Perfect Happy New Year - Rishikesh

Happy New Year to all!

I write from such a beautiful place on the banks of the Ganga and at the foot of the Himilayas. Heaven on earth.

Yesterday when I arrived, Hem (pronounced Him) took me through the market and the ghats of Haridwar. Then we climbed up to a very high up fantastic Masadevi temple. It must have taken an hour to climb up there. He is very polite because he probably ciould have flown up being a mountain man, a true trekker. I had to stop many times.

Evidently the wishes one makes before going into this temple are surely granted by the great goddess. Or so I was told. Aside from my wishing for an abundant future where all my current projects become overnight successes, and my father's recovery from something like dimentia, I wished for the return of my silver hoop earring that I lost while making the climb as I shed some of my layers of clothing I was sweating so much.

While skipping merrily down the stairs from the temple in the sky, I did find it albeit not in the place where I had lost it. It had rolled down to about the 500th step in the thousand we climbed. Hem took this to be a good omen that the goddess would be granting all my wishes.

I bought a couple bananas in the market on the way back to the car and got them clipped from my hands by a fast monkey. What a scene.

We then traveled some distance to Rishikesh where what might seem like a budget hotel to most seemd like paradise to me - to have a tub and hot water again - what a treat!

Next we traveled to the banks of the Ganges and to the white sand beaches here. Very beautiful.

Next we crossed Shivanand Jhula (a beautiful pedestrian bridge) to the other side of the river to attend evening aarti ceremony in front of a huge Shiva statue sitting on rocks in the water. What a simple and different puja from the one in Varanasi. This one is full of saffron clad boys ages 8 to 18 singing their hearts out as they happily pray. And instead of thousands of people, possibly there were 300 - 400 making it seem like a very intimate experience. At some point a long-haired bearded swami arrived who clearly was the leader of said group, the center of the ceremony. Quite a moving spectacle.

After a light dinner of simple thali, I slept for 12 hours.

This morning I found my way to the Lakshiman Jhula and walked across to visit these tall temples that have layer upon layer of gods and goddesses maybe twelve stories tall in total. I hung with a family that was visiting at the same time and rang the many bells with the little girls.

I found my way to a German bakery and book store and learned from some tourists about the happenings this evening being offered for New Years celebrations.

I'll see what inner guidance says about whether to go or not, but I will have a great dinner and make a toast to all of you. I love you and miss you and send you love for the New Year from this heavenly place.

Namaste,
Laurie

Quick Stop Delhi - On to Rishikesh

I decided to go to somewhere new for New Year's Eve (which it is now as I write.)

I flew from Goa to Delhi, met Amit for a quick dinner and re-packing my luggage from tropical clothes to warm weather gear. Then much too early yesterday morning I caught a train to Haridwar.

Here's what I wrote while on the train. From it you can tell I am not a morning person.

"I am riding on probably the cleanest of the filthy trains I have traveled on during this trip! I am unable to see out of the windows because of condensation. The pull-down table for eating is dirty. As the light breakfast is served complete with personal pots of hot water for tea, it seems the pots had never before been cleaned. And just now when I got up to go to the crappy Western style toilet, I noticed I have been sitting on chewing gum. Okay, what more? I surrender again!"

Well, I did not sleep at all that night before so maybe it is a little more than that I am not a morning person:-)

I still have to point out that once again I was taken care of beyond the beyond. At 5am that morning the hotel called to make sure I was up. Then Amit called to say that his uncle would meet me at the station to make sure I got on the right train and the right seat. And even the bellhop rode ion the bicycle rickshaw with me to hold my luggage and assure the people at the hotel that I would find Amit's uncle only having met him once before. For me, one who has always done everything for and by herself, this is an amazing turn of events happening here being so taken care of. I cannot get over it. Actually I never want to.

So how can it be that with the same breath, I complain about the train? I guess after a while the sanitation situation here gets to me and proably all Americans who would just as soon lemon pledge their armpits and crotches as well as their furniture.

I arrived in Haridwar an hour and a half late to be greeted by Hem, one of Amit's people. More in the next post.

5 More Days in Goa

Okay, okay, I live at the beach now so why would I choose to stay in Goa on yet another beach for five more days? Simple. I get to relax here. I don't have to do a thing. This is a rare state of grace for me. And the internet is right on the beach. How convenient.

So Amit cancelled his flight and we stayed in Palolem which is very beautiful to say the least. It's a half circle from one end to the other and has fabulous restaurants all along the beach. There is great seafood, great Chinese, Tai and even pizza.

The highlights of our stay were watching the fishermen bring in a daily catch, going to an all night Goa party and meeting lots of people from around the world, an attack of red ants on our tree hut and meeting an Indian businessman from Mumbai who would like me to present a Tantra training program to his company execs.

The rest was all REST!

Amit left the day before me and I was glad to get some alone time and go over the entire trip. In my estimation it was a lot more than I ever expected. The tour turned out to be fantastic and things I never could have imagined happened.

