We can believe in facts and belief is a fact.
In 'The Inner Game Of Tennis' Timothy Gallwey states that "Performance = Potential - Obstacles"
Find the obstacles. Find harmony.
Simple.
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Obstacles vs harmony
Mind. Body. Heart. Soul. These four things would appear to encapsulate our very essence. They would likely have us working in perfect harmony before we 'know' better. But now we do know better. We have science and we have religion, we have facts and we have beliefs.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
The Messy Mind
I must confess
my thoughts run a mock
like a trans-dimensional clock
Never right here
Never right now
but its only this moment
that offers a how
I can look to be happy
in so many a thing
but the past and the future
this will not bring
through the courtyard of programmes
my mind silently creeps
hiding from me
I really must sleep
Monday, 19 April 2010
Nothing
My focus today is my breath.
In with Life
Out with Love
But it's the bit inbetween that interests me mostly at the moment. That space, that silence, that pause before and after each breath.
It's said that three is an important number the ying, the yang and the union of the whole. The space is that union. It's the glue that binds the breath. It has no mass, no weight, no colour, no sound, in fact no quantifiable factors at all except nothingness. It is in that space that everything can be felt. It is in that space that nothing can be felt. The energy of the universe is contained any moment. that space is where we can find it.
It's a bit like a magic eye picture. If you don't focus enough or try too hard then you cannot see it. But if you relax and find that middle ground, thats where it comes to life. Perfection in Balance. Everything in nothing. The most powerful force of the universe, the life force in everything expressed as nothingness.
And if everything is only nothing then why say anything?
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
In with Life
Out with Love
But it's the bit inbetween that interests me mostly at the moment. That space, that silence, that pause before and after each breath.
It's said that three is an important number the ying, the yang and the union of the whole. The space is that union. It's the glue that binds the breath. It has no mass, no weight, no colour, no sound, in fact no quantifiable factors at all except nothingness. It is in that space that everything can be felt. It is in that space that nothing can be felt. The energy of the universe is contained any moment. that space is where we can find it.
It's a bit like a magic eye picture. If you don't focus enough or try too hard then you cannot see it. But if you relax and find that middle ground, thats where it comes to life. Perfection in Balance. Everything in nothing. The most powerful force of the universe, the life force in everything expressed as nothingness.
And if everything is only nothing then why say anything?
Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Irritability and the parachute
Motivation is a funny thing. Sometimes it comes in such great abundance and other times not really at all. I am finding this post hard to write at this moment for instance. I lack motivation. There is only the one thing that has got me writing this; exploring my internal conditions in this way often helps to bring them to the forefront and to see them for what they are. What ever that is, but at least it is not unknown then. When we can clearly see something it is never really a problem any more. Its the cloud of emotions and thoughts that stop us realising our true potential. It is also the clouds of thoughts and emotions that lead us to our true potential. I love the paradox.
Conditions affect motivation so greatly for many of us; work, friends, amount of sleep, when and what food/drink was last consumed, what was done over the weekend (that is possibly still being payed for), what is on the TV etc.
Then there is the sidestep conditions; My room must be tidy before I can possibly do any work in it!; Just get the shopping in so that I can forget about it for the week; Just cook dinner, well I've bought all that nice food so I will cook something really special that takes a while...
Actually its quite amazing what I suddenly find interesting in a bid to avoid something.
It's normally done in the name of getting things done, we do everything else except the one thing we needed to do, then when everything else is done we've often conveniently forgotten what it was that we had to do.
Haha, I literally just spent the last 45 minutes looking at something else and forgot about this blog post even. This is certainly a funny place to be. A twisty, twiney, sharp and irritable place. It is made all the more fascinating by the fact that I can see it there. I can notice my reaction to things and if you think about the word reaction it is to repeat an action, so do something from before and not something new. An action is new and reaction is old and based on a program of the mind. So why, if I can see this program of the mind, this reaction, do I still respond to it?
Well lets look at what is a program of the mind.
Its like a computer program, it is literally programmed into our subconscious over a period of time. Sometimes it can take a manner of seconds to program some things (such as a phobia) and sometimes we have to really work at it (did anyone actually enjoy their first cigarette as a teenager?).
However these programs come into being, they are very real for us and have conditions to run, like all programs. These conditions, if not met, cause a sub program to run. For me, a condition might be something such as "I must eat at least every four hours" if this program is not met then the resulting sub program means that I will get irritable and control the situation seriously hard in order to get myself food. (often referred to as "throwing my toys out of my cot")
This is just one example but in essence it involves me expecting situations or people to be a certain way and when they are not I try to mold reality around me to get 'What I Want' and allow the orginal program to run. This program runs to make me feel within my comfort zone. Better the devil we know. Programs work on logic and repetition, not on sense and sanity. And after all, without these programs to make up my identity, who would I be?
Of course I am Arron, The smaller 'me' is (by smaller I don't mean worse, I simply mean the me that was born, lives and dies). It is my identity. I respond and react in ways that make up my personality and social situations occur around me based upon this personality and where it is in its programmic cycles. Of course we call this my conditioning. I can be very controlling and attempt to mold the world around me all the time. When I inevitably cannot I get upset.
A wonderful analogie that someone close to me came up with was that it is a bit like each of our lives being a parachute. The wind of Life comes and blows in an attempt to make us fly. But NO, we want to pin our parachutes down and retain some illusion of control. Trouble is that our attempts are so futile that they are simply like trying to use a thumb tack to pin the parachute down. Then we get annoyed when the thumb tack inevitably doesn't work.
