a GRAM OF TRUTH . . . is worth a pound of insight!

This past June I was invited to participate in an 8-day wellness retreat at the Nirarta Center for Living Awareness in Bali, Indonesia. I also acted as the on-site Massage Therapist administering to the needs of the participants. I ended up staying in Bali for 3 weeks.

I can recall when our taxi driver turned the car down the drive way entrance to the Nirarta Center how my eyes widened in amazement when I saw an enormous statue of Ganesh, the Hindu deity, placed firmly at the entrance ready to greet all who had arrived. Ganesh is one of my favorite deities not only because he is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles but he is a man with an elephant’s head, and I love elephants. My first thought when I saw that beautiful statue was that I’ve entered the magic kingdom.

The Nirarta Center is built on a ridge that overlooks a long, winding river and is surrounded by lush-green, tropical plants, exotic flowers and terraced rice fields. There are six traditionally built bungalows that can accommodate up to 22 guests. Each bungalow has upstairs and downstairs and each offers a stunning view of the tropical landscape. In the backdrop of Nirarta, on a very clear day you can see the peak of Mt. Gunung Agung, one of Bali’s most sacred volcanoes. Because Nirarta Center is situated higher up on the island the weather is cooler with gentle breezes and soft cumulus clouds that bring the tropical rains.

Nearby is the village of Sidemen that is within easy distance to some of Bali’s well-known attractions such as, Besakih Temple, the summit climb up Gunung Agung, Tenganan and other local villages known for creating traditional painting and weaving artistry. All of these are easy day trips and can be organized through one of the staff members at Nirarta. I went a little mad looking at all the beautiful handwoven silk and cotton cloths, jewelry, carvings and paintings that if I could have I would have bought most everything in sight. And bargaining with the Warung keepers (shop-keepers), who enjoy the art of negotiating as much as the tourists do, was also part of the wonderful Bali experience.

The group organizer of the Wellness Retreat program, Flora Bardet, facilitated a solid routine of early morning breathing and stretching exercises in the Great Hall plus mid-morning and afternoon Silat Kung Fu training, as well as some evening classes for advanced students. Breakfast was served at 7:30AM. It was either ala carte or buffet meals of traditional Balinese recipes prepared with Nirarta’s organically grown vegetables and fruit. After consuming a sumptuous and healthy breakfast each participant would venture out of the centre to go exploring nearby villages or sit down at the riverbank or enjoy a cool dip in the fresh clear water until the mid-morning workout session began.

After another good sweat from a vigorous workout we would return to our rooms, shower and rest a bit. At 12:15PM we would meet at the dining area for a luncheon feast of some more traditional Balinese food. Come early afternoon or late evening I would give a therapeutic massage to one of the attendees in a cute little hut situated on the ridge above the river. The sound of the cascading stream was better than listening to mood music and would literally lull the person into quick relaxation mode.

Part of the Wellness Retreat wasn’t only about having a great workout or receiving bodywork, we were also there to experience the Balinese way of life by participating in some of their traditional customs and rituals. On the first night we were entertained by a group of male Gamelan musicians and a traditional Legong dance performed by the nearby village girls and boys.

One day we were taken on an adventurous trek to a mountain temple where we would have to climb not only a mountain but ascend at least 1000 steps (or so it seemed) to reach the famous temple. What the Balinese call a gentle hike and was only supposed to take a half day to climb up and back, us westerners would call a “black-diamond run” and took most of the day to climb up and back. Yet that adventure was one of the most memorable and invigorating experiences of my time.

Our guides from the Nirarta center prepared a moveable feast so we could have lunch in the atmosphere of the mountain temple.