Also wherever I am in India it seems that I am always being taken care of, always contributed to by someone local. I prayed for this for years and find that it comes true in India all the time, but more and more in the US as well. A young boy named David (in Goa some people have biblical names because of the Christianity there) who had led me to the tree huts in the first place came to check in on me because he knew that Amit had left. He wanted to make sure I was okay being there alone and said he would accompany me in the taxi the next day to the airport. That was so sweet.

Kerala - Not Meant to Be

I can only recall sitting at the train station in Goa waiting for my sleeper train to Cochin. I also remember taking 3 rock 'n'roll busses for a total of four hours to get from Gokarna to the train station in Margao, Goa. What a crazy mess to get where I want to go when there seem to be no direct routes either flying or training or anything!

The passenger buses were a little rough, but the truth is that I'm getting used to everything and I love it here even though there are some real inconveniences like bad air pollution, diesel trains, trash everywhere, trash fires, funky toilets and pushy hawkers. I can overlook it all when I am present to the love and peace I feel here.

I can even overlook all the smokers, hippie backpackers, men staring and beggars. It's all okay by me.

Okay, so I was sitting there at the train stattion when I discovered that the train I was supposed to take to Cochin, Kerala was now coming 6 hours late. What that means is instead of 9pm at night, it was now scheduled to be leaving at 3am. I sat together with Amit for awhile trying to detemine what to do if anything. All of a sudden, we discovered that this very same train was now deterred another 3-6 hours! No guarantee as to when it might arrive! Maybe 5:30am, maybe 6:30, maybe 7:30. Sorry. Not for me.

I lost it. I said, "Let's cash in my ticket and go back to your flop house!" (where he had taken a room thinking I would be on the train and that he would just rest until his flight back to Delhi that next afternoon.) Again I surrendered. Then I decided we should head back to Goa, Al Queda threat or no threat!

So, in the morning having spent the night in the absolute worst place in Margao, we headed out for Palolem Beach in south Goa. This is where I wanted to come last year, but could not figure out how to say it. On the way, I had the riskshaw stop at a wine shop so I could buy some before arriving in Palolem just in case. I paid 450 R's per bottle which is more than some of the rooms we have been staying in.

I remember when you could travel to Europe on $5 per day. Now I'm doing it on just a little more than that in India.

And my dreams of Kerala have gone down the Ganga. But my other wish to stay in a beach tree hut have now come true. I found this wonderful quiet and clean hut to stay in until departing for Delhi on the 29th of December.

Prayers Have Amazing Power

I was just focusing on all that I have to do when I arrive back to Delhi and home to New York. It's amazing what can take me out of the present and bring me back again in one second.

In our noisy smelly rundown room on the beach in Gokarna, I was having trouble falling asleep. It must have been around midnight when I began to hear faint sounds of something other than sheer noise. All of a sudden I realized I was hearing people praying. I recognized the prayers from having heard the beginning of Krishna Dass'hit tune Om Na Ma Shivaya.

I went to the balcony and saw 20 monks, special ones who wear black. Amit says there are two groups from the south like this. Anyway, they were lined up perfectly facing the seashore and there they stood chanting old veda scriptures for about 45 minutes.

Standing there listening to them in the dark, watching the tide come and go was a mesmerizing experience.

It was worth all the craziness of the lowest class room in our itinerary, the Indian style toilet, the noisy taxi drivers outside our window and even the smells of the public urinal. I mean it was simply amazing!!! I became present to the miracle of the universe and surrender once again.

Gokarna, a Different Type of Beach Town

We traveled on a regular Indian passenger train to Gokarna in a state south of Goa, but not Kerala. Konnecart is the name of the state, I think. Just as the ride on this very full passenger train was getting okay, meaning I sprinkled lavendar arounud our seating area, we went through a series of tunnels. Since the wondow were wide open, we breathed in a full dose of diesel fumes each time we hit a tunnel.

Gokarna is a sacred town on the ocean much like Pushkar, but a whole different climate.

By a great stroke of luck, Amit ran into a Nepalese man he knew in the train station who took care of us as far as arrangements in Gokarna. He helped with our travel plans to the town and then with getting a room which happened to be in the market of the town, but also overlooking the beach.

The room had a great view of the beach and also the public toilet! Our room had an eastern toilet as well. Don't worry, it only cost R's 200 per night which is about $5. Where else could a room with a view of the beach and ocean with a toilet like ours be available for such a price?

Luckily, I was okay with all this because I have surrendered so much.

I began a new and fully high potency regimen of holistic and homeopathic sprays as soon as we arrived and we did Tantric cleansing breath as much as we could remember to do it.

We visited the beautiful Om Beach on our second day there. It is named this because it is truly shaped like the Sanskrit symbol Om. Gorgeous place, very isolated and few people, but great water and scenery.

I loved it here, but wanted to get on to the rest of the south as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

On the Beach One Forgets About Threat

I forgot to mention that I shopped on the beach earlier before the accident of my companions.