The more I learn to let go of trying to control the more I find that Life has taken hold of my parachute and is whisking me off to magical lands to see things I never knew existed. I never know what is going to happen, but it can be as exciting or as annoying as I choose. I simply have to remind myself of this on a constant basis and remember and remember that the only control I ever have is to let go of control. Everything else I am just kidding myself with.
I suppose that from this uncontrolled and fresh place is where unconditional Life comes from.
So perhaps this is what awakening is referred to as. Becoming aware of such programs and reactions and having the choice to change them. Having the choice not only to reprogram but to disregard the programs altogether should we choose. This is not a breakdown of our identity but a transcendence. A breakdown would infer a lack of choice. Now don't get me wrong I have not run away to join a cult. I am not renouncing my personality. I can still be a right cunt sometimes. Actually I probably have an ego larger than most of you (haha does that even take a large ego to say that?!?).
I've been asleep for most of my life and recently I have begun to awaken to myself. It's pretty incredible. More and more I can notice it when I am... uncouth; both to myself and to others. And I have the choice. More often that not I choose to try to get to the root of why I feel like this. Not by analysing the past but by being present, right now. Meditation is a wonderful source for this. I am learning to observe my thoughts and feelings more and more and realise that they are not me. They actually have no power over me other than the power I give them. I think I am off to meditate now. Have a good one. Peace and love to you. (:
Conditions affect motivation so greatly for many of us; work, friends, amount of sleep, when and what food/drink was last consumed, what was done over the weekend (that is possibly still being payed for), what is on the TV etc.
Then there is the sidestep conditions; My room must be tidy before I can possibly do any work in it!; Just get the shopping in so that I can forget about it for the week; Just cook dinner, well I've bought all that nice food so I will cook something really special that takes a while...
Actually its quite amazing what I suddenly find interesting in a bid to avoid something.
It's normally done in the name of getting things done, we do everything else except the one thing we needed to do, then when everything else is done we've often conveniently forgotten what it was that we had to do.
Haha, I literally just spent the last 45 minutes looking at something else and forgot about this blog post even. This is certainly a funny place to be. A twisty, twiney, sharp and irritable place. It is made all the more fascinating by the fact that I can see it there. I can notice my reaction to things and if you think about the word reaction it is to repeat an action, so do something from before and not something new. An action is new and reaction is old and based on a program of the mind. So why, if I can see this program of the mind, this reaction, do I still respond to it?
Well lets look at what is a program of the mind.
Its like a computer program, it is literally programmed into our subconscious over a period of time. Sometimes it can take a manner of seconds to program some things (such as a phobia) and sometimes we have to really work at it (did anyone actually enjoy their first cigarette as a teenager?).
However these programs come into being, they are very real for us and have conditions to run, like all programs. These conditions, if not met, cause a sub program to run. For me, a condition might be something such as "I must eat at least every four hours" if this program is not met then the resulting sub program means that I will get irritable and control the situation seriously hard in order to get myself food. (often referred to as "throwing my toys out of my cot")
This is just one example but in essence it involves me expecting situations or people to be a certain way and when they are not I try to mold reality around me to get 'What I Want' and allow the orginal program to run. This program runs to make me feel within my comfort zone. Better the devil we know. Programs work on logic and repetition, not on sense and sanity. And after all, without these programs to make up my identity, who would I be?
Of course I am Arron, The smaller 'me' is (by smaller I don't mean worse, I simply mean the me that was born, lives and dies). It is my identity. I respond and react in ways that make up my personality and social situations occur around me based upon this personality and where it is in its programmic cycles. Of course we call this my conditioning. I can be very controlling and attempt to mold the world around me all the time. When I inevitably cannot I get upset.
A wonderful analogie that someone close to me came up with was that it is a bit like each of our lives being a parachute. The wind of Life comes and blows in an attempt to make us fly. But NO, we want to pin our parachutes down and retain some illusion of control. Trouble is that our attempts are so futile that they are simply like trying to use a thumb tack to pin the parachute down. Then we get annoyed when the thumb tack inevitably doesn't work.
The more I learn to let go of trying to control the more I find that Life has taken hold of my parachute and is whisking me off to magical lands to see things I never knew existed. I never know what is going to happen, but it can be as exciting or as annoying as I choose. I simply have to remind myself of this on a constant basis and remember and remember that the only control I ever have is to let go of control. Everything else I am just kidding myself with.
I suppose that from this uncontrolled and fresh place is where unconditional Life comes from.
So perhaps this is what awakening is referred to as. Becoming aware of such programs and reactions and having the choice to change them. Having the choice not only to reprogram but to disregard the programs altogether should we choose. This is not a breakdown of our identity but a transcendence. A breakdown would infer a lack of choice. Now don't get me wrong I have not run away to join a cult. I am not renouncing my personality. I can still be a right cunt sometimes. Actually I probably have an ego larger than most of you (haha does that even take a large ego to say that?!?).
I've been asleep for most of my life and recently I have begun to awaken to myself. It's pretty incredible. More and more I can notice it when I am... uncouth; both to myself and to others. And I have the choice. More often that not I choose to try to get to the root of why I feel like this. Not by analysing the past but by being present, right now. Meditation is a wonderful source for this. I am learning to observe my thoughts and feelings more and more and realise that they are not me. They actually have no power over me other than the power I give them. I think I am off to meditate now. Have a good one. Peace and love to you. (:
Friday, 19 March 2010
Finishing in Style... Uruguay and Argentina
Following Iguazu I took an 18 bus journey back to Buenos Aires. I once again took the 'Super Camo' bus, the one with the fully reclining bed and first class service. They forgot my vegetarian food (which is quite normal in South America in general I am finding) and shock horror, my TV screen didn't work.
