THE TREK-END DECEMBER 2015

THE TREK-END DECEMBER 2015

CHRISTMAS DAY …NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN INDIA SO MANY HOLIDAY MAKERS. ENJOYING THE BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY ON THE BEACHES OF RAM JHULA

The photos in this post are just some scenes from my last days here….

I have not done much blogging these past three months while in Rishikesh.  I did not feel the need to record and share the many amazing things that have happened to me on the journey this year, and I honored that feeling as much as possible.  This has been an exciting and rewarding three months for me, more than I could ever have imagined…

It was much more than the usual enlightening journey and opportunity to grow that India always is for me.

RAM JHLUA

This trip I was blessed with amazing synchronicities and opportunities to be of service in ways I could never imagine.  People from all over the world found their way to me for many reasons, but it is interesting that all of them, in some way, were dealing with a similar issue, one which I myself had been dealing with for some time and finally found closure here in Rishikesh via an Angel that was sent to me for my own healing and release.

GOOD MORNING LAXMAN JHULA

Being of service to so many, all of them very young, was indeed an honor and a privilege.  To be found worthy to be a channel for messages and information that these young people needed at this place in their own journey, was most humbling.

LAXMAN JHULA AS REFLECTED BELOW IN THE GANGA

 

RAM JHULA REFLECTED IN THE GANGA BELOW

I was also blessed with a balance of work, which brings me great joy, and leisure and pleasure time which also bring me great joy…being careful not to allow one to take away from the joy of the other.

Most importantly, however, this journey took ME so deep into MYSELF, to places I could never imagine reaching, as to be labeled a TREK rather than a trip.

VIEWS TOWARDS LAXMAN JHULA FROM RAM JHULA

It’s been an amazing trek for sure, and the ramifications of the discoveries made in these distant places will affect everything that comes after in my life.

RAM JHULA BEACH AND LOVELY PLACE TO SIT QUIETLY IN MEDITATION AND DEVOTION ALONG MA GANGA

And with this, I say goodbye for this trip, few as the posts may have been, they have been posted with joy.  Hope they brought you all some pleasure and joy as well.

ONE LAST BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

Namaste

With love light and JOY

Jane

DRAMATIC SUNSET OVER GANGA

Just a quick photo post of a dramatic sunset over the Ganga as seen several days ago from 60’s Beatles Cafe in Laxman Jhula

SUNSET BEGINS

FIERY DRAMA IN THE SKY

SOUL FOOD-OCT 7 2015

SOUL FOOD-OCT 7, 2015

BEING IN THE MOMENT

Sitting here at Swiss garden for breakfast…

…decided to treat myself to my favorite, aloo parantha and masala chai…rather than the standard, healthy, good for me, porridge. This is breakfast to feed my soul as well and that is no less important to my good health. And to my great surprise, and joy, it is actually chilly! What a pleasant and welcome surprise….hints of the cold to come in a few months, but delightful right now! And a further added blessing, the Wi-Fi here is not working so I am able to completely relax….

I am gently reminded of the pleasures of days past before all this was available. Just relaxing, being with all that is surrounding me, doing my needlepoint, reading….this is a powerful reminder of how much we miss out on when we become slaves of this new technology…..On the other hand, technology is a great blessing…as I sit here in Rishikesh, writing on my computer, I am able to listen to a radio station from Israel, just as if I was sitting in my living room at home….the best of both worlds!

EVENING WALK AND LIGHT SNACK IN LAXMAN JHULA

It’s been an interesting day in general, and will write more about “getting out of my comfort zone” in the next post…the rest of the photos in this post were made possible BECAUSE I was able to get out of that place controlled by fears…and in addition to these lovely things…

PICTURE PERFECT…SUNSET IN LAXMAN JHULA

JUST DID MY FIRST CARD READING….BEAUTIFUL!
Just being back in “service” again always does wonders for me…being in my purpose…and these readings, which basically bring deep insights to the person sitting opposite me, are extremely gratifying to say the least.

GANGA AT SUNSET

It has been a blessed day!
I am deeply grateful

With love light and JOY
Jane

The Magic of Ram Jhula Sunsets

During my recent sojourn in Rishikesh, I found myself drawn continually to Ram Jhula during the hours before sunset.  And the feelings of tranquility together with gentle Ganga energy never ceased to astound me.  Here are just a few shots to give you a feeling of the wonder of this place.