Many vendors come around on Vagator Beach. I bought three sarongs, four ankle bracelets, had a manicure and even got my eyebrows threaded! All of it came to about $16. I love my new eyebrows. I'm sure many of you ahve been wishing that I would do something with them for years. Well, I think I look really great with these new ones. Now of course, I will have to find an Indian woman in NY to do threading with me.

I also met with an Indian doctor I have been writing to on MySpace. He wants to learn Tantra. So I gave him and Amit a lesson together. Amit is taking to the Tantra really well.

A couple days later, when Amit was recovered enough and could drive the motorbike again, we set out to visit my good friends Sirus and Shantana in Morjim. They have almost completed their new place and I believe I will be doing wrokshops there by this time next year. What a spot complete with swimming pool and workshop facilities overlooking the ocean.

We had a lovely dinner with them and got ready to depart from Goa. I must admit that we did not think much about the threat to our security. The beach is beautiful and peaceful on Goa, it just doesn't go or even make sense that there would be a terrorist attack. But what do we know anyway?

On December 21, we left Goa by train heading towards Kerala.

Goa - Welcomes Me Back

MOn Dec 16, much as I swore I would never take one of those buses back to Goa, I did! This time I took a sit-up lounge chair Volvo bus, not a rock'n'roll sleeper. Amit assured me this would be a better ride.

We took this bus ride because there were no train seats available, nor any plane tickets so the bus was for us. Oh there were scalpers outside the train station in Mumbai who were asking a fortune for train tix, but no dice.

We set out on the trip at 7:30 pm and arrived in Goa at 9am. Very late arrival. And even though the bus was much more comfortable than the last one I took where I was banging around in the back of the bus with no shock absorbers, for as many hours as we were in it, it was simply not comfortable. I feared the driver was going too fast on those mountain roads. I had a thought we might plunge to our deaths over the side of some mountain.

People's mobile phones were ringing all night long and I don't know if you know this or not, but Hindi is a very loudly spoken language. Many people think New Yorkers are loud, but they have nothing on Indians.

At some point really early in the morning when all the passengers were asleep, someone's cell alarm went off. Unfortunately when he finally turned it off, he only hit snooze. So off it went again and again and again every ten minutes or so. I have been very surrendering on this trip as I must be in India, but this really pissed me off. I lost it. I could not believe that the other people on the bus were just tolerating it and not saying anything to the person who obviously was the guilty culpret. So I started speaking up about it. I said, "Please turn it off." Then, "Turn that phone off." Then "Turn that damn phone off!" And then all the Indian people around him started poking him awake so he finally turned off the phone!

Upon arrival to Mapusa, we discovered that Anil (who works for Amit) had failed to make hotel arrangements for us. I got to look at my old reliable friend, anger. It showed right up. I expressed it calmly to Amit and then we carried on finding a place to stay for the night in a shitty hotel in Anjuna. It came complete with a poisonous frog living in the bathroom.

I noticed that I don't like to express anger in India (Amit is connected to me enough to just "get it.") It works much better to surrender. So many cultures and countries have invaded India over thousands of years, but none of them took over the Indian culture. India was big enough to absorb all their cultures and make them part of India rather than the other way around. So why should I try to change anything here? Expressing anger to Anil or even prefering that people not talk on their mobiles while on the bus is a complete waste of time.

Once we moved to a better room in Vagator, things began to change for the better although we had some interesting challenges.

The news came that the Israeli government issued a warning to Israeli people hanging out in Goa for the holidays that there would be an Al Queda attack. What to do? Goa which is usually filling up from December 15 on, was empty. The Indian government issued a counter statement assuring Goa was safe, not to worry. Who to trust? Israel? India? Government in general?

During the early evening before dinner, Anil was driving Amit to pick up a motorbike we could use to get around when he missed seeing a speed breaker. They both went up in the air and landed on their asses. Anil's head and arms got bloodied up. Amit received a huge gash on his right knee and many minor bruises everywhere else. What a mess! Luckily I had a first aide kit. I knew being a girl scout long ago would eventually pay off.

Despite, Amit's injuries, we two went to the Saturday night flea market and there were many people there from all over Goa. This market is even more wild than the Camdentown Market in London. I noticed I had the thought that if I were planning a terrorist attack, I would do it here. This did not give me a warm feeling.

The next day we heard that there would be no more open flea markets in Goa for the rest of the holiday season. Evidently the government officals of Goa were thinking like I was. The question remained should we stay in Goa or move further south?

Mumbai, Here I Come!

I took the Pragati Express train from Pune to Mumbai. There Amit met me with a huge smile.

I felt bad and good leaving the ashram and all my friends there, but I was on my way to more adventure.

Mumbai is a hot a beautiful city. It is on the Arabian Sea and has a beach and a big walkway all along the water. Very beautiful at night indeed. Amit and I walked for a few miles and then took a taxi to the only niteclub that seemed to be open on a Tuesday, Voodoo. What a weird joint, but fun none-the-less.

The next day and evening we visited the restaurant Leopold's made famous in the novel Shantaram (a must read). Actually we went there three times in the two short days we were in Mumbai.