Now, before I booked this journey i didn't even know that each seat had its own TV screen. But once I knew it was a must have. You know the kind of thing, something you didn't know existed but cannot live without know you do know. So this TV not working really irked me.
I was irked. This thing I had never knew existed now didn't exist. This was not good enough. I wanted to complain. They could do nothing. They were hospitality staff, not technicians. I was still irked. Then it struck me, the ridiculous nature of the situation. I sat in quiet contemplation for some time considering this. Actually I wanted to sleep, I wanted to read, I wanted to write. This was a blessing.
I can have such a tenancy to react before considering the situation. I was certainly thankful for this chance to once again see my tenacious ego in action. "I want to control the situation and have it way I want it!!!".
When something annoys us, it is not that something that annoys us, it is our conditioning and programs that run from our unconscious. It is our wantant to control, to have things the way we expected them to happen. In short it is us that annoy ourselves.
American comedian Ron White summed it up quite well: "I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade...and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party."
Life is certainly what you make of it. How you respond to it.
So I got back to Buenos Aires and went immediately to the Ferry to cross the channel to Uruguay. Prior to traveling, all I knew about Uruguay was from the Simpson's where they were going to South America, Homer looks at a globe and sees Uruguay and exclaims "U R Gay... hehehehe".
This joke didn't really wash with my Uruguayan friend Andreas in Peru. He didn't seem to mind though as he had heard it many times before. I had come to Uruguay on his advice, nothing to do with the Simpons's though but he was one of the most interesting people I had met on my travels. He had got me in contact with his girlfriend Alé as he was still traveling.
Alé met me outside the dance studio where Tango and Salsa lessons awaited. My natural prowess on the dance floor was going to make this easy. Of course the fact that this natural raw talent in my mind doesn't seem to convey itself to my limbs is but a small mute point. I am a musician, I have rhythm, I can tell when the start of the bar is, what the time signature is and can tap a mean beat with my fingers on an invisible piano.
When it comes to applying this to even just my feet, never mind my legs, hips, waist and all those other wobbly bits and bobs dancing incorporates, well lets just say that my rhythm is non-transferable at this time. But Salsa is Fun, the capital F is important here. It is probably easier when one is not wearing flip flops, but when one is traveling one cannot be picky about ones footwear.
The Tango lesson, my fourth, taught me the main steps I had already learned. Trouble is that the 4 of us beginners were left on the side lines a little. Our teacher, who looked remarkably like a thin Gordan Brown without the gammy eye, never smiled and was only interested in the intermediates. So we sat and chatted. I am very lucky that most people here speak English.
Montevideo is a beautiful city, it seemed very 'first world' actually. Like Buenos Aires the buildings spoke of the money of days gone by. They whispered about the days when people cared for them and maintained them, before all these new bland faceless buildings were placed around them.
"The good old days", they often said to me as we relaxed around a park "was where it was at".
The vibe is relaxed and friendly. The people lovely if not a little quirky. This difference of which I speak is their love of the Tea 'Maté' (pronounced Ma-tay). This in itself is no more strange than our apparent love of drinking tea at 5 O'Clock, the belief of many a South American.
It is the manner in which they go about this ritual. The Maté cup is a wooden vessel usually with small feet as the bottom of the cup is rounded. It is filled to the brim with the Maté tea leaves and a silver metal straw protrudes from within as one couldn't use ones lips on the cup, oh no, that would not do. At the base of this straw is a filter to hold out the leaves.
The water is added from a flask that they diligently carry under their arm. Okay so even this might seem not too unusual in itself. However the flask is usually between 1-2 liter, so carrying the cup and the flask is not subtle. Especially when the person is trying to smoke, drink Maté, hold a flask under one arm, talk on the phone and walk. Always fun to watch. So yeah as you walk around you see smart, hot young business women all dolled up with their cup and flask, you see policemen with it, youths hanging out with it, the homeless with it and all manner of other quarters of society with this large appendage apparently attached to them.
So hanging around Montevideo was great fun, I hired a bike to see the city. I had great intentions. This was healthy, this was good for the environment. After 30 minutes I had had enough. My days of bike riding have waned somewhat, my stamina and strength are not what they were. On top of this the mosquito epidemic they were having for the exact 3 days I was there meant that every time I stopped near grass or water a cloud of these critters would descend like a miniature army of helicopters intent on refueling. I am not squeamish, really I am not. But 20-30 mozzies land on me is enough to make me question my vegetarian 'no killing of anything' policy. They didn't care about the spray, they laughed at it, said it was like chilli pepper and just added flavour. These were the hells angles of mosquito's. They were on a road to hell and needed blood to get there. I feel a MWAHAHAHA wouldn't be out of place here...
Or perhaps they were simply being mosquito's and doing what mosquito's do. Who knows? My host Alé insisted that this was not normal for Uruguay and that I had just come in the one period of the whole year this happens. Lucky me.
The Argentinians and the Uruguayans pride themselves in having the best beef in the world. They don't really understand the word vegetarian, even when i see people order steak in the restaurants it comes with a small lettuce leaf to add colour and nothing mroe I think. I once asked for something vegetarian in a cafe in my pigeon Spanish. The lady asked if I would like a ham and cheese sandwich. Apparently a pig is a vegetable in this area of the world. Eating cheese sandwiches and chips tends to get a little samey after a while.
