The Wow of Now: Archive

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...

Feb 10th

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...

Feb 10th

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...

Dec 20th

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...

Dec 20th

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...

Dec 20th

Part II: HIV/AIDS on Bali: Communication is the...

(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...

Dec 5th

Part I: HIV/AIDS on Bali: The Key is Understanding

(for Bali Advertiser) By Tara Khadro My desire to write this two part article on the affluent life of the virus known as HIV on Bali arose after reading a succession of articles with staggering statistics revealing the rapid rise of infection among teenagers, mothers and babies. In a November 2010 Jakarta Post article Udayana University epidemiologist Dewa Nyoman Wirawan, an expert and...

Dec 5th

Acceptance: The Peace That Passeth All...

I sent an economic consultant two book titles: Sacred Economics and What Do We Do After Money? These two books suggest that our current global agreement of currency exchange is moving through a massive makeover, melting down and rising up into something completely creative and compassionate. My friend’s text response: “My thing right now is how to control greed”. Knowing my...

Dec 5th

RESTING A RESTLESS MIND (Jakarta Post)

I said to my friend: “I want to stop wrestling with my restless mind.” He suggested I attend a Vipassana retreat at the Brahma Vihara Arama Monastery near Lovina, Bali. Vipassana is a non-sectarian meditation practice conceived by Gautama Buddha 25,000 years ago. Commonly referred to as ‘insight meditation’, Vipassana cultivates an awareness of the direct relationship between body and mind,...

Nov 1st

The Sacred Banyan Tree (Ubud Community)

From a tiny seed in a fig grows the giant banyan tree. For the Balinese, this majestic tree, with its enormous trunk, far reaching branches and its voluminous thick roots running deep into the earth, the banyan is a symbol of humanity’s potential for perfection. Humans are like trees: We walk up right with our feet grounded on the earth simultaneously rising towards the sky, towards heaven and...

Nov 1st

Bringing Joy to Pain (Ubud Community)

As Tukang Pijat healer Nyoman Sudana presses a small blunt piece of Javanese Santani wood deeply into a tender point on my foot, a loud scream spontaneously erupts. Nyoman joyfully laughs in response. “Give thanks to the pain!” Nyoman advises me. I sink into my breath and focus my attention on inhaling praise for the pain. In this way I begin to...

Nov 1st

Exploring Caves on Bali (Jakarta Post)

I Ketut Sunarta is the General Manager of Bali Eco Adventure and Resort located in Bayad, Tegallalang, Gianyar, Bali. He also serves as a trekking guide through jungle, rice fields, across a river and finally through tunnels that lead into Goa Maya. As a child Ketut was told by his parents that these ancient irrigation tunnels and cave were ‘dangerous.” This risky reputation began in the...

Nov 1st

Nusa Penida: Tri Hita Karana In Action (Bali...

The ancient Balinese lived what now seems to be only a philosophy in the Hindu Balinese religion: Tri Hita Karana. Tri means ‘three’, Hita means ‘Welfare’ and Karana means ‘Cause’. The three causes of ‘Welfare’ or living a life of sustained well being lies in developing a conscious relationship of reciprocity between human and human, human and God and human and Nature. In essence one part of...

Nov 1st

THE FLOWERS VIEW (in Jakarta Post)

Content with his adjustments to the two microphones, performance storyteller Arthur Flowers quietly sits back in his chair on the outdoor stage at the Ubud Readers and Writer’s Festival. Sparkling beads of sweat dance on his half bald pate. Bone, bead and precious stone amulets drape from his neck. In his right hand a harmonica; in his left an African kalimba. Arthur is a Hoodoo man, a...

Nov 1st

Sacred Caves of Bali

SACRED CAVES OF BALI PART I Throughout the centuries caves on Bali have been used by yogis, hermits, shamans, sages, priests, and royalty to meditate, pray and to be spiritually reborn. Ketut Sunarta says that he meditates everyday for one hour inside of Goa Maya. “You stay there for one hour, sealed in the darkness, listening to your own breath and the spirits begin to speak to you.” There...