Flowing Towards Dreams Fulfilled

Flowing along with grace

I allow the river of life to gently enfold me

And sweep me along …

Through the events which are already in place

And which will lovingly bring me through

To the beautiful expanse of dreams fulfilled

I haven’t written any poetry for ages, but with the cleansing and rebirth of my creativity after its being crippled for so long, the above poem was channeled to me this morning.

This return of my creative energies is a true blessing and I am enormously grateful for being brought back to this place of harmony and balance of mind, body and spirit.

If you are interested in further poetry I have written, you might like to try this link where you can find more of my poems and some background information:

http://mindfulnessjournal.wordpress.com/poetry/

with love light and JOY

Jane

Beautiful Last Evening (and day) in India – Nov 21-22 2012

Last Morning in Rishikesh-Clouds Over the Mountains

I was invited to Dr. Arora and Manju’s for dinner together with my friend Michal.  I usually spend quite a lot of time visiting with Manju while I am in Rishikesh.  Daytime visits where we just chat and I watch her in the kitchen-best cooking lessons available-and these visits were missing during this short stay.  But at least I would get to spend the evening with her, and I was excited about going.

We wound up spending the evening in prayers, chanting and singing with all the female members of the communal family dwelling (5 sisters-in-law, a couple of THEIR daughters-in-law, a visiting sister of Dr. Arora from Delhi, and even one baby granddaughter).  I couldn’t have found a more suitable, uplifting and beautiful way to spend my last evening in Rishikesh, or better company.  I have no photos, as it seemed neither appropriate nor necessary at the time, but the wonderful pictures will remain in my mind for a very long time.

It seems over 30 years ago, Dr. Arora’s father decided that every Tuesday there should be an evening of Kirtan (sacred chanting) in the family temple situated in the center of the family dwelling, and the women at the time decided they would be the ones to do it.  And to this day, this is precisely what happens every Tuesday evening.

There is nothing that compares with the power, and empowering energies of the prayers of women.  The chanting was done joyfully, sometimes playfully, sometimes with deep serious mindfulness and devotion, but always directed directly towards the deities.  I felt it on a deep soul level and felt myself being swept away with the power of the connection to God felt in the small room.  Since the chanting is repetitive, and the women took turns leading it, I was very often able to join in. And from my years in India, several of the chants I realized I actually knew the words to myself!  This surprised me and of course brought great joy and approving pleasure to the faces  of the women. And of course, clapping along with everyone else was a no brainer, even for me!!  🙂

The visit afterwards with Manju and the Doctor was thoroughly enjoyable as always, with good conversation, seeing the beautiful wedding album from their eldest son’s wedding last year (the daughter in law of course now living there with them) and of course a superb light dinner.  With soup, idlis, subji, shahi paneer (Manju makes the best in India for sure and she always remembers how much I like it and makes it for me when I come), chutney and of course chapattis with ghee . Dr Arora drove us home, quite late…tired but with full stomachs and happy hearts.

Now having my last breakfast here at the Pundir Restaurant after being treated to a wonderful whole wheat chapatti and homemade ghee when I stopped by Seema’s house earlier.

The sky is cloudy today for the first time in 6 weeks.  I feel “cloudy” myself. Must be raining somewhere up in the mountains to bring the clouds and colder weather today.

Neelkanth Temple in Distance

And somewhere deep inside of me there is a “rainy” feeling as well.

evening clouds

The day continued quietly, with goodbyes to everyone, always difficult, but even more so after such a short stay, and of course packing up my stuff for storage as well as for taking home.  The sky was beautiful to watch during the day and evening,

and before heading off to Delhi by taxi, I had my last supper of schnitzel and chips!!  🙂

The ride on the new highway took less than 5 hours….

Sachin provided me with a pillow so I could sleep in the car on the way.  I dozed on and off…and to my great surprise was in delhi in less than 5 hours!!  New road is good for sure.
Found a nice bench in the departure lounge to lay down on for another hour until they opened the RJ check in counter.  They really hassled me about my carry on- it didn’t fit into the “rack” which measures them.  Finally they called the supervisor, and she allowed me to take it.  What a pain in the ass.  The whole thing took over an hour but luckily I was first on line and when I got to the gate, there was even a free bed to lie down on which I did of course.