An oasis of food came in the form of Nameste, a vegetarian restaurant I found on www.happycow.org This wonderful calming place was so good I had lunch here and came back for dinner.
Nameste is an anient Sanskit word from nepal and India. It is a term commonly used for greetings and literally means "I bow to you", I feel a certain humbleness with this simple word, it implys acknowledging the others humanity and their radient inner self. I think I shall continue to use this.
So back in Buenos Aires I literally had 4 days left of travelling. These final few days were spent relaxing and seeing a couple of friends. First was my friend Vivi whom I had met in Cuzco and later in Lima. A very special soul, I feel we have bonded wonderfully and I hope to know her for many years to come. She is a musician and introduced me to her friend's father who teaches Tango piano. I had an hour long lesson of learning the rudimentary rhythms of the tango standards. It was awesome. Tango is so sexy to play; such swing and passion as my fingers slide and glide and run up the crispy chromatic riffs.
I also met with my friend Julia (of course in Spanish she is Who-Lia), we have emailed each other for 10 years and had never met. Not quite sure how we even met online now. We had a wonderful evening though.
Not getting into the club we had intended upon as my walking boots didn't meet the shoe requirements was a blessing in disguise as my last night traveling was spent discussing matters of the heart and of the universe.
Julia, her boyfriend Nick and I talked for the best part of 5 hours and drank Stella late into the night. I don't really drink much at the moment, but this being my last night I felt the need to celebrate my travels. To celebrate everything I had seen, the kindness I had been shown, the experiences I had experienced, the people I had met and through all of this the path I had found myself on awakening me to me ego. To see emotions and thoughts as something that I have but are not me. To realise that everything in the universe is connected and that everything that we do is important. I realised how important it is to take responsibility for ourselves, to bring our attention to this present moment, to let go of trying to control as the only true control we ever have is this letting go, everything else is illusionary, not wrong, just not real. There is no right or wrong, that is perception, perception is created through conditioning. In the bigger picture of the universe one thing happens and leads to another, all we can do is either enjoy the ride and enjoy the changes or fight against it. I choose the former. In the words of Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting, "Choose Life". But what exactly is life? Well, I shall be looking at this one in later posts.
So those of you that have joined me on this journey through this blog, I thank you. I have had many enlightening and encouraging words from some of you that have inspired and conveyed love to me. I truly feel humbled and privileged by the opportunities I have been given and the people I have met. Thankyou to the universe for this and thankyou to everyone even remotely involved in my journey. I love you all. (:
Now, before I booked this journey i didn't even know that each seat had its own TV screen. But once I knew it was a must have. You know the kind of thing, something you didn't know existed but cannot live without know you do know. So this TV not working really irked me.
I was irked. This thing I had never knew existed now didn't exist. This was not good enough. I wanted to complain. They could do nothing. They were hospitality staff, not technicians. I was still irked. Then it struck me, the ridiculous nature of the situation. I sat in quiet contemplation for some time considering this. Actually I wanted to sleep, I wanted to read, I wanted to write. This was a blessing.
I can have such a tenancy to react before considering the situation. I was certainly thankful for this chance to once again see my tenacious ego in action. "I want to control the situation and have it way I want it!!!".
When something annoys us, it is not that something that annoys us, it is our conditioning and programs that run from our unconscious. It is our wantant to control, to have things the way we expected them to happen. In short it is us that annoy ourselves.
American comedian Ron White summed it up quite well: "I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade...and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party."
Life is certainly what you make of it. How you respond to it.
So I got back to Buenos Aires and went immediately to the Ferry to cross the channel to Uruguay. Prior to traveling, all I knew about Uruguay was from the Simpson's where they were going to South America, Homer looks at a globe and sees Uruguay and exclaims "U R Gay... hehehehe".
This joke didn't really wash with my Uruguayan friend Andreas in Peru. He didn't seem to mind though as he had heard it many times before. I had come to Uruguay on his advice, nothing to do with the Simpons's though but he was one of the most interesting people I had met on my travels. He had got me in contact with his girlfriend Alé as he was still traveling.
Alé met me outside the dance studio where Tango and Salsa lessons awaited. My natural prowess on the dance floor was going to make this easy. Of course the fact that this natural raw talent in my mind doesn't seem to convey itself to my limbs is but a small mute point. I am a musician, I have rhythm, I can tell when the start of the bar is, what the time signature is and can tap a mean beat with my fingers on an invisible piano.
When it comes to applying this to even just my feet, never mind my legs, hips, waist and all those other wobbly bits and bobs dancing incorporates, well lets just say that my rhythm is non-transferable at this time. But Salsa is Fun, the capital F is important here. It is probably easier when one is not wearing flip flops, but when one is traveling one cannot be picky about ones footwear.
The Tango lesson, my fourth, taught me the main steps I had already learned. Trouble is that the 4 of us beginners were left on the side lines a little. Our teacher, who looked remarkably like a thin Gordan Brown without the gammy eye, never smiled and was only interested in the intermediates. So we sat and chatted. I am very lucky that most people here speak English.
Montevideo is a beautiful city, it seemed very 'first world' actually. Like Buenos Aires the buildings spoke of the money of days gone by. They whispered about the days when people cared for them and maintained them, before all these new bland faceless buildings were placed around them.
"The good old days", they often said to me as we relaxed around a park "was where it was at".
The vibe is relaxed and friendly. The people lovely if not a little quirky. This difference of which I speak is their love of the Tea 'Maté' (pronounced Ma-tay). This in itself is no more strange than our apparent love of drinking tea at 5 O'Clock, the belief of many a South American.
