Daphne’s Bali Blog

Back in Beautiful Bali

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:06:39 -0500

I know I haven’t written in my blog for almost a month! Time does really fly and I have been so grateful for all my experiences here in Bali. I am leaving for the States tomorrow and will return to Bali in 2 months, but will catch you up to what’s been going on in the past month.
I arrived back from Hong Kong with so much city vibe in my blood that it was a bit of a shock to come back to the simplicity of Ubud initially. But every day I realize how wonderful it is to be back in beautiful Bali and the gorgeous lush environment that surrounds me every moment. Soaking in nature and absorbing the healing qualities of the energy around me has been so amazing and diving into a 2 week Ayurvedic cleanse before leaving to the States has been such a blessing. The main purpose of this cleanse is to reignite my agni (the fire that is the center of our physical and energetic body - that keeps our system healthy). Here is a definition from wikipedia :) Agni are the enzymes, or "fire," that drive all digestion and metabolism in the Hindu medical practice of Ayurveda. The digestive and absorption process is called Pakwagni (digestive fire).
So the cleanse uses medicated ghee to re-ignite the fire along with steaming, purging, oleation and a strict diet of kitcheri (indian vegetarian porridge). I was ready for this cleanse and knew that I needed it because of the damp heat that I had in my body. The Dr. that I did my cleanse with asked me to try to stay in and not go out during this cleanse, be at home, meditate, gentle yoga practice, being in nature and getting lots of rest. I enjoyed this quiet time immensely, as I usually am out and about on my scooter going around town, to the yoga studio to teach and sing kirtan, seeing friends and spending time working on the Balispirit Festival 2009 (which I am Festival Ambassador and the Program consultant) with an incredible crew here in Ubud. So, if you want to come and visit - make it around April 1 to 5, 2009 as it is going to be an amazing gathering of yogis, dancers, musicians and creative artists here in Ubud!
Speaking of amazing people, I was so happy to have some of my closest friends visit me here in Ubud... my friends from LA, Franny and Neerad were here and we had a lovely time exploring Ubud together before they took off to Sulawesi. So great to hang with Franny, as we were roomies in LA and she is like a sister to me, so it was awesome to spend time with her in Bali and show her my little piece of heaven. The same week, my sweet friend from LA, Teresa Herrera (now living in the Philippines and hosting the fabulous show - Project Runway - congrats T!) came to visit and I met up with her here in Ubud just after getting to spend time with my favorite and first yoga teacher, Erich Schiffmann, who was here in Ubud at Como Shambhala leading a yoga retreat. So blessed to sing during his savasana at one of the most beautiful resorts in Ubud overlooking the river. It was an honor to be with Erich and his students, practicing yoga and meditating in the stillness of jungle. Teresa met me at Como and we hiked down to into the valley to the river below... it was so gorgeous and tranquil... with every sound of nature reverberating through the valley. A perfect afternoon. I am definitely going to miss being here in Bali surrounded by such natural beauty. I am excited to go back to the States to visit with my family (my little brother is getting married in Texas - excited for the wedding and seeing all my relatives) and friends in LA and beyond. One last event that I was so honored to sing at before leaving for the States was the Fit Yoga Magazine event at the Yoga Barn that was organized by my friend Novi and was promoting the
Balispirit Festival for 2009. A lovely group of yoginis
were in town from Jakarta and it was such a moving
experience to sing with them (especially kirtan) as they
had not chanted before and most didn’t even know
any mantras in Sanskrit as they are all Muslim, so it
was such a joy to sing with them and afterwards many
of them came up and said they didn’t know that
chanting was part of yoga and had just been introduced
to yoga through asana and really loved singing and
expressing themselves that way. It was a very
rewarding experience connecting with them and
singing together. I have to say that I am so grateful to
both Novi (Balispirit festival manager) and
Amsalan Doraisingham (Balispirit festival director) for
supporting my music. It was an inspiring afternoon and
a beautiful way to say goodbye to Bali .... for now.
I’ll be back in a couple of months to sing and dance and enjoy the magic of Bali with my mom... yay.. she is joining me on my return from the States in mid-October. Until then, see ya Stateside, I hope!

Hangin with Alda in Central HK

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:25:58 -0500

Yep, it is true... Alda and I got to hang out in Hong Kong! I think the last 2 times I came to Hong Kong, we only got to SMS and email each other but didn’t get to actually see each other... Alda has a pretty busy life here in the city... she runs all the events for Pure Yoga and is an anchor for the Asia yoga conference and making it happen.... She really does rock when it comes to getting things done and following through... she is like the many Goddesses we know in Hindu mythology that have several arms and can use them all at the same time! Seriously!
Well, I’ve known Alda for a few years and mostly we chat on email since I was living in LA and she is in HK. So, it was great to get to hang out with her post yoga conference (since I only saw blurs of her at the AYC, since she was running around all day). We had been trying to get together for a few days since the conference ended, but again only sms or email... so when she said she could hang out I said, where do you want to meet! Well, we went to a yummy vegetarian restaurant that a friend of hers recommended and ate all kinds of things that looked like meat, but were made of mushrooms or soy or other interesting veggies that I hadn’t seen before... and boy was it a meal... I think we had 5 courses or maybe even 7. I lost count.. and then they brought dessert... I had to roll out of the restaurant... and this didn’t help since I have already been eating up the town with yum cha and dinners with my grandma and cousins. We decided to walk around Lan Kwai Fong (a very busy bar and club area of Central Hong Kong with 100’s of people on the streets from practically every country enjoying the night out!). We were looking to meet some friends of my cousins, but it was like a circus trying to get through the crowds and squeeze our way from club to club to try to find them. We stopped at the Ice Vodka bar to check it out and I decided to try on the faux fur... it is funny - everyone goes into a frozen room (with ice chairs) and drinks frozen vodka - (well, very cold vodka). We got a kick out of it and then cruised on to find our friends. The most fun we had was people watching... really there are 100’s of people on the streets just drinking and going crazy with music blaring from the clubs and taxis bumper to bumper lined up as far as you can see up the main street... It was a fun night indeed and next time Alda and I are putting on our dancing shoes to stay out all night... we weren’t prepared to dance the night away, plus it started raining and well, we needed our beauty sleep. Good night for now!

Spending Time with Grandma (Mama) in HK

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:31:11 -0500

My dad’s mom lives in Hong Kong (he grew up here) and so it is always a wonderful to see her and spend time with her while I am in Hong Kong. A lot of my dad’s family lives here in Hong Kong and so it is a nice reunion to catch up with everyone (as much as I can) while I am here. This time around I was superbusy with the yoga conference, so I got to spend time with my grandma, my aunt and my cousins. I was so grateful to stay with my cousin, Michael and his girlfriend, Fenella... they were so generous to host me for the 2 weeks I was in Hong Kong... we had a great time and it was so nice to catch up with them, since I don’t get to see them that often. I will blog about them in a few days, since we have some fun things we are planning to do together :).
So, my grandma lives in one of the busiest parts of Hong Kong called Tsim Sha Tsui... a very touristy and non-stop action part of town. This is perfect, because my grandma is definitely the get up and go type of person (just like my dad!) Last time we were in Hong kong, she was up before dawn and already had been to the park to practice Tai chi and Swimming at the local club & shopped at the market before I even brushed my teeth.. and that is the truth.. :) This time I didn’t stay with my grandma, so I came over to the Kowloon side of HK to meet her for yum cha (12:30pm - better for my sleep schedule. haha!) and joined my cousin and aunt (who live with her on Peking Road). It was great to be with my grandma and talk to her in English (in her spare time, she takes an English language class) and her English is 100 times better than my non-existent Cantonese (sad to say, but true... I am trying to learn a bit, but man, it is definitely one of the hardest languages with all the different tones!  Anyway, I brought my grandma a silk robe from Bali and she loved it... one of the things we love to do when hanging out at her house is to go through old photo albums (she is actually really with the times...she has digital photo albums in a frame... do you know those.. where you can insert a chip with photos and then watch a slideshow)... well, we had a great time watching the slideshows and reminiscing. Here is a photo of my grandma when she was just 19 with my grandpa (I took a photo of the photo in the digital frame) What a sweet picture... this must have been back in 1938 or so. I look forward
to spending more
time in Hong Kong
and I actually
promised my
grandma that
when I get married
I will have the
wedding in Hong
Kong, since she
can’t travel long
distances anymore
So, that will be
something to look forward to... especially for me and the future Mr. Big! haha!~ :) I just saw Sex and the City, so Mr. Big is on the brain... ~:) Anyway, great to connect with my grandma and next time I hope our whole family can come to Hong Kong for reunion in the city.... that would be super fun! Summer 2009? Let’s do it!

Girls in the City - Katy and I Explore HK

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:48 -0500

Wow, what a great time my awesome friend, Katy Appleton and I are having here in HK.... she came from the UK to check out the Asia Yoga conference and stayed on after the conference to check out HK. So fun... I love hanging out with Katy... I met Katy about 4 years ago in India on retreat in South India and our first big life experience happened in the form of the Tsunami at Ammachi’s ashram. She and her ex-boyfriend were kind enough to lend me their phone to call my parents and let them know what was happening as the waters rose and we prayed for safety. Definitely a profound first meeting and we have been soul sisters ever since. Every time I hang out with Katy, we have such a great time.. so much laughter and good times... plus heart to hearts and I am so grateful to have a friend that we can see each other sometimes only once or twice a year and still connect deeply like we live in the same city! She lives in London and I for sure want to get to London soon to hang out with her and all the friends that I want to see in that great city.
In the meantime, we are lucky to be here in Hong Kong in the city that is on fire... so much to do, so much to see, so much to eat, so much to buy... haha! Well, this time around, shopping included yes, don’t laugh... Crocs (I have been resisting and then well, I saw the high heeled Crocs and well, I am wearing them everyday now)... great since it has been raining everyday. Then Katy loved them and she and I went to the Crocs store in Times Square in HK and man, it was like a major raid... people were going crazy for them! Anyway, we had some fun going into the city and checking out the sites plus meeting up with new friends, including Martyn - our new friend that is from
the UK and is now living in HK. We had a sweet
lunch with him and then checked out the HK
original stores, including Hello Kitty store. Maria,
you would love it! Lots of fun being in the midst
of the big city after scooting around the Balinese
countryside... so Big excitement for me!
Needless to say, we had an awesome time and
never is long enough to hang out and catch up,
but then again... it just means we have to meet
up again somewhere around the globe in the
near future! Cheers to Tony!!!

Singing with Jai and Ty in HK

Sat, 5 Jul 2008 23:28:08 -0500

Tonight was a fabulous night in Hong Kong at the AYC. Jai Uttal headlined for the Saturday evening special event at the Asia Yoga Conference. It was a special night for many reasons, but definitely to be onstage with my friend, Jai, and singing his songs (which I have been listening to and singing along with for years) plus my first yoga retreat almost 8 years ago was with Jai in Hawaii... so it was sentimental to be together in Asia. I just met Ty Burhoe today and was honored to be singing with him, too... he is an amazing tabla player and I have to say I was at times entranced by his and Jai’s connection musically...Wow! I had to stay focused and present and stay in the moment. Also, my new friend, Maya Fiennes joined us onstage and she and I sang backup vocals - well, really, the response part of the call and response... it was fun and challenging all at the same time. Jai is a master at what he does and I am practically just beginning (especially hearing Indian scales) so it was a great experience to just jump in with both feet and go for it. Well, he actually said. “Just be prepared to leap!” so that is what Maya and I did... leapt!
This night was also very special, because my family came to support, including my aunt, Guje Suzanne, my cousins, Virginia and Michael and my cousin’s girlfriend, Fenella. So nice to have them there and to experience this type of music (which none of them had experienced before). They all enjoyed it and even chanted with us! I had invited my grandma, too, but she was unable to join... but, I was so happy to introduce her to Jai Uttal for a special dinner that she hosted for us all. I was excited for her to meet Jai because my mom and dad have been on retreat with Jai (in Hawaii and Guatemala) so they know him and his sweet family (Nubia and Gopal) so I was glad that Jai got to meet my dad’s mom in her home city (also the city where my dad grew up). WE had a great time hanging out and eating traditional Cantonese food together. Jai was brave and tried everything that was served... even the very interesting red bean soup for dessert (which I love, but I don’t think Jai or my friend, Katy were too into.. haha!) I wish my mom and dad could have joined, but we will have another opportunity I am sure in the future!

Mata Ep Released in Asia

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 23:05:49 -0500

A very exciting day today in Hong Kong.... yes, finally my new CD (ep) “Mata” is ready and available. They were pressed in Hong Kong and so happy that the company that I worked with was so great and professional -- they delivered them direct to door at my cousin’s place. A little back story on the CD and producing it in Bali. So, I knew I was coming to Hong Kong and originally I wanted to record a full length album in Bali, but with the time constraints (we literally had a week to record, mix and master this cd) we decided to record 3 songs for this ep and have it ready for my trip to Hong Kong. A simple collection of 3 songs (well, actually it ended up the full running time of the cd is over 30 minutes!) that were inspired by yoga and healing and the soul connection to the Divine. The first track is a new version of Mother Teresa (a song I wrote for, yes, Mother Teresa and inspired by her work in the world), a second track written in Guatemala at Jai Uttal’s retreat overlooking Lake Aititlan - dedicated to the Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of music, knowledge and the creative arts and some describe her as “The One who flows”). Mata means mother in Hindi and I felt like this entire cd has the elements of the Mother flowing through it, so I decided to name it “Mata” I also am inspired by my mom and she was with me at the retreat in Guatemala with Jai, so I dedicate this cd to her and her love for our family. This CD was quite a miracle finishing it within a week and I am totally grateful to Rob Weber and Joshua Penman for making it happen and staying with the process until the end... a few all nighters and late night espresso sessions, but definitely all blessed by the Goddess Saraswati... there is a beautiful painting of Saraswati in the studio in Bali overlooking the jungle at Rob’s place and also I have a gorgeous silk painting that I brought into the studio for inspiration... plus we were graced by Ammachi in every moment, she was on the altar and held space for us during the long hours of creating. The last track on the cd is Magnificence, a song that my friend, Steve Gold, taught me and was written by Peter Makena. A beautiful mantra to Mother Ocean that brings healing every time I sing it. I was inspired to write a “b” section to the song... dedicating it to world peace and healing. Going to the ocean has always been so healing for me and I find when chanting and singing this song, it brings back the magic of swimming in the waters of Mother Ocean in so many beautiful places I have been in the world from Santorini to California to Bali. I am grateful to be here in Hong Kong and having the opportunity to share my voice and the music here at AYC.
It has been wonderful playing and singing in the classes for some of my favorite teachers and friends. Mark Whitwell is here and he is a lover of music himself and has always been so supportive of me and my music, so it has been a sweet reunion here in Asia... the surreal moments of singing for savasana overlooking the harbor in Hong Kong at the beautiful convention center. I’ve been blessed to sing in my friends’ classes including, Patrick Creelman (heartfelt Anusara teacher in HK), Desiree Rumbaugh (beautiful spirit - Anusara teacher from AZ) and Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein (Acroyoga geniuses). I’ve met some super sweet yoginis including, Maya Fiennes (Kundalini goddess from UK) and Camilla from LA... plus my awesome friend and yoga teacher from UK, Katy Appleton -- we all got to hang out and had an awesome time out on the town after the AYC. Bobsy is the owner of the Life Cafe (amazing organic veggie food) in Hong Kong and he has been so supportive of my music and is selling my new cd in his cafe in Central in Hong Kong, so that is super cool. There are also 2 other places in Hong Kong that are selling the cd. The New Age Shop in Central and Pure Yoga retail stores. Mata cd will be available in the US starting in mid-August and online on cdbaby.com and iTunes in the next month. :) Thanks again to everyone for your amazing support and comments. I look forward to singing live with you soon!

