over a river. We stop at a temple with a 200 year old Banyan tree and take a rest at a magnificent irrigation system damn where we meet a few termites and learn about their life. At the damn the guides offer us bananas to replenish our potassium. Three vans follow the group, providing assistance and plenty of water.
We leave the damn by walking and sometimes carrying our bikes up a long and gradual incline leading towards a road. We emerge onto a vast stretch of empty pavement where marigolds and patchouli flowers wave to us from emerald green rice fields. This leg of the trip is truly inspiring as each of us are able to experience riding for a few kilometers at our own pace, relaxing into the brilliance of Nature. The tour also includes a stop at a family compound where we discover the meaning of its design. We also witness cock fight training, and are introduced to coffee and cacao trees, spices and medicinal plants.
Sobek Bali- Adventures of Sayan was the first bike tour company on Bali, opening in 1989. Now there are 26 bike tour companies. Each company, except for Trailblazers who offers off road mountain bike adventures, provides tour participants with an introduction to Balinese daily life and natural agriculture. Bike tours travel through Bandung, Tabanan, and Gianyar and Karangasem regencies.
I accompanied an Egyptian couple on their honeymoon for a 40k ride from Kintamani to Pejeng with Bali Bintang Tour (also recommended by Lonely Planet). The owner of Bali Bintang, Wayan Augus Darmade started the company 15 years ago at the suggestion of an Australian friend. “Bintang became the third bike company on the island. For two years after the Bali bombing, we had very little business. Now we have 150 bikes and have two tours a day.”
All tour companies pick riders up at their hotel in Nusa Dua, Kuta, Jimbaran, Seminyak, Sanur and Ubud. They all provide insurance, helmets, lunch and plenty of water. I met the Bali Bintang van at the Ubud Palace and we headed up to Kintamani. Before reaching Kintamani we stopped at a small plantation that grows coffee, chocolate, spices, fruits and medicinal herbs. We then were offered free tastings of coffee, chocolate, ginseng, rosella, and ginger tea. Before we set out on our bike trek we relaxed at a restaurant overlooking Lake Batur, and munched on pisang goreng (fried bananas).
A word of guidance: Before you embark on a steep downhill bike ride make sure that your brakes work. Our guide did not make this check, nor did I think to do it, as I trusted the company to have prepared the bikes. Once we started downhill, each of us realized our brakes were loose. My front wheel was wobbly which did not make me feel secure. Ponee, our guide switched bikes with me and he rode the bike for the entire route. Ponee was an excellent, caring guide, providing us with signals for holes, when to turn left and right, and when we were approaching a steep descent or incline. This is a tour that all levels of riders will enjoy, even children.
The first stop we made was at a village school where we observed 9 year old boys and girls learning math and 6 year olds learning Balinese. Shortly thereafter we stopped at a family compound. The remainder of the tour we were free to take our time and stop when we wanted. The route did not take us through rice fields or on off road trails, rather through villages and back roads and on only two short steep hills. In several villages different kinds of ceremonies were taking place and we stopped to feel, breathe and partake.
The final 15 km from the giant banyan tree on the Tampaksiring road to the ending at Wayan’s family compound for lunch in Pejeng was astounding. I asked Ponee if he paid the villages to hide their roosters, chickens, dogs, children, women carrying loads on their heads and motorbikes. The roads were literally empty. When we arrived at the compound we were given cold wet towels, more water and a delicious Traditional lunch. For me the best soto ayam I have ever tasted.
In February 2012 the Governor of Bali invited the owners of all 26 bike companies to a meeting in Gianyar. The daylong session included discussions on insurance, restaurant standards, how to dispose of plastic waste, and generally provided an opportunity for the normally competitive companies, to come together to solve problems and share ideas. Bagio felt it was a productive meeting and that if the “government of Bali invites all of us, that tells me it cares about bicycle riding on Bali.”
Om Swastyastu
Sobek: www.bali-adventures.com
Contact the writer: tara@true-human.com
THE OCEAN’S RAINFORESTS
The first time I encountered the magic of a coral reef Ringo Starr accompanied me in my head singing ‘I’d ask my friends to come and see an octopus’ garden with me.’ I was transfixed by the neon colored corals and the abundant diversity of marine life happily swimming in this underwater garden. My first impulse was to lie down on this rainbow painted reef and intimately commune with its rich life, just as I would lie in a mountain meadow. Yet I was told before the dive that although this coral looks as if it is static like stone, coral are colorful creatures akin to the jellyfish.