It is the manner in which they go about this ritual. The Maté cup is a wooden vessel usually with small feet as the bottom of the cup is rounded. It is filled to the brim with the Maté tea leaves and a silver metal straw protrudes from within as one couldn't use ones lips on the cup, oh no, that would not do. At the base of this straw is a filter to hold out the leaves.
The water is added from a flask that they diligently carry under their arm. Okay so even this might seem not too unusual in itself. However the flask is usually between 1-2 liter, so carrying the cup and the flask is not subtle. Especially when the person is trying to smoke, drink Maté, hold a flask under one arm, talk on the phone and walk. Always fun to watch. So yeah as you walk around you see smart, hot young business women all dolled up with their cup and flask, you see policemen with it, youths hanging out with it, the homeless with it and all manner of other quarters of society with this large appendage apparently attached to them.
So hanging around Montevideo was great fun, I hired a bike to see the city. I had great intentions. This was healthy, this was good for the environment. After 30 minutes I had had enough. My days of bike riding have waned somewhat, my stamina and strength are not what they were. On top of this the mosquito epidemic they were having for the exact 3 days I was there meant that every time I stopped near grass or water a cloud of these critters would descend like a miniature army of helicopters intent on refueling. I am not squeamish, really I am not. But 20-30 mozzies land on me is enough to make me question my vegetarian 'no killing of anything' policy. They didn't care about the spray, they laughed at it, said it was like chilli pepper and just added flavour. These were the hells angles of mosquito's. They were on a road to hell and needed blood to get there. I feel a MWAHAHAHA wouldn't be out of place here...
Or perhaps they were simply being mosquito's and doing what mosquito's do. Who knows? My host Alé insisted that this was not normal for Uruguay and that I had just come in the one period of the whole year this happens. Lucky me.
The Argentinians and the Uruguayans pride themselves in having the best beef in the world. They don't really understand the word vegetarian, even when i see people order steak in the restaurants it comes with a small lettuce leaf to add colour and nothing mroe I think. I once asked for something vegetarian in a cafe in my pigeon Spanish. The lady asked if I would like a ham and cheese sandwich. Apparently a pig is a vegetable in this area of the world. Eating cheese sandwiches and chips tends to get a little samey after a while.
An oasis of food came in the form of Nameste, a vegetarian restaurant I found on www.happycow.org This wonderful calming place was so good I had lunch here and came back for dinner.
Nameste is an anient Sanskit word from nepal and India. It is a term commonly used for greetings and literally means "I bow to you", I feel a certain humbleness with this simple word, it implys acknowledging the others humanity and their radient inner self. I think I shall continue to use this.
So back in Buenos Aires I literally had 4 days left of travelling. These final few days were spent relaxing and seeing a couple of friends. First was my friend Vivi whom I had met in Cuzco and later in Lima. A very special soul, I feel we have bonded wonderfully and I hope to know her for many years to come. She is a musician and introduced me to her friend's father who teaches Tango piano. I had an hour long lesson of learning the rudimentary rhythms of the tango standards. It was awesome. Tango is so sexy to play; such swing and passion as my fingers slide and glide and run up the crispy chromatic riffs.
I also met with my friend Julia (of course in Spanish she is Who-Lia), we have emailed each other for 10 years and had never met. Not quite sure how we even met online now. We had a wonderful evening though.
Not getting into the club we had intended upon as my walking boots didn't meet the shoe requirements was a blessing in disguise as my last night traveling was spent discussing matters of the heart and of the universe.
Julia, her boyfriend Nick and I talked for the best part of 5 hours and drank Stella late into the night. I don't really drink much at the moment, but this being my last night I felt the need to celebrate my travels. To celebrate everything I had seen, the kindness I had been shown, the experiences I had experienced, the people I had met and through all of this the path I had found myself on awakening me to me ego. To see emotions and thoughts as something that I have but are not me. To realise that everything in the universe is connected and that everything that we do is important. I realised how important it is to take responsibility for ourselves, to bring our attention to this present moment, to let go of trying to control as the only true control we ever have is this letting go, everything else is illusionary, not wrong, just not real. There is no right or wrong, that is perception, perception is created through conditioning. In the bigger picture of the universe one thing happens and leads to another, all we can do is either enjoy the ride and enjoy the changes or fight against it. I choose the former. In the words of Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting, "Choose Life". But what exactly is life? Well, I shall be looking at this one in later posts.
So those of you that have joined me on this journey through this blog, I thank you. I have had many enlightening and encouraging words from some of you that have inspired and conveyed love to me. I truly feel humbled and privileged by the opportunities I have been given and the people I have met. Thankyou to the universe for this and thankyou to everyone even remotely involved in my journey. I love you all. (:
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Buenos Aires, Wow!
 |
| From Brazil |
So arriving in Buenos Aires was something of a blank for me. I actually had no expectations and had done little to no research on the place. Ben had found us a hostel in a great part of town that we would spend 3 days together in. For him this was his last days of his travels.
We had a fantastic few days together seeing various things around the city. Ben is really good at organizing things that he would like to see. I really enjoy that actually, quite often I would just potter and see what comes my way, but sometimes it is great to be with someone with a plan.
Ben is vegetarian also and for the two of us trying to find vege food in this meat capital of the world was hard. Seriously, these people seem to lack vegetables from their diet. Its a marvel that the cholesterol hasn´t killed them. They order a steak and it comes with a lettuce leaf. Every restaurant seems to sell the same thing. The lack of diversity is incredible for such a bohemian city. Everywhere is pizza, pasta, steak or fish. Half of that is off the menu straight away for us, the other half gets a little samey after a while. I rejoiced when I found an Arabian takeaway, felafel's and hummus! It was pretty cardboardy actually, but it was something different at least.
