Kids Vision!

The children were going to sleep. Sometimes I create a little positive visualisation for them:

"Imagine your Mum is surrounded in beams of white light, and all the people you love are surrounded in a beam of light..."
One child (nine years old)pipes up, "why is it always that colour of light..." "Its because that's the way we percieve loving healing creative light.." I say...

"Can we imagine all our loved ones as super heros...?"

Now thats a good idea!

The above picture was made by Taliesan and Samuel, great stuff!

Poem

Do I have time to stop to think? To wink and blink?
In the tinkering light of love and beam through the world of dreams,
Succulent in the success of nothing,
And remonstrating the achievements of non-reality and inescapable causality?
Give up start a new art, depart, enact and re-boot the cartwheel of life,
As it rolls off the edge of a knife,
In time in time.

Harvest Moon Celebration.

Harvest Moon Celebration.
A blue aura round the beautiful full moon on the equinox with Jupiter in direct opposition...
Reading an astrologers view of this recently they said that this moment is the height of vision becoming manifested – the sculptor’s thought creating the object....
Equal day and night – the tipping point between darkness winning over the God of light as autumn sets in...
This is the time of the second harvest of the year, traditional grapes for wine, beer, berries and
herbs. Time to thank nature for providing for us, giving us this harvest, giving thanks to the Green God or God of the trees and to accept the Goddess of darkness approaching for our introversion and self development in readiness to be reborn in the spring where new shoots arise...

It is so good for the soul to have gratitude for what we have – giving great thanks for the gifts from nature, friends and other loved ones, it creates a good feeling within.

Also to ask divine existence and nature for your wishes to be received in terms of your goals for the future and act towards them it helps create a positive vibe, even if it’s just to make you feel better...

Of course surrendering all your wishes and stresses up to divinity (The supreme beingness) or conscious creative energy that pervades all takes a great strain off us all and helps us to flow more effectively...

Create your vision, visualise it clearly and then follow the steps backwards form the achieved goal to see how you need to work to create it, then – manifest it step by step, enjoying the process all the way, flowing...

Vision

In the heat of the moment have self awareness:

If you start to get angry, tense or really stressed, BE AWARE OF IT and breath! Re-connect with yourself, take some deep breaths and access your love within, take the external thing that is annoying you into your heart and witness it, watching your breath and feeling your heart then respond positively...

Act rather than re-acting...

Make Your Own Meditation in 5 Minutes

Meditation is good for you, many people have said they don’t know where they would be if it wasn’t for a good “letting go” of what’s on your mind – releasing your thoughts, desires attachments and reconnecting with your feelings and non-judgemental heart.

Meditation –the word meaning: “medi” root is the middle, like median, the intermediate and mediation, to intervene between opposing parties (also medium, connecting with the spirit world and Mediterranean lying between lands or even medication...) “Tion” root meaning is “act of” or “ state of” or “result of”.

So “meditation” meaning derived from the root meanings of the Medi and tion parts means the act of finding the middle, joining things up or the result of connecting parts... Just like the Buddhists say finding the middle way...
Practicing every daily helps relieve stress, improves focus and can develop compassion for ones’ self and others – relaxed concentration creates good brain wave patterns, more Alfa waves associated with a relaxed state of mind.
Exercise for the day
Draw a circle on a piece of white paper and paint or colour in the circle in blue and put it on the wall opposite somewhere you can sit comfortably. Shamans in South America would search their space for “their spot”, a place where their energy instinctively gravitates towards, so you too can find your spot, where the vibe is best for you.

Simply sit with your back straight, neck straight with your legs crossed or just upright on a decent chair sitting normally with your hands resting on the top of your thighs if this is more comfortable for you and with your shoulders resting down just be aware of the cool air coming in through your nose as you breath in and your stomach expanding and your stomach receding as you feel the warm air naturally coming out as you breath out through your mouth.

Feel your body resting on the chair as you continue to sit upright and gaze in a relaxed but focused manner at the blue spot on the wall simply keep your poise and look at the spot keeping your eyebrows and forehead relaxed.

Any thoughts that come to mind just acknowledge them, witness them and let them go, let your thoughts flow, don’t get too involved in them – just let them flow like air bubbles floating up from the depths of the ocean, dissipating as they reach the surface of the water, the surface of your mind.

Gently guide your mind back to the blue spot, just watching it, looking in a relaxed way at the blue spot and let go of your thoughts...

Finding balance and the centre between relaxation and concentration is where peace and contentment is found, letting all your thoughts go is a great release for all of you, especially your mind. Getting in control of your mind consciously yourself is also very empowering and will help you in many ways of your life.