Coral begin their life as free-floating larvae. Eventually the larva attaches itself to a hard surface and grows into a polyp. A single coral polyp may be as large as a saucer or smaller than the head of a pin. The polyp begins to form colonies that then sexually or asexually reproduce. A coral polyp consists primarily of tentacles, a mouth and a gut looking a bit like an upside down jellyfish. Many corals are passive feeders on plankton. Most corals also receive nutrition symbiotically from microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) living within their tissue. Coral polyps are generally nocturnal feeders. Millions of these tiny baby polyps cooperatively work as colony, through successive generations to create the limestone skeletons that form the framework of a coral reef. A reef grows very slowly. It may take up to a hundred years for a coral reef to grow one foot.
Coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea. Like the rainforests they are a biologically diverse ecosystem. Coral reefs occupy 0.07 percent of the combined oceans floor yet they are home to one quarter of the world’s marine species. The oceans rainforests serve as home for many fish that find themselves on a plate for dinner. The reefs generate billions of dollars annually in tourist and commercial fishing revenues. These ocean walls act as a barrier against storms and recently, scientists have discovered that coral communities may contain medicinal ingredients leading to treatment for cancer, malaria and the HIV virus. And like their rainforest siblings the coral reefs are vulnerable to the controlling interests of humans who do not comprehend their value in maintaining sustainable life for humanity on planet earth.
These curious coral creatures are fragile. Stepping on a coral with a foot or a huge rubber fin extinguishes its life. Dropping an anchor on coral completely devastates that part of the reef. In Central America the reef known as The Belize Wall has only 50 percent live coral due to anchor damage from irresponsible dive masters. Snorkeling tourists pluck live coral from the garden to take home with them as a souvenir. 50 million tons of red and pink coral are harvested annually without regard to their regeneration to create necklaces worth USD $25,000. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists blue, black and fire coral as endangered and is now considering adding the red and pink coral.
The 2011 World Resources Institute (WRI) report entitled Reefs at Risk found that 75% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by local and global impacts, including climate change. The report concluded that conservation efforts during the past decade have failed to halt overfishing, dynamite fishing, coastal development and pollution. Greenhouse gas emissions contributing to rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification due to higher carbon dioxide levels are killing coral reefs worldwide. Indonesia is identified as one of the 9 most vulnerable countries to coral reef degeneration.
“At their core, reefs are about people as well as nature: Ensuring stable food supplies, promoting recovery from coral bleaching, and acting as a magnet for tourist dollars. We need apply the knowledge we have to shore up existing protected areas, as well as to designate new sites where threats are highest, such as the populous hearts of the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Middle East,” said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy and a lead author of the Reefs at Risk report. A baby coral polyp may not be as heart wrenching as a polar bear or orangutan, yet these vulnerable, beautiful beings are designed to create a home for the oceans sea creatures-fish, dolphins, turtles and whales.
The Municipality of Pemuteran, Singaraja, Northwest Bali along with local dive shops, restaurants and hotels have been forerunners in regenerating and maintaining healthy reefs in what is now known as the Pemuteran Coral Reef Protected Area. Eleven years ago the reefs in this exquisitely beautiful sheltered bay were devastated by dynamite blasting, overfishing and irresponsible divers. 100 year old corals were banished with the bombs. Now 300 meters of coral reef situated on 2 hectares is home to The Karang Lesteri Project, the largest Biorock® coral nursery and restoration project in the world, exceeding the combined sizes of all other ongoing projects in the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean.
In June 2000 Tom Goreau and Wolf Hilbertz of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, a non-profit coral reef protection organization introduced Electrolytic Mineral Accretion Technology (Biorock®) to the inhabitants of Pemuteran Bay as a safe, rapid method to regenerate the reef. Wolf, an architect invented Biorock® as a form of alternative construction materials. Tom Goreau saw its use as a safe, easy way to restore reefs.
The technology is simple: Construct a steel structure for the coral polyp to attach and run a few megahertz of electricity through the steel to cause dissolved minerals to crystallize on structures. These minerals grow into a white limestone- similar to that which naturally makes up coral reefs and tropical white sand beaches-and has strength similar to concrete. The coral polyp then has familiar calcium like structure to attach to and can begin its life.
To regenerate two hectares of reef requires many hands and many structures. Biorock® technology combines science, creativity and community building to ensure a conscious interdependent relationship between reef, ocean and human. To date 56 Biorock® forms have been constructed by locals and internationals attending Biorock® workshops. 1 centimeter to 1.3 centimeters in diameter steel rods are pieced together to form various shapes such as a turtle, manta ray, flower and pyramid. The coral that grows on these configurations are exceptionally brightly colored and resistant to environmental stress. The colonies are brighter than their naturally growing counterparts, grow more rapidly and support dense populations of a variety of marine life.
