Friday started out with the best of intentions, to tap into source in order to learn and serve the highest purpose of myself and the world around me, to learn more about being a channel for energy that heals and provides comfort to people...and it ended with an empty bottle of gin.
Cat, my neighbor, teacher and Reiki Master had been planning a Reiki II training since we met. That was actually how we originally met. So much has happened since that day, we both figured the Reiki II attunement and course would happen when the time was right. Everything in it's natural course when it's necessary. She is very passionate about her Reiki practice and it really comes from her heart.
Friday started out with a long yoga class where I woke up my body slowly and focused on my breathing. I had a healthy, slow lunch at home, then headed next door to Cat's house for our Reiki II workshop. I was feeling balanced and solid. That's what I love about Ubud, you're feeling grounded and solid, then the day takes a sharp left turn (to the feminine side). This time it took a turn straight into a bottle of Gin (cheap Gin at that).
The workshop was very serious and with great healing intention. We learned important symbols, we grounded ourselves, called in our spirit guides and practiced on each other. She taught us how to use Reiki for distance healing and how to use it with situations in the past, present and future. She explained how it's possible to work on ourselves and heal past and present trauma.
She instilled in us a seriousness to be committed to this particular healing modality. Every one's intention was to be a conduit to allow healing to channel through and that became strong by the end of the day. I felt much more confident to practice on others when we were done.
Well, after such an intense day of teaching and practicing it only made sense to leave Cat's house and get some dinner. It worked well for Cat & I since we're neighbors and I had already invited a friend of hers over to my place for dinner. The Reiki workshop ended and Cat and I headed to my house to relax and meet up with her friends Ryan and Ann for dinner. That's when the bottle of Gin showed up. It quickly became the new conduit for us to channel a few other things.
The bottle appeared with Ryan in a brown paper bag. It's usual and customary camouflage. There were a few mixers that appeared with it and we realized quickly I had no ice. We're in Indonesia, you simply get creative and make due with what you have.
So here's what we had:
- Big Bottle of Gin
- Less then half a bottle of Rum
- Rosella Tea
- Tonic Water
- Guava Juice
We promptly ordered take out from Pizza Bagus to be delivered and Ryan started to create the first round of drinks. (with no ice) That's when the games began.
As I write this after the fact, I'm still a little fuzzy on details of the conversations, but there was a great deal of tapping into our creativity and laughing as we tried to explain to Ryan about different modalities of energy work. Cat and I explained that with Reiki we could perform distance healing with him. He could stay at his house and we could perform the energy work from Cat's house while we had cocktails and we assured him he would feel something and so would we. He didn't seem interested in paying for that.
I remember as Ryan made each round of drinks, Cat would grab pen and paper because we had to name each drink. This went on for hours. The pizza had arrived and we were talking about a completely different, serious topic about impoverished villages in Sumba. Ryan would get up from the table quietly to start to make another round without drawing attention to himself, Cat would see him and shout, " Ah - another drink, we MUST name it. What shall this one be??"
We had some fun ones. We started with the Rosella Rapture (with Rosella tea). Then we moved to:
Guava Goddess
Guava Glow
Tebasaya Trembler or the Tebasaya Tumbler (the neighborhood we live in is Tebasaya)
Casa Luna Simper (an inside joke - local restaurant)
Gin Tin Tin - Cat's personal favorite
I came up with the Bali Breeze, but I was told that didn't work because it had to be blue. I never quite understood why.
We decided it would be great to create an organic, local drink that had Arak in it. Arak is the local moonshine that kicks your ass and gives you the worst hangover you've ever felt. A slow food drink that would support the local economy and we could market it to local bars in Ubud. It sounded like a gem at the time.
The other game of the night was working on the Hamish book. Hamish is one of Cat's dogs who is a Bali rescue dog. She took him in when he was so sick he had open sores all over his body. Shortly after she nursed him back to health she found out he had sexually transmitted cancer. She nursed him to health through that. He is now the most loving, cuddly, sweet dog ever. Everyone who meets him falls in love with him. He has a whole line of neighbors (myself included) that he makes the rounds to visit every day to get belly rubs, cuddles and whatever attention we have available to give.
We all decided Cat needs to write a book about Hamish's story. I took a page of notes (drunk) while we all sat around and talked about Hamish and what he's like. We brainstormed about the beginning of their relationship until now and what a sweet and loving dog he is.
Somewhere between midnight and two am Cat and Ann left to go home. I remember Ryan trying to make one more round that I couldn't drink. By then we had cleaned out all the alcohol and I had to pass out. It was the most offbeat, crazy day I've had in awhile.
As of this week, Cat started "The Hamish Book".