On the second night Ben had planned for us to go to the football. He had tried to see matches 3 times before in South America and was thwarted every time. He was determined this time to go. I can take football or leave it, but I thought the atmosphere would be good. He went to buy the tickets and came back 2 hours later looking a little forlorn. He was R$10 short of two tickets as the cheaper ones had sold out. So he had bought one for himself. Of course I know that he wouldn´t have done that if he thought for one minute that I would mind. Of course I didn´t, I was just happy that he would finally be getting to go to a game in this continent. It also left a wonderful mystical question mark as to how I would spend Friday night in this marvellous city on my own. I was quite excited to see what the universe would bring my way.
I ended up spending a delectable 3 hours walking around the stalls of street markets, watching street tango, various buskers and performers, browsing shops and stopping for tea. It was a great time and I felt truly lucky to be here, in this time, as I am.
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| From Brazil |
Street tango
The lounge Tango ´Ibiza chill-out´ music is so great, I´ve bought 4 CDs to listen when i get home, such hypnotic beats combined with traditional tango riffs and samples. Many areas of the city has this unique blend pumping out of bars and cafes. The graffiti, whilst not that of Sao Paulo lends itself to the cultural feels. Too much tagging and not enough art work layers a trashy shawl over the beautiful architecture of days gone by. This was once the richest city in the world. Of course the riches were owned by a few individuals, but still when you think that it was richer than anywhere else and being only a few hundred years since establishment, it seems quite cool to me.
We also went to a touristic tango show that for me had little to note except one performance... The show was chronicling the growth of tango from its roots. Spanish and Italian immigrants bought their individual flares and flavours of music, culture, art and of course dance. Two guys came on stage dressed in traditional Flamenco outfits followed by a woman holding beat on a drum. The two guys pulled out their Poi (a prop of a cord in each hand usually tailed with ribbons, balls or even fire, they are spun around and are very graceful when used properly) then started to twirl them about whilst stamping. They started to hit the floor with their poy that had hard balls on the end. The rhythm created was fast, incredibly tight and amazing to watch. I´ve never seen anything like it.
Ben and I said our goodbyes and i was so thankful that he had come to join me here. We really caught up in ways we haven't for years and I feel we have both grown from the experiences we had together. After Ben left I checked out the cemetery where Evita was buried. The local rich and famous burial ground full of sarcophagi, tombs and generally flashy graves showing that some people try hard to take their money with them. Oh and I bought some thunder that day too. I enjoyed playing with that at the cemetery. (Thunder is a musical instrument created in Brazil, it is a giant seed pod, hollowed and a hole put in the top, a drum skin is placed upon the open end and a spring attached. As you shake it, the spring´s vibrations resonate within the seedpod and the resulting sound is akin to thunder. When the spring hits things as it flys about it sounds like a Jedi light-sabre.) I thought it the coolest thing I have ever seen. I bought one immediately.
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
Evita´s Burial place
Next came Iguazu. Now my favorite place on Earth. Mother Nature has excelled here. After my 18 hour bus journey I went straight to the park and saw quite the most spectacular display of water I´ve ever seen. The billions of tonnes of cascading water falls over many kilometers of falls. It is not only awe inspiring but is also leaves one speechless. Walking around was something of a meditation for me. The second day I went on a walk to a pool under a waterfall, wow that was cool. Standing under a 60ft waterfall, feeling the cold pounding vertical river massage my body is something else. I got so into it, every time I came out to dry off before leaving I had to go back in. It is very grounding being in such a natural shower. I enjoyed meditating in it and doing some yoga (that was very limited due to the slipperiness of the rocks.) The walk to and from the falls took me past spiders the size of my hands. One was devouring a ginormous butterfly. Quite enthralling if not a little grizzly.
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
So many butterflies!!!! magical
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| From Brazil |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Brazil |
So today I went to Brazil for the morning to their side of the Cataratas (Spanish for waterfall). Argentina have the intimate, get real close side, Brazil have the ´stand back and see the ´painting´ properly as Mother Nature intended´ side. There is no way I can describe the beauty of the view here. The spray of the falls enveloping you as you watch rainbows being born. The water nymphs playing gracefully with the sodden grass making it lush almost beyond this world. The force and magnitude of the water falling and smashing against the rocks below serves to remind and humble as to the sheer power of nature. This is truly a Heaven on Earth. Well, apart from all the bloody tourists... ;)
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
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| From Argentina |
Soon I return to Buenos Aires to go straight to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. This 26 hours journey will give me plenty of time to rest. It amazing how you learn to sleep just about anywhere when travelling on a time budget.
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| From Brazil |
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Brazilia in a nutshell (you know which type!)
So yeah. Brazil, what a trip. After leaving Rio I was in a bit of a daze. Ben and I had had our one big night out. It certainly took its toll. I found myself a bus and soon after found myself in Paraty. Fate bought me to a hostel that woe betide me was a party hostel. I knew these existed but I have avoided them thus far. I like to sleep when I get into bed. I go out to party. But here I was. Loud music, people intending on drinking alcohol and having a good time... oh dear... Well I had various things to do, so by the time I had finished them I thought I might push the boat out and have a fruit juice in the bar, fresh of course. A guy was sitting alone so I decided to join him. That's one of the wonderful things about travelling, simply enjoying the company of another with no expectations and no attachment's. You meet people, perhaps spend time with them and then move on. Those that you gel with especially well you might see again, but no worries either way really.