We also took a ferry to Alibagh to look at potential property for and ashram, a Butterfly ashram. That was a fun experience too. It's a lot like Goa and the ferry ride reminded me of going to Fire Island where I now live. By the way, I had already looked at things in the resort town of Lanavala near Pune as far as property goes. It's all been great in the adventure.

I hope you're getting the sense that I want to be here in India because I do:-)

And I am planning to bring two groups back here with me in 2007, maybe you will be part of one.

Namaste.

The Ashram Experience

This time I had the chance to attend many new meditations containing the wonderful and powerful techniques of Osho.

I experienced No Dimension Meditation which is a sort dance movement, then whirling (my favorite) and then laying face down. I also went to Mandala Meditation in which one runs in place for 1/2 hour; then sits and allows the body to flow either in rocking or gentle movements 10 minutes; then makes clockwise eye movements for 10 minutes and then just sits in silence. This one was so powerful I felt like I was walking on the moon afterwards.

I also attended a piece called Heart Dance which incorporated song and Sufi dancing. It was fun and in it, I met lots of people. I am clear I will use some of this at my next TrancenDance in DC at the beginning of the Ecstasy course. I had forgotten how lovely Sufi dancing can be and how connective.

I was able to attend Kundalini Meditation and Nadabrahma Meditation as well. So, I really had a full dose of many of the techniques.

Of course I danced in the Buddha Grove as often as I could and generally had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones. As a matter of fact I had as good a time outside the ashram as inside.

After Sharon left, I moved into and apartment with two beautiful men Anandgyan from Italy and Saksheen from Argentina. I stayed with them for 7 days and we had a ball together. We stayed up late and discussed many subjects from what's happening in the ashram to the mastery of self-love. I even went to a fantastic concert with Anandgyan at an old fort in the center of Pune.

The concert was called Remember Shakti and was a mixture of east meets west with the featured stars Zakir Hussain (most famous tabla player in the world) and John MacLoughlin (American guitar player from the old Mahavishnu Orchestra days). The other musicians were equally powerful and the Indian singer Mahadevan was amazing.

In addition to hanging out with the guys, I saw my friend Jwala often and I went to have massages from my old freinds at Shaka Spa. I also had many meetings with Ashiq and was able to buy gemstones and tankas from him.

Four more weeks in India were in front of me at this point and I felt great!

Pune, Here We Come!

While Sharon and I, the only two going to the Osho Ashram from the tour, traveled, I received a call from my new web designer (who happens to live in Pune) Nikhil, saying that he would pick us up at the Pune airport and that he would arrange for a place for us to stay.

I felt so taken care of. And by the way, he took care of everything beautifully. What a doll! Sharon and I shared a penthouse apartment including a huge patio for the time we shared in Pune. This apartment was located one block from the ashram. How cool!

When we settled in, I thought we should get some food etc. so we walked down to the famous German Bakery area and I ran into my great friend and Butterfly from Florida (via Colorado and Pune), India - that's her name. We had not seen each other for over a year and there she was standing on the corner calling my name. I almost cried I was so happy to see her.

Then after we shopped, we ran into my friend Ashiq from Kashmir who did Reiki on me last year after I had had a fight with someone in my hotel. He gave us rides home on his motorcycle and said he would clear my energy. Who could ask for anything more? And he did. He took off all the stress from running a tour and trying to please everyone while teach in such a foreign place.

I can say one thing for sure. When I arrive in India I feel home. When I arrive in Pune, I feel like I have lived here for years. I feel as familiar with Koregon Park as I do with Cleveland Park in DC. I lived there for 20 years. That's saying something.

Tour Summary Please Read

One of my teachers, Deva, said to me once, "India = streets dirty, minds clean. America = streets clean, minds dirty."

I leave you with this concept to contemplate in your "monkey mind."

I know for sure the members of this tour group got to see something for themselves they would never have accessed if they had not been with me on this trip. I made sure they would get it from many perspectives, as many as possible.

I know they went home with more than they bargained for literally and figuratively.

And I am so proud of them. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I feel knowing that each and everyone fell in love with India. They came away awestruck at what they saw, but more what they received. I don't know where else on earth it is possible to have so much access to love. That's the bottom line. LOVE.

Indians offer it up in so many forms, that it is easy for Westerners to miss it thinking they are just selling something. But the truth is they are offering their hearts unafraid of rejection yet hoping for connection. It's about as upfront as anything I have ever seen. But it may be illusive to us because we look and say, "What does he/she want from me?" Nothing. Even if we don't buy the trinket or statue, they are so happy to interact with us, we are missing the forrest for the trees.

I know the Butterflies came away from this one completely altered for good, forever. Thank Goddess.

Namaste,
Laurie

Khajuraho - the Crescendo of the trip!

On November 30, we went to all the major temple groups in the morning. People loved the Tantric temples. Who wouldn't? Maybe that's not such a fair question. Well, the quality and quantity of the carvings on these ancient temples are not to be missed. I feel they should be added as one of the wonders of the world.