The important thing is not to try just allow your mind really gently to focus and relax, relaxed concentration and just allowing all thoughts to flow, and then they gradually slow down and then finally almost stop in peace all by themselves...You just need to allow it, allow yourself and relax into it.

Don’t worry if you feel you can’t do it just keep re-committing to give it a go, see what happens, relax and let yourself flow...

Could we create something better?

The hustle and bustle of life, extra pressure of things costing more, people earning less and seemly less jobs on the market, financial turmoil, political unrest and added stress of challenging relationships...
“So what...?”

Is there a new way to live...? To develop closer community ties when most of us are on the computer all the time staring at an inhuman screen? When we cram onto commuter trains while the top executives of banks and major corporations who can control the markets through big advertising budgets and crushing the small competitors lounge in luxurious decadence...?

This tirade of what life can be viewed as will over spill eventually and I will transform it into a positive accepting view of the world... Accepting and challenging the status Quo to be better, based on gross domestic happiness rather than gross profit as the Dalai Lama recently said and how Bhutan runs their country (they have banned smoking and television by the way, as they found it contributed to their people being less happy...)

There is the rub – how can we create a new community based on better values, based on community and support rather than capital and currency...
We need more community values, this is happening, how about this:
Communities of people, single people, couples, families sharing work, skills and love unconditionally, being ecological, sustainable, growing their own crops on land, living locally supporting each other. Working towards improving their wellbeing and contentment and most importantly celebrating existence....

I don’t mean a beer and a fag and believe me I’ve learnt this too, we don’t REALLY need anything to celebrate life just life itself is enough to celebrate, the beauty of nature, people, the shape of the clouds and SPA-ARKLE of reflected light...
How are we going to do this...?

Answers on a postcard to GOD...Or Supreme Beingness (Or just send me some ideas...)

The Heart of Wellbeing Book Launch in London

The balance between practical action and creative imagination is how Craig Brown Chairman of the British Holistic Medicine Association describes Jan Alcoe, creator of “The Heart of Wellbeing – Seven Tools for Surviving and Thriving” practical wellbeing improvement book.

What is different between this and the myriad of other wellbeing and self help books is that it is a working product – 7 guided meditations on two CD’s for each of the 7 steps of improvement practices drawn from research and many years personal experience...

The publication is short and to the point with easy to read snippets of information with extensive actionable material.

The publication is the collaboration between the Janki Foundation; a Charitable trust that supports health practitioners especially with spiritual awareness and training to help cultivate the energy to heal and The British Holistic Medical Association; a leading body promoting holistic health in healthcare in the UK. After the gathering of many years research into what “wellbeing” actually is the group found that Wellbeing is really the subjective feeling and awareness we have inside us that makes us feel – well; even people seriously ill can experience wellbeing, essentially the feeling of connection, community, compassion and contentment – all possible for us to achieve.

Based on this research into wellbeing and many therapists personal experience they found that wellness was very much influenced by the areas shown in the diagram above (courtesy of The Heart of Wellbeing Book Publishers).

The book launched today gives us 7 tools for improving these areas of our lives:

1. Relax & Tune in.

2. Imagination

3. Thinking Positive

4. Be Creative

5. Lighten Up

6. Value Yourself

7. Discover Peace

Each of the 7 tools has a guided meditation or visualisation on the audio CD to give you some practice help to improving these areas.

Whether you are a practitioner looking to sustain your healing practice, someone who considers themselves happy, really in need of wellbeing support or someone feeling a little under the weather – there is always room for improvement.

The author of The Heart of Wellbeing, Jan Alcoe is a hypnotherapist and holistic health trainer, in the audio CD’s supplied with The Heart of Well-being there are really relaxing, focusing and empowering practices that I have been using to great benefit as I go through the publication.

The publication also references “Human Givens” – early research in the results of this therapy has found rapid success for many different mental health issues – Human Givens helps us to understand our basic needs and provides quick transformative tools to help meet them. This helps people to understand once they have met their “Human Givens” – their basic needs, they can be content and progress forward from this.

Wellbeing is a continual work-in-progress and I am looking forward to utilising this book and it’s CD’s to improve my life in many ways on a daily basis...

I invite you to give it a go....

For further information contact go to:

http://www.jankifoundation.org/heart_of_well_being/purchase_the_book.jsp

Cockney Krishna

Met this great bloke from India who can do the best Cockney accent around. It was like the East End of Bombay with a dash of rhyming slang.

Morgan speaks over ten languages, I'm not sure if he includes Cockney in this but I get the feeling he knows how to do things right. A self made man in India, Morgan runs Out of The Blue, a beautific oceanic restaurant amongst the heat and spirituality of pushkar (near Jaipur) Rajastahn, india.