A dog waiting for a taxi...
This guy Phillipe looked just like Ross from friends when he is in the 1980´s retrospective scenes. The moustache was brilliant. When I told him of his similarity with Ross, he knew. Everyone told him this. Damn, I thought I was insightful. We ended up chatting for hours about life and whatnot. One thing I particularly remember him talking about was buildings. For he has just finished his Architecture degree you see. He believed that buildings have a personality and a soul. A space can be different depending on how it is built and how it is treated. Different beyond the obvious physical dimensions of course. I found this fascinating actually. Is Feng Shui the art of communicating with a rooms soul? I shall have to look further into this.
I went to bed at 1am whilst a group of early 20 somethings were off out to drink and then probably have sex. Probably. They invited me to go. I politely declined. Am I getting old? My ego would like me to think so. It would have enjoyed a night of unconscious fun but I needed rest and genuinely wanted interested.
That night I awoke in my dorm to a guy leaning over my bed. It really scared the crap out of me as I shouted WHOA. Who on earth shouts whoa? Me, apparently. He was leaning over as the air conditioning controls were next to my bed and had it had gone off. This was his story anyway. I am choosing to believe him. Unfortunately I had nightmares all night of people attacking me. Slept like an insomniac. I moved hostels the next day
The following day ´Ross´ and I went on a boat ride to various islands. It was so calm and relaxing. 35 degrees and sun, sand and sea. Okay less sun as it was cloudy, but sand and sea... well okay, mostly sea actually. I loved diving from the top of the 4m boat into the water. Got quite addicted to it actually. One guy did a monumental belly flop that everyone watching really felt and a chorus of ohhhhs gave a great applause.
Travelling on to Santos, a town South of Sao Paulo, was the plan next. It got waylay-ed when I realised the distances involved. So I ended up in Marisias. A town that all the rich and famous Brazilians come to for the surf and luxurious living. I stayed in an 8 bed dorm room which although was a cute room contained very very drunk Brazilians and Argentines determined to have a good time, loudly coming back throughout the night. Oh and what is reported to be the best night club in Latin America down the road kept a rhythm going to keep me occupied instead of sleeping until 6am. The plastic mattress was sweaty too and the mosquito's bit me to hell. That was certainly a long night.
I wanted to buy a pair of shorts. The cheapest I could find was the equivalent of around 60 pounds. Next time I shall miss out this town unless, a) I am very very rich, b) I like to not sleep or c) I get very rich...
As I got the bus out of there I met a lovely woman, Luciana. We got chatting and she took my facebook to meet in Sao Paulo in a few days. We did meet, I´ll include that soon.
So, in Santos I was back to Couch Surfing, Rio Carnival spending had given me a financial crisis, so I needed cheap times. Couchsurfing is awesome for saving money and emersing yourself in the culture and people of a place. I met with Christina, a lovely woman who's English was just enough to get by together. Over a huge bowl of Acai (Pronounced Aa-sigh-eee) and granola we chatted. She mentioned about the local hill we could go and see the locals paragliding. Bells rang in my mind. Mmmm, cancelled hang-gliding in Rio... I wonder... I asked how much. Of course she had a friend who ran it. He could give us a good price if the weather was good. The universe is good to me. I very am very thankful toward it.
The weather was perfect the following day. It all just kind of happened. First I asked Christina's son if I could buy some shorts locally. Of course his grandma, who lived downstairs, ran a clothes shop. She just happened to have around 30 pairs of shorts in her house all for around 5 pounds each. Within 3 minutes of asking I was trying them on. The universe bringing me what I need again. Thank you (: We went up the hill, got strapped in to a parachute and harness and off we went. Awesome. It was so calm and peaceful, flying by the seaside, strapped to my expert and a parachute, catching the pockets of air, swooping between the Condors. I put my arms out like a bird, I smiled a lot, even giggled a few times. I felt wonderful, it was such a calm buzz though.
After Santos I had arranged to go to Sao Paulo and meet Luciana before heading to my next couch surfing. Luciana was a lovely woman of my age who is coming to Ireland in December and wished to practice her English, and make a new friend along the way of course. She came to meet me at the bus station and we spent a lovely afternoon together in various parts of Sao Paulo. I really love those random chance meetings in life that add sugar to it. She was so kind and giving and we really had a good afternoon together. She even insisted on coming an hour out of her way so that I got to where I was couch surfing safely. Now how is that for generous? I was genuinely touched by her attitude and actions.
So I got to Uma´s house. Her name is actually Karin, Uma is her spiritual name given to her from her Guru. It suits her. We actually did preciously little in the time we spent together in terms of seeing the city. We did a lot of meditation and yoga though and just enjoyed being in each others company. This time really grounded me and was exactly what I needed. I had a lot of insights into love and ego whilst I was there and decided that I will write a book about it all. About my journey, about the ´What is love?´ project I have been doing, about my realisations and insights into love and the ego. I have realised so much as I have been searching. I feel it is a story I´d like to tell. So watch this space for the book.
Well, that's Brazil for this time round (except tomorrow when I cross the border for 2 hours to see the waterfalls I will tell you about another time). I found the people to be wonderful, my Portuguese is crap, even worse than my 30 Spanish words or so. But the people here were always willing to help this Gringo. So many times I found instances where people went out of their way, sometimes massively so, to help me. I am so thankful for the experiences I have had here and some of the people I have met along the way I truly hope to meet again. Some I know I will. Thank you Brazil for taking care of me. I love you.