For each ceremony we attended or each temple we would visit we would have to wear the traditional attire of a kamben, a cloth (usually batik) wrapped around the waist (wrapped and tied differently by men and women). Women would have to wrap a sash tied around the waist, and the men would have to wear a headdress called an udeng. The Balinese follow the Hindu dharma path and on one of their religious holidays we were taken to the sacred temple on Mt. Agung to attend a ceremony. A heavy mist shrouded the peak of the temple giving it a mystical quality as worshippers ascended the ancient steps leading to the area of the main shrine. Once we were inside we found a place to sit on the ground and followed the example of our guide on what to do during the ritual. The atmosphere was super-charged with a feeling of love and great devotion. Throughout the entire temple the sweet fragrance of incense permeating the air induced me into a sublime state of mind. After the priest bestowed his blessings, we rose and went into another area of the temple and everywhere I looked there were dozens upon dozens of hand-woven baskets decorated with colorful flowers and filled with various food offerings. There was no shortage of those colorful displays which added to the ethereal atmosphere. The sacredness of participating in such an ancient ritual and receiving the blessing from the priest was truly an honor and an unforgettable experience I will always treasure.

Sunsets are especially grand in Bali as it occurs every evening around 5:30PM. Dinner time was an absolute delight and we all looked forward to this convivial atmosphere of great cuisine, affable conversations, and comfortable weather. But most importantly, each participant was precious and significant to the success of the Retreat as was the amazing generosity of the entire Nirarta staff. On our last night we engaged in a huge celebration with a delectable feast, dancing and being entertained by the staff members playing their traditional musical instruments.

Peter Wrycza, the owner and proprietor of Nirarta, is an affable English gentleman who along with his Balinese wife, Dayu, took exceptionally good care of us. Peter’s broad vision in creating an atmosphere of incredible beauty is further enhanced by his expertise in guiding people on a path of harmony and well-being.

My memories of Bali and Nirarta are indelible to say the least. If there isn’t a retreat taking place in Bali that you can join, then take some time for yourself to be by yourself in the magical paradise of Nirarta where Peter and his staff will look after you. Once you are there you can attend the twice-daily meditation practice that takes place in the meditation hall or have a private consultation with Peter who offers re-patterning or transformational coaching. For more information about Nirarta for Living Awareness visit their website at: www.awareness-bali.com

There is much to do in Bali or you can simply do nothing and just be present and alive in each moment in paradise. But this much I do know, be prepared to extend your Bali sojourn.

I will be back!

By Flora Bardet

When I was in my last year of high school in Paris, France, I remember how I had started to feel disillusioned about my life, about my surroundings. Something seemed to be missing – it felt as if I was losing my soul. The only thing that seemed to interest me back then were reading and studying Asian spiritual books and study the geography of South Sea Islands. I remember the allure of Gaugin’s paintings of tropical islands and how I would sit and gaze at them, dreaming about these mysterious places.

Subsequently, the yearning for a radical change had seeped into my being. The spirit of Asia was calling me. I knew I had to respond quickly, as if my life had depended on it. Also, it meant that I would be leaving my home, my family and friends behind, along with the familiar culture in which I was accustomed. In hindsight, I can only say that this was a big event for me right up there with marriage. For a 23 year-old woman to embark on a journey alone without any idea of what the outcome would be was what I now call my “rite of passage”.

I remember the feeling of delight when the plane landed in Bali. It was like I had come home. Shortly after my arrival, I met a lovely Balinese family that would soon take me into their humble abode. They became like my second family. Then as fate would have it, or should I say, as it was pre-ordained, I met a man who had introduced me to Silat, an Indonesian Martial Art practice. He took me to Java where I had met my first Martial Art Master, Subur Raharja, also called Suhu. It was then and there that I had begun my Silat training.

The first few years of my life in Bali are almost ineffable. What words can I use to describe the calmness and natural ease of the Balinese people, and how it felt to walk around barefoot wearing a sarong wrapped around my waist feeling the ocean breeze caressing my skin. Or the intimacy of when we would sit on the floor to eat our meals and how it felt to rise at dawn in the stillness of the hour and begin practicing Silat on the beach and sometimes near a temple, immersed in the morning silence. I felt a connection to everything, all of life.