The corals selected for transplantation were those that were significantly damaged and most likely die, thus avoiding more damage to healthy corals. When the corals attain healthy maturity, some are transplanted to reefs farther out in the bay regenerating reefs that supply local fishermen with their livelihood and others remain in their Biorock® nurseries providing a few awe inspired meters of diving and snorkeling trails. The fishermen and villagers experience the value in regenerating the reefs as their livelihoods are now more abundant with fish and tourists.
Celia Gregory a London based mosaic artist says “Nature is my Goddess. She provides me with the flowing receptivity that provides me with inspiration and magic for my mosaics.” Celia, a dive master is forging a path into new creative waters with her underwater sculpture The Coral Goddess. “When I first saw Pemuteran Bay I envisioned a statue of a goddess rising out of a coral lotus flower sitting underwater.” The Coral Goddess, officially welcomed and blessed with a full Balinese ceremony, is a living artwork dedicated to the health of the seas.
The goddess figurine is made out of volcanic stone and sits in a lotus shaped Biorock® assembly. “I collected only the loose and damaged baby corals from the surrounding reef much like a gardener lovingly creates a garden with a vision for what it will look like in full bloom.” The Biorock® structures in Pemuteran Bay are fueled through the donation of electricity from business owners along the beach. The Coral Goddess is the first Biorock® structure to receive its electrical charge from the sun and the wind.
As The Coral Goddess reigns as a protective deity in Pemuteran Bay, the Great Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is under siege by a vast dredging program conducted by the Gladstone Ports Corporation. This Goliath has won approval from the Australian government to dredge 46 million cubic meters (the size of 27 cricket grounds) from the reef to construct three coal seam gas plants over the next 20 years. The toxins from the dredging are washing fish onto shore with a strange flesh disease. In the first 6 months of this operation of reef rape there has been a steep increase in deaths of endangered marine wildlife - 6 dolphins, 10 dugongs and 231 turtles. We are not separate from the earth. What we do to the earth results in destruction to ourselves.
Oceans are great open hearts refusing no rivers and receiving all that floats into Her waters. If you love the ocean, diving and/or snorkeling then place a visit to the Pemuteran Coral Reef Protected Area on your list of things to experience on Bali. Being with the goddess and the other delightful living constructions activates deep appreciation for the wealth, comfort, grace and strength of the sea. The diversity of marine life is exceptional due to the vibrant health of the restored reef which attracts dense populations of fish. The bay also benefits from long term visits from diverse marine life due to the reef’s proximity to the Rajat Ampat reef located in the Northwestern tip of Indonesia’s Papuan ‘Bird’s Head Seascape.” Rajat Ampat lies in the heart of the coral triangle, the most bio-diverse marine region on earth.
Rani Morrow-Wuigk a diver and underwater photographer resides on Pemuteran Bay and has created a unique coral conservation project entitled “Adopt A Baby Coral Project.” Rani lets us know that “Each one of us can help the earth. We just need to find a way to contribute…with gratitude. It is all about gratitude.”
To adopt a baby coral: http://biorockbali.webs.com/
The Marine Foundation and the Coral Goddess: http://www.themarinefoundation.org/
Maha Gaia: Midwife of Enlightenment
If we are to relieve ourselves from the causes of our suffering we must come into a steady, joyful and reverent relationship with the earth. We are not separate from Maha Gaia. She is us and we are Her. Our body as the vehicle for our soul is an amazing piece of creative technology. It contains the entire Cosmos. These temporary abodes are composed of the elements of nature and each of us is an integral component of the interdependent nature of Nature.
Maha Gaia’s body is home to 7 billion human beings. Each of these human beings needs water to drink, air to breathe, food to eat and a space to reside. Maha Gaia is a living, breathing Presence that has been transforming and evolving since her inception as a planet. She is now moving through an accelerated consciousness shift, and all 7 billion of her sons and daughters are intimately affected.
The moment we chose to own a piece of Maha Gaia’s flesh, to view the land as a commodity to be traded and sold was the moment modern humanity fell from Grace. Fear of scarcity thus became the driver of choices. All over the planet human beings are fighting to the death over ownership of land and water. Others are rapidly constructing structures that obliterate rice, wheat and corn fields without any awareness of how this development impacts upon the resources we need to sustain life, not to mention how this craving affects the next 7 generations. For 5,000 years we have raped Maha Gaia’s land, clear cut Her forests, redirected Her rivers, controlled Her weather patterns, trashed Her oceans and polluted Her air. This dominating relationship reveals how we relate to the female gender and all attributes of the sacred Feminine.