We were able to do a puja right there on the steps of one of the more remote temples which was totally amazing. Imagine people gazing into each others eyes, touching each other's hearts while standing before and ancient Tantric temple with a crowd of local onlookers who watched us with wonder in their eyes and love in their hearts. My dream come true!

Later in the day we visited the old village of Khajuraho. It was noticeably clean. We were followed throughout by many of the the children, maybe even all the children. I felt like we were the Pied Pipers as we walked through each part of the town and each caste. Everyone gave the children candies and even shampoo and soaps. Some gave US money for the children to collect things like dollar bills and Kennedy half dollars.

We visited a school and were invited in by the principal to sit in the lessons, but our visit was a little disruptive to the book learning that was going on in three distinct groups. All the children in these groups wanted to look at us.

The Butterflies was extraordinary. Jeanne brought out a surprise of pencils, hats and T-shirts from home for all the children. How could she have known that we would find such an opportunity? But she did. She had intended for it. And Catherine was so moved, she began to cry. While crying, she made a generous financial contribution to this school and so the principal was certainly happy that we stopped by.

Seepu arranged for this part of the tour and I believe for most people, it was the highlight. A very rich experience indeed, the crown jewel in the India experience.

Happy Birthday OSHO!

Just want to skip ahead and say today the entire ashram area of Pune is celebrating Osho's 75th birthday today even though he left his body in 1990. I imagine people all over the world celebrating.

It's my last day in Pune and I have already had a grand time dancing and doing a new meditation called Mandala Meditation. Soon I will be singing Kirtin in the park and celebrating some more. Fantastic!!!!

Love to you from Osho,
Laurie

Birthday on the Ganga

We had such fun in Varanasi. We were floating on the Ganges (called Ganga) at dawn on my birthday, Nov 27, and we were at the ghats in the evening for puja. People were very moved at seeing the Indian people worship by swimming and bathing in this river goddess. And they also witnessed the burning crematoriums even though at the time we were there, no bodies were being burned.

What a place to celebrate my birthday - in this holiest of Hindu cities.

We even shopped on the Ganga as boat merchants pulled up alongside us. I swear we were the "shoppingest" group I ever saw. At some points on the river trip, Delwood and Randall took over for our oarsman. I'm sure that has never happened to him before.

Basically we shopped till we dropped onto massage tables for various treatments in Varanasi.

We visited a huge Shiva temple and the famous Hanuman Monkey temple. People went for a short trip to Saranath where Buddha gave his first speech after enlightenment, but I did not go since I began feeling ill on my special day.

Despite my stomach starting to do flips and being stuffed up hardly able to breathe, we had a fabulous birthday celebration and I felt completely honored by people's love. We drank champagne and wine. We ate a beautiful "chocolate" birthday cake first before having dinner - that's how they do it in India - just like the Gate Dinner in the Ecstasy workshop. And we did a wonderful exercise over dinner with the Goddess Mandalas.

That I night when I went to bed, I had to put tissue up my nose so I could get some sleep without my runny nose waking me up all night.

And in the morning I vomited 5 times. On our way to the airport, I felt numb, like I had left my body. I could feel nothing. I must have been in deep survival mode. Of course there was a big drama too because we had to leave for the airport earlier than expected. Our flight had been rescheduled to leave earlier than our tickets stated. And Randall and Marie were out shopping! It was one of those wild rides praying all the way that they would get back to the hotel in time to just hop into a taxi and meet up with us. Surely that is what did happen, but it was tense there for about 1/2 hour.

Then in the airport, while I was standing in the line with my ticket, I started getting sick again. Oh my god! I was embarrassed as hell, but what could I do? The restrooms were worse than where I was standing and I just could not help it by getting myself to them in time. So, there I was bent over in a corner being sicker than I can ever remember. Then I sat down in a wheel chair to wait for the group and tried to come back to my senses. The nicest man started to push me through the lines. So, I stayed in the chair and and began to enjoy myself despite it all. Surrender? Ya think?

I sat next to Andrea and Catherine and went to sleep on the 40 minute plane ride to Khajuraho. I felt so out of it and then, we had what you might call a crash landing. Yes, it seemed our pilot dropped us right out of the sky onto the tarmac. Since I was in such a deep sleep, I actually thought we either had died or were going to die shortly and I hoped it would be quick invoking very little pain. Andrea started to laugh at me when I told her. She assured me we were alive.

Okay then. Off we stepped to meet Seepu and find our way to the crescendo of the tour. Stay tuned.

Namaste,
Laurie

Transformation Wherever We Go

The other day Amit was teaching me about good guides and bad guides. He insisted that the one we had in Jaipur, Ajay, was just okay. He explained that Manish, my good friend and guide in Agra was not powerful enough to hold the group together.

In the night when we were afraid at the Agra train station, Manish accompanied us. He admitted to me and Amit that we had been his first group ever! He was so thankful that I had hired him and given him the chance to work with a group. This gave me an opening to coach him for the future about expanding bigger and letting his voice grow. He was so happy to hear these things.