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
A dog waiting for a taxi...
This guy Phillipe looked just like Ross from friends when he is in the 1980´s retrospective scenes. The moustache was brilliant. When I told him of his similarity with Ross, he knew. Everyone told him this. Damn, I thought I was insightful. We ended up chatting for hours about life and whatnot. One thing I particularly remember him talking about was buildings. For he has just finished his Architecture degree you see. He believed that buildings have a personality and a soul. A space can be different depending on how it is built and how it is treated. Different beyond the obvious physical dimensions of course. I found this fascinating actually. Is Feng Shui the art of communicating with a rooms soul? I shall have to look further into this.
I went to bed at 1am whilst a group of early 20 somethings were off out to drink and then probably have sex. Probably. They invited me to go. I politely declined. Am I getting old? My ego would like me to think so. It would have enjoyed a night of unconscious fun but I needed rest and genuinely wanted interested.
That night I awoke in my dorm to a guy leaning over my bed. It really scared the crap out of me as I shouted WHOA. Who on earth shouts whoa? Me, apparently. He was leaning over as the air conditioning controls were next to my bed and had it had gone off. This was his story anyway. I am choosing to believe him. Unfortunately I had nightmares all night of people attacking me. Slept like an insomniac. I moved hostels the next day
The following day ´Ross´ and I went on a boat ride to various islands. It was so calm and relaxing. 35 degrees and sun, sand and sea. Okay less sun as it was cloudy, but sand and sea... well okay, mostly sea actually. I loved diving from the top of the 4m boat into the water. Got quite addicted to it actually. One guy did a monumental belly flop that everyone watching really felt and a chorus of ohhhhs gave a great applause.
Travelling on to Santos, a town South of Sao Paulo, was the plan next. It got waylay-ed when I realised the distances involved. So I ended up in Marisias. A town that all the rich and famous Brazilians come to for the surf and luxurious living. I stayed in an 8 bed dorm room which although was a cute room contained very very drunk Brazilians and Argentines determined to have a good time, loudly coming back throughout the night. Oh and what is reported to be the best night club in Latin America down the road kept a rhythm going to keep me occupied instead of sleeping until 6am. The plastic mattress was sweaty too and the mosquito's bit me to hell. That was certainly a long night.
I wanted to buy a pair of shorts. The cheapest I could find was the equivalent of around 60 pounds. Next time I shall miss out this town unless, a) I am very very rich, b) I like to not sleep or c) I get very rich...
As I got the bus out of there I met a lovely woman, Luciana. We got chatting and she took my facebook to meet in Sao Paulo in a few days. We did meet, I´ll include that soon.
So, in Santos I was back to Couch Surfing, Rio Carnival spending had given me a financial crisis, so I needed cheap times. Couchsurfing is awesome for saving money and emersing yourself in the culture and people of a place. I met with Christina, a lovely woman who's English was just enough to get by together. Over a huge bowl of Acai (Pronounced Aa-sigh-eee) and granola we chatted. She mentioned about the local hill we could go and see the locals paragliding. Bells rang in my mind. Mmmm, cancelled hang-gliding in Rio... I wonder... I asked how much. Of course she had a friend who ran it. He could give us a good price if the weather was good. The universe is good to me. I very am very thankful toward it.
The weather was perfect the following day. It all just kind of happened. First I asked Christina's son if I could buy some shorts locally. Of course his grandma, who lived downstairs, ran a clothes shop. She just happened to have around 30 pairs of shorts in her house all for around 5 pounds each. Within 3 minutes of asking I was trying them on. The universe bringing me what I need again. Thank you (: We went up the hill, got strapped in to a parachute and harness and off we went. Awesome. It was so calm and peaceful, flying by the seaside, strapped to my expert and a parachute, catching the pockets of air, swooping between the Condors. I put my arms out like a bird, I smiled a lot, even giggled a few times. I felt wonderful, it was such a calm buzz though.
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
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| From Brazil |
After Santos I had arranged to go to Sao Paulo and meet Luciana before heading to my next couch surfing. Luciana was a lovely woman of my age who is coming to Ireland in December and wished to practice her English, and make a new friend along the way of course. She came to meet me at the bus station and we spent a lovely afternoon together in various parts of Sao Paulo. I really love those random chance meetings in life that add sugar to it. She was so kind and giving and we really had a good afternoon together. She even insisted on coming an hour out of her way so that I got to where I was couch surfing safely. Now how is that for generous? I was genuinely touched by her attitude and actions.
So I got to Uma´s house. Her name is actually Karin, Uma is her spiritual name given to her from her Guru. It suits her. We actually did preciously little in the time we spent together in terms of seeing the city. We did a lot of meditation and yoga though and just enjoyed being in each others company. This time really grounded me and was exactly what I needed. I had a lot of insights into love and ego whilst I was there and decided that I will write a book about it all. About my journey, about the ´What is love?´ project I have been doing, about my realisations and insights into love and the ego. I have realised so much as I have been searching. I feel it is a story I´d like to tell. So watch this space for the book.
Well, that's Brazil for this time round (except tomorrow when I cross the border for 2 hours to see the waterfalls I will tell you about another time). I found the people to be wonderful, my Portuguese is crap, even worse than my 30 Spanish words or so. But the people here were always willing to help this Gringo. So many times I found instances where people went out of their way, sometimes massively so, to help me. I am so thankful for the experiences I have had here and some of the people I have met along the way I truly hope to meet again. Some I know I will. Thank you Brazil for taking care of me. I love you.
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