The results of the assaults on Maha Gaia must be approached from a symptomatic viewpoint in terms of living our daily lives with less environmental impact through conscious choice, education, governing laws, and business practices. Yet the most profound and lasting change of direction happens when we turn inward to honestly view how the hostility towards the sacred Feminine has created the conditions for Maha Gaia to be in an environmental crises. If we are to come into a steady, joyful, reverent relationship with the earth we must turn within to honestly view how we relate to the earth and all of Her creatures. We must sit with ourselves and discover how we truly feel about mother, our body, silence, integrity, love, non-violence, empathy, females, receptivity, waiting, food, feelings, change, cycles, transformation, heart, creativity, and intuition.
The essence of the Feminine principle is receptivity. This principle has been distorted into the characteristics of submission and dependence within us. Maha Gaia, as a living, breathing Presence like each of us, also has a dharma, a duty to humankind: To awaken, purify and lead us to fully embody the joyful radiance of our True Nature. Yet if we are not willing to receive Her loving desire for us to be happy then we will continue to suffer the illusion that we are separate from Her and All that Is.
When we seek to acquire, striving for security, we are acting out of ‘my will be done’. We want to be happy and liberated from our suffering, yet our desire to force and control maintains our suffering. Our mind, divorced from body, from the sacred feminine, strategizes and rationalizes preventing us from receiving that which is our true heart’s desire. Maha Gaia is calling upon Her children to discover how to ask, wait, surrender, listen, receive and then act. If we truly want to experience a life of grace, joy and ease it is imperative that we re-member our relationship with Maha Gaia. In this cosmic consciousness transforming era, She is summoning us to surrender to remember that we are One with Her and all living things. In this surrendering we relax to receive the eternal Truth that it is not ‘my will be done’ rather ‘Thy will be done’.
Prince Siddhartha was a man who knew how to ask, sit, wait, surrender, listen, receive and act. Asking can be defined as a sacred Masculine trait as the question is formed in the mind. Action is also Masculine. The ‘body’ between the head and the feet of action is the realm of the Feminine. As a young man Siddhartha’s heart called for him to discover the root causes within a human being that continually create a ceaseless cycle of suffering. Siddhartha was an excellent student of the yogis and sayasans of his time because he approached his adventure with the curiosity of a child. Siddhartha was his own guru, taking the teachings into the truth of his own daily experience; into what inside of him created the conditions to cultivate continual suffering.
One day Siddhartha sat underneath a sacred fig tree (a banyan tree) and settled into meditation. He closed his eyes, sank into his body, and began to dissolve himself into the flow of his breathing. The technology of meditation is designed to still the mind and to reveal what is hiding in the closed closets of our hearts. It may be an addiction to perfection, self loathing, or an unrecognized talent. As Siddhartha sank more deeply into his breathing, and emptied his mind the locked doors of his heart flew open and terror, greed, jealousy, doubt and discontent came rushing towards him.
Siddhartha simply recognized, accepted and allowed these faces of fear to be and steadied himself in the flow of his breathing. He did not feed these illusions by identifying with them or taking a sentimental journey into their story. He simply saw them as hungry ghosts. Soon craving, aversion, malice, and hypocrisy arose along with guilt, blame and rejection. These squadrons of fear tempted Siddhartha: “Come to us! We are your true identity! You cannot live without us! It is in us that you will find your true path in the world. It is with us that you will gain much wealth, prestige and power!” Siddhartha responded by anchoring more firmly into the radiant roots of his Being.
Finally, the origin of Siddhartha’s deepest, darkest and oldest fear arose as a demon, Mara. Mara proclaimed: ‘I’m the seat of enlightenment. Feed me, honor me. All belongs to me. All is mine. My accomplishments are far greater than yours ever will be!” Then all of Mara’s protégés loudly cried, “Yes, I am Mara’s witness!” Then Mara asked Siddhartha: “Who will speak for you?”
Siddhartha responded by extending his right fingertips to touch the earth. Gaia rose up and roared: “I bear you witness!” As Gaia roared Siddhartha’s body became aflame with the eternal fire of Shakti and Mara and his legions were completely destroyed, never to appear again. As Venus, the morning star appeared in the sky, Siddhartha embodied his Buddha Nature.
Siddhartha created a steady, joyful and reverent relationship with Maha Gaia through his years of inner training as he performed yoga asanas and sat in meditation in Maha Gaia’s forests and fields. He was nourished by Her fruit and seeds and found protection in Her forests. When the full impact of his lifetimes of terror assaulted him, he was ready to cease the battle and return Home. Siddhartha relaxed into receptivity, becoming a reverent receptacle for Mother’s wisdom to continually flow. He only needed to touch Maha Gaia with the willingness to completely receive and She responded with the full force of Her fierce compassion- of Her Love that only wants us to be happy and free.