Oct 3rd

Through the Yoga Door: Yoga on Bali Part II

Yoga on Bali Part II By Tara Khandro Yoga is life Guru Ketut Arsana, Ashram Munivara Part I of this article showed the attraction of Bali for yoga enthusiasts and the evolution of yoga worldwide as a rapidly growing lucrative business. Yoga entrepreneurs are creating business paradigms with an awareness that we are ‘One World, One Love” through...

Oct 3rd

Part One: Yoga On Bali

Part One: Yoga on Bali By Tara Khandro As humans we have a big responsibility to create a harmonic relationship between human and human, human and nature, and human and the Creator Yogi Guru Ketut Bandiastra My first experience with yoga formerly began 38 years ago upon meeting a newly arrived Ashtanga yogi from India to the United States. He invited me and a few others to reside in...

Oct 3rd

Cultivating a Wholesome Mind

VIPASSANA RETREATS AT BRAHMA VIHARA ARAMA MONASTERY In a Vipassana meditation retreat held at the Brahma Vihara Arama Buddhist Monastery in North Bali, a student asked the guiding meditation teacher, Sayadaw U Tejaniya: “What is your advice if we are in a love relationship? What is the right attitude?” “Laugh! Whatever happens. Laugh. Keep laughing. It is such a powerful...

Aug 11th

Trusting the Winds of Fate

Trusting the Winds of Fate When the rains complete their mission on Bali the winds arrive. The season of the wind-June through August-invites the Balinese into the rice fields to fly kites. Every July a kite festival on the beach of Padang Galak beach in Sanur hundreds of Balinese arrive for the international kite festival. Teams from all over the island compete in four different...

Aug 11th

Feeding Fear of Love?

I am sitting in a Swiss resto on Palawan Island, Philippines. A couple from the UK enters. They know the Swiss owner and begin to dialog. After a pause, the Swiss owner asks: “Did you hear the news?” In unison the two enthusiastically respond with, “Yes! Yes!” I asked: “What news?” The Swiss owner replies: “Osama bin Laden has been killed”. Being...

May 4th

About Tara Khandro

ABOUT TARA KHANDRO: Tara Khandro is a natural born mystic, healer, clairvoyant and spiritual artist. At three years of age Tara spontaneously sat in full lotus position, chanting while watching cartoons. In the same year Tara’s family visited a Cherokee Indian reservation. As the car slowly drove past the family dwellings, Tara received a past life vision. She saw herself as a...

Apr 10th

A True Human Journey

A True Human Journey When the student is ready … the teacher appears. The teacher is your own heart Humanity is in the midst of rebirthing into what I name a True Human: A Being who has merged logic with intuition to live with a radiant, open heart. The radiance that shines forth is our IAM Presence, our Christ Mind, our Original Innocence. A heart lived life is a profoundly playful,...

Mar 5th

INTERVIEWS

An Interview with Tara Khandro for The Magic of Being By Colin Whitby This month we have an interview with Tara Khandro who lives in Indonesia on the Island of Bali. Initially we published an article The Caravan of Joy by Tara and in our conversations we thought it would be a good idea to share some more of Tara’s thoughts and ideas in an interview, I hope you enjoy. With Love, Colin. Colin:-...

Jan 18th

Wake up! Sing your soul's song

Wake up! Sing Your Soul’s Song Roosters ring in the dawn in my village of Sanggingan, Bali every day. I love that I have a natural alarm cock crowing me awake. I have two cocks wandering in and out of my yard all day: I name them Sam and Mike. Sam’s foot was injured in a fight. He is a hip-hop along cock. He rarely crows anymore. Every time I see him I want to put him out of his...

Dec 23rd

Bhakti Bali

Bhakti Bali Bali is an island of devotion. In Sanskrit devotion is ‘bhakti’. Some days on Bali, the air is thick with humidity; exhaust fumes, smoke from burning fires and incense. Yet behind and containing all of these temporary obscurations, just as the vast, empty sky contains the clouds, is Bhakti. This Bhakti is a recognition of and gratitude for the invisible Universal Force...

Nov 19th

Poetry Slam Review

WOMEN ON TOP Text and photos by Marie Bee TWO ladies have been striking the audience at the Writers Festival. One is Sage Kimball, 18 years old, and the other is Tara Khandro, a mature woman who could have been her mother. Both have the fire of poetry in their soul. Miss Sage has been acting in “The Conference of the Birds” and you’ll read more about her in the article “Fly with these...