Asia Yoga Conference in Hong Kong

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 15:15:27 -0500

The first day of the Asia Yoga Conference: Evolution was sweet and meeting up with so many familiar faces and friends and reconnecting with everyone. Like coming home, it was wonderful to be in the family vibe and also meeting new friends and teachers. AYC has done an amazing job in bringing master teachers from all over the world including Pujya Swamiji to the conference. A huge and wonderful thing for Asia. So I am happy to be here experiencing it all and connecting with some of these wonderful master teachers to come to Bali and be a part of and experience the Balispirit Festival. Charley is super sweet and he is here to promote the Yoga Barn and entice yogis/yoginis to come to Bali and experience yoga and healing the Balinese way. Can’t go wrong with that..> I can vouch for that!
Well, the first day... I met up with so many people and experienced some of the teachers classes plus I sang in savasana, which was really nice. Here is who I saw and chatted with the first day... I got out of the cab and ran into Amy and John (so sweet) from Be Present in Colorado, then I got in line at the exhibitor check in and Frank from Natural High walked up behind me, then I go up the escalators and run into Andrey Lappa (yoga master from the Ukraine) and that was before I even made it to our Balispirit booth to set up! The first day went pretty fast and Charley and I hung out in the booth talking to people and telling them about Bali until I had to dash off and connect with teachers as they changed classes plus also I went to Patrick Creelman’s (the director of Pure Yoga in HK plus a wonderful Anusara teacher) class and then I sang for savasana in the end. I loved doing that and holding space through music for the students in savasana. Saraswati Mata is the song for me right now that I am connecting to the most. Loving her energy and feeling it coming through so strong in every class I sing in.
At lunch break it was great, because the lunch room near the theatre room is where everyone gathers, so I got to chat with Mark Whitwell, Gabriel Cousens, Andrey Lappa, Maya Fiennes (she is sweet Kundalini yoga teacher and musician from the UK), and Dr. Madan Kataria (Laughing yoga guru). The lunch room is buzzing with students talking about their classes and meeting new friends. Faculty members chatting with students and other faculty members and then exhibitors dropping in for a bite or tea in between shifts at their booth and promoting their products. It is definitely a social vibe and everyone meeting new people or reuniting with old friends. I loved experiencing this... maybe because I enjoy socializing and chatting it up.... “having a chatter”, as my friend Katy Appleton would say.
We all went to dinner afterwards, James and Carmena from Yoga Tribe and Culture were there from SoCal and we hung out after and went to a local Chinese restaurant which was super busy and yummy. Then Charley, Katy and I went to late night foot massage and man... we were out. Totally needed.. had been standing or walking most of the day, so it was great to sit down and be pampered. Then straight to bed... more tomorrow!

Sunny Hong Kong and Spontaneous Evening with Geshe Michael Roche

Tue, 1 Jul 2008 14:28:07 -0500

Well, all I have to say is I love Hong Kong. I’ve been here many times... my dad was born and raised here and came to America when he was 22. My grandma, cousins and aunts and uncles all live here and always great to see all of them!
I travelled to Hong Kong (with Charley Patton, the co-owner of the Yoga Barn) this time to come to the Asia Yoga Conference to promote the Balispirit Festival. Meghan Pappenheim, the creator of Balispirit.com plus co-creator of both the Yoga Barn and the Balispirit Festival asked me to come in her place to promote the festival and connect with master teachers (whom I know most of after working in the yoga business for almost 10 years) to come to Balispirit Festival and bring their knowledge to Bali! So, I am so happy to be here and doing what I love to do, both being a connector/ambassador and also playing music and putting my music and new cd out into the world! So, this is an exciting time for me.
I’m staying with my cousin, Michael and his girlfriend, Fenella... so great of them to host me in HK and to spend some time with them. I love them both and love having some time to hang. I arrived late on June 30, so the past 2 days we hung out in Sunny Hong Kong. They told me it had been raining for 3 weeks prior and just got sunny the day I arrived! So we went to Stanley Park and it was such a nice day. Stanley is a very cool place right on the water and with a beach very near. Wow, it was packed with tons of people shopping, eating, hanging out and enjoying the beautiful day. Happy to see the sun! We had a great day together eating ice cream and playing in the bubbles!
The next day, July 2.... my awesome friend, Katy Appleton arrived from London. She is here for the conference and she is going to stay with me at my cousin and his girlfriend’s house. So happy it all worked out and great to hang and explore HK with her. She is a laugh riot and is so passionate about life... she inspires me and makes me laugh constantly!
Well, that day we were spontaneously invited to a special lecture by Geshe Michael Roche at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. He is the author of the book, Diamond Cutter. The first time I heard of this book was from my ex-boyfriend, Henri. He loved this book so much and was deeply inspired by this book, so when I heard Geshe Michael Roche was speaking, i was intrigued and wanted to see him and hear what he had to say... so I asked my cousins if they wanted to go plus Katy had just arrived, so we all went together. It was an interesting evening and loved having the opportunity to meet Geshe Michael Roche and thank him for sharing his work with the world. My cousins, Katy and I all had some good discussions on the topics and I also bought the book... so I will read it and explore further. One of the simple things I liked that he said was, not to get upset about things... to be with things as they are, as they are happening. Reminds me of what Krishnamurti says about life... his secret to life...”that he doesn’t mind what happens” Same essence as Eckhart Tolle... So I am happy we went to the lecture and it was nice to meet new people there and of course, there was a crossover of many yogis there that will be at the Asia Yoga Conference in 2 days! yea! More to come on this.... :)

My Lovely Room at Chakya Muna

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:43:23 -0500

I wanted to share some photos of my place that I am living at now in Laplapan... so this blog entry will be mostly photos... enjoy! and come and visit!! Love, Daph

Recording in Bali, Saraswati Blessings

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:50:11 -0500

Wow, what an incredible week... so happy to be recording and manifesting a cd to take with me to Hong Kong at the end of the month.
Rob Weber is a beautiful person, wonderful musician, producer, engineer and creative being who encouraged and supported me through this project. He is actually the one who inspired me to move to Bali and make music... so it is so great to be standing in his studio singing and recording overlooking the amazing jungle and being so grateful for being able to have this opportunity. We worked hard on this ep (3 song cd that has 3 tracks on it, Mother Teresa, Saraswati Mata and Magnificence). I was so lucky to have met Joshua (who is a composer of both western and Indian classical music, a musician, a wonderful arranger and pianist and a very spiritual and loving person) who was there through project helping me arrange and produce the music... a lot of fun to work with and we had many laughs. Another big blessing, was having his girlfriend, Kari - a beautiful virtuoso sitarist play on Saraswati Mata. She was just in town for a couple of weeks and happened to be staying at Chakya Muna and was available to share her playing... so happy to have her playing on the song!
We also went down to Sanur (about 45 minutes away from Ubud) and recorded drums and bass with two very cool local musicians, Dodi (bass) and Deni (drums)... we had a great time recording in the ice cold studio!
After we laid down all the tracks, then came the mixing and that is definitely the longest and most time consuming of the process. Patience. Patience, Patience... I know, but I had a deadline to make it press the cds in Hong Kong. So...it has been quite a ride-- pulling all nighters to meet the deadline and getting it all done in time for Asia Yoga Conference in Hong Kong. Definitely a big challenge and so grateful again to Rob for pushing through and making it happen! Next time, I am definitely giving it more than one week to manifest! A bit nuts to try to get 3 songs finished in a week (when most of them are over 10 minutes...I know, I know... next time I won’t be insane, like I was this time).
Ohhh, yes. I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I will be traveling to Hong Kong for the Asia Yoga Conference in July and I am very excited to go and promote the Balispirit Festival (I am working on bringing presenters for the 2009 and 2010 Festival in Bali) and connect with teachers and friends I already know, plus meet new yogis and yoginis. It is going to be a wonderful event with so many great teachers and talent there. I can’t wait to see everyone and connect. I am also super excited about singing with Jai Uttal for his concert on Saturday night during the conference. I’ve known Jai for a long time and been a huge fan of his music and so happy to be singing with him and celebrating in Hong Kong. Seems like everything always comes full circle. So lovely. He is coming to the 2010 Balispirit Festival, so that should be awesome!
I know i mentioned Saraswati and wanted to say that ever since I started recording this project at Rob’s place, Saraswati has been watching over and blessing us. Of course, it all started back in 2006 on Jai Uttal’s retreat in Guatemala, when I wrote the song (with help from Jai and Nubia on the mantra)... what an awesome feeling to then now be recording it and bringing the song alive in Bali...so sweet! Well, things keep happening that keep pointing us in the right direction to finish gracefully and passionately... and the ironic thing of it all is that Rob named his studio, Saraswati Studios, so it is fitting that I am recording there! By the way, if you don’t know who Saraswati is, she is the Goddess of knowledge, music and creative arts. Her name in Sanskrit means, “The one who flows” and I have to say that this beautiful project has flowed and with the grace of Saraswati, no doubt.

So grateful and so happy to share the music... the CDs will be ready in Hong Kong on July 3rd and will be available to purchase then. I plan on getting the tracks up on iTunes, Amazon and other sites in the next month.
Hope you all enjoy the music! I plan on recording more when I return from Hong Kong in mid-July. Yay!

Teaching Yoga in Ubud

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 13:43:23 -0500

Teaching yoga at the Yoga Barn, the local studio in Ubud, has been awesome. Charley, the co-partner of the studio asked me to first sub some classes and then put me on the schedule permanently this last month and I have been loving it. I love meeting new people from all over the globe who stop through Ubud to practice. It is quite a special place, overlooking the rice fields (the view above is the view that the students have when they are practicing yoga... very nice!) very tranquil and spacious. I have been teaching vinyasa flow and also restorative yoga and both have been so rewarding to teach and I’m learning everyday and sharing the knowledge I have and grateful for this opportunity to teach.
The people I meet from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe are amazing and inspiring and I leave every day filled with more inspiration and joy from practicing with them and sharing what I know.
OH! I forgot to blog about the yoga kids classes I teach at the local orphanage in Nyu Kuning at Taman Hati. I don’t have any photos, but I’ve been going to volunteer at the orphanage and on Saturdays and teach the most energetic, joyful, passionate kids yoga plus music for 2 hours. My friends, Erin and Matt (they are awesome and were here visiting from the States) were volunteering at the orphanage and introduced me to the director and creator of the school (Ketut). So, I love being with the kids and we have a lot of fun. Last Saturday there were 32 kids and me! Back in college, I used to work in daycare and had up to 22 two year olds in one room, so I am used to a lot of kids... !
I’m doing yoga nidra with them, too at the end of the class before we sing and chant together. They are the cutest! They love chanting and I have to say (no offense to any other kirtan group I’ve chanted with), but the kids in Bali -- wow, they pick up the Sanskrit and then chant with all their heart.
They also learn the Gayatri mantra in school, so we chant that, and they can go on for 20 minutes plus with that chant... quite amazing. I will post some pix from our Saturdays as soon as I take some!
One thing I teach the kids to do is to teach... every week I ask them to go out and teach someone (a friend or aunt or doggie or cat...) yoga. Any pose or anything they remember from our class... so they are empowered and start cultivating their own voice, their sense of self. It is lovely to see them so excited to tell me who they taught each week when I see them again. Many of them want to teach the class, so I have incorporated ‘teach the class” at the end of each class... where 3 students come up and teach the class their favorite pose. It’s fun and they can’t wait for the that part of class :~) More to come on this....

Chakya Muna Living...

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:20:51 -0500

Wow, it has been almost a month since I’ve written... been trying to get back in the swing of things after being out for a bit and so I haven’t been on it with my blog! Ok, well I’m back and today I am moving from my old house in Taman to Chakya Muna in Laplapan. My sweet friend Alia and her husband helped me move all my things to this beautiful community house overlooking the jungle. My friends Rob and Rachel own it and it is a big house that has about 8 rooms that a community of friends live together. I haven’t really lived in a community house before, well besides growing up in a family of 8... well, so I guess I do know community living pretty well. Sharing a big thing and I love the company of friends and hanging down by the pool. The best part is that Rob is a record producer has a recording studio that is right on the property with huge windows looking right down the valley to the river... quite amazing. We are going to start recording next week (3 songs for a demo) and I am excited about that. So happy to be here!
I don’t have any photos of my room, yet, but I love it and I will post them next time I get a change to take some shots. Anyway, I am happy to be living in a community and making new friends and enjoying the beauty of Bali everyday.
I’ve also been reading Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, and it has been profound for me... loving every moment of my life and being present to what is. Breathing in and Breathing out. If you haven’t read this book yet.. you must get it and also check out Oprah’s webcast online class with Eckhart... you can watch them discuss each chapter of the book online or just download the audio to listen to on your iPod! Very very cool!
I have also been practicing yoga nidra every day, which has been another profound experience for me. My energy level has been so full and I have found that my state of mind is very balanced and clear. Your Sankalpa never fails you. That is what Swami Shankardev says about Yoga Nidra and I find it to be absolutely true.

Down for the Count - Recovering and Want to go outside Now

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:46:15 -0500

I take a deep breath and thank God for my health. It has been a rough couple of weeks being sick with multiple things over the past weeks. I didn’t know what I had and finally almost felt like I was going to faint when I went to the 24 medical clinic to see a doctor to see what was wrong. I had these shooting pains deep into my nervous system like small knives diving into my system and creating so much pain it was debilitating. I was down for the count and the doctor diagnosed me with multiple things. The worst was shingles and then I had a major skin fungus (eww) which he diagnosed as ringworm on my arms, legs and back. Then to add to it all, I had been bitten by a spider and the poison had gone into my lymph glands and was so painful it was numbing my left arm. He gave me antibiotics and anti virus medicine plus 3 other types of meds to take care of the skin fungus and shingles.
I got home and just collapsed on my bed and basically didn’t really get up for about a week and a half... totally down and out for the count. I had heard about shingles and didn’t know what it was, but I have to say, I have had two big tattoos done on my back and the pain from the needle from the tattoos was nothing compared to the pain that I experienced from the shingles. It was so painful down into my nerves... I just wanted to crawl into a ball and not be in my body. Even the pain killers that the doctor gave me did not help. I stopped taking them because I realized they were not working after the first 3 days. So, I practiced meditating and going into the pain and being with the pain. Being with the pain body and observing it and being present. After reading Eckhart Tolle’s, A New Earth and reading about the pain body, I was given the opportunity to practice what I had read and understood mentally, but not put into physical practice. Well, this was definitely an opportunity and a difficult one, because when there is this much pain in the body, all you want to do is avoid it and numb it, but I decided to try to practice and practice.
I meditated a lot over the past couple of weeks on my life and what I am doing here in Bali and where my focus is and what I need to put my energy into for the rest of my time here until August and I kept asking the question in my meditation. My answer became clearer and clearer that I need to focus on my music and play and sing and heal through this process and be fully an artist and musician and put 100% of my energy into this for once in my life. I came here to Bali to do just that, but I have been distracted and put myself back into the “role” that I know best as the organizer and finding comfort in that. But I know now, after being sick and watching myself in my meditations and knowing that the way to come back to myself is through music. I know that deep in my soul and I am committing to myself and to my music. That is where I am at this moment, this present moment.
So now that I am on the other end and have come up for air, all I have to say is that I am grateful for my health and breathe in every breath with more consciousness than before ~ taking in the sun, feeling the wind on my face and touching the rain, I am thankful for my Life, for my family, for my friends and for the Divine Spirit for giving me the lessons that I need to learn through the mystical ways and physical ways of the world.