Om Swastyastu
©Tara Khandro
Contact the writer at: tara@
The Ganesha God’s Eye View
While working with National Public Television in the United States I had the opportunity to meet the author Thomas Wolfe. Thomas Wolfe was known for wearing pristine white suites which matched his full head of white hair. The only memory I have of our dialog together was his answer to my question: “Why white suites?” His answer: “Every time I experience writer’s block I buy a white suite.” As a young play write and documentary filmmaker I had yet to experience writer’s block. It was so out of the realm of my experience I didn’t even ask Mr. Wolfe the meaning of ‘writer’s block.’ I simply surmised that he must experience it a lot considering he only wears white suites.
A few years later in the midst of writing my first book I experienced writer’s block. Some days I would show up at my desk ready to go and nothing flowed. No matter what I did to move energy, I felt like a ‘blockhead’. I remembered Mr. Wolfe in his white suites and wondered what kind of a costume would serve to remove my obstacles. It was at that point a wooden statue of the Hindu deity Ganesha came into my life. Ganesha was my white suite.
We met at a shop filled with sacred statues from around the world. I immediately fell in love with this elephant headed male baring an abundant belly and a twinkle in his eye. His red body, adorned with gold and green accents, was alive. I could hear the tablas was playing calling me. This Ganesha was inviting me to dance with the divine. The owner of the shop said that Ganesha is the deity Hindus call upon to remove barriers. She also told me that this ancient Indian statue had been sitting in her store for years, waiting for the right person. I issued this jolly Ganesha an invitation into my home. Ganesha agreed and we have been friends for the past fourteen years.
Ganesha is my right hand man as I write. His energy of celebration removes the obstacle of seriousness for me. Seriousness tends to freeze the brain waves. He is my Shiva to my Shakti. Ganesha is invoked at the commencement of many Balinese ceremonies to ensure success and is positioned at the entrance of Balinese compounds. Ganesha is the deity for writers and activates wit, wisdom and knowledge. Many paintings, batiks and statues show Ganesha with a pen and a book. Ganesha is recognized as the deity who facilitated the writing of the Hindu epic scripture, the Mahabharata from which the many stories composing Balinese dances and shadow plays are derived.
The author of the Mahabharata, poet and sage, Vyasa invoked the great Ganesha to be his scribe. Ganesha gleefully accepted. He felt the writing of such a significant work to be such an honor that no ordinary pen would do. Ganesha broke off one of his tusks and made a pen out of it. This tusk became the conduit through which the divine teachings of the Mahabharata were transmitted.
After Ganesha broke off his tusk he playfully posed a condition upon Vyasa: That he dictate to him continuously without pause. Vyasa agreed to this challenge offering his own condition: That Ganesha understands every word and concept before writing it down. Thus was set up an intricate rhythm of generating and assimilating divine wisdom. When Ganesha completed writing a verse, Vyasa would dictate a profound stanza. This required Ganesha to rest, reflect and integrate the meaning of the words, giving Vyasa time for another wave of words to arrive. The writing of the greatest scripture in the Hindu tradition becomes an example of a right relationship between the messenger and scribe.
You don’t have to be a writer to be an author. Each of us is the author of our life. We receive a message from within which formulates a desire compelling a choice of action thus writing our life. We all experience times as a blockhead. The vehicle for Ganesha is a rat or mouse. This rodent is depicted underneath Ganesha’s left foot. At first glance the juxtaposition of this huge elephant man riding this tiny animal evokes absurd laughter. What I have come to know as the meaning of Mr. Rat is that wisdom is derived from accepting and understanding those gnawing creatures within us-craving, aversion, attachment-that seek to separate us from living into our innate knowledge. A rat is destructive to the rice fields, to that which provides sustaining nourishment. Our inner rats can overtake the field from which Source shines within creating a rat delusion-we begin to think that we are the rat instead of the infinitely expansive Ganesha.
One day, as I was deeply absorbed in the experience of understanding one of my inner obstacles, discontent, I took myself for a long walk in the rice fields. Nearing the end of my meditative contemplation a mouse appeared on the path. Instead of fleeing from my big, bare feet he simply stood and looked at me. I looked at him. And as I looked at him I suddenly felt myself as the huge, rotund Ganesha looking down upon this tiny mouse beneath my feet. My entire Being expanded into Light. I began to witness this moment from the Ganesha God’s Eye View.
