Saturday, May 30, 2009

the rainbow in toronto




i stood with my cup of tea looking at the dark sky on one side........rain pouring down........and then the clouds lifted and i reached out for the camera as i scanned the sky..........there was a deep knowing that there was a rainbow, i just needed to look in the right direction............and there it was.........through the trees and over the rooftop i saw the amazing colours.........vivid and bright.........the sunshine had washed the trees, the sky, the street and everything else............the rainbow was smiling down at me........... as the camera captured the image.............i lived the moment

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

the birth of a child - may 26 @ 3:59 pm

the most precious gift is the life of a child.........the euphoria of the birth soon gets overshadowed by the long sleepless nights.......the teething pains.........the joy of the first spoken words...........the first steps...........first day in school..........and then the natural progression of independence as the child starts to drift away, emotionally and physically and this wonderful person emerges.......in awe i the mother find that i am now guided by this person who was once a child and is now a man.
the highest reward is to be able to hug and talk to a child especially on their birthdays...........in gratitude for all the joy you are........Jafer, happy birthday

Sunday, May 24, 2009

in flight

on two different flight segments i encountered this........the person behind me talking incessantly........on one occasion i heard the life story of this person, all the men she had met and who had somehow wronged her, her sisters' life story.............and on and on.............the tone and pitch of this person was not soothing to any ones' ear. .......... as i moved a few seats ahead, i met an interesting lady, we spoke briefly and in low tones, she smiled at me and said "i could hear her four rows up, don't blame you for wanting to change your seat"..............the second time around i was not so lucky, the flight was full..............the steward re-assured me that such people normally quieten down once the flight is airborne..........lucky for me he was right............

i apologize to all the passengers, in buses, trains or planes, who i might have tortured by my inconsiderate and loud chatting..............the promise to myself, when in a crowd silence is golden

back home - in toronto

flying over downtown toronto as the delta flight approached pearson airport..........in the distance i saw the apartment building, where i lived till recently, i noticed the location of my former office in the distance and i looked at the time........it was 4:30 in the afternoon..............i smiled to myself and thought...........i am in a mindspace where there is no conflict, division or contradiction...........a perfect surrender to life full of joy..............."c'est la vie"........"it is what it is"

Friday, May 15, 2009

from nature to nurture - in Houston, TX

after nurturing the soul for 3 weeks it is now time to nurture.............the family in houston has health issues..............as we all enjoy the healthy alternatives, using agave instead of sugar, healthy complex carbs, chia seeds, cinnamon, macadamia nut cheese, home made crackers...............the question comes to mind.........when does the human brain come to the realization that my emotional and physical health and well being is my responsibility and my priority...........notice the conditioning and the awareness moves to a deeper level

Sunday, May 10, 2009

more about pacha mama - CR


April 25, 2009

The flight from paves airport in san jose to nosara took 32 minutes with a stop over at a remote landing strip, for 4 passengers who were spending time at a hotel there……I was sitting right in the first seat, the pilot was amused…..he turned around to make his announcement and there I was with my camera set on video recording his speech……all through the flight we got a spectacular view of the mountain terrain and the crystal white beaches along the pacific coast……..i will see how this recording shows up on the little cool pix camera……….

The drive from the nosara airport to pachamama took about half an hour; driving on a dusty road, the 4 by 4 was a blessing, not having the air conditioner was a good intro to the high temperature in the province of guancaste…………with each passing traffic the windows had to be rolled up to avoid inhaling the storm of dust……………i was told that by this time of the year the place is really dry, probably the rainy season or the green season is welcomed here. An interesting sight were the hibiscus plants, full of red flowers, the stem were leafless…………

Pachamama is built as a self-sufficient village, 3 kms from the coast. the village has its own currency called Xocos (cho-cos)……. you buy a card in different U.S dollar denominations and use those to pay for all the essentials, including groceries and meals. the different kinds of housing are built which are well spaced, so no one overlooks any other cottage……… looking out of my cottage window i only see green forest, hear different bird songs, critters and the howler monkey. the howler monkey is small in size hearing him one would think there is a gorilla making the noise.

The vegetarian meal I had for lunch was delicious, I bought my own bread and goat cheese, some sundried tomatoes, pineapple and avocados…….great idea to stock up the fridge and prevents over eating the delicious meals served in the village restaurants……….along with the long walk up and down the slopes, I know these 11 days will trim me down.

The meditation hall known as osho hall is grand and creates the energy for meditating.
As I walked out of the meditation hall, the dark night sky was lit up by millions of lights……the stars were so bright and so close, the tree tops looked liked they were strewn with lights…………..the stars were embedded in a huge blanket providing warmth, brilliance and protection……. their sense of proximity was amazing…..as i walked back it gave me the opportunity to face the darkness and the fear of the unknown, there was no one around, just nature and me…………

Meditating this morning, overlooking the forest and the mountain in the distance was still and the silence around helped find the silence within………..

I am still adjusting to this heat………….tomorrow the trip to the beach will be a welcome change.

April 26, 2009

Today the heat was a little less, and this morning I felt in synch with the climate. The breakfast was a combination of fresh fruit, with granola and oat milk, which tasted a bit like diluted whipped yogurt.. I felt nourished after eating.

The bus ride to the beach was not long, but very bumpy….the prospect of being by the water was enough to withstand any small bumps that came in the way………..then the sight of the pacific ocean……it was low tide, but I found a nice pool surrounded by rocks covered with moss……….perfect place to sit back and enjoy the water, it felt like a private pool. The yoga was interesting in that pool, I tried the goddess, the warrior 2 and the triangle asanas, and enjoyed the support of the salt water………..the knot I had been feeling for the last 4 days in my upper left back got un-knoted……….later as I lay in a nice cool spot i continued to enjoy listening to the atlas shrugged.

In praise of the modern amenities, even though the lifestyle in this created village is close to basic, the hot water showers are a great luxury…..the pressure of the water is amazing, reminds me to check at the front office and complement them………..

Conversation regarding Honduras…………Ronit is visiting here from Miami, and we had an interesting discussion regarding the life on Roatan……before I get into the details, let me tell you how much I enjoyed my bottle of coke….my reply when someone asks me if I would like some pop is “I don’t’ like drinking pop”…….well the delight in finding a bottle of cold coca cola in the refrigerator of the convenience store by the beach was a sheer delight…….the caffeine withdrawals that I had suffered for the last two days disappeared………and as we sipped our cold pop we talked about Honduras.

The forest has its quiet moments, but each sound is magnified manifolds…….the chirping of the critters, the bird songs and the howler monkeys. When the thoughts can be harnessed, the fears of darkness and the unknown can both slip away in the awareness of noticing.