Last Sunrise Over Delhi During Take Off

the flight was fine but it seems the AC as not working….it was really hot on the plane.
Good flight to amman but it is over 7 hours going back.  The plane was not full so there was no one next to me which made it easier to  sleep a little with my legs over the handle of the next seat.
1/2 hour delay in Amman but that meant yosi actually got the airport in time to pick me up.  It was nice.
We went and had a nice breakfast in Yehud and then headed home and got stuck in a HAIL STORM!!  Thought the car windows would crack the pieces were so big!
And then later on in the evening, my house was struck directly by lightning and my phone went dead while talking to yosi.  and my cellphone needed to be charged but I had no electricity, so we couldn’t talk.  It was easier talking to him from India!

And now I am home, a week later, writing this last post!!  I will be posting several more photo posts, and then saying goodbye until next year!  Look forward to seeing you all once again then!

Namaste from Herzlia, Israel

A Room with a View – Catching Up-Nov 10 2012

Catching Up-Nov 10 2012

I am without internet in my room for several days-a true blessing in disguise as you will see from the coming posts.

I have been to a wedding during that time and photos will follow, but mainly resting in my room and on my sunny rooftop for reasons to be explained.  So, not being anywhere for several days, the only photos I can share with you today are from “A Room with a View”

These were taken yesterday during a hazy dusk period of time (he weather has been hazy for quite some time now due apparently to fires in the Punjab).  So even though I am confined to my small sacred space, there is always beauty surrounding me.

Hope to get the rest of the posts up over the next couple of days using the internet café downstairs-something I used to do every day, but have now become very spoiled having the internet in my room!

Namaste from Rishikesh

The Paradise that is Rishikesh-October 24-26 –Some Catching Up –Panchakarma Days 11-13

The Paradise that is Rishikesh

[As I sit getting ready to post this,  there is an amazing desplay of color in the sky as I look out the window-it almost looks like the heavens are on fire! Notice the moon rising as well….(sorry about the wires,  but they are part of the “scenery”)…so this post will also have a gallery of shots taken over about a half hour period.  Hope you enjoy it here as much as I enjoyed it live!]

Panchakarma wise, there is nothing much to write about the last couple of days,,,just massage and sirrohdhara and massage and steam. And I was feeling really good and decided to take full advantage of these last two days of the easy stuff, so the next posts will be about those two lovely days I spent out and about and truly enjoying the paradise that is Rishikesh.

I look forward to posting some lovely photos, which I haven’t even looked at myself yet, and hopefully this will happen over the next couple of days. Today begins the harder portion of panchakarma, which leaves me with the feeling that I need to just rest in and around my room most of the day.

So I read, watch movies, write, do certain projects I may have committed myself to (making a new collage of my grandchildren, copy editing Dr.Arora’s new website), visiting with my friends near home and just relaxing. It is a good time for contemplation, or for just doing nothing.

SOMETIMES DOING NOTHING IS SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT

You can read more about this idea and its importance in our lives at this post:

http://notinindia2012.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/doing-nothing-is-doing-something-very-important/

Yesterday I ate the best pullao I have had since coming to Rishikesh.

best pullao in Rishikesh at Flavor’s Restaurant, Ram Jhula

Ate it at the lovely Indian restaurant, Flavors, following my long stroll along the ghats on both banks of Ram Jhula. It was full of wonderful herbs, fruits, nuts and veggies and the seasoning was just perfect. It was moist, not dry as many are…just heaven. The photo does not do it justice.!

I am now resting in my room and will shortly eat my wonderful paneer parantha prepared by Manju, the Doc’s wife, and a necessary precursor to the oil enemas, which I do in my room. It is one of the best parts of panchakarma (the parantha-not the….:-) ) . And today I plan to watch the movie, Intouchables, which came extremely highly recommended, and will probably begin watching lots of movies over the next 12 days as well. And that’s about it for today.