Singing Kirtan at the Yoga Barn

Sat, 3 May 2008 11:54:07 -0500

I started leading kirtan (chanting mantras in a call and response style) at the Yoga Barn this Sunday. Charley, a very sweet spirit and co-founder of the Yoga Barn (the local yoga studio here in Ubud) asked me to lead kirtan on Sunday nights. I was totally honored to do this and put into practice what I learned from Jai Uttal and Daniel Paul in Guatemala. So exciting to lead a group and write new songs (chants) and try them out each Sunday. Such a great practice for me to do and to share with others. I have been practicing with Komang (a local musician and guitarist) who comes over to my house and we write and sing together.... really great to play and sing with someone else and be creative. We’ve written 3 songs together and I am practicing them on Sundays with the lovely intimate group that comes for kirtan. Usually a pretty small group, but we are just starting off, so I am loving the group and loving singing with them. The Yoga Barn is a beautiful space that is open aired and overlooks the rice fields and the moonlight shines in while we sing with all of nature around us (singing crickets, geckos, ducks, and the Balinese rain pattering down every once in a while as the candlelight flickers on Ganesh’s face - who sits right in the middle of the group). Check out the site www.yogabarn.com
I feel very blessed to create the space and share mantra, music and Bhakti yoga with new faces and old friends who come into town and share in the experience on Sunday nights. If you are in town (in Ubud) come on over and chant with us on Sundays at 7pm. We are really lucky to have both Dave Stringer and Wah! coming into town in the next few weeks and they will both lead kirtan in special events at the barn. Very exciting. They will be inspirational evenings.... I can’t wait to chant with them both! ~:)
Here are some website of kirtan artists I love. Check them out~
Jai Uttal www.jaiuttal.com
Wah! www.wahmusic.com
Dave Stringer www.davestringer.com
Girish www.girishmusic.com
Donna De Lory www.donnadelory.com
Govindas and Radha www.govindasandradha.com
Joey Lugassy www.joeylugassy.com

Other amazing singer songwriters that inspire me that I would love to share with you:
Eva Cassidy www.evacassidy.com (heavenly voice)
Patty Griffin www.pattygriffin.com (soulful songwriter that goes right to the core)
Feist www.feist.com (exactly... feisty!)
Yusuf www.yusuf.com (formally, Cat Stevens - his new cd is awesome)
Beth Orton www.bethorton.com (my fave singer from UK)
Shawn Colvin www.shawncolvin.com (her album Live 88 is my fave!)
David Gray www.davidgray.com (who doesn’t love him?)
and last but not least
Ray La Montagne www.raylamontagne (an incredible artist, period.)

Going Vegetarian!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:49:56 -0500

So, on my trip North with Ellen, she gave me this book called Skinny Bitch and at first I thought the title was pretty obnoxious, but it totally drew me in from the first page of the book. I love the way the two authors are so straightforward and sometimes very crass, but I find it funny and hit me right where I need to be hit to wake up to the things I am putting into my body. I have thought of going vegetarian in the past and toyed with it on and off, but never really seriously looked at what I was putting into my body.
Well, this book gets right to the point and gives some facts and some very vivid images of the slaughter houses in the States and how the animals are treated. I could barely read the passages and the quotes from slaughter house workers that were interviewed... shocking, horrible and heartbreaking. I was so sickened by what I read, it made me really think about the treatment of animals everywhere. The part that got me was the when they said that the poor animals are scared, shocked, frightened and beyond when they are being slaughtered. OH, it made me so sad. And the thought that every time we eat meat, especially when we don’t know where it is coming from and we are eating not only the flesh of animals, but the toxic energy of fear, grief, and horror of the beings that have been slaughtered. It really hit me hard and I took a long hard look at what I eat and started to realize that it is true, we are what we eat. It is that simple.
So, today I have committed to being a vegetarian and giving up eating meat completely for the health of the animals and for my own health.
To come back to eating things that are full of life and not dead flesh. Ewwww, even thinking of it that way, makes me sick. I feel good about this choice and I am happy that I read this book, as it gives great information on nutrition and I love their sassy way of getting the message across... Short, simple and to the point. Read it, I think you will get something out of it. But know that they do use profanity, so don’t be offended... I think they are funny... tell me what you think ~:)

Exploring North Bali with Ellen

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:44:39 -0500

After getting back from Hawaii, it was nice to be back in Bali and see my friends here and catch up. After my jet lag subsided, I was ready to go north with Ellen to check out some retreat spots that she wanted to see on the coast. It was such a fun trip traveling north and getting to see more of Bali. Gorgeous landscapes and a beautiful lake that looks like you are in Switzerland. Wow, so gorgeous - here is a photo of Ellen and I plus two awesome girls that we met there at the lake. Ninie and Maya. A very small world, they were just there working on their computers and we struck up a conversation and we knew some of the same people and it was great to chat with them. Maya lives in Singapore and is a writer and Ninie lives here in Bali and is a event producer plus consultant for weddings. We all chatted and then Ellen and I headed off...
We visited Mimpi resort and it was so beautiful with the natural hot springs right on the water. A beautiful healing place that reminded me a lot of Esalen. Ellen wants to do her retreats here in 2009 and the owner is going to transform the place into a top healing spa in 09, so that will be amazing.
Ellen is a beautiful being who has been leading retreats here in Bali for over 6 years with my friend, Tama Walley, a beautiful yogini who I met through my friend Jane years ago in Los Angeles. They lead retreats together and are a great team. Love them both!
If you want to experience Ecstatic dance or learn how to teach it, check out her workshops and retreats. I want my mom to come on the next retreat here, I think she would love it! Ellen’s website is www.movingventures.org
Tama and I went to Seminyak before she left for the States and it was great to hang out with her and catch up... there we are on the left. Tama is doing great work in Africa. Tama is creating a clothing company that will support kids in Africa (she lives in Mali, Africa). I love her clothing company’s name, Feed People, check out her website at www.tamawali.com
Also, check this out if you want to learn more about Bamako, West Africa (where Tama lives) Please check out the video and get a short view of life in bamako. Go to www.myspace.com/studiomali

Hangin’ in North Shore Oahu with Jennifer

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:34:43 -0500

Well, the last 4 days have been amazing and very spontaneous. I was supposed to get my visa from the Indonesian consulate in Honolulu and head back to Bali 4 days ago, but my visa didn’t come for 4 days, so my sweet friend, Jennifer was such a wonderful host and opened her lovely guest house to me on the North Shore in Oahu. Such a peaceful and quaint place, it was like a secret little oasis and I felt so blessed to rest and rejuvenate there for 4 days.
It was great to hang out with Jennifer and go to her yoga classes with her (she is a great teacher and I loved her yoga community - she teaches at Open Space yoga in Chinatown in Honolulu - owned by another friend, Mary Bastien). I was so happy to be practicing yoga 2 times a day with Jennifer and then singing for savasana for her classes. Jennifer also teaches doctors at the local hospital and it was so cool to be in a class with docs and see them all practicing yoga ~ with their beepers on and all and they were still focused and I thought it was great that she contributes to the community in that way. I was so impressed with Jennifer’s energy levels as she is 6 months pregnant and was so full of energy and teaching it was inspirational to be with her.... I hope I am that energetic when I am pregnant! :)
Well, we got to catch up and chat and hang out at the mall and go to Lululemon and the Apple store. We also hung out at the beach by her house, only a 15 minute walk.... gorgeous and turtles swimming right near the shore. A dream location for sure. So fun... it was really nice to just have some days to relax, rejuvenate and be in the flow. I can see how it would be very easy to stay and live in Hawaii. Love the Hawaiian lifestyle and the beauty of nature all around. Reminds me a lot of Bali. The island life! :)
Well, it was hard to leave Hawaii and hangin with Jen, but I am sure I will be back to visit and I think Jennifer and her husband will come to Bali sometime soon. Aloha for now~ :)
p.s. I just lost all my photos on my computer, so I lost the ones from North Shore except for the one above that was on my iPhone :(

Waikiki Beach and Kokua Festival Fun

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:28:42 -0500

Couldn’t get any better than to fly into Honolulu and get to go to Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival - with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynold’s playing for the first time in Hawaii. So stoked! We stayed right in Waikiki right across the street from the beach. Waikiki is no joke, it is soo packed with tourists and it is so funny (like right out of the movies) with surfers walking down the main street barefoot with just their boards and ready to jump in the ocean. There were literally about 300+ people in the water surfing, swimming, body surfing, there was even a guy in the water with a dog on his surf board! :) here is a photo from the beach... you can’t see the people very well because they are very small from the beach. Mini surfers. :)
After we checked out the beach, we headed over to the Waikiki Shell for the Kokua Festival (about a 15 minute walk from our hotel) super nice to just walk over to the event (even though I had to find a ticket to get in... since my sis and Joe already had tix, but I was a last minute addition - as you know). So, we walked over (not before I had a big huge snowcone... or I think they call them shaved ice? or something special like that. Well, I got a banana, tropical fruit one that was as big as your head... well, maybe not as big as mine. haha! Super yummy though and surely not good for me. Ice and tons of sugar. Well, it was refreshing as it was a super hot day! Ok, so onto the Kokual Festival... well, the ticket were all sold out, so there we were hunting down the scalpers or actually trying to get a ticket from a non-scalper... someone nice who just had an extra ticket. Well, we were patient and kept waiting on the perimeter of the venue and it was our lucky day, as a couple that was coming in had a friend that was trying to sell her ticket because her husband had to go out of town (to guess where? yes, Bali...) Well, Joe is the one that really got the girl to sell the ticket to me -- since there was another man that had gotten to her first to buy the ticket -- Joe said to the girl that I had come all the way from Bali, then the girl said, “oh mi gosh, my husband couldn’t come, because he is in Bali!” so--- there ya go... I bought the ticket and we were in! yay!
Such a fun festival, the Kokua Festival is put on every year buy Jack Johnson and it is an all green festival - a benefit for the Kokua Foundation in Hawaii. I loved all the booths - everything from non-profit environmental organizations to all green booths with info about greening your home, neighborhood and living a green life... I loved that they didn’t have any plastic bottled water and instead asked you to bring your own bottle or buy a very cool Jack Johnson SIGG metal bottle (which I did!) to refill at the free water refill station. Such a great idea! :)
Such a great a line up of musicians... i really loved Paula Fuga, a local Hawaiian (well, I think her background is Samoan), but she was fabulous with an incredibly soulful voice and great songs... I bought her cd. Then the greats, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds came on stage...everyone went wild because it was there first performance in Hawaii ever! Dave was on fire and soooo funny... he was telling these jokes and talking in a really funny voice... he definitely was having a good time. What a great set, though!
I was thinking of my brother, Joe, who loves Dave Matthews and how much he would have loved this concert. It felt really intimate as the venue was quite small and you could walk right up to the stage. Then, Jack Johnson came on with his band and they rocked it. Love his spirit, his band is great, too. I loved his piano player - super talented musician plus it didn’t hurt that he is a really cute guy with a spunky personality. I love Jack Johnson fans, they are so laid back and everyone sings along and dances. It really was the perfect night, the moon was full and the breeze was cool with the occasional light sprinkle... a special Hawaiian night with a live soundtrack of Jack Johnson (usually wherever you are in Hawaii, it seems like you will hear a Jack Johnson song... in the grocery store, at the yoga studio, the mall, in the airport... his music is a Hawaiian staple).
Needless to say, we had a great time and so happy to grateful to be in Hawaii at one of my favorite places to be ever... live concerts. I love music and love live music even more! Always so inspired and recharged after being filled up with the soul music of Jack, Dave, Paula and a guest musician named Matt Costa. A very special night...Especially with friends and family... ~: ) Happy Kokua Festival day with my sis and Joe :) looks like I am wearing a tiara... haha. Nighty night!

Kayaking on Wedding Day

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:37:32 -0500

Today was quite the perfect day, from the weather (no rain clouds and it has rained at least a little bit every day) to our kayaking excursion before the wedding to the most beautiful and fun wedding in nature. The bride was stunning and the groom smiling ear to ear. What a gorgeous day!
We started with a kayaking excursion up the river... Joe, Isabelle and I and we had such a fun time. Man, kayaking is not the easiest thing to do, especially upstream and against the wind (or maybe my arms are just not up to par or my core for that matter...) but it was a really fun experience getting out and seeing more of Hanalei. We only kayaking for a couple of hours, but that was enough to explore and laugh at ourselves (or maybe I’ll speak for myself). We saw ducks just hanging out on the banks and egrets still and peaceful. So nice to be out in nature and just be with the elements.
Which is also why I loved Mia and Rich’s wedding so much, because of the outdoor nature setting with views of the mountains, the sound of the ocean, the lake just behind us and huge blue open skies above. Really an amazing setting and a sweet and simple ceremony. I loved how they combined Rich’s Jewish background and Mia’s Catholic background together. They were so sweet and cute together, one of those couples that you say to yourself, yes, they are so meant to be together. Perfect for each other. It was a joy to witness the ceremony and the love between them and from all of their friends and families. A sacred and authentic union. I was so grateful to be there to witness the beauty of marriage between two loving souls.
And then it was time to dance... party! The reception was so fun with great food and drinks, awesome music and dancing for all! There were plenty of toasts to the bride and groom and dancing that went into the night. We had a blast! So, instead of more words... here are pix to remember the day/night! Enjoy! Congratulations to Rich & Mia! aka Mr. and Mrs. Singer!

Spontaneous Kirtan, Avocados, and Laird Hamilton’s Dad

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:59:50 -0500

Yum, Yum, Yummy.... the avocados here in Hawaii are insanely huge... our awesome friend, Denise, has an organic farm here and she is the best. She brings us avocados from her farm when she comes to meet Joe to go surfing (which has been almost every day). They are really the most delicious avocados ever and they are the biggest I have ever seen... look, Joe even took photos of the avocados and put his iPhone there next to them so you can see the proportion. I think I have eaten at least 3 avocado sandwiches a day. They are irresistible. I am in heaven, as I remember as a kid we used to eat mashed avocado sandwiches and they were the best. Can’t get enough everyday. Ohhh sooo good!
And the lychee are the sweetest and most addictive... right off the tree. My little sister, Deedee, would be so happy because I remember how much she loves lychee! Wish I could take some with me, but will have to settle on Bali lychee when I get back.
Well, after the love session with avocados and lychees, we headed over to the estate to enjoy a yoga session with Isabelle Du Soleil, my friend and yoga teacher from LA. She is the sweetest and it was a great session under the Hawaiian sun and afterward I offered a spontaneous kirtan with the group, singing to Saraswati with the whole group joining in. It was a special moment singing together with Mia and Rich and all of their friends and family after yoga. Very sweet.
That night we went to the best fish market in Hanalei where they have the best ahi tuna wraps in town (recommended to us by our friend and local, Denise Kaufman) so we all piled in the car went to check it out. Well, let me just say, they were the best wraps ever, but also the biggest ever! OH mi gosh we all ate so much that we were comatose after inhaling our wraps! Oh! I forgot to say that when we were in line waiting for our wraps, my sister was looking at the photos on the wall of all the surfers and commented on one of the photos that she thought was really moving and pointed it out, and then a man from behind her said, “you really like that one?” and she said, “yes, I feel drawn to it” and then the man said, well that is me when I was 17 (he said he was in that stance because at the time he was obsessed with matadors and styled his surfing after the essence of matadors and what he observed in bull fighting). After my sister chatted with him, she found out he was Laird Hamilton’s dad and was really nice and we talked to him and then snapped a photo with him and the photo of him surfing when he was 17 (the big photo above). He lives right in the area and this is where Laird grew up... funny, because I forgot to say that my sister saw Laird on the beach earlier in the day and came to yoga practice and told us she had just seen him. Turned out a lot of the guys from the wedding party all surfed with him that day... It was a Hamilton family day.