Oct 26th

A 2010 URWF Poetry Slam Winner

HAPPY BIRTHDAY I arrive to live in Asia. After ‘Hello’, these words pierce my heart: “Are you alone?” “Where’s your husband?” I rapidly spiral into the dangerous dark depths of existential frenzy. “Who am I?” I just left my country. I’m all a lone I have no county, no home, no car, no cat, no family. And where is my husband? Who will find me when I fall dead on the kitchen floor? I...

Oct 12th

The Three Questions

The Three Questions When I walk down the streets of Ubud or take long walks on Bali roads I am asked three questions when I happen upon a local: “Where do you stay? Where are you going? Where are you from?” In the beginning I answered truthfully. Once I realized these were the only questions asked of me I wanted to engage my new brothers and sisters a little more deeply. When asked, “Where do...

Oct 12th

The Magic of Bali Bali is an island that is a powerful Presence. It is one of many sacred power places on the Earth. Bali brings up “stuff.” When I first arrived on Bali those who have resided here for over a decade said to me, “Oh, Bali has certainly tested me and I am sure it will test you!” Or “Bali will either accept or reject you.” Or “Bali is a place that confronts you.”...

May 2nd

The Source is in the Roots The global secular holiday that is known as Earth Day takes place on April 24, 2010. I attended my first Earth Day event in 1970, the second national earth day in the United States. I was 16 years old. That Earth Day was a seminal event in my life. On that day I made a paradigm shift: Nature, the earth is not separate from me. The Earth is our...

May 2nd

A Jam of a Day on Bali Paradise As usual, I’m awakened by a cacophony of cocks crowing. We need cocks on Bali for two things: To fertilize eggs and to participate in fights. The cocks are well taken care of as they are monetary investments. I know of a few cock owners who have imported their cocks from the Philippines because their breeds of cock are ferocious fighters. Oftentimes, as I take...

May 2nd

The Alchemy of Filippos

The sculptures by Filippos Bourbo invite us to take a journey into the future by returning to a past when humanity directly experienced itself as not separate from the divine. This future was prophesized by the ancient ancestors of the shamans and sages who shared their sacred wisdom with Filippos. The Indigenous traditions as well as Eastern Esoteric teachings reveal what Quantum physics...

Feb 24th

The Cosmic Mama

The Cosmic Mama Mama Auyewaska is a Cosmic Mama A medicine plant of Peru She weaves spells of Love with her bittersweet roots Mama Auyewaska summons the shaman into the Amazon “I’m ready…come, on, come on. Over hear underneath the banana tree. My star magic roots are ripe for my children!” For three days the Auyewaskero brews the bitter stew. In ceremony, in deep darkness We drink Her...

Feb 24th

The Present Condition of the Native Teacher

The Present Condition of the Foreign Teacher’s Official Trap The second semester of my year teaching English in South Korea public schools began with all of the Native teachers reassigned to new ‘home’ schools. My new home school is an elementary school located in the small farm village called Eomda. This school pays my salary, funneled from the Hampyeong County Board of Education. “Home’ is...

Feb 24th

2012: Portal into the Age of Light

2012: Portal Into The “Age of Light” Yesterday I spoke to my friend who lives in the United States. We talked about the State of the Union and the planet. In summation he said: “Everything is turning upside down!” The Peruvian Qu’ero shamans, a tribe that pre-date the Incans, agree with my friend. In their language they name this evolutionary era on planet earth the Pachakuti-“The Great...

Feb 24th

1 note

The Caravan of Joy

The Caravan of Joy One of my first gurus was Popeye the Sailorman. Everyday as a child I sat in the family room of my suburban ranch style house transfixed by this black and white cartoon figure with the gravel voice, muscled body and corn cob pipe. When Popeye broke into his song I stood up and sang with him: I’m Popeye the sailor man. I’m Popeye the sailor man. I yam what I yam ...

Feb 24th

Welcome to The Wow of Now

I created this blog to accommodate my readers until my website is alive and running. This is my very first post, my very first blog and I have absolutely no idea what is going on; how to design it or how this whole blogging business works! And now I take my leave to further continue figuring how to configure! Breathe Easy, Tara

Jan 30th