My master, Suhu, was a fierce Silat warrior who had the compassionate heart of a Buddha. Suhu was the founder of the White Crane Silat School, the biggest and most well known Martial Art School in Indonesia. He taught me how to slide smoothly using my feet like radar. How to jump so I could land properly, how to roll and fall so we could relax and let go of our fear. To practice self-defense with art, not just efficiency, and how to move with fluidity like a crane, a tiger, or a snake, and how to merge with our essence. As the years went by, the teaching became less austere and softer and more joyful.

For twenty years, whilst I studied and practiced at the White Crane Silat School in Java, I had still maintained my home in Bali. I taught on-going classes at my own home and center. My apprenticeship and teaching of Silat in Indonesia has been a life changing experience, which has brought me back to myself, the original purpose of my journey.

Through Silat, I have learned to harmonize my yin and yang aspects, releasing the dam of tension and separation within me and bringing myself closer to my true nature.

Suhu would say, “Silat is life”. Therefore, embodying Silat not only takes place through my regular martial art practice of sharing and teaching it, but also through living it daily with sincerity, flowing with the current of life with grace and inner balance.

By continuing to share my experience, I will also learn more, because that too, is the way of Silat, the way of life.

For more information about Flora Bardet and Silat please visit her site at: www.langitanah.com

Deep in the catacombs of the mind
traces of a trodden road you will find.
Rough, hewn borders line the way
through corridors, through darkness,

where hidden memories lay.
Each seam, each trench
covered by another woe
from another event.

With endless determination I would
chisel and smooth away
the hardened edges that suffering
and pain have built upon.

Yet, not so amazing is the
strength and will one has
to keep building on the past.
But why? might I ask.

Isn’t it better to have had the
experience and move on,
using the mind as a summit
instead of a dungeon?

copyright 2006 by Adele L Nieto

we kiss,
his lips are like the coldness
of a winter’s morn,
not yet pulsing with blood
like a corpse in the morgue

we lay together,
flesh and limbs entwined
his eyes see nothing
as if he was blind

when the deed of our lust is over
and the embers in my heart still burn
his emotions are disturbingly sober,
as he moves to one side and turns,

his facial expression says one thing
yet his words reveal quite another,
‘I hate leaving you again,’
says my pale lover.

Copyright December 7, 2005
Adele L Nieto

The next time you need to buy a present for someone whether for a child or an adult, why not consider giving them an unique opportunity of fostering an orphaned elephant or rhinoceros? Instead of buying more toys or things that they will eventually grow tired of, this is the kind of gift they will treasure forever.

For Christmas I received such a gift. I am one of many sponsors of a baby female orphaned elephant named Dida who lives at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. She was only four weeks old at the time when she was found trapped inside a manhole by a group of railway workers. Her mother and family were nowhere in sight. But had she not been found by these concerned men, she might have died inside the manhole or had been eaten by the local tribes who consider elephant meat a delicacy.

The railway workers notified the Sheldrick Trust and soon a group of Keepers from the organization went out to rescue little Dida. She was flown to the Trust Nursery in Nairobi where she is being properly nurtured and cared for. Through the support of the Sheldrick Orphan Project young elephants and rhinoceros are placed in a nursery where they are fed a particular milk formula, receive 24-hour care by the many keepers of the Trust, and are in close contact with the older orphans that become the baby?s extended family. This is a very crucial stage for the newcomers, as it provides the familial bond that is vitally necessary for their emotional well-being.

Elephants are one of the most amazing species of animal life on the planet. Their emotional and familial instincts are so closely related to humans that some of these baby elephants can easily die of a broken heart if they aren’t quickly cared for. The time for senseless slaughtering of these magnificent animals must come to an end. No more poaching and butchering for ivory. No more acts of mutilation for the rhino?s horns. No more culling and mass murdering of these magnificent animals simply because their natural habitats have been dramatically reduced and had crossed boundaries with that of humans. Join the many caring people of the world who want to bring an end to the senseless killing of these majestic giants.

You can help now. For in depth information about fostering an orphan elephant or rhino, visit the website of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust at: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org and see how easy it is to become a foster parent. This is a very special honor and one that will generate awareness of our animal kingdom and the great responsibility we have to protect them.

All photos of orphaned elephants and rhinoceros are copyrighted by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Organization.