Luau Fun!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:57:52 -0500

Today I spent most of the day at the beach, relaxing, reading Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” and taking in the sun. So nice to have nothing to do and just be present in the moment. Enjoying the sound of waves, the open sky, the sun on my skin and the wind on my face and just being... being peaceful and being present in Hawaii. I haven’t opened my computer for any emailing (only blogging once a day) or felt like I needed to call anyone or be anywhere except for exactly where I am. I am really practicing this ~ staying present to each moment and being aware of what is. A moment to moment practice ~ Hawaii is a wonderful place to practice this, as nature is all around and the space seems open and easy to be still in. I am so grateful to be here in Kauai and soak up the healing essence of the island. :)
After a great day at the beach ~ we were invited to a Luau gathering that Mia and Rich were hosting at the estate where the wedding will take place and it was so fun. We all dressed up in our “Luau” wear and it was funny how all the girls that we hung out with were wearing red/orange shakti colors... It was great to meet so many new faces (more people had arrived for the wedding day since the first cocktail party the 2nd night) and getting to know them and what they were up to... so many interesting lives and beings. Also, the cutest kids ever... oh mi gosh, it is babyworld/kidworld here. So fun having all the kids around... having baby fever lately and this isn’t helping! :) There were authentic Hawaiian dancers and the best food and drinks (mai tai world!) All in all it was an awesome gathering and I have to say, Mia and Rich have got it together! Love the casual hang outs for everyone to meet and get to know each other, they have some of the coolest friends ever! A very athletic, adventurous, creative, and fun group of people. More to come...
Local Hawaiian dancer>>

Hiking The NaPali Coast to the Waterfalls

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:42:33 -0500

Having so much fun and going to the beach everyday... Today we changed it up and Mia and Rich organized a group hike to the waterfalls along the way on the Napali coast... wow, wowo, wow!
First of all, let me say that I have never seen anyone hike as fast as Mia...and the rest of the crew, it was like they were running up the mountain. Maybe it was my jetlag or the fact that the most cardio I get is sitting on the back of a scooter balancing myself in Bali (haha!) but for real, I was super impressed with the athletic ability of the entire group...they are all chargers!!
Well, it was a 6 hour hike and definitely challenging, but super incredible views and I found it to be both challenging and meditative at the same time. We had a great time and making it up to the waterfalls was spectacular... we all jumped in and swam under the falls... the water was freeeeeezing ! Seriously, very refreshing, but my fingers almost fell off!
It was so nice, we all sat at the foot of the falls and ate our pack lunches and relaxed in the sun.
What a great group of friends that Mia and Rich have... every single person I’ve met at this wedding has enriched my life with the conversations we’ve had and I am really floored by all the wonderful spirits that have gathered here in Hawai’i to celebrate Rich and Mia... love to hear everyone’s stories, travels, experiences, meet families and play with the cutest kids (I think they said there were over 40 kids at this wedding). I love that Mia and Rich planned the wedding celebration for a week and included all kinds of activities so that we could all hang out and enjoy Kauai plus meet new friends...
It was such a perfect day, spending so much time in
nature and seeing so many new types of trees, plants,
and flowers that look like Dr. Seuss came here to
observe the trees before writing The Lorax... I really
think I saw the trees from The Lorax... oh I love that
movie! My sister loves the trees.... there she is hugging
the tree :)
We also saw WHALES! Yes, WHALES and they were
breaching~ soo cool! Never seen them jump that high
before! Well, it was an incredible day and now I know
why everyone talks about the NaPali coast and the
beauty of it... absolutely jaw dropping and magical.
Will definitely return and hopefully very soon, but for
now... will enjoy the moment and take it all
in.... breathe in, breathe out.... :~) Ahhh...

Visa, Visa, Visa and Sunset Cocktails

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:58:58 -0500

Today is my second day in Kauai and when I woke up this morning I knew that I needed to get my things together to file for my Indonesian visa.
Here’s what happened... since I had a single entry visa to be in Indonesia and it could be extended for 6 months, all was fine and dandy for me to be in Bali and stay until August. When I had this incredible opportunity to come to Kauai to celebrate Rich and Mia’s wedding, I realized I would need to apply for another social budaya visa for Indonesia once I arrived in Hawai’i.... the turnaround time is supposed to be 3 business days, and I knew I had just about that much time once I got the application and documents off to the Los Angeles Consulate (if all works out, the Visa will be in Honolulu waiting for me at the Sheraton hotel when we arrive). So, Isabelle offered to come with me to Lihue (about 1 hour away) to run errands and get everything I needed to file for my visa. We went from print place to the bank to the post office and then to Fed Ex and finally got all the documents and my passport off to LA! Thank goodness! Now hopefully it will be ready in 3 business days, once they receive it in LA!
The process took almost all day, but it was fun to catch up with Isabelle (since she is in LA and I am in Bali, we don’t get much time to chat and catch up with each other) and it was nice to hear what she is up to and to catch her up to speed on my life in Bali. We had a great day together and then headed back to Hanalei and stopped to see the Taro farms and take in the scenery... quite beautiful! Supposedly it is one of the largest Taro farms in Hawaii. Yum!
After our long day, we met up for much needed cocktails at the Estate in Hanalei Bay where Rich and Mia’s wedding will be and where most of the wedding party is staying... wow, it is a beautiful and was great to see Rich and Mia and say hi to the gang! By the way, Rich is a good friend of mine, who I met in yoga teacher training through my friend Joe... Really one of the sweetest guys I know with a great laugh and spirit! He is marrying Mia and she is beautiful and spunky and I’ve gotten to know her through Rich and think they are the most perfect couple... (you’ll see when I get some pix of them at the wedding!) It was a nice evening and we had sunset cocktails on the veranda and goofed around a bit with old friends and new friends...it was so nice to be with the gang and chill Hawaiian style...
The Estate is gorgeous and a perfect place for a wedding ~ I believe there are 8 rooms in the estate - with every amenity ~ awesome to gather family and friends and celebrate. I love that Rich and Mia put together so many great activities for the guests to all take part in and meet new people!
We hung out for a few hours and then called it a night, since everyone is usually in bed by 10pm. We walked home to our lovely A frame house just about 10 minutes down the street from the Estate. The moon was out and the sky was bright and clear with so many stars. My sis, Joe and Isabelle and I said goodnight and I know I am happy as a bug right now... comfy beds and a very sweet day. See ya tomorrow!

Hawai”i beautiful Kauai!

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:04:21 -0500

It is like a dream, arriving here in Hawai’i - flying in and seeing the mountains and ocean and just blue and green as far as the eye can see... I am thankful, so thankful to land here on this healing island and my sister picked me up (yay!) so great to hang out again.. Bali, Hawai’i, we’ll go anywhere to enjoy life to it’s fullest! So here we are~ I am thankful to my amazing friend, Joe, who made it all possible for me to be here, being unreasonable and finding a way for me to get to Kauai to celebrate Rich and Mia’s marriage... I am still a bit in awe of being here and diving into the ocean and knowing that trusting and surrendering to the Universal flow will take me places that I can only keep opening my eyes again and again to the beauty that is presented to me every moment. Floating in the ocean and giving back to Mother nature for the constant gift she offers, giving thanks and grace to God for all that is right here, right now...
Our sweet house with my sister, Joe, myself and my friend Isabelle is literally across the street from Hanalei Bay (the photo to the right) so we just walk across the street and jump into the ocean. We couldn’t have asked for a better set up. This reminds me of a Tarot reading I had in Bali just before I came to Hawai’i and she told me that the best way to travel to Hawai’i was to go with no expectations.. to just go. She was so right, just be here and keep saying, yes and offering my gratitude.
I do have a bit of jet lag, but what a great place to just decompress and drop right into the healing nature of the island. This is one of my first vacations in a while, where I am not working or worrying about answering emails or phone calls or anything. Just being here in nature with the ocean, mountains and relaxing into it. Oh so nice.
We had a chill day and spent most of it at the beach, then went out for sushi at the local sushi blues restaurant (which closed at 10 pm). Everyone pretty much goes to sleep early here and wakes up with the sun. Well, I thought that might be me, but not quite. My daily wake up time was about 9ish. Slept in most days and got up when I felt rested... jet lag did come into the picture for a few days, so I was a bit upside down for the first days... loving it here. Hanalei is a gem of a place to be with friends and family. More to come...

Off to Kauai via Tokyo

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:23:27 -0500

So, I am on a plane to Hawaii, made it to my flight with lots of time to spare (like we say, we never learn... right, Carole?) So, anyway, I will write more as soon as I land in Tokyo, but I am soooo happy to be on my way to Kauai for this amazing wedding and to see my friends and my sister and spend a real weeklong vacation.. a real vacation with absolutely nothing to do. Hawaii is the place to decompress and synch up with nature again... I can almost taste it, but for now, I will just visualize.
More to come....

Much later... 8.5 hours later.
I am now in the Narita Tokyo airport and I have a 12 hour layover here.
I was thinking of going out into town to explore, but to my dismay, it is cold and rainy and I don’t have a jacket (dressed for Hawaii... helloo!)
Well, I am pretty darn tired, so I now have changed my plan. I am going to rent a little dayroom and relax and sleep ~ then shop in my favorite place to shop... anything Japanese and small and packaged so cute, I can’t help myself. I saw some Hello Kittys for Maria... they are everywhere. So anyway, here are pix of my room, just took them on my iPhone. I have to say that this iPhone is the greatest! Almost all of my photos on my blog have been taken on my iPhone... it is the best little tool (everything all in one) I have taken over 2200 photos on my phone since I moved to Bali... geez. I need to calm down! So, I’m going to take a nap and will write more in a bit. I know you are on the edge of your seat!

Even later... 3 hours later.
I’m up! Jet lag is kickin my butt already. Is that possible, so soon?
Anyway, I am now going to get a massage at the massage place here in the airport (yes, they do have a massage place in the airport). So happy, because I need it! So my plan is to get a massage, shop for some cute little things (especially tea and any face products - sucker... i know!)
and then get something to eat (japanese noodle soup sounds good).
Oh, the exciting layover in Tokyo!!!!
I’ll write more from Hawaii when I land and have a dip in the ocean!
Can’t wait.... See ya later!
OH.. check out my room to the right and then I met the cutest couple ever on the plane from Bali to Tokyo... they had matching Snoopy slippers and I had to take a photo. The dad was the nicest and even though we couldn’t speak each other’s language... we communicated and he even helped me carry my bags off the plane. I just had a huge wave of love hit me when I was sitting next to them... they were so sweet and loved watching them... they were both in their 70’s and sharing everything and it was really a moving moment. :)

Hangin’ with Amsalan and Estee

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:44:18 -0500

I am so lucky that I dropped into a community of such cool people as soon as I landed here in Ubud. Thanks to the Balispirit Festival and the crew... two friends that I love hanging out from BSF are Amsalan and Estee... they are like long lost friends of mine and also I think they might have been separated at birth~ they are so alike and their energy is very parallel. So, they came over in the morning and picked me up from my house and helped me carry my laundry to the car (see, they are real friends) and then we went to the laundry mat (yes, super fun!) and they were so patient with me waiting for my clothes to be counted. See, the laundry mats here make you stay and watch them as they count every item that you have in your bag and they write up a ticket to make sure you know that you basically have way too many clothes (ok, maybe that is just me!!!) So, moving on... we went to eat the best brunch ever... overlooking the jungle and with beautiful views of the valley.
Let me just say, that any brunch that ends with a brownie sundae with mocha coffee ice cream on top is well, over the top and I guess I think I am still on vacation, because I can’t seem to get on my Ayurvedic diet... for real, May 1 (after Hawaii) and things are going to change... do you hear that Amsalan and Estee??
Well, anyway, after brunch we made it back to the car (me, wobbling back) and Amsalan took us to see his healer (not because we ate too many brownies!). I cannot remember the healer’s name, but he is the one that everyone (as in locals who need deep healing) in town goes to see and I had heard about him , but didn’t know where he was located. So, we go to his place and it quite different than Ketut’s place. Very quiet and only us and a local village girl with her parents with her (she looks pretty ill) and then some students of his are on the other pavilion in the front of the house. So, the healer comes back to the main area where he does his healings and we offer for the young girl from the village to go before us. So he does a type of acupressure on all parts of your skull and then takes a small wooden object and uses it to do acupressure on the feet... wheew.. you could see the girl was hurting. Not sure what was going on, because he was speaking in Bahasa and so just watched. Then he went to the back to make something for her and then took her to the other house to sit while her mom held her daughter’s head in between her hands. Must have been some sort of healing, but again, not sure of what happened.
Well, then he called me up and he asked me what was wrong... I showed him my skin (legs - all red and irritated). He started pushing on my head and holding my head really tight and pushing down on different parts of my skull/scalp and he kept saying, healthy, you are good. no problems.
(thank goodness!) So,then he had me lay down and started with the wooden thing on my feet... well, there were definitely some sensitive areas, but mostly it was all good. He kept saying... good, good, good.
Good news for me. The only thing he said was that my energy (chi) was low and then he said the dreaded... that the only thing I need to do is lose 6 kilos. Especially in my upper arms... Well, I guess that means, no more brownie sundaes for brunch! But overall, he said I was healthy and good.
So, having to lose a little weight is good news (I guess) haha!
Well, after our outing to the healer.. I had a meeting with Ellen Watson as we are working with her for Nalanda Journeys and so excited to be working with her for 2009! yay! We had a nice quick meeting at the pool at the villas she is staying at in Ubud.
So, then I headed over to meet a friend to see a house that is for rent that she wanted me to see... it was cute, but way far out... I am thinking of living alone or at least getting a place where I can have a music room and a bedroom.. so I can have a place to play that is not my bedroom. We’ll see... but the cutest thing.. we ran right into a huge flock of ducks that were coming home from their 9 to 5 job at the rice fields.. so funny!
Well, the day could not be complete unless we all went to Naughty Nuri’s (No!) for my “going away” party to Hawaii! Well, that is how we justified it... so I met up with Amsalan, Estee, Charley, Tama, Ellen, Jen, Jaguar Mary, Emiko, and other friends and we had a few martinis and well, let’s just say it was a long and fun and LATE night! I have a new mantra... no more Naughty Nuri’s ! Especially before getting on an international flight to the States! Well, SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT! hahahaaaaaa! They should have a CAUTION sign above the Naughty Nuri’s sign.. haha... see, there’s the cosmo that should have a danger label on it! :) Or maybe I am just a light weight... either way... it was a loong night!

Eat, Pray, Love Part II: Last Day in Ubud!

