The rest of the day is spent making a trip to the Bank to rescue the ATM card from the machine I left it in again. Quietly, I'm feeling like someone needs to rescue me from myself. After that I organize, sort my belongings, making sure everything is in order and feel like I know where everything is. I need to feel grounded.
Meanwhile Wayan is cooking all afternoon for the gathering at Diane's villa. I have my camera out to take pictures of Wayan looking so pretty in her sarong and sash. I love to photograph her cooking. Making eggs for us, smiling and laughing with us. As I'm hanging around the house during the day Wayan cooks nasi goreng and veggie rolls with peanut sauce for me to bring to Diane's in the evening. The smell of onions and garlic heating up in coconut oil fills the outdoor kitchen. The house feels relatively cool compared to the humidity that's building outside. The afternoon drifts on as Alexsandra heads out to search for a new place to stay. I write some postcards and check email at an internet cafe.
Wayan's feast she has prepared for Diane's gathering is truly beautiful. There's a tomato cut into the shape of a rose that decorates the big bowl of nasi goreng. Little chili peppers cut in half daintily adorn the peanut sauce for the veggie rolls. Everything she does has such beautiful style. Simple yet elegant. Done with such love and warmth you just want to photograph it all, at least I do.
After two or three failed attempts at calling a taxi driver I finally end up heading out to Ubud Road to look for a taxi. I flag down two guys who probably aren't really taxi drivers, they just want the money. Not very grounded or savy but we're late and by this point we just need a ride. I swear you could walk through Ubud and every other step you hear someone say" Transport" or "Taxi - where you go?" But when I'm an hour late with 3 bowls of food...well, I don't need to go further with that one.
Finally we arrive at Diane's, the table is beautiful and everyone is hungry. We all get a little food and head upstairs. We're going to talk, hang out and do a short Dream Journey or Shamanic Journey in honor of the new moon. Jane has brought her drum and she is going to guide us through it. It's our gathering to honor the new moon, new intentions and new beginnings. Jane makes sure we're grounded, we lie on our yoga mats outside on the balcony of the Villa. As Jane begins to drum I can hear the dogs barking outside, the night crickets chirping and smell the smoke coming from the loud crackling fire in the fire pit below.
We begin the journey by lying quietly and still on our yoga mats, being lulled into a sleepy state by the rhythmic sounds of Jane's drumming. Silently, everyone goes into their own individual journey.
In my journey I meet a big, white, beautiful dog named Alfred. He is gorgeous and regal, but also has big fangs and a dark mouth that shows how ferocious he can be. Alfred tells me he's one of my ancestors, part of my tribe and he's always with me. Then I get a picture of Sewa, the Balinese Goddess who is the destroyer. She symbolizes destroying negativity and I hear someone say she's here to help me destroy my negativity about men.
Then I feel a flash of insight or intuition and what I hear and feel clearly is that I lose my ATM card when I want to back out of this whole journey. Usually I want to back out when I feel like I'm spending too much money, like when I have to pay rent. As clear as I have heard anything I heard someone say, "This is a journey, it's not going to be a bargain or I'm not going to get a deal. I'm on my path. This is part of my path and it is what it is. It costs what it costs, it's my path."
So I ask, "Who are you? Who's saying this?" and the response was, "I'm the part of you that sees without looking."
I relax and breathe through the rest of the journey, talk with Alfred and then Jane brings us gently back to the room. We all begin to share. As I share my experience, everyone is so intrigued about the answer around the ATM card that they help me decide to put a post it note on my ATM card. It says, " This is not about getting a bargain or a deal, this is about being on my path and I'm worth it."
I started today.
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| Wayan by the family temple with offerings for the new moon |
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| In the kitchen with the Cuisinart |
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| Wayan & I |
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| Alexsandra & Wayan |
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| More nasi goreng |
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| Heating peanuts for sauce |
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| Yum - peanut sauce |
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| Dinner at Diane's villa |
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| Terra & Kristin making the mandala |
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| Lovely Ladies |
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