What I saw: This discontent that is chewing away at me is so small and I am making it so big! I am judging it, maligning it and letting it manipulate me until my mind is so clouded that all I see before me is a wretched etching of a lifeless life. My discontent is this little mouse. In that moment of revelation, I slowly raised my big toe which was in front of the mouse’s nose. The mouse reacted and leaped into the ravine along with my discontent.
All of our obstacles arise from within or without as invitations to rest, reflect, digest and understand. Too often when we experience a damn in the flow of life we react as the rat to my big toe: in a flight or flight response. This reaction arises from an experience in our past that has locked itself inside of our autonomic nervous system. In this fearful reaction our heart shuts down and our mind becomes a black magic pot stewing with anger, blame and shame. Ganesha’s huge belly symbolically shows us that we contain the whole universe and that when we root into this Source we have the ability to fearlessly digest whatever experiences that life brings us.
Ganesha guides us into a balance between the spiritual and the mundane. He bestows bountiful boons for an affluent life. Every tiny creature has a purpose in this great divine play. Like the tiny mouse who can scurry into small nooks and crannies Ganesha can seek out that within our own mind has become a barrier. If we perceive and believe something to be an obstacle, so it is. If we see what is before us as a guru guiding us toward discovering alternative solutions and revealing what is hidden from view then we have the potential to cease being a block head. We then become the Ganesha God’s Eye View.
Below is a simple Ganesha chant:
Om Ghung Ganapataye Namaha!
:
Om = Activates the divine principle
Ghung = The identifying seed syllable, or bija mantra for Ganesh
Ganapataye = Another name for Ganesh
Namaha = Brining the vibration of Ganesh into your heart as your own
Pronounciation:
Om = A U M
Guhng = As it sounds
Ganapataye = gah-nah-paht-ah-yeh
Namaha - nah-mah-hah
Om Swastyatu
Contact the writer at: tarakhadro@yahoo.com
My True Mother
I look into the mirror.
My face is
Black, Blue, Bleeding Broken
I’m an actress. My face is who I am.
In the center of my facial disarray
I see two black spots, the portals to my soul
I gaze into the invitation of this endless night
Hm, I wonder… What is my True Face?
Clambering with curiosity I dive into the vast void
Sliding down into myself
Shockwaves from the trauma with the rapist’s rage
Dissolving
As I return to rest and reside in my bodily abode
Slithering through unexplored territory
Unfelt feelings appear grasping for attachment.
Terror Rage Grief Blame and Shame
I frankly free fall past these new acquaintances
Intuitively I sense: These are not who I truly am. This is not my True Face
Dropping Deeeeeeper Dowwwwwwn Into The Depths of my Being
I see it: A tiny golden white light
Pulsing in the womb of my belly.
“This is it! This is my True Face! This is the Face before I was born!
In that recognition Maha Shakti roars through me
An eruption of the eternal creative fire that birthed the Universe
My entire body aflame with Electric Love
Activating Awakened Awareness:
In the midst of unfathomable pain and violence
Your loving fire rises up as the Phoenix
Showing me how to cultivate a new life
From the many dimensions of my turmoil.
“YES! Mother Shakti my midwife to rebirth me as my True Face!
Maha Shakti You are my guru, guiding me
To fully feel and possess my rejected feelings
As the sparks Igniting evolutionary revelations
Leading towards a radical revolution of my heart.
My own mother rejected me as the perpetrator who made her a victim at my birth.
Her “I Love You’s…’ full of fear
Shakti rising up from the molten core of Gaia
Grounds me in Gaia’s Unconditional love
For me as her daughter.
Belonging to Gaia. Belonging to my self.
Gaia, my True Mother
Magical Surrender
Return to your breath and know yourself as God
This is magic
The magic of surrender
Surrendering into suspension by the iron rings of Faith
Innocently melting into Mother’s arms
Rocking us in Her endless sea of Love
We stand
Rooted in the rootless radiance within
Soaring with rainbow wings of Light
Fearlessly welcoming all guests
Knocking at the door of the heart.
What gifts are you giving me oh Wicked One?
What revelations are you revealing for me oh, Masked One?
What surprise have you selected for me oh, Sweet One?
In this Magic Surrender
We return to live as IAM that IAM
Golden Goodness
Divine Authority
Authoring our lives
Writing from the future
Stepping into alignment
With our destiny…
Now.