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 22:52:20 -0500

Today is the last day my sister is in town (and Katy and Mons, too!) Everyone leaves tonight.. sad! But I am glad I will be seeing my sis again in Hawaii in 3 days! Love how we keep meeting up~ I have to say that I am impressed with my sister, she has a lot of guts. For example, I have been living in Ubud for almost 2 months and I haven’t had the courage yet to drive a scooter... I have a major block and then my sister comes in town and leaves one morning to go to walk around town (that is how I get around or catch rides with Uma or catch rides with friends on scooters) and she comes vrooming back on a scooter (and she hadn’t ever driven one before!) I asked her how she knew how to drive and she said, just get on it and drive... well, needless to say, I was so happy that she could drive it and I could ride in the back. But anyway, my point is she takes the bull by the horns and just does it... guess that is why she is a great surfer, too! Well, I am inspired and I am going to learn how to drive a scooter and get on the road... yes, I am and going to and empower myself to have some freedom and do it when I get back from Hawaii.
Anyway, back to our last day... so we ended up meeting Wayan at her place in town... so cool, as I know my sis wanted to meet her and we thought we ran out of time, but we stopped in and said hi and she helped me and gave me some herbs for my skin. My skin is super sensitive and having some reaction to the mosquito bites and won’t heal.. just big red spots and scars everywhere (yuk, I know - I’d include a photo, but I don’t think you’d want to see it!) So, then we were on Monkey forest road and ran into Mario (the “italian” from Eat, Pray, Love) who helped Elizabeth find Ketut Liyer in the book. He is so super sweet and we chatted with him for a while and my sister interviewed him on her little camera... he was a spunky guy with great sense of humor... he is a driver for the Ubud village hotel and he said to come back next time and visit him. Definitely will, the place is sweet.
After that, we scooted around town and bought a really nice mosaic dish for Rich and Mia’s wedding in Hawaii, I loved all of this artist’s work... so colorful and creative. Then my sister went to Bumi Sehat (a birthing clinic that is revolutionary here in Ubud and in Indonesia, too) The founder, Robin, is pretty amazing and the clinic is open to anyone and delivers babies as naturally as possible - 60+ of births a week, is what I hear. My sister went to visit the clinic while I went to the Yoga Barn to finish up some business stuff... she said she saw a BRAND NEW BABY (about 2 hours old) there and she got to go in the room and she said it was transformational seeing the living being so sweet and alive and calm and aware... wow! Wish I had gone.. ok I will check it out when I am back from the States, too.
Well, the day was winding down and we decided we all needed massages before traveling (well, I wasn’t traveling, but I went for support! haha).
Bodyworks massage place is the best in town... oh mi gosh, so great and we all came out blissed out and then we ate at a local eatery, Nasi Goreng, yummy Indonesian food. Then it was about that time... time to head to the airport. We had a great driver speed us to the airport, his name is Wayan (yep, another one~) and it was sad to see everyone go... but we will meet again really soon! Safe Travels to my sis, Katy and Mons!
Good times in Ubud and more to come!

Retreat Scouting with Katy & Naughty Nuri’s

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 22:33:30 -0500

Today my sister headed down to Seminyak to do a photo shoot with her friend for the clothing line I was talking about in my last blog. So, Katy, Mons and I took the day and went to scout more potential retreat locations. It sure is hard, because of all the wonderful, beautiful locations... the only thing that does make it easy is the price. Some of the places are amazingly gorgeous, but only cost a small fortune to rent out.
We had a nice day exploring and seeing what is out there, both 5 star and more affordable locations. We did go to the Como Shambhala resort, as I have a friend there that runs the center and it is the most beautiful place... wow and we enjoyed spa treatments while we were there and it was quite an amazing relaxing day, total spa style. Really loved seeing Como Shambhala and walking the grounds. A very very sweet place!
At the end of the day, I believe we found what we wanted for Katy and the retreat spot is close to Ubud, so I think it will be great!
We met up with my sister when she got back from Seminyak and we went to Naughty Nuri’s for dinner (another famous spot in town that everyone loves.. for the martinis, the ribs and the home fries! all bad, bad, bad... ayurveda would disagree completely... Ok, but we are on vacation (well, at least my sis and friends are, so I feel alright joining them!) Well, the drinks were intense... whew! 2 cosmos and well, let’s just say, I got up on stage at the local club - open mic night and just went for it... well, maybe more cosmos might be a good idea! haha! WHAT A fun, fun, night! LATE NIGHT!

Next morning:
didn’t finish my blog.... so well, needless to say, got up a bit later this morning...needed to recharge the energizer battery or more like help, hangover!... water, water, where are you? Actually, colloidal silver has been a saviour this morning!
Whew! Late nights in Ubud are far and few between!
Speaking of rare things...
Guess what? I am going to Hawaii (Kauai) a spontaneous trip to my friends wedding in Hanalei Bay. I am so grateful to my close friend, Joe, as he is making it possible for me to come to Kauai and created real possibility out of nothing! I love him for being unreasonable and making it work out... So stoked to be going to Hawaii to hang out with the crew from Santa Monica and see my two friends get married. They are the cutest couple ever... made to be together. So, it is very exciting! Love how the Universe supports! I will leave for Hawaii on Saturday, April 12 and get to see my sister, my friends, Joe, Isabelle, Rich, Mia, Aaron, Denise and so many more... whoo hoo! Gotta pack! and Get Hydrated today! No more Naughty Nuri’s ! haha!

Eat, Pray, Love, Yoga and Monkeys!

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 21:37:01 -0500

Well, we keep going and going like the energizer bunny. That’s what I get for hanging out with 3 pitta people! haha! Up at dawn and out and about getting it all in~ :) Today we all got up early and went to yoga at 8:30 am.. we didn’t have scooters, we caught rides with locals (check out Katy with local dad and cute kid on scooter!) They gave us a lift to the Yoga Barn for some Forrest yoga with Kat (cool surfer yoga teacher that lives here in Bali). We had a great class and then headed to the local Kafe (Meg from Balispirit owns this Kafe and it is super popular..a very relaxed and homey atmosphere with yummy food, mostly organic). So we all hung out for a bit there and then decided to go on our daily outing in Ubud together.
So, here’s the thing... Everyone is talking about the book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and when I decided to move to Bali, everyone was asking me if I decided to move here because of the book, but I hadn’t even read it. A friend gave me the book before I left for Bali and I decided to read it when I arrived here... well, I stayed up late nights reading that book and really liked it! Loved how she made everything so personal and totally connected with some of the things she was experiencing. Anyway, needless to say, everyone here does know about the book and most of the main characters from the Indonesia chapter of the book are from Ubud. So, today for fun we decided that we’d go to see Ketut Liyer, the healer in the Eat Pray Love book... who is now “illuminated” as the locals say... meaning famous :)
But before we headed to get “healed” we decided to check out another famous place in Ubud, The Monkey Forest Sanctuary, with monkeys everywhere and an amazing forest sanctuary inside.... right in the middle of Ubud. The experience was fun, but kind of creepy fun, if you know what I mean... well, I mean, that at any moment a monkey might decide to jump out and grab your things and run away and or hiss really loud in your face. I’m a bit naive, because I was saying how “cute!!!” the little monkeys were and then the “cute” little monkey hissed really loud in my face with his scary creepy teeth! yikes!! I guess this is what the locals mean when they say that the monkeys in the Monkey forest are “very naughty”` Well, Carole had a direct experience... she had her purse tied to her green eco-friendly water bottle and the monkey decided he wanted the eco-friendly water bottle... and went right for it! Snatched it from my sister’s hand and proceeded to carry it around like it was his own! Another tourist tried to help and threw a banana at him and guess what? The monkey picked up the banana, looked at it and threw it down and held tight to my sister’s eco water bottle. I guess he is smarter than the other monkeys! It was kind of funny, but then if you tried to grab it back from him (the monkey) he was not having it! So we had to call in for help from the monkey rangers, who came over and saved my sister’s purse and water bottle. Whew, were we glad... we quickly made our way to the other part of the forest where the river runs and the water temple is and not so many monkeys were congregating. It is really beautiful and mysterious inside the sanctuary and the banyan trees are incredible and the carvings are very fairy land mystical like... I just kept thinking of my ayuhuasca experience and getting hits of the images and things I remember coming alive in that ritual. Trippy, for sure!

After our magical and creepy crazy experience at the Naughty Monkey Forest... we headed to see Ketut Liyer for some healing. So funny to drive up at his house after reading about him in the book. He still lives in his same family compound. Simple, nice, but not so hidden anymore. A tour bus had pulled up when we arrived, so definitely he has become “illuminated” here in Ubud. Good for him. My sister, Katy and I all got readings. He is so sweet, he sits there with his one tooth and smiles at you and tells you how beautiful you are (every feature on your face) and proceeds to read your palm, which was interesting and some of the same things I had heard from other palm readers. The new one is the creases in your wrist tell how many lives you have lived... I thought that was interesting (I supposedly have lived 4 lives and I am on my 5th). Hmm.. that explains a lot. haha! Anyway, it was very endearing and he was sweet and simple and asked me to come back and meditate at his house. But to drive slowly. He kept saying that to me... drive carefully. Good advice especially since I haven’t learned how to drive a scooter, yet! Overall, it was a fun experience, but not too deep (but there was a line and only had 15 minutes to read my future ~:) I also liked that he read a deity that guides you and is on your back. That was interesting. Mine was Ganesha. Maybe that is why I love elephants so much. I loved my stuffed toy blue elephant so much even until I was out of college. Yep, true!
Anyway, afterwards we are all starving and we ate at the local hot spot, Bali Buddha restaurant.. all organic and super yummy! Bye for now!

Beach Day at Ulu Watu and Dreamland

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 20:49:39 -0500

Well, someone has to do it... !
That is the joke around here... someone has to go to the beautiful beaches in Bali and check out the surfers, right? So, my sister and I were on the case and headed down to Dreamland and Ulu Watu to meet up with our friend, Katy and her boyfriend, Mons (they were in the Gili Islands for 5 days - don’t feel sorry for them!) The drive down to the beach from Ubud is about 2 hours or so, well to these beaches that are bit further south
than Seminyak, Legian or Kuta. A lot less crowded. We went to Dreamland first and hung out on the beach (while the local merchants
tried to convince us that we needed to 1. buy a sundress 2. get a
foot massage 3. get a full body massage 4. buy some fruit 5. rent a
boogie board or surf board 6. rent an umbrella (which we did!)
Man, it is always so funny to me...it is like ground hog day - the
merchants keep coming up and saying hello every 5 minutes and it
is like you are brand new person each time they approach you. Hello,
Miss... massage? dress? coconut? (with a huge smile on their face)
Well, nothing like being in the present, in the now... ironic because
my sister and I are both reading Eckhart Tolle’s new book, A New
Earth (my sis gave it to me when she got here). Loving the book!!!
So, so here is the practice, right on the beach in Dreamland! haha!!!
Well, we spent the super hot part of the day on the beach laying out and swimming and reading and just being, so nice!
Then we headed to Ulu Watu, where the surf break there is world famous! Really amazing to watch the surfers heading out there in the huge waves and taking them on. I personally prefer to relax on the beach and take in the beauty of the beach and watch the surfers. My sis is a surfer, but this is a coral reef break, so it is a bit more dangerous, especially if you are used to beach breaks (my sister surfed Costa Rica beach breaks - big waves, but no coral). So we decided to take a walk down the beach and see what the locals were up to... they were out fishing and kids running around the beach with plenty of surfers also making there way out to mother ocean to jump on a wave!
We met up with Katy and Mons and had fun exploring the coral reef a
wading through the water looking at all kinds of sea creatures... we saw
a baby eel and also lots of crabs and some other things I am not sure what they were. Afterward, we decided to relax on the cliff overlooking the ocean and enjoy the sunset and watch the surfers kick some ass getting those waves! I am always so impressed by their guts! All in all, we had a great day at the beach and soaked in the sun... loving life right now!
Well, somebody has to do it! Definitely will be back!

Herb Walk and Kecak in Ubud

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 20:02:24 -0500

Today Carole and I went on a little adventure through Ubud... went into town and checked out the shops on Monkey Forest Road, the main road in Ubud town with all the stores with local wares. We had a great time just window shopping and then we met up with Westi, who took us on an Herb walk into Sari Gardens rice fields, lush and beautiful and a great learning experience. He leads walks (about 3 hours) that take you deep into the rice fields and through the jungle to explore all the native herbs, plants and flowers. Westi would point out herbs like, tumeric and show us how to pick them and what to use them for. Plus, fun things like picking hibiscus flowers and getting them wet and squishing them around in your hand to make homemade hair conditioner and sucking honeysuckle for a sweet something (natural candy). He showed us the different types of rice (both local rice and hybrid rice) and how they grow them and nurture this crop to supply so many people here with the main grain. Westi was really cool and taught us so much about the culture and introduced us to a way to live sustainably on the land here in Bali. Very inspiring. We walked into the rice fields and through the mini jungle and saw ducks hard at work in the rice fields (they have a big job of eating all the insects after the crops are harvested - they are so cute).
There they are --------------->>>>>>>

Then it started to rain, so Westi got my
sister and I natural “umbrellas” so cool.
We walked around with leaves over our
heads soo funny!!!

After our awesome day, herb walking with Westi ~ we headed to get a bite to eat and then to the local temple/community center in my neighborhood. My neighborhood is called Taman (kind of like a suburb, but not really -- but one way to describe each community in Bali). I love the fact that the entire community comes together twice a week to perform sacred ritual through dance and music and chanting... quite amazing. This community is well known for it’s Kecak, which is a ritual where over 100 men from the community come together and chant and sing and tell a mythological story through the voice (acapella) and are joined by beautiful dancers (women, men and children) who tell the story of the Ramayana. A magical experience and there was more... there was fire trance dance with a solo male dancer who came out into the center of the space and danced on coconuts shells that were set on fire... he was in trance.. True trance dance. wowo. my feet were burning! What an incredible day and so happy to spend it with my sister, who i miss daily and glad that she is here visiting and experiencing Bali with me~ nighty night!

Spontaneous visit from my sis!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:48:13 -0500

Well, what a surprise and how fun to have my sis in town here in Bali! She arrived last night (that is her above, duh!) and she is here for 10 days. Her good friend has a beautiful line of organic clothing that she creates here in Bali and she invited my sis to come and model for her new upcoming line and also have the opportunity to hang out with me... whoo hoo!
So lucky and happy to have her here -- like old times in LA and Chicago!
So, I picked her up from the airport with our cool driver, Wayan (of course), and we headed back to my place in Ubud (about an hour ride) and talked and talked and caught up all night! Planned on some fun things to do here in Ubud and also to travel back to the beaches to venture out and see Bali together.
Today we went to this really beautiful restaurant overlooking the rice fields and valley in Ubud. It reminded me of a place my sister took me Costa Rica, super lush and really vast and gorgeous views! We had a yummy brunch and then went over to my friends’ yoga retreat and swam in the pool at their villa.... niiice! I’m just helping my sister to get over jet lag (haha), even though she really didn’t have any because she stopped over in Guam for 24 hours and caught up on sleep and had a good transition coming here... I was impressed, as she just jumped right in and up early going into town and walking around exploring on her own, too. She is really good at that, as she has travelled around the world solo, so this is nothing new to her. ~:)
Here in Ubud, the traditional cultural arts are always being performed, every night, you can see a performance right in the main town hall. My sister and I went to a performance of gamelan and traditional dance. Adults to children are all performing and it such a wonderful experience to see the community to come together and celebrate through dance, music and sacred ritual. We loved it. We headed home after in the rain on the scooter that my sister rented... into the night, ready for a good night’s sleep.