So, not only was the group transforming, but the people around us were too. The ones serving us in one way or another could feel our open energy and much of the process became a beautiful energy exchange.

Another amazing element of the tour is that Ryan is getting the opportunity to be part of the film crew. Ryan is 15 and attends a special high school that focuses on film making. So, not only is this his Thanksgiving holiday, but he is receiving education on the job and he will receive a credit listed in the credits when the film is complete. How cool is that?

I can imagine Ryan being the director of something I film in the future. He is truly great!

So much is going on on so many levels.

Ciao for now,
Laurie

Overnight Train to Varanasi

While on the train to our next destination, I wrote, "This is a comedy routine and I can't bring myself to describe it all!"

You should have seem us at the train station. First of all we were told that there were "bad men" in the train station who would touch the women on their private parts. I made great efforts to encourage the group to stay together with the men on the outside rim of the group.

We entered the station and found our place on the platform only to discover that our train was late. Okay, it's India. What to do? Surrender.

So some of us began drinking Indian rum. Amit drank quite a bit. By the time the train arrived and we had to get in, sort through our luggage and find out sleeper compartments, we looked like a scene from I Love Lucy. We were in pandemonium and we caused this state all around us with everyone on the train.

Finally we settled down to some poor India food being served and then everyone went to sleep, or at least I thought we all did. There were up and down bunks with curtains some arranged in groups of four and some just in a straight line on the other side of the isle.

I slept until about 8:30 am when I awoke to find the film crew outside shooting footage of the locals who met the train to sell chai, etc. The children around them handed us neem branches and told us they were toothbrushes. We laughed only to find out that in fact, these branches when the bark is peeled back, give off a mint taste that is totally refreshing. So, there we all stood with branches in our mouths rubbing the innermost parts on our gums. And of course, we almost caused a riot when Amit went to tip them and asked them to share from whatever size bill he handed to one of them. He managed to calm them and I believe the hungry mob did follow his advice about sharing since when we departed they all seemed happy.

Well, then I discovered that Randall had not slept the entire night. Evidently he was too big for his bunk. Marie did not sleep either, but I do not know why.

something I am noticing about this tour is that much to my surprise we are getting to interact with more common Indian people than I imagined and about this I am happy. There's no question that the camera is attracting children wherever we go and many adults as well. They all gather around to see what we are shooting. And then they want to be a part of it. Many of them think we are fashion models or movie stars so they come to see.

But I think it's the openness and the generosity of our group members that attracts them to move right along with us through the throngs of the crowds, through all the hawkers.

Helen. As I mentioned before, hangs out with the kids for as long as we are in a particular spot. And Sharon heard music the night before when we were in Agra, went down into the street with Andrea and ended up dancing in an Indian wedding procession!

They say they would not have been able to make this trip to India without me. They would not have done it alone. I know I have provided a safe space for their experience and transformation and I too am transformed by them. I feel even more connected to India through their connection.

I am truly blessed.

Laurie

Taj Mahal

From Jaipur, we set out for Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.



On the way, we stopped at a beautiful bird sanctuary where we saw many forms of wild life including spotted deer, antelope, owls, lizards and most importantly the fantastic kingfisher bird. Indians have named a beer and an airplane company after it and now I know why. It is bright blue on the wings with a red beak. What a great looking bird!

Most of us traveled in this huge sanctuary via bicycle rickshaw, but not Amit, Helen and Dana. They rented their own bicycles and as fate would have it, they got lost, very lost. We patiently awaited their return to the group while sitting on the bus. Some of us were less patient than others.

Anyway, after a whole additional hour passed, I started to get worried. Also Amit had left his mobile phone on the bus so there was no way to call to see what was happening to them. Finally they arrived back and told us how lost they had been. Helen said they had begun to make plans for their survival in the wilderness.

At last we set out on our journey again so happy to have them back with us. Unfortunately we arrived at one of my favorite places, Fatehpur Sikri quite late in the day. It was difficult to see the beauty of this once rich palace of Akbar the Great. We were able to make wishes in the famous burial place of the Sufi mystic who advised this great ruler, but we could not see much of the splendid architecture. What's more, there were so many hawkers, maybe 5 to each one of us, we were swamped by what they perceived to be there last big sale of the day.

Helen, growing impatient with the hawkers, turned to one of them and said, "Look you are annoying me, I will sell these necklaces for you if you get out of my face." So all of a sudden we could ear our very own Helen yelling, "Four for three, five for four!" I had to laugh out loud. She actually sold four necklaces to one of our own tour members and the hawkers and children following along were amazed! What a hoot!

We certainly blazed a trail wherever we went, but Helen in particular. She related to all the children we saw, no matter how tattered or poor, as if she were their friend. And they followed her everywhere with admiration and joy.

We stopped a for possibly our worst meal in some tourist trap restaurant before checking into a 5 star hotel in Agra. We seriously needed the sleep and prepared ourselves to arise early so we could see the Taj at dawn.