Part II: HIV/AIDS on Bali: Communication is the Cure
(for Bali Advertiser)
The vibrant 15 year old boy in a white shirt, navy pants and blazer stands in front of his classmates with the confidence of a professional television announcer. As he unwraps a small package the size of a matchbook, he explains how a condom protects against HIV infection. In spite of his difficulty in opening up the packet, he is not deterred from his information dissemination intent. Finally, the condom is released from the envelope. The young man places it on top of the wooden dildo. “You must be careful while putting on the condom that it does not break.” As he says these words his hands expertly begin to slip the piece of latex over the tip of the dildo. It stretches halfway down the wooden penis then “SNAP!” The 59 students involved in the AYO! Kita Bicara HIV-AIDS education workshop burst out laughing.
Laughter is also the response when the children hear testimony from a classmate that a 16 year old friend recently passed away from AIDS. This laughter contains lack of empathy as well as fear- 48% of the HIV positive population of Bali are young men and women between the ages of 15-29. A program facilitator gently, yet firmly informs the students that they must break through the stigma and discrimination of living with HIV-AIDS, with empathy and understanding. Communication, empathy and understanding are keys to unlock the silence surrounding the spread of the HIV virus on Bali.
At the writing of this article in November 2011, Bali ranked second after Papua, New Guinea for the highest number of humans infected with HIV in Indonesia in relationship to the total population. At a 2008 seminar on the control and prevention of HIV-AIDS, Dr. Nyoman Mangku Karmaya, Chairman of the Committee for Combating AIDS warned that “The threat of drowning in Bali is not only posed by tsunamis composed of sea water, but also by a increasingly growing tsunami of HIV-AIDS sufferers threatening to drown and overwhelm the island.” According to Bali’s Commission of AIDS Prevention, the number of Balinese infected with AIDS may well rise to over 7,000 cases by the end of 2011. The tsunami has landed.
The stigma and shame associated with being HIV positive, combined with beliefs that HIV is one’s karma and destiny, a cultural expectation for men to have many sex partners and ignorance of the virus until AIDS symptoms arise or a person dies, prevent Balinese from seeking education, testing and treatment. As a result, silence spreads the virus. There is no vaccine or cure for the HIV virus. The way to halt its spread is through education and communication on how to prevent infection by this deadly virus that is infiltrating Balinese families. At this moment, there is no concerted media blitz about HIV-AIDS and condoms are not being handed out as guest gifts at ceremonies. There are many organizations on the island tirelessly devoted to spreading the word. Due to article limitations, I will share two organizations that are empowering teenagers, sex workers and their clients.
Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV-AIDS(Let’s Talk About HIV-AIDS)
AYO! Kita Bicara HIV-AIDS, an outreach initiative of the Bali Spirit Festival is dedicated to educating and empowering teenagers to communicate with each other, their families and communities about HIV-AIDS. AYO! Kita Bicara is the program of “Bhakti Social”, the service arm of the Bali Spirit Festival. A member of the Bali Spirit Festival team coordinates the logistics for this 3 hour “EduSpirit” facilitated in Bali high schools and the content and training of facilitators is provided by Yayasan Spirit Paramacitta and Yayasan KISARA. This joyful, enthusiastic group of heart centered humans provides a safe environment inviting honest communication using an interactive, creative teaching model that promotes listening, talking, sharing, caring and understanding. The three L’s- Love, Love ,Love-is the platform from which AYO! Kita Bicara HIV-AIDS arises.
Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV-AIDS is sponsored by and receives partial funding from DKT Indonesia, the makers of Condom Fiesta and Condom Sutra. They also provide the condoms distributed to the teenagers at the completion of the workshop. HIV prevention is all about a condom as it blocks the flow of HIV infected fluids between bodies. Teenagers are the most vulnerable to HIV infection due to their natural desire to experience sexual relations which can lead to unprotected sex. Balinese boys may have their first sexual experience with a sex worker for as little as 25,000IDR. If the sex worker is HIV positive and does not request her client to wear a condom, the infection now infiltrates the teenage population. Although the virus is spread in the most intimate of human interactions, it is a community concern. Ayo! Kita Bicara motivates teenagers to become change agents in their community.
Two girls, one Hindu the other Muslim, told me that after the workshop they now feel more empowered to tell a boy no ‘Free Sex’-sex without a condom. Each of them also said that they feel confident to share this information with family and friends. They also told me that their parents were very clear and firm in setting rules about sex and they were already in communication about this subject within their family. In perfect English Christopher Ebenezer Cornelis, a student in a Gianyar high school suggested that “teenagers make a community to talk about sex, and HIV-AIDS then give the information to adults and other teens in the neighborhood because it is better if teens hear it from teens rather than from adults.” The workshop gave Christopher the awareness of how important it is to learn how to navigate friendships between boys and girls.