Nalanda Journeys - new Beginnings

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:26:04 -0500

So, the journey is beginning for Uma and I. We have talked about creating this company, Nalanda Journeys, a retreat management company that will host master teachers from around the world here in Bali (and later to add more global locations). It is all very exciting and today we went on a full day’s exploration of retreat locations around the island here in Bali. My sweet and dear friend, Katy Appleton is in town (yay!!) and joined us for the day, as she is going to be one of our first yoga teachers to host here in Bali. She is an amazing spirit and yoga teacher from London and I am always lit up when she is around... she is so full of energy and fun to be around... always a laugh riot with her! There we are on the right, enjoying our gigantic fresh coconuts! Yum!
So, we started out early in the morning and scouted retreat spots on the beach, secluded spots in East Bali in the most beautiful, tranquil place with the river running through the property and facing the majestic mountains of Bali. Our goal is to offer retreat locations that suit each teacher, whether they want a surf/beach spot or a tranquil meditative place deep in the mountains, or a spacious retreat overlooking the rice fields... so many beautiful places and after a full day of scouting, we found some amazing locations that we are keen on using for our 2009 retreats.
All is in the works, and we are working on our logo, website, newsletter and all the details to launch our company in July. Our new website will be www.nalandajourneys.com and in development now. I’ll post another blog when it is ready to be launched! ;)
All in all it was a very inspirational day and we have so many ideas and possibilities, it is so great to have a blank slate and to be able to create anything you want! Guess this is what Life is about... right?
See you on retreat in Bali... come join us in 2009. ! xo Daphne

Embracing the Magic of Bali

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:10:41 -0500

I’m just arriving back from one of the most wonderful journeys I’ve had in Bali, so far! I’ll recap: I woke up on Saturday not feeling very well - the full moon really affected me and I was wanting some downtime to just rest and lay around. I think it was also post-festival decompression. So, I thought that I would relax and read and watch movies and just stay at home and not do anything...
Well, you know what happens when you make plans...
I got a call from a new friend I met at the Balispirit Festival, Leelu (it ends up that we know all the same people in LA - she actually lived in Venice, but now is based in London, Ibiza and Barcelona). She was going to travel to East Bali to check out the beaches and see more of Bali, since she had spent all of her vacation in Ubud and was leaving soon. She asked if I wanted to come along to East Bali to check out another side of the island. I realized, I also had spent most of my time in Ubud, working on the festival and hadn’t really gotten out to see much of the island, so I decided to say yes and see what was out there.
Our friend, David Moreno, suggested to go to Jasri (about 2 hour drive from Ubud) to stay at his friend’s place on the beach. A couple of weeks ago he had shown me photos of the place and it is gorgeous. His friend and now our new friend, Emerald, owns the place and it is quite stunning. Beautiful eco-friendly houses right on the ocean with gorgeous infinite pool and no details spared. Emerald has been in Bali for over 20 years and knows everybody and really is connected into the culture. He was such a gracious host and we experienced the Balinese culture from temple rituals to an incredible master dance performance by a famous Balinese dancer (who is 85! which you could never even tell when you saw him dance). He danced on a very magical night with the skies thundering and lightening and the gamelan music intensely playing with fire torches lighting the stage! I was so honored to be there and see this seasoned master dancer embody each role and dance it like he was 25. We couldn’t see his face because of all the costumes and masks and when he took his mask off, I really couldn’t believe it was the same guy! Anyway, we had such a great time and he had a great sense of humor and we all danced with him at the end. Good times!

The next day we decided to go and check out the white sand beach (pasir putih) about a 15 minute boatride up the coast, so we hired a very homemade boat (some of it made of real bamboo) to take us there, it was a trip - I sat on the side of the boat and Leelu sat in the middle on a makeshift seat made out of a wood plank. We had a fun time with the local guys starting the rusted motor with a string... very funny! We passed by this cave that they said all the bats live in and snakes live in the cave after the rains (ewww, like Indiana Jones Adventure or something). Anyway, we arrived on the beautiful white sand beach and enjoyed our day that sunning and snorkeling and just laying around on the beach. Of course, this is Bali, so it did rain down some of the time and it was sooo funny to see even the chickens take cover... check it out on the right, well, I thought it was hilarious, they were taking cover under “drying” laundry.
Definitely loved being at the beach drinking my fresh coconut and contemplating my 40 days with Reverend Michael’s 40 Day Mind Fast, Soul Feast book. I had the most incredible meditation laying out in the ocean floating on the waves and looking up at the clear blue sky and just being totally present and feeling the wind on my face, smelling the salty air
and knowing this is exactly where I want to be. A very healing and divine moment. I felt completely at one with everything...so grateful.

After an awesome day at the beach, that night we went to the local temple for the Sea Goddess right on the ocean and joined in on the celebrations for the Full moon and offerings to the Sea Goddess from chanting to ritual dances to playing gamelan to full on plays, it was an amazing experience (we were the only westerners in the whole temple) it was really nice to be immersed and be able to connect with the local Balinese and see how they offer to the Divine. Here is one of the ritual dances by the tiniest little girls and boys (almost in trance) offering their dances to the Divine. A very special night to be there - the gamelan troupe that played from this village is actually one of the best in Bali and they are known internationally, playing for presidents of countries, royalty and then coming back to their own little village to play for these ceremonies. So humble and authentic in sharing their gifts.

The next morning we headed up to another magical spot in Bali called Tirta Gangga, which is the King’s Palace (used to be when the King lived there, but is still run by the royal family and some of the family still lives there - the Palace is open to the public and you can even stay in the some of the rooms now that have been converted into a hotel). This place is pretty magnificent with sacred waters that you can actually swim in -- we are swimming in them (see photo on the right). The water did feel so healing and I felt totally rejuvenated after swimming in the sacred waters (local temples from villages around the island come here to get their sacred water for ceremonies and rituals, pretty amazing). We took a ton of photos and I posted all of them in my photo album (so check them out :) It is gorgeous there! We also made a special trip to Sacred Mountain, a place that Emerald and Ken Ballard used to own that was a 5 star all organic retreat center overlooking the river and facing Mt. Agung... the place is stellar and I wish it was still running, as it would be a fab place for retreats. Now the new owner has turned it into a kind of timeshare place...pretty sad :( Well, we had a special day there seeing all the magic that was created there.

Emerald and I at Sacred
Mountain ---->>>>>>>>

After our full day of seeing and experiencing the sacred waters and mountain, we headed back to Jasri to relax and wind down. Our friends, Becky and Nathan came over and we all sang and shared songs together over dinner and tea... oh! and don’t forget the raw cacao... it is soo yummy! It was great being together with new friends in a new place and feeling completely at home. Om Sri Saraswatiyai Namaha Om Mata - blessings to the mother of music... it was a sweet night.

So, the last day on our mini adventure of East Bali
we decided to go back to the beach and soak up more
sun and enjoy the beautiful day... it was a sunny and
hot day and we swam and relaxed and drank fresh coconuts.
Leelu is a professional photographer (lucky me!) and we ended up doing some impromptu shots of my tattoo for fun! Lastly, we jumped in
the yin/yang pool (I love this infinite pool) when we got back to the bungalow and what a great way to end our 4 day fun in East
Bali...definitely will be back!

Photos above by Leelu Morris

Balinese market and synchronicity

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:39:39 -0500

This morning I got up early and went to meet a friend, Janet Stone, a yoga teacher from the US who is in town and taught at the festival this past weekend... we had a nice little breakfast with her sweet family. It was great to connect and hang out for a bit... then off to do some Bali exploring. So, I walked to the market to check out the morning ritual that I usually miss because I am at home and don’t get out so early to the market. It was a great experience to walk around the market and see how the locals spend their mornings both selling and buying organic veggies, fruits and eggs and lots of other yummy things. I got a lot of fruit and ate a lot of it on my walk around town. I am usually riding in a car or on a scooter, so it was great to get out and walk and see the town and find my way around on my own~ :)
After my morning walk, I went over to see a good friend of mine, Tama, who I met in Cali and who is here teaching a yoga for an ecstatic dance retreat with Ellen Watson. Tama is here from Africa - Mali, as she is living there now with her husband. So, she invited me to join her for one of the yoga/ecstatic dance classes today and I was so excited to join and dance!
It was so fun! and just spontaneous dancing and the music was really fun, Ellen played an eclectic mix of world music, funky pop music and even played michael jackson...So... “Billie Jean is not my lover... she’s just a girl who claims that IIIIII am the one! But the kid is not my son.” haha! We had a very good time dancing and laughing and I wish my mom had been here, she would love Ellen and her style of teaching. I’ll check out Ellen’s schedule and send it to my mom!
So, after the class we were so hungry, so Tama and I went to eat at the restaurant across the street, called Indus. A gorgeous restaurant overlooking the valley (again I know, but it totally is) and the food was yummy. So, Tama and I are sitting and talking and I look up and notice a man that I think I know, but I wasn’t sure at first, but then saw his wife and realized, Oh mi gosh! It’s Chuck and Maty (from the original Yogaworks... well, they were the founders of the original Yogaworks and then sold the school a few years ago - both master Mysore Ashtanga yoga teachers). I used to work for them for about 3 years and was my real introduction to the yoga world back in the day when everyone was teaching at Yogaworks and it was a small family working together. I actually met Shiva there (she assisted Chuck for many years and taught there for over 7 years) at the studio there and then started working with her while I still worked at YW, then segued to Yogadventures full-time. So, it was so great to see them and reconnect, as I haven’t seen for gosh, I can’t even remember how many years it has been. They were just coming back from India, they were in Goa teaching a yoga retreat and then came to Bali to relax and check out retreat places here... What a small, small world. Such synchronicity, since I am creating a company with Uma to bring master teachers of all arts to Bali to lead retreats. So, I planted the seed and we’ll see how it manifests.
Anyway, it was a sweet night and Tama knew Chuck as she had studied with him years ago. So everyone had a great time visiting and chatting. :)
I feel like Bali is a magical meeting place... bringing spiritual people together and this night definitely was an example of this.

Impromptu recording in Bali

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:56:00 -0500

This morning I woke up and didn’t feel so hot, post festival (after the fest quite a few people on staff got sick, including Uma and her little boy :()
So, I got up, but had a bit of a stuffy nose and sore throat, so I went and got some fresh juice to help me out a bit. I planned on staying in and reading and watching some of my DVDs from Jakarta and just relaxing and really just decompressing. Well, then I got a SMS text from David, a friend of mine and a yoga teacher from the US who led his own retreat and taught at the festival, he is also a performer - so he is quite good at chanting. So anyway, he says that he is going to the recording studio and wanted to know if I would join him and sing with him on some of the chants he was recording. At first, I thought I would say no, and just stay home, but then I thought...well, why not and he is going to be leaving back to the States very soon, so I said, YES... again, going along with my YES theme.
So, David came and picked me up and we went to the recording studio and met 2 other singers he had chanted with before from the Bay area that were at the festival and we all met up... they are super sweet, Becky and her boyfriend, Nathan (who helped me with the pronunciation of the Sanskrit chants).
The recording studio is at Rob’s house, the co-founder of the Balispirit Festival and who is a musician and owns a house that is quite fantastic, sitting on the ridge overlooking the valley and with the river below. A beautiful location and the studio is growing everyday - there are 3 rooms and he is building and developing it more... we used the 2nd room and a really sweet guy and musician from Arizona named Brian engineered and recorded the session. We recorded a chant that you do with the moon salutations. Trying to remember all the chants and Sanskrit and not screwing up the pronunciation and rhythm and meter and all that stuff... whew!
After we finished that chant, David asked me to sing the Saraswati chant that I wrote in Guatemala at Jai Uttal’s retreat in Lake Aititlan. I was feeling ok, but still stuffy, but told David we could do a rough track and see how it all worked out.... it was fun and we did 3 takes and then David and Becky did some background vocals - response vocals, but over all I know we need to rerecord the track - I will post it here (on the right last photo - you can click on the play button and listen) and you can tell me what you think :) I was glad to record the song and just have it on tape to listen to it and then think of harmonies to add and possible rearrange the song, As of now, it is what it is and I was glad that we went and recorded and had some fun... more of that to come. Especially when I am feeling better! :) But I did notice that the only painting in the whole studio was a painting of the Goddess Saraswati, so it was perfect to sing that song to her in the studio :) Blessings to Saraswati, Goddess of Music and Wisdom!

Balispirit Festival 2008!

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 12:23:15 -0500

I am writing about the Balispirit Festival after the full 4 days and one day post festival... so I can share with you the essence of the fest and the experience! The festival took place in Ubud, Bali over 4 days - March 13 to 16 -- from 10am to 2am every day at one of the most beautiful locations for events in Ubud, called Purnati Centre for the Arts (such a gorgeous location with the river flowing below and coconut trees, green luscious lawns and the true spirit of Bali.)
So, the reason I even came to Bali was to work on this festival and also to perform at the festival, so I jumped into working for the fest about 3 weeks before the festival - working with the small team Balispirit had put together (a fun team to work with and good friends now!) So, much work and blood, sweat and tears were put into this festival and it was really a fly by the seat of its’ pants festival, just getting everything into place and being grateful for grace... as it was essential in making this festival a success... Just trusting and going with the flow... because a lot of things were not structured when I came on the team, but we all did the best we could with the time and tools we had... and what a wonderful experience the festival was!
The festival brought together master teachers and performers from the east and west - teaching yoga, dance, martial arts, meditation, chanting... so many amazing people sharing their gifts and talents with an awesome group of festival goers ready to learn and dance and have fun... so the festival was definitely a first year festival regarding learning curve and growth, but the overall experience really was a amazing experience especially with the Indonesian performers - Cudamani is an internationally renowned group of musicians, dancers and singers from Bali... of all ages and they were incredible. Real masters of their art.. even at the young age of 8! My favorite performers for sure! Emiko Susilo was the brain behind bringing this amazing group of performers, so big huge thanks to her!
Another very memorable experience were the kids on Family day... there were so many inspiring kids there meditating, singing, learning yoga, dancing and having fun... the cutest ever! I wanted to take them all home! :) I was so happy to sing with the kids and teach them some songs - call and response and also chanted the Gayatri Mantra with them -- they all knew it because they chant it every morning in school... they got really into it and didn’t want to stop chanting after 5 minutes! They could sit in meditation for such a long time and really listened to everything you taught them... it was refreshing and inspiring that kids can be so focused and so excited about learning... Really a great experience.. this is why yoga, meditation and chanting needs to be in schools everywhere! Empower the kids with these tools and they can be present and focused in school. So sweet.
Another highlight of the festival was Dr. Madan Kataria teaching Laughter Yoga. oh mi gosh!!! We cracked up and laughed and laughed for over an hour.. I was crying and my whole body was hurting after laughing and laughing and cracking up.... he is a funny, funny man and very good at what he does, really a genuine and sincere person. Everyone loved him... “very good, very good, Yaaaa!!!” that is his mantra!
Another huge hit at the festival was African Dance with Baba Kauna (from Hawaii) and he is quite the dancer and a great teacher... he kicked everyone’s butts! Live drummers (one of them was his son! so awesome) and everyone really got into it... sweating and dancing and having fun!
Then there were the night concerts that were non-stop entertainment with every type of music from Sufi chanting to electronic grooves to conscious rap to pure rockin’ blues to acoustic singer songwriters to traditional gamelan and then culminating with a full fusion of all the musicians from all genres (east and west) on the same stage the last night! The party continued with DJ’s in the late night lounge and nobody wanted to go home.... definitely I think people were getting their groove on and didn’t want to sleep - dancing late into the night.
There was also a full fair of booths with conscious products, food booths with yummy organic foods and fresh fruit juices and coconuts plus yummy desserts! We couldn’t stop eating the brownies every night (no nothing was in them!)
Oh, yes, I didn’t say that I did sing on the closing night and it was really a special experience... Baba Kauna played drums for me (we rehearsed for about 10 minutes before we went on stage, so it was pretty impromptu), but it was an organic performance and we had fun playing spontaneously... there was a magical moment on the stage when a being that looked like a fairy/dragonfly (that was iridescent with huge wings) landed on my head in the middle of the mother teresa song and then climbed down my nose to the microphone and sat there and stared at me for about 10 seconds... totally tripped me out and it looked just like the dragonfly fairylady that I have on my back as a tattoo... call me crazy (I was totally sober), but even audience members say they saw it and one person said they got it on film.. I need to see it for sure but anyway, it was a mystical and magical experience for me - especially being here in Bali... so many spirits flying around and I thought it was quite a sign to me that I am in the right place doing what I need to be doing ~ so blessed, I know.
I don’t have any photos of the night, but I will get some from my friend that took photos for the fest and post when he gives me copies.
Well, after 4 days going from early morning to late late night, everyone on the team was pooped and ready to take a break for sure! We all left the place both ecstatic with the success and exhausted and ready for a vacation! I know that I slept until 1:30p the next day... super nice to sleep waaay in!!!
So, now the 2009 Festival and starting to plan the event for next year and restructuring and getting our ducks in a row for this one...as it is going to be even bigger and better! Right now, Shiva Rea, Jai Uttal, Mark Whitwell have confirmed with many others coming on board everyday, so it will be quite a gathering here in Bali in April 2009! :) More to come on that as things progress... www.balispiritfestival.com for more info :)

CHECK OUT THESE SHORT VIDEOS OF SOME OF THE PERFORMANCES!