My guide from my last trip to India, Manish, met us in the wee hours and off we went to visit the 7th wonder of the world. We planned with the film crew to try to sneak the video cameras into the Taj grounds. Of course, to get into the Taj these days, you have to pass through metal detectors so this was no easy feat. We even brought bribe money in case we should get stopped.

After everyone posed for their picture on the Lady Di bench, we made our way to the most fantastic monument to love ever constructed. I found out more about the story on this trip due to Andrea's knowledge of the subject. It seems that Shah Jahan loved this wife of his, Mumtas, more than life itself. She too loved him with a passion. During the course of her 14th pregnancy, she rode off into battle along side him, she adored him so. When she went into labor, it proved to be fatal. In her last request to him, she asked that he build her a memorial to end all memorials and thus, the idea for the Taj was planted firmly with her beloved. Wow, wow!

After winding our way through the building and the grounds, we made our way to one of the gardens. There we filmed a piece on female-male energy balancing. And yes, we did have to bribe one of the guards.

We then visited the Agra Fort and saw the jail where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his sons for squandering the family fortune on the proposed building of the Black Taj for his own burial place.

We had lots of fun with whole Indian families who had come as tourists to this fort. We posed for photos with many many children and a Sikh family and God knows who else. Our group was so unruly in terms of staying together, buy this point, that we seemed to always be waiting.

My solution was for us to do some Emotional Release on the bus. Once we were clear, we could set out again as a cohesive group.

Namaste for now,
Laurie

Tantric Tour through Heart of India - Details

People arrived in Delhi on November 20. A few arrived a little before. Randall, Ryan and Marie went white water rafting in Rishikesh before the rest of us arrived. The tour encompassed the following places over eleven days:

Pushkar
Jaipur
Agra
Varanasi
Khajuraho
Delhi

Here are the tour participants:
Randall Rodriguez - West Palm Beach, FL
Ryan Rodriguez (Randall's son)
Marie York - Jupiter, FL
Helen Varble - West Palm Beach, FL
Sharon Albrecht - Washington, DC
Jeanne O'Donnell - Washington, DC
Delwood Richardson - Boston, MA
Dana Tonelli - Boston, MA
Catherine Lawrence - Philadelphia, PA
Andrea Durham - Philadelphia, PA

A British film crew from Slack Alice Films shot most of the tour and captured some amazing footage. Director: Alex Snelling. Producer: Kirsty Allison. Crew: Alex Wriggles (Added to crew: Ryan Rodriguez)

Our Indian tour guide throughout: Amit Aurora

Cobras, the Coach and Kali

The last time I was in India, I never saw one cobra. Not one. No snake charmers ever appeared to me even though I was informed they were everywhere I went. Never did I see one. Seepu, my guide in Khajuraho once said to me, "You want too much, therefore you will not see." It was a not-so-subtle lesson in non-attachment.

This trip, there have been cobras everywhere. We literally stood watching the side-by-side charmers as they played their flutes to charm their snakes while in the market in Pushkar. And I was thrilled beyond compare just to see real cobras.

During the first leg of the trip, we were transported in a huge AC coach (a bus to us). Because there were a total of 15 of us, it allowed for plenty of leg and rest room as well as an opportunity for me to teach while we traveled. I remember the weekends at Landmark Education during the IFLP when we would travel to NYC from DC. One by one we would take the mic at the front of the bus and share our hearts out. So, I decided to make the same kind of use of this bus.

While watching our driver navigate the incredibly crowded highways of India from Delhi to Pushkar we set our intentions for the trip and then some. They ranged from "I want to learn to honor and deal with my anger," to "I want to truly let go and experience surrender in India," and everything in between.

On the way to Jaipur, we did Emotional Release Osho Gibberish style right on that big ol' bus! What fun!

So, I guess we were ready for Kali when we met her. Can you ever be truly ready?

We rode our big lovely elephants up to the Amber Fort of Jaipur in pairs Amit and I leading the way. It was fairly early in the morning when we arrived at the entrance of the fort right where the Kali temple is. And as we took off our shoes, belts, socks, the bells began to clang and drums began to boom. We scurried in to see real priests performing a puja to Kali opening the temple for the day. Standing there letting the bells and drums take us over, many of the group went into spontaneous release. It was difficult not to. Marie began to cry buckets. She was joined to an extent by Sharon and Dana. Delwood, too, was totally effected by this ceremony. Very very powerful. Hey, but what else would you expect?

In the ten minutes that it took for the puja to reach completion, each and every one of us had been transformed without "doing" a thing. All we had to "do" was show up.

What an amazing way to start our exploration in the Pink City.

Jaipur is the capital of India's most colorful state - Rajasthan. The entire city of jaipur is painted a dusty rose by law. It started in 1876 when the Prince of Wales (who later was crowned Edward the VII) was visiting Maharaja Ram Singh, the color was used to welcome him and then it stuck.

There are hilltop forts and stately palaces wherever you turn. The streets are jam-packed with camel carts, cars, cows, rickshaws, pigs, motorcycles and pedestrians. Bright turbans sit atop every man's head while the most colorful saris in India catch the eye as if the women wearing them were butterflies.