Namaste from Rishikesh

Jane

best pullao in Rishikesh at Flavor’s Restaurant, Ram Jhula

A Blessed Day from Sunrise to Sunset – October 24,2012

Blessings from Sunrise to Sunset

It is actually the next day, evening time, and I am now getting ready to go to sleep.  I had two amazingly beautiful and active days….so full that I have had no time to write or post.  But tomorrow I begin the more difficult part of panchakarma, and wanted to take best advantage of these last two days…and  I DID!  I will have lots of time resting over the next days, so will have plenty of time to write, post photos I have shot over the past couple of days, and tell you about all my lovely adventures.

You may remember that the day yesterday began with a beautiful sunrise (above) .  Well, I was still out and about late enough to also enjoy a spectacular sunset,

and in between also was able to enjoy the Vijayadashmi festival, which ended the 9 day Navrati festival.

Will be posting photos and video from this as well.

So here is just a quick post to let you know all is well , and that I just have had better things to do than “blogging”  the last couple of days.

Me Enjoying the Sunset over the Ganga

Namaste from Rishikesh

Jane

Blessed Life, Gratitude and Joy-Panchakarma Day 6 October 19,2012

Blessed Life-Panchakarma Day 6 October 19,2012

Dinner at Laxmi’s

Ganga below, clear blue sky and green mountains across, above and surrounding me, cool breeze, breakfast on the way at Lalita’s restaurant as I begin to write this post in my notebook.  … as tears of overwhelming gratitude and joy for my blessed life stream down my face.!  

Gas Delivery Day in Tapovan

Just a scene from local life….apparently gas delivery day as women were coming down the street one after the other, old and young, all carrying balloons on their heads…I was lucky enough to get my camera out and get at least this one shot above!

Feeling better today but still tired.  Dr. says no more “communal” massages.  No more practicing on me (even though I love all the extra massage care and attention).  Need very gentle, relaxing massage by one person only.  If not, it is too tiring and exhausting for me in my weakened condition.

So today I had a truly quiet and relaxing massage from just Laxmi and the same chest pack again as yesterday.  I wasn’t quite as cold as yesterday (they told me that most people begin sweating when this is put on them) but still not comfortable.  This is just another indication of my still very weak condition.  Dr. will also do some further treatment later to help clear my sinus and chest, which is normally done by the Vamana (vomiting/purging which I am not allowed to do this year), so all is well.

And just to make a day even more perfect, even with the wall blocking my view, I was still rewarded with these slight signs of a beautiful sunset.

It is now 9:30 at night and to my great surprise, just got back home from a fun evening at Laxmi’s house.  She invited us today and I had originally planned to go to the puja to meet some Israeli friends, but I wasn’t feeling up to it and so decided to go with Michal for a quick visit and light snack at Laxmi’s house.  We met her at the clinic and waited for her for quite awhile before she was ready to leave.  We bought some sweets for her kids and mother-in-law on the way.  And to my surprise, my good friend Reingard, from Germany, who I know for several years now and who I spend quite a lot of time with during my stays here (last trip we went to Varanassi together), was also there.

Laxmi’s Kids

We played with her kids, aged 11 and 13, had lots of fun, it was great to see her lovely home finally complete – it was still in progress last time I was here.  After working a full day at the clinic, she came home, changed clothes and went into the kitchen to prepare what we thought would be a light snack.  We sat in the room for quite awhile (after being served delicious chai of course) and she was still in the kitchen.  Went in to see what she was doing…got a few more pointers about getting my own chapattis to come out as good as hers, and then went back again to wait.

Finally, when we were all really tired, but quite happy spending the time with her kids and talking to Reingard, she came in with a full Tali for each of us!!  Chappati (with ghee of course), two kinds of subji (vegetable dishes-one cauliflower, the other potato and cucumber) and delicious soup made from cucumber!!  Talk about a light snack.  This is one meal we certainly won’t tell the doctor about!!  But it was soooooooooooo delicious!   And we had a truly love time.

“Light Snack” at Laxmi’s House

 Her kids have gotten so big, and as they go to a good private school (paid for by Reingard all these years), they speak wonderful English.  Michal had finally picked up the four suits she had tailored for her and so we also had a fashion show, which was great fun!

All in all a lovely evening.  And now happily off to bed.

Namaste from Rishikesh

Jane