I met him as I swaggered back from Mcleod Ganj in search of nothing, just walking back from somewhere towards somewhere else after melting on a magnificent pine forest mountain meander...

And so I popped into where Morgan is at now, Trek and Dine on the hills of the Himalayas, and had a cup of Masala Chai and plain rice steamed vegetables (gentle on the tummy at the moment, ahem)...

When your next inn pushkar on a sabbatical or camel trekking pop into this award winning new ITALIAN and chat some Cockney with an Indian...

`

Golly! A 19 hour bus ride, lucky we had an AC Deluxe sleeper! The journey should of taken 12 hours from Jaipur to Haridwar but we happened to arrive at the Kumbh Mela the day of the great bathing, where 15 million people take to the holy waters of the river Gang due to the belief that at this time and place the holy nectar to be received from the bathing will be good for you. There was also "The word of God" Puja in the evenings at a great gathering!

This is a picture of the Pujas Gathering the evening after this most special day at the largest Mela ever!

We were lucky enough to be very well looked after by eight Sadhus who fed us and gave our own Puja, we returned the compliment by buying a Pineapple to share and Almond biscuits!

Thank you to all at the Kumbh Mela, to God and all in India for being such a wonderful place, the only place in the world where 15 million people get together for a spiritual and religious experience and dedication!

This is a picture from our bus on the way there!

Amber Fort In Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

We had a mo to go and see a big fort that was pink, very nice, they had a great little Hamman with medieval hot tub! Any of those who can spot Nan-See, Blower of the Holy Wind in the picture of the Amber Fort Entrance will win a free floatation tank experience in London UK....

Pictures of Savista Spa & Retreat

What a lovely day, this is the view of Savista from the tennis court:









And from the Veranda of our beautiful room pictured above looking out to the gardens:

Savista Spa Retreat Jaipur Rajasthan...

An oasis 12km south of Jaipur, Savista is one of the most idyllic, tranquil and yet grounding spa retreats the SPA-ARK Retreat & Spa team have visited.

With over 200 species of birds ( we saw many including a Kingfisher by the pond), a variety of herbal trees and sweet smelling flowers like Champa, Jasmine and Neem. Savista is so relaxing - the apex of a Maharajahs lifestyle...

The building is the family home of it's owner, Bhanwar and it's draped with beautiful and historic family heir looms from generations of Indian art and crafts. Bhanwar converted his family home to give something back to the community, share knowledge and help cultivate peace and wellbeing for many walks of life.

The spa in an adjacent building has separate quarters for men and women with adjourning sauna. It looks and feels cool away from the dusty malaise of the bustling city beyond. Here there is a nice little bar, again with beautifully stunning hand made arts and crafts but this time from indigenous tribes from around the world. The kitchen here in the spa is very clean with also a barbecue grill - you can imagine nights after a good trek or shopping in Jaipur and a relaxing massage and sauna to be chilling out on the lawn outside the spa having a beer or tea eagerly awaiting a Delicious evening meal...

We had a wonderful evening meal, fresh tomato soup with near ripe tomatoes picked that morning and mild chicken curry that was very tender. The finale was the sweet, like Victoria sponge in the UK but dripped in syrup and absolutely exquisite, each bite endued with the feeling of a thousand mantras such was the intention of the great food.

The small palace of Savista has rooms following carefully selected designs and subtly colour co-ordinated themes. The specially made camel pottery lampshades and homely but luxuriant on-suite bathrooms topped-off the most natural, inspired and rurally royal rooms I had ever seen...

A large swimming pool the centre piece of the cool courtyard within shaded by Date trees and a billowing fabric from the ramparts above perfect for reclining after a yoga class, block printing session or musical muse in the wonderful reception room.

Many of the guest rooms have their own balconies to give privacy and yet a sense of community from the subtle adjourning paths between each balcony. It is the perfect spot to enjoy the stars at night or the countryside and beautifully kept gardens during the day. At the back of the Maharajah's home is a long broad and stately staircase leading to an amphitheater, great steps to sit and watch a musical event or evening play.

Sitting there I can see many musical events under the cloak of night punctured by scintillating stars, let alone the peaceful air and eminent staff make Savista a place not to be missed...

Thank you to all at Savista By Giggling Buddha

Lakshmi Temple in Jaipur

We traveled on AC1 first class with aircon sleeper to Jaipur from Delhi, a very comfortable ride in such heat and met an off duty railway Police Officer who was in the sleeper next to us. He bought us lunch in Jaipur Train station, a very clean restaurant with enjoyable Tali. Our off duty Indian Police Officer had an interesting story but more of that later....