CUDAMANI KECAK

CUDAMANI GAMELAN

FIRE DANCERS

SEE MORE CLIPS AT WWW.BALISPIRITFESTIVAL.COM

Exploring Jakarta in Style

Sun, 9 Mar 2008 12:08:47 -0500

So, it has been a whirlwind and so wonderful to be on this ride! I was invited to sing in Jakarta at this yoga promo event featuring Duncan Wong (an old friend that I hadn’t seen a long time - he lives in Japan now) at the Ritz Carlton in Jakarta. Meg, the founder of the festival and brains behind Balispirit, invited me to be a part of this promotional event along with the fabulous Amsalan, who made it all happen at the Ritz and got the Jakarta Post (Southeast Asia’s “New York Times”) to cover the story and many other top players in Java to be there. It was an incredible experience being a part of the whole concept of connecting the street kids of Jakarta with yoga and martial arts and kirtan. I was really moved especially with sharing my music with the kids and them singing along and learning the songs (even though they didn’t speak English or know Sanskrit). It was great to see them learning yogic arts from Duncan and loving the practice, too! They were the cutest!
Duncan also taught a class for adults (they loved him, since a lot of them were drawn to him because he was Madonna’s personal yoga teacher on tour plus has taught Sting and others, so they were stoked to take a workshop with him) and he wore them out with yogic arts, so then I sang for savasana for about 45 minutes, which was such a nice experience with Duncan giving each and every person in the room adjustments. Very blissful :~) After the class, I really connected with the Ritz Carlton staff (they were incredibly nice) and the manager of the spa wants to play my music in the spa :) ya! Amsalan and Meg have a great idea of launching my singing career here in Jakarta and then kicking off the Asian tour... which I am totally into... I am honored to come back to the Ritz and sing a solo concert! Anytime! :) I’ll post photos from Jakarta of me singing as soon I get them, as I didn’t take any with my trusty iPhone!
After all the yoga and inspirational music singing with the kids and more, I was so excited to find out that the International Java Jazz Festival was taking place right in Jakarta and some of the top names in Jazz & Funk music were performing! So exciting, so a friend (Daniel) I met in Bali was teaching a yoga workshop in Jakarta that weekend and SMS’d (everyone’s fave here!) me and asked me if I wanted to meet him to go to the show... definitely, yes!
So, first Amsalan, Meg and I went to the Grand Indonesian Plaza (a huge fancy “mall”) and had steamed dumplings yum! and then ran around the mall looking in every store trying everything on - well mostly accessories, as we were into the purses and shoes! (Amsalan gave us tips since he lived in Jakarta and is just moving to Bali) and we had such a great time laughing and being goofy (it was like that movie with Alicia Silverstone.. can’t remember the name, but it took place in a mall and was totally goofy).
After our shopping fun, I met Daniel and we went to the Java Jazz Fest... wow! There were tons and tons of people there (over 25,000 people come to the fest every year) and it was in a huge convention center with hundreds of booths and stages everywhere and we were just trying to make our way through the crowd to see some of the shows! We saw Jody Watley (yes, I did say Jody Watley... haha - blast from the past), then we saw a few really good Indonesian bands - top bands that everyone was going crazy for, then we went to see a great Jazz fusion band that rocked (can’t remember their name), then we saw this incredible soul singer that used to be Stevie Wonder’s backup singer and is in the band Incognito.. she really rocked it onstage... and then we saw the king of funk! George Clinton.. and what a character he is! wow! what a fun fun time... Daniel and I danced like crazy and I kept thinking how grateful I am to be in Jakarta at the Jazz Festival dancing to awesome music... another just say YES day! I would love to play the Jazz fest one day... hmmm got to get some Jazz tunes going! It was a really great day/night and we went home exhausted... after it took us about 30 minutes to hail a trustworthy cab!! there is this thing in Jakarta that there is only a certain cab company that is reputable to take called silver bird, all the other ones can be very iffy to actually get to the place you want with all of your belongings...so all these taxis kept trying to get us to get in their cab, but we knew the little secret.. so kept trying to hail a silver bird cab! whew, anyway, thank goodness we ran into a very cool Javanese musician that had just come out of the back exit of the convention center and had just finished playing the gig and helped us hail a cab! I was happy to back at the Ritz in my all down bed with a/c, too... perfectly spoiled! I’ve been sleeping in a pretty warm un-a/c room this whole time in Bali, not that I’m complaining, but I’m used to Santa Monica with the cool air at night, so no need for a/c.
Well, I woke up the next morning so well rested and ready to work out for some reason, so I went to the pool -- huge - even bigger than an olympic sized pool and I swam laps... whew! I was super worn out even after just doing laps for 30 minutes... so then I went to the spa and soaked and chilled out... left totally rejuvenated and met Amsalan and Meg for breakfast buffet (wayy too much food on the buffet!) I went up to the room for a short nap before we took off the airport -- here’s a funny story...
We were in the Jakarta airport going to our gate and ran into the band Skid Row! They are still touring and rockin’ it in Asia. They were so sweet and they all introduced themselves and asked us where we were going... they were going to play a show in one of the islands. Duncan was with me and I made him take a photo of me with the band... they were really super cool and one of the guys (one in grey next to me) was super cute and nice. Guess we’ll have to invite them to the festival next year! haha!
Anyway, then we took off and we were headed back to Bali... what a great weekend and loved the entire experience in Jakarta.... definitely will go back!
OH, and one more thing... the best thing that I forgot to say is that we went to the local Jakarta mall and totally stocked up on DVDS (that were about $1 each - I know, bad, bad people that we are buying black market dvds, but we just couldn’t help ourselves), I got everything from all the academy award nominated movies to tv shows like sex in the city and ugly betty to a ton of foreign films - for all those rainy rainy days here in Bali. Looking forward to movie nights! :)

Ogoh-Ogoh and Nyepi

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 10:21:04 -0600

Tomorrow is Balinese New Year! And the Balinese do a whole celebration called Nyepi, which is when the entire island observes Silence! Everything is closed, even the airport and everyone is required to stay home and contemplate, meditate, be still and silent and observe the new year!
Today is Tawur Kesanga - here is a quote of what will be taking place today: “Exactly one day before Nyepi, all villages in Bali hold a large exorcism ceremony at the main village cross road, the meeting place of demons. They usually make Ogoh-ogoh (the fantastic monsters or evil spirits or the Butha Kala made of bamboo) for carnival purposes. The Ogoh-ogoh monsters symbolize the evil spirits surrounding our environment which have to be rid of from our lives.”
Ubud has an amazing parade of all the Ogoh-ogohs through town and young boys up to older men are carrying these HUGE art creations that represent what their village considers the spirit of the demons/monsters to be rid of from the island. They march these Ogoh-ogohs through town and then to the main crossroad in town and then the Ogoh-ogohs fight each other in front of a huge crowd of locals, expats and tourists. Everyone is fascinated by the show and cheering and taking photos and they have official announcers in the main booth (like a parade) and as each village presents their Ogoh-ogoh, the announcers talk about the monsters and what it represents and music is playing and it is quite a sight! I have quite a few photos from the parade and will post in my March photo album.
By the way, while the men are doing all of this the women are at the temple making offerings (first they carry them on their head, no kidding!)
Oh! After the Ogoh-ogohs fight at the main crossroad, they are taken to the main field and burned before Nyepi - so throughout the entire night leading up until Nyepi.
I had an really great time at the parade of Ogoh-ogohs and got right into the action at the main crossroads... it was like being in a washing machine that was full of people swishing and churning in a big energetic field. It was a trip. Everyone had big smiles on their faces and were really enjoying themselves. After the parade, there was a big fireworks show (well, actually minor... let’s just say, they didn’t buy their fireworks from China - I think there was more noise than actual fireworks!) The kids loved it though and then we all walked back to the main center of town and enjoyed a drink at the local restaurant before heading home for a full night/day of silence.
Nyepi is a day of silence and a friend here told me that the entire island goes silent because this is the day after all of the demons have been aroused and the night before they are all out and roaming and then the next day when the entire island is silent... the demons/monsters come back but don’t hear anything on the island and assume there are no people there to haunt or bother, so they go off to other places and don’t return to Bali for a year - until next Tawur Kesanga. I’m not sure that is completely correct, but that is the gist of what I got from my Balinese friend. So, I’m going with it...
So, lights out after 12 midnight and then no electricity, no noise, no talking, just being silent, contemplating and taking the entire night plus full day until the next night going inside (disconnecting from the outer world). I have no complaints about this and I really enjoyed being silent for a day and just doing absolutely nothing. I was completely present in the moment and loving the experience. I slept, meditated, contemplated, read, wrote, slept, ate, and rejuvenated all day. Everyone should spend New Year’s in Silence: it is very healing for the soul. Note: I added to this blog the day after Nyepi so that I could share my experience before and after plus I couldn’t open my computer~ which is very good for me!

New Ideas, Gamelan and exploring villas

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0600

Today I went to my first Gamelan group class and really enjoyed learning from the masters. Nothing is written down and everything is by sight or by ear, so you just follow what the teacher is doing and eventually learn the rhythm and melody - slowly, but surely. What is great about the group is there are all levels and the teachers are very patient (there are 3 for our group of about 10 people). The music can become very hypnotic and sometimes I get into the other parts - it is good to be playing in this orchestra style and listening for harmony and to all the other parts at the same time. The Gamelan “orchestra” is made up of instruments that look like little and big xylophones, then others that look like little pots all on a long stove, then drums and a big gong (I don’t know any of the official names, but will learn them soon!) This style of learning is good for me and I am enjoying playing with the group and trying to learn a new instrument with different rhythms, scales and harmonies. I am currently playing the medium sized “xylophone” :) Speaking of exploring new things, Uma and I have been brainstorming on starting a company together to bring master teachers of all the arts to Bali to lead retreats and teach their art, experience the culture, plus share their art with local culture. More to come on this, but here is a photo of Uma and Zack creating mudras for the company logo... It is all in the works, but since the pre-festival work is full on -- more development on this will have to wait until after the festival is over~ :) Anyway, we are keeping it on the downlow for now and will be revealing more over the next month. Ya!
Today I also went out to explore another Villa that could be a possibility for retreat spots for this venture for our upcoming company. There are so many amazing villas in town, but the only thing that is hard to come by is a proper yoga space. So, I went to check out another hotel just near Ubud and it was lovely, except... didn’t have a proper yoga space... but I had a lovely time exploring it and checking out the mack daddy villa that has it’s own full size pool, huge master bedroom, private deck overlooking the jungle - quite amazing. The villa was about US$600 per night... yikes!
No wonder it was nice.
Well, after my visit there, I headed home to my sweet little villa, nothing too fancy, but HOME SWEET HOME for now :)

Checking out The original Martial arts in bali

Sun, 2 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0600

It was raining quite a bit (at least for an hour) when we (Uma, Shivananda, Shivan and I) made our way to a master yogi/martial arts teacher just outside of Denpasar. It was very interesting meeting the master (who I cannot pronounce his name!) but he was very welcoming and told us to join the group on the beach to observe the practice.
The practice is called Cakra Naga Siwa and it is supposedly a system that was transmitted directly from Siva and is the original martial arts of Bali. A very mystical practice that works with all aspects of pranayama, mudra, cakra cleansing, asana, bandha merging elements of martial arts-- they work with energy and clearing any negative energy from the body with very dynamic movements -- some even fall down gasping, choking, screaming and waving their arms about - it was a very interesting experience to watch all of this and realize that these practitioners were connected to an energy that I couldn’t see, but could clearly get from their actions and reactions. Some of the practitioners went to the ocean to wash and clean off the negative energy.
I enjoyed watching the practice, especially when all the birds started coming around and flying in circles for not just a short while, but for up to 30 minutes.. in circles and circles overhead.
Everyone tells me that the Balinese are very connected to the mystical/spiritual world and are very sensitive to energy from a young age... so it was a good way to observe the Balinese culture and see how this community comes together to practice and pray together.
I enjoyed the experience a lot and also enjoyed being on the black sand beach playing with Shivan, he is so cute and was thoroughly enjoying his day at the beach... I took lots of photos - see my March photo album for more photos. It was a good day at the beach and enjoyed meeting some of the locals (I sure need to learn some Indonesian... I’m going to sign up for a class this month!)

Singing in the Rain (with the rain)

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 06:47:20 -0600

It’s March 1st already...! I’ve been in Bali about 2 weeks and I’ve experienced so much already. Rainy days are quite standard around here and I have to say my favorite way to spend a Saturday is staying at home and playing music, singing and learning new songs (kinda like singing in the rain, but actually singing with the rain). I really love Garage Band lately... it is so easy to use and fun to record rough tracks (for me, so far... I’ll get more professional over time). But for today, I decided I wanted to learn another song and try to record it. Since it rained most of the day and came down pretty hard, I decided to set up a little recording studio here in my bedroom -- well, really it is just my computer, headphones and my guitar and I sing right into the built microphone in the computer (plus took this photo with my computer, too - with the photo booth- all in one -- love MAC!).
Anyway, I love Norah Jones and have wanted to learn this song since her first album came out... so I decided to take a shot at it. It’s called “Lone Star” and being from the Lone Star State, I feel it’s a nice gesture towards my home state. Now I know the recording is a bit rough and I’m working on it, but thought I’d share the rough version that I recorded on Garage Band with you. I hope it works... I think you just click on the photo on the right. Tell me what you think!
I have another voice lesson with Geoffrey tomorrow and looking forward to gathering more tools from him... keep smiling! It is hard to sing and smile at the same time, but this seems to be one of the secrets to singing on pitch and having a good time!
Also, I am practicing, practicing, since I am really going to Jakarta on Wednesday to sing for this yoga event with Duncan Wong. They are putting us up at the Ritz Carlton there and we’ll be in Jakarta from March 5 to 10. We’ll be promoting the Festival through radio, tv and magazine interviews. Very exciting... and I’ll get to travel with my new friend, Amsalam, who is a dynamic, funny, and kind soul I met through Balispirit... he is a rock star in the PR world of Asia... so, it will be good to learn from the best! More to come on that....
Okay, enjoy...Lone Star, Y’all! :~)

Search for The Original Bali

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:22:02 -0600

Today I slept in until about 11:30 am! It was raining and raining and raining and so I kept waking up and thinking, ok, I am going to get up and take a shower and start the day and then I would go out to my outdoor Balinese style bathroom and realize it was still pouring, so I took the liberty of just relaxing and laying in bed for few more hours while the rain pounded down on the coconut palms and I drifted off to dreamland... it was a nice way to spend the morning.

Well, after I woke up and did my morning ritual ~ I was out on the veranda and Uma came down and asked me if I wanted to come with them (her and her husband and baby) to have lunch and then go to see this Guru that teaches Vedanta (the same Guru that Geoffrey studies with -- actually, Geoffrey is the one that set it up, since he is going to be there today, too).

So, we head out and get in the Vroom Vroom (that is what little Shivan calls the car and he makes the noise and everything... little boys already have the talent to make all those car sounds, I think it is genetic, for sure) and then.... well, the battery is dead (lights stayed on all night). So, in true Balinese style, everyone out of the car and let’s push the car down the hill until it gets going and then since it is a manual, you can jump start it that way (just like Little Miss Sunshine! haha). It was such a funny sight (check out my photojournal for more pix) of all the locals helping to push the car down the hill and us running after it (me taking pictures!) and laughing at the same time! It was definitely a riot! Then it started to rain... but just in time, the car started and we were on our way...