When we left the Kali temple, we explored the Amber Fort, the royal City Palace and an observatory named Jantar Mantar built to view models of the heavens for astronomy and astrology purposes and to ascertain the correct Jaipur time.

In the evening, we had a wonderful Indian Thanksgiving Dinner. each of us shared what we are thankful for. I was very moved by a lot of what people shared, but in particular Ryan. He is just the most amazing teenager. I cannot remember all of what he shared at this point, but I know it set me to crying. I'll see if I can get him to write it so I ccan add it in at some point.

See you again soon,
Laurie

Backtrack Adding to the Adventure

So, just to fill you in on what exactly happened to me before the tour began...I mentioned I missed my flight to London. That set in motion a series of events out of my control. I surrendered. Over and over again.

Luckily, even though I did not have a flight out of London to India until a day after arriving there, the film makers - Alex and Kirsty (from the UK closeby to Heathrow) of www.SlackAliceFilms.com (or .co.uk not sure), helped me find a place to stay in their home with the friends who were house sitting for them. Thank Goddess for techbnology. It all got accomplished by text messaging from India to me in Heathrow, to the couple staying in Ealing and back so that I did not run out of minutes.

Of course, when I finally arrived in India three days late, ha, ha, ha, I surrendered again. Amit met me at the airport with a huge bouquet of flowers and I felt all at once at home. All my people had pretty much arrived before me and they were raring to get going. I sent some of them on an excursion into Delhi while I met with the film team. In case you do not know what I am talking about, we decided to make a documentary of this Tantric Tour in the Heart of India. And so tired as I was from crazy things out of my control, we set up the first interview with me to set the stage for the shooting to come.

That evening, I lost my US cell phone somewhere on the way to the restaurant or back. I guess it served me quite well up until then and then I had no further use for it. Another oipportunity to surrender. I think there is a theme surfacing here, eh?

Ciao for now!
Laurie

Hoodwinked & Bamboozled in Pushkar for starters

Pushkar is a small, magical, desert-edged town. Under a mother-of-pearl sky, pale onion domes and 400 milky-colored temples curl around a holy lake said to have appeared when Brahma dropped a lotus flower. It's an important Hindu pilgrimmage center, with one of the world's few Brahma temples. And it is perhaps best known for the Pushkar Camel Fair held during the full moon in November each year. (accordng to Lonely Planet India Guide)

Why did I choose Pushkar in which to start the Tantric Heart of India Tour? Pushkar is small amd managable. It is easy to navigate. I wanted people to get acclimated to India and Indian people in a small town before possibly getting overwhelmed in bigger cites teaming with people. It made perfect sense to me. What a lovely place to begin.

The highlights of our visit to Pushkar include wonderful shopping in the central market. We bought things like jewelry, clothes, essential oils, and instruments. We rode on camels. We learned about Brahma, the first of the Hindu trinity, creator of it all. (Evidently he wanted to perform a ritual at the lake. When his wife, Savitri was late, he quickly married another - Gayatri - on a whim. Savitri cursed him vowing that he would only be worshipped in this little town, nowhere else on earth.)

We climbed Savitri's mountain at dawn up to her temple and performed our Rishi Isometrics overlooking the entire valley. Observing us was a huge family of monkeys. They watched us the way we usually watch them. It was great fun.

Later that same morning, we visited Brahma's famous temple and picked up a "guide" along the way. Of course, Amit, our main guide for the whole trip had warned us not to separate, to be wary of "would be priests" offering to pray for us and make pujas on the lake. I thought I knew what to expect, but was I ever fooled. The man at the emple encouraged us to take flower petals from the temple and walk down to the lake to put them in as an offering to our families. I saw nothing wrong with this. I figured it would be a nice little gesture.

As soon as we got to the ghats (the holy steps leading down to the lake), some man grabbed me and started saying, "Say Om." "Say namo." "Say bagavate." I said, "Look here, I know this chant and I just want my people to put their flower petals into the water. Out of my way!" But it was too late. Everyone of us had been diverted into the hands of some would be priest. We were divided and conquered so easily. These priests demanded money and plenty of it to bless our families. When I tried to stop the show and gather everyone together, I was asked to leave the ghats and blocked from re-entering.

Randall and Marie ended up donating $20 to the cause. A few people got away with a few rupees. Helen gave her "priest" $100!

I made the "guide" we met at the temple apologize to everyone of the Butterflies for leading us astray. He feigned innocense, but I knew better.

When we got back onto the bus, Amit was worrried about where we had been for so long. We told him what had happened and then we all started laughing. We knew we would remember the experience forever and really it was a great place to start. We were initiated into the unknown and had to surrender.

For the rest of the trip I would remind everyone that in India all we can do is surrender. Many cultures have invaded India over the centuries, but they have never taken over to become the dominant culture. India always expands and makes the invader Indian rather than the other way around. And so it was with us as we began our whirlwind journey in the jewel of Pushkar.