Even hotter than Delhi, Jaipur was full off action and bustle, after our Officer friend left us outside the train station we chilled in the sweltering heat waiting for the best deal to visit our next destination, The tranquil and beautiful SAVISTA Retreat & Spa. The Taxi driver drove a hard bargain so we stalled for time, meanwhile a small crowd of about 30 people gathered to heckle our negotiations.

We decided to go the the amazing Lakshmi Temple completely made of marble and spend 40 minutes paying our respects to Lakshmi and deep meditation looking into the God's eyes...

The walls were covered in carvings of the Vedic stories and the whole of the outside was carved with Gods, notable religious personalities and inscirptions...

Such an amazing peaceful vibe, a direct channel for inspiration and connection to spirit...

Lakshmi God of Wealth and luck...

First Day in Delhi

We had a busy first day here, arriving at 10.30am, tired and rather warm, changed our cash to Rupees and my co-pilot met someone right there in the airport they'd chilled with over 12 years ago at a ski resort in Austria - what a small world!

We booked our taxi for our first business meeting of the morning and our train ticket to Jaipur for the next day negoitatited badly to buy some water (the Snapple was the same price as the UK!) and stuffed our bags into the little black jeepa and bounced down the road.

The driver didn't know quite where he was going but had the general direction and I had the exact address. We drove down outer town high ways, ramshackle dusty streets and eventually found the road or should a I say dirt track to the Kairali Ayurveda Treatment Centre and offices.

It was the nicest building in the area, though we still missed it, almost ending up in a tented field full of goats and their tird.

The great staff looked after us there and were really lovely, feeding us filtered water regularly and great green herbal tea Director Abishek rightly mentioned was a much better alternative to normality tea and coffee in the UK. It was very stimulating like tea and coffee but due to nice organic natural herbs rather than caffeine, much more pleasent and good for you but also stimulating! Tasted really good too...

We weere shown round the treatment rooms which were really earthy and scented of medication time in a natural way. Steam chairs and the traditional wooden table tops for a good rub down.

Kairali have a well known retreat on OM beach south of Goa and a fantastic 50 acres and 30 cottages surrounded by paddy fields, coconut tress and other plants in Cochin. They grow ALL their own crops for their Ayurvedic herbs and food, 100% natural and non chenical treated!

The techniques and tradition of Ayurvedic medicine have been handed down from their Great great Grandfather and their Grandfather and father are highly qualified in the scientific study of this ancient practice.

Thier grandfather has been making their medicine since 1948 and their retreats have won awards for the best wellness retreat in India from National Geographic magazine. More news about this soon from: www.spa-ark.co.uk

The attached pictures are of the hallway to the four treatment rooms and pictures in the hall at the Kairali centre at D-120, Anderia Mdh. New Delhi - 110 074 India Tel: +91 26804879. Pop in for a consultation and treatment, please mention SPA-ARK when making enquiries, they may give you even more special treatment!

Tipple Topping

Top Tips:

• When you arrive somewhere, if you have booked a hotel arrange for them to pick you up
• After a few days, when you have worked out how much things usually cost ( water, food, jewellery, textiles, etc) then you can start bartering. If you don't have much time ask someone at the hotel you are staying in, preferably a westerner and get several opinions.
• Keep you money in you wallet when the beggers come, if you give them anything it will attract unwanted attention, give to a proper charity if you wish to help or take part in helping the community in other ways.
• Don't even think about walking about if it is above 35-40 Degrees C from 12-4pm it's madness and can really give a sore head at the least, keep your head covered and drink at least 3 litres of water a day.
• Make the most of each moment and be compassionate to all around, even when pestered, as a westerner you are seen to have much more money than most in India and you probably do, be understanding...

The attached image is of a Lotus flower, just beginning to open at 8am in the gardens of the Savista Spa we visited just outside of Jaipur, India. The gardens are very well kept and boast over 50 species of birds (we spotted a Kingfisher by the pond), a variety of herbal plants and beautiful scented flowers. We had breakfast in the gardens in front of the spa, one of the most enjoyable breakfasts...

Slight embarrassment at Heathrow by including germaloid cream exposed in our clear plastic bags through security and passport control. A sweet journey with Kingfisher Airlines, very nice little bag of goodies (eye sleeper muffs, little bag for camera, which I needed, a tooth brush, face wipes) and we felt truly spoilt on our flight, even though it wasn’t business class.

The cabin crew said it was 37 degrees when we arrived, Hot hot! Later in the day it was actually 40 degrees...