We went to eat at this really funny place with a funny monkey, they served traditional Indonesian food, Nasi goreng (which is usually fried rice with either veggies or meat with a sunny side up egg on top of the mound of fried rice - yum, just like my dad made it when we were kids-- even though that was Chinese style), we also had fresh greens (ferns, yes, ferns from the plant) sauteed with garlic... they are super yummy, a bit bitter, but good. I also ordered fresh watermelon juice. In Indonesia, they have all kinds of yummy fresh juices and I can’t get enough of them. Papaya, Lime, Watermelon, Orange, Carrot, Beet, Celery and more...

Well, while we were eating lunch, we got an SMS (by the way, everyone SMS’s around here.. noone really calls, just SMS, another way of saying texting.... it is the fave way to communicate here and much cheaper than calling) from Geoffrey saying that the meeting with the Guru is cancelled for today, but will be rescheduled for next week.

So, we realize now we have the afternoon free. Shivananda (Uma’s husband) is off today and Uma and I take the day off from the Balispirit festival, since the nanny, Kedak is off on Thursdays.. so why not everyone be OFF today! Yes, a good plan!

So, we are trying to decide what to do next... Uma and Shivananda ask me what I want to do and I say, “Well, I know I love the main town of Ubud and all the cute little shops and places to go (even though much of it is very Westernized), but I would love to see another part of Ubud that is more like the Original Bali.” I ask, “Where can we go to be with the locals and see what it is like where there are no foreigners and expats roaming around (nothing against expats...I know, I am one!, but just wanting to get out and see more of Bali!) So, Uma (who has lived in Bali for over 14 years on and off and who lived here before everything was super westernized in the main town) knows exactly where to take us -- she tells Shivananda to drive to Taro, where they are building their new house right behind the sweetest little village (who have “adopted” Uma as their own to be a part of the community).

This is Original Bali... and it was such a great experience to explore and meet the villagers and just spend the afternoon hanging out with them. We drove up the village, deep into the rice fields and down winding dirt roads and entered into the community (about 60 families live here in this village - each sharing Traditional Balinese style compounds - where about 20 people live in each house/compound). It was so sweet to see all the villagers so happy to see Uma and welcoming us into their village. All the kids came running out from all of the surrounding houses and coming to see who the visitors were. I love the kid with the spiderman pajamas... it was too cute. They even have spiderman way out here in the villages...

So, Uma introduces me to the family that she is closest with (I can’t remember all of their names, i know I need to take more Omegas!) and they are all so sweet and try to pronounce my name, Gaaaffaaneee?, Gaffnee? and I just go with it... yes, Gaffnee. Uma tries to tell them, but I think “Daph” is hard to say. Anyway, at least they are trying to pronounce my name, I am barely even remembering everyone’s name, no less saying them correctly. I’ll have to get notes from Uma!

Anyway, there we were at the little hut where the villagers come and get little things that they need (kind of like a minimart). Mainly, the villagers are self sufficient and grow all of their own food from rice to veggies to raising their own chickens, so they don’t really need to go to the market to buy anything. It is pretty great, they just go to the local coconut tree and cut down the coconut and drink the juice and eat the meat. Cut ferns off the plants and saute them up and eat them with rice for dinner. No need to go into town to get anything and they have their own fresh water spring to get water from, so no need to go anywhere to get water. It is very simple way of living and it is very freeing to know that you only need to depend on yourself and your land to produce what you need. Noone else. Uma tells me that the villagers all work together to work the land and produce food for all 60 families that live in that village. The Balinese are naturally community oriented people, as they live together in close quarters, work together and everyone contributes to make the village successful and to benefit the whole. This is the real wave of the future... to be self sufficient and to live off the land that you live on... this is the way to heal Mother Earth and it is so evident in the spirit and souls of these villagers.

We end up hanging out with the family that owns this part of the valley (Uma and her family have bought land from them to build their new house on and live with the villagers) and they are the sweetest people. The father is showing me how to play Gamelan on his homemade bamboo gamelan. His son climbs up the huge coconut tree and cuts down coconuts for us to drink. The mom is working the land and busy with focusing on her daily work. The wife of the son cuts up a part of the coconut tree to make a straw for us to drink the coconut water. The daughters are playing and laughing and running around - playing their version of hide and go seek... then they decide to take a “shower” in the local spring and end up playing and dancing in the water for over an hour.

In the meantime, the sun is coming out and shining down on the whole valley - creating such a deep green color of all the plants and trees and bushes, it looks like a painting ready to jump onto a canvas. It was such a glorious and peaceful day with the sounds of gamelan reverberating through the valley and sway of the palm trees overhead. Uma told me she always finds herself dropping into a very meditative state when she comes to this village and is on this land and I am right there with her. I found a log to sit on and take in the valley below with the mist of rain starting to come down and realize how lucky I am to be sitting here, experiencing the Original Bali. I am grateful and thankful, this is what I know at this moment.

Music maestro in Bali

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:24:28 -0600

So, I will start from the beginning... I met Rob through working with the Global Mala Project last year. He is from Northern Cali, but now lives in Bali and is the other half of BaliSpirit Festival (Rob is the music man of the Festival). He is a wonderful spirit and connected to the music “scene” here in Ubud. He and I became friends through email and he is mainly the reason I am here in Ubud. Through his emails he created the essence of Bali for me and invited me with all his heart and music spirit to join the Fest here in Bali and come and create! He is a musician himself and is always connecting other musicians with each other. He told me about Geoffrey when I was in LA and said that when I got here, I needed to meet him. I am so glad I did.
We just had our first lesson here at my house and it was really wonderful. Geoffrey is quite a maestro in many areas of music, theatre and more! He has done almost everything from starring on Broadway, off Broadway, traveling around the world performing, coming to Bali for the last 16 years studying yoga (seriously studying Sanskrit and Vedanta yoga), creating a career in reading audio books (I didn’t realize you could do this!), performed in Shakespeare festivals and more than I can write in this blog.
All I have to say is that I am grateful to meet him and experience studying voice with him. In just one lesson, Geoffrey showed me a new way of approaching singing and looking at it from an actor’s and director’s point of view. I really liked how he worked with the context behind the lyrics and reworking my songs - coming at them from a different and fresh angle each time. I also enjoyed his “SMILE” cue, every time I would start a vocalise or sing a phrase. He is kind, encouraging, supportive and funny! I love his theatre voice... he really has a voice that can be heard across the rice fields with complete clarity. He says that since I am writing folk music, it is good to know how to relay the story to the listener with clarity so that they can experience what I am feeling... through subtext, through diction and really getting the lyrics out clearly, so that the message can be taken in fully.
It was a breath of fresh air to have an extraordinary vocal coach land on my doorstep in Bali (well, I SMS’d him to come over at noon!) and learn so many great tools to work with from him. And the best thing is I recorded the entire lesson on my garage band and now downloading it to my iPod to listen to and go over. Sweet! He is coming back tomorrow for another lesson... so I am looking forward to learning more! So, until tomorrow, I won’t forget to SMILE every time I sing~ :) I love it... it actually feels good to SMILE and Sing! My new meditation... :) haha!
And after hanging out with Geoffrey I realized that I have always had this little secret desire to one day sing on Broadway... hmm... who knows~ Anything is possible. Well, speaking of possibilities....I’m going to start taking Gamelan lessons next week with a local teacher. Gamelan is the local Balinese orchestra-like style music. Beautiful sounds ~so I’ll be diving into that next week~ OH! Also, I have been invited to sing in Jakarta for a big yoga event... next weekend at the Ritz Carlton! More to come on that~ Staying with my theme for 2008 -
I say YES to everything that comes my way~ YES and Smile! ;)

Balispirit festival 08 behind the scenes

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 06:42:41 -0600

It’s been just over a week since I’ve arrived here in Ubud and I am getting into the groove of things... I have jumped right into working with the Balispirit Festival that is happening next month and everything here is in full swing! I have been brought on to help with Global Marketing and working with creating the buzz and getting the word out to the Global community. I have also been brought on to help with the 2009 Fest and full planning, but that is on the back burner for now - since the 08 Fest is less than 3 weeks away!
Our first meeting was held at this spectacular villa overlooking the rice fields just outside of the main town and I got meet everyone on the Festival team -- a great group of creative people from all over the world (England, Australia, Jakarta, India, US, Canada, Africa and Indonesia, of course!). If you have ever worked in a festival atmosphere, you know what the month leading up to the event is like... lots of energy swirling, to say the least! It is going to be amazing event with teachers and performers from all over the world, featuring yoga, dance and music! Check out the website at www.balispiritfestival.com for more info.
I have been going into the office with Uma every other day (she is working on the Festival, too -- so it makes it convenient for us to ride together to the Balisipirit office - yea! because as of now, I don’t have transport and have been catching rides with Uma and her husband or walking.) Side note: Everyone around here rides scooters or motorcycles to get around, but I am not so comfortable driving these things -- I did drive one in Greece a long time ago and crashed hard, so I have a bit of fear around driving one -- no less on the left side of the road! So for now, I am sticking to my feet or catching a ride! I am looking into getting a bicycle to get around, which would be fun ~ ;)
Anyway, back to the Fest -- so like I said we have been going into the BSY office almost everyday to work on the fest and there is always something to do... The BSY office is just above a very cute cafe - called the Yoga Kafe -- owned by the same people as BSY - Meg and her husband Kadek. The food is yummy and they have the best fresh juices. I’m getting addicted! Only about 2 - 3 dollars for fresh organic veggie and fruit juices.
It’s been fun getting to know the crew at the BSY office and jumping right into the full fest organization. It reminds me of the Global Mala Project and being immersed in the trenches before the big event!
Afi (pictured with me just on the right) is the sweetest spirit from Jakarta who is doing all the admin in the office for the fest. We all took a break to take a yoga class focusing on the core with David Moreno at the Yoga Barn (also owned by Balispirit) and it was great to come together and practice yoga and not be behind the computers so much! (yikes, that is why I left LA hahaa!) Anyway, we all went out afterward and had Indonesian style Italian pizza (great for the core!) and it was fun to hang out and get to know everyone better!
David Moreno is a yoga teacher from the US and I actually met him back in 04 in LA. We (Uma, David, Me, Shiva and others) all studied yoga together in CA and it is fun to hang out together again... David, Uma, Shivananda and crew. David was just featured in the Jakarta morning news for a yoga workshop he taught there last month... that’s him with the article there -- I made him take a photo with it! What a Star!
Well, that is the update for the BaliFest so far... I am committing to going into the BSY office less this week and working on my music and practicing, since I’ll be performing at the fest, I better get my little set together! It’s funny, because like the quote I love to put in my email says, “Wherever you go, there you are” and it is so true... you can jump right back into the same lifestyle and habits no matter where you are. It is basically setting an intention, committing to it and staying focused. I am happy to say that I am committed to making music (I heard about the songwriter that won the Oscar for best song and how he said, Make music, Make music, Make music... I love that!) and staying with my true intention of being here! I am lucky because I have already met quite a community of musicians and creative beings here, including the kids (Uma’s son, Shivan leads the pack) in the neighborhood. Check out the harmonium playing babes! They love music and come over to play with me whenever I am practicing! :~)
More to come on the muzak~!

View from my window and my morning ritual at taman amartha

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:00:00 -0600

I wake up every morning so early (for me!) about 7 am sometimes at 6:30 am. Of course, everyone around here goes to bed by 9. I am actually up late tonight writing, but usually, I am in bed by 9, too. Why not? Get on the Ayurvedic lifestyle plan... plus I love how everyone gets at least 9 hours of sleep. Of course, I have not surveyed everyone, but at least the people I know so far... and I’m glad to join the 9+ hours a night crew. haha!
Not like I already belonged to that one (Dhyana and Joe can vouch for that one! right? ha ha!)
Anyway, back to my morning ritual at Taman Amartha - this is the place I am living - a collection of villas just outside of the main town of Ubud. So, I have now decided that I am creating a new morning ritual and actually doing it every morning. So, this is what I have created:
waking up and writing my morning pages sitting on my bed - pic just to the right.
morning dinacharya - brush teeth, wash face, cold shower, etc. - check out my outdoor shower/bathroom - sometimes it is raining when I take a shower, so I don’t have to even turn on the water (j/k!)
40 day mind fast/soul feast meditations with rev. michael beckwith (started on the full moon) a great book/tool for meditation
yoga practice - asana - I am starting with 9 sun salutations, some movement to music, few standing poses, inversions and a backbend or two, forward bends and savasana (oh, right - also twists - usually supine) - and I forgot my yoga mat, but the yogitoes has come in handy.
pranayama and meditation - i have been doing nadi shodhana everyday, which I find very helpful after flying across the ocean - then my meditation with my mantra from ammachi - my whole room smells like ammachi roses
practicing my guitar - i am starting from square one with scales and using my metronome - and also practicing all the exercises my guitar teacher from 1997 gave me! (It’s been that long since I’ve been back to square one... it’s very good to get back to the basics). After I practice my scales and basic exercises, I have decided to learn at least one new song each week, so I practice that - the one I’ve chosen for this week is: “Rain” by Patty Griffin ... seems appropriate for my surroundings.

So, that’s it, and then I have some tea and eat breakfast on the porch, usually fresh fruit - it is so good here. Uma eats toast for breakfast with honey, which is super yummy. Well, I am planning on giving up bread again here, or at least attempting it... we’ll see how it goes, but as of now, I’ve had a croissant, garlic naan and wheat toast with honey in the last few days-- so you see how well I am doing... well, tomorrow is a new day, right? Good night!

Bali blessings

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:38:14 -0600

Bali is everything that everyone enthusiastically told me it would be (Rich!). It’s gorgeous, lush, alive, creative, contemplative, mysterious, calm, magical and more...
I arrived on Feb 17th in Ubud and today I am just feeling like I have landed (jet lag is letting go of me ~ Thank goodness!)
So, today I stayed home (I am living in a sweet little villa) with my friend Uma, her husband and cute little 15 mos old son, Shivan. My new home is just across from the rice paddies with the river just outside my front door. It is quite beautiful and really quiet, I can hear monkeys and all kinds of jungle noises - some that I’ve never heard before. The sound of Balinese rain on and off all day/night is so healing and calming to my vata soul :)
It is so nice to enjoy a day of doing nothing (or trying to!) Although, it is funny how my mind works, or maybe not so funny, but I am in the midst of writing and “relaxing” and my mind is already on to the next thing... or wondering what is next - where is my to do list? OK, so I need more rain... right! : )
Anyway, I decided to walk over to our neighbor’s house and say hi - our neighbor is an expat from France, who is married to a Balinese woman, and they have the cutest little girl. He is a producer and working with a musician from France who lives here and they just finished recording his album and getting it posted online for sale, etc, so we talked about possibly working together after I get some material written! They just shot a video here in Bali, pretty simple, but a sweet essence. His name is Remy and he is also the only one in the neighborhood who has internet access (it is super expensive here to set up a line.. I think he said it was something like US$600 to set his up and it took over 2 years to get it all working.) So, needless to say, I will try to work off his internet - or else I will need to go into town.
After my visit next door, I came back to the house and sat on the porch and practiced my guitar and sang a bit and then the caretaker of the villas came walking by and asked if I wanted to come to his gig that night at the Dragonfly cafe. He is a guitarist and singer. So, then I brought out my other guitar (Thanks Dhyana for bringing my baby Taylor to the airport! So glad I have it!) and we jammed for about 2 hours. It was so fun and quite surreal... playing and singing with this Balinese guy who loves John Denver and so, there we were, singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” under the coconut trees... rain falling softly. Ahhh... welcome to Bali! :)