I asked Christopher if his parents talk with him about sex education. He said yes, and if he feels tempted to have sex, he will talk to his parents. I suggested that his hormones are very strong and can overpower his thinking and reasoning. If he is with a girl and feels sexual desire, does he feel confident to call his parents in that moment? He laughed, and I asked him to consider Mr. Condom as one of his trusted friends who can live in his pocket.
Kerti Praja Foundation
Yayasan Kerti Praja, a NGO founded in 1992 in Denpasar, provides an outreach education program for sex workers and their clients, sponsors support groups for HIV positive people, free HIV testing and treatment and an income producing program called ReLife for former sex workers and family members whose husbands or wives have succumbed to AIDS. Dr. Emily Rowe, program manager for the past two years at Kerti Praja helps us to understand Balinese cultural beliefs surrounding male sexual health: “We often see Balinese men dressed in ceremonial wear entering into a sex parlor. It is a cultural expectation that men, by the fact that they are male, will have greater sexual desires. Also, many Indonesian health systems are based on the humoral model- hot and cold. Within the humoral model it is accepted and expected for men to have sex to make themselves cold again- they need to release this heat. The need for sexual release is considered essential for health, and is believed to be empowering for male health most significantly. Sexual interaction for males is regarded as vital for relieving stress and restoring potency, and also in keeping the body fresh and renewing energy. Women are expected to sit back and take it.”
The outreach program at Yayasan Kerti Praja is facilitated by 40 sex workers and former sex workers who are HIV positive. The outreach educators visit the red light districts, kafes and karaoke bars providing information, condoms, volunteer testing and information on where to seek treatment and counseling. They empower sex workers from the wisdom of their own experience. They teach a working sex worker ‘condom negotiation’ skills. However, many sex workers feel that they cannot force a client to wear a condom, for fear of losing business. I ask Renee who is HIV positive and currently working in the sex industry if she is a successful condom negotiator: ‘Yes, if a client refuses to wear a condom I will not serve him.” I also ask what her rules are regarding teenagers: “I do not engage in sex with teenagers because they are the age of my children.” Rene’s values, strength and integrity are admirable.
Although the sex work industry is illegal in Indonesia it is thriving. Not only are there designated red-light districts, but the island is populated with an increasing number of night-time venues and ‘kafes’ with sex on the menu. Many women work part time, preferring long term ‘boyfriend’ clients and do not perceive themselves as sex workers. Kerti Praja defines these women as ‘Indirect Sex Workers’ who mainly work in the entertainment/hospitality industry- in cafes, karaoke bars, clubs and massage parlors. This segment of the population is challenging for outreach workers to reach.
The outreach educators also target high risk men such as long-haul truck drivers, construction workers and university students by approaching them as they wait for a sex session. The Kerti Praja representative informs the client that he cannot tell if a woman is HIV positive by looking at her. The outreach worker provides condoms, volunteer testing on the spot, and information. She also suggests that it is his responsibility to not spread the virus to his wife or girlfriend when he returns home to have sex with her.
Many Balinese women operate on the false presumption that a condom is not necessary if she loves a man or if a man appears clean. Although many sex workers negotiate wearing a condom with a client, it does not necessarily mean that they do the same for their husband or boyfriend. The women feel that sexual intercourse with a special partner is an expression of love and intimacy.
For centuries sex has been a tool to manipulate and perpetuate the lust for power. Lust is a fear induced craving. The Balinese Hindu philosophy names lust as one of the 6 enemies of humanity along with greed, envy, intoxication, anger and confusion. These emotional states separate us from our innate divine authority, our True power. To create awareness of these animal urges within us, a tooth filing ritual is offered to Balinese males and females during adolescence. For USD $3,510, a high priest will file down the incisor and canine teeth, which represent our animal nature. At this price, I surmise that not too many teenagers partake in this ritual and as within many religions; these kinds of acts are symbolic and not taken to heart.
HIV is a great educator and equalizer offering Balinese and foreigners the opportunity to dialog, share feelings, experiences, illusions, delusions, awaken to conditioned beliefs and to examine unconscious agreements made to maintain the cycle of dominate/submissive power through sexual relationships. First we must accept that HIV exists, respect its nature and discover what maintains its power. Through this journey of understanding, we discover how our own conditioned and wounded parts of ourselves contribute to our suffering. The enemy is a part of us. We humans are mammals. What separates us from our animal brethren is our cerebral cortex. This part of the brain is programmed to embrace these “Six enemies” and transmute them into enlightened consciousness. Sexual intercourse creates new human life. It also has the power to create new consciousness.
Om Swastyastu
Free HIV testing: Clinic Amertha @Kerti Praja Foundation 0361 728 916 728 917
tarakhadro@yahoo.com
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