Jan6

Was Jesus a Yogi?

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Was Jesus a Yogi?

Hello loves! I am extremely overdue for an update on my travels and for that I send my most sincere apologies. December was a hectic month with a third of it spent in silence and meditation for the Christmas and New Years holidays and I’ve only just gotten my voice back in the past few days and came right to the computer to tell you all about it.

Agama Yoga School

But first things first – a little administrative cleanup. So some of you may be a bit confused about the posting and I feel the need to quickly explain any sort of time-line gaps in the blogging. I’m actually in Thailand right now, living on Koh Phangan island and attending Agama Yoga school. I’ve actually been here since the 7th of November!   All stories and posts about Israel were actually written here in Thailand, but were pre-dated to add to the illusion that I was actually on top of my game and able to write everything I was doing WHILE I was doing it. This is very much NOT the case and extremely not true, aka – for all you yogis out there, this is NOT an example of Satya ….  (sorry for any misleading)! The truth is, I’m NEVER on top of my game! But as an attempt to rectify that fact, I will definitely continue to write my travel stories and back-date them in an attempt to catch up with all that’s happened.

I have been very busy since I got to this little island in Thailand, attending yoga classes, workshops, making friends, building a life and now, embarking on a silent retreat, which means, not a lot of time to write – which is why I came here in the first place! But as the New Year has come around and everyone just loves to make resolutions, I resolve to write thoughts and events while they are happening to avoid further time-lapse confusion. It will be high up on my list right after “Get Enlightened” and “stop drinking so much hot chocolate with honey right before bed.” So, hopefully that pretty much clears up any confusion and catches you up on the logistics. Stay tuned for the details of the above mentioned items in future randomly dated posts!

My Bungalow View: Where I do most of my writing

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

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Dec12

So You Think You Can Love?

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So You Think You Can Love?

I never caught onto the “So You Think You Can Dance” craze – probably because I was always outside the US, thinking I could dance – at salsa clubs or under the stars in a garden in Central America.  My friend Rachel suggested the song, “If It Kills Me” by Jason Mraz as an all-time favorite love song, and seeing it paired with this painfully beautiful movement on an episode (season 6) of “So You Think You Can Dance” made for the complete package of emotional music and movement expression.

Love isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth the struggle and frustration it can create in our lives.  Why give up on love?  Is there really anything else worth living for?  The movement of these dancers embodies the pain and the beauty of loving someone with all your heart, even “if it kills (you.”  - emotionally that is …  When it comes to our heart-felt efforts in living this life, in the end, love is all there is. So even if it hurts sometimes, do we really have another choice in the matter?  What else is worth it but love?

And with that, I send love to you all and hope you enjoy this quick piece from “So You Think You Can Dance” and I hope we challenge ourselves in EVERY situation in life – whether it be romantic, familial, platonic or humanitarian – with the question, “So You Think You Can Love?”  And I hope that we always find that answer to be “Absolutely, undeniably – yes.”

Dec8

Body Molecules Spinning at the Speed of Light

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Body Molecules Spinning at the Speed of Light

It’s so amazing what the human body is capable of – almost beyond scientific reasoning!  It’s as if these dancers defy gravity, and spin at the speed of light.  I’ve always enjoyed a good twirl myself, but this is far past anything I’ve ever seen. I remain in awe of what these dancers are capable of  - and I wonder if they have group medical coverage for knee replacements …

Oct30

Daring to Dream and Boldly Believing

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Daring to Dream and Boldly Believing

After all the mental contemplation of walls, love, unity and life the past few days, it was time to take it easy in Tel Aviv for a while.  On Thursday morning, Liron dropped me at the train station to catch the next express into the city where my friend Narkis would be waiting to whisk me away for some much-needed girl time. Any time you hang out with Narkis, you’re guaranteed a whirlwind of laughs, deep conversation and intriguing new ideas, as well as a litany of meeting new people and seeing new places. At the age of 24, she is in her prime, living her life in Israel, believing in herself and making her dreams come true.

And just so you know a little about Narkis …

Narkis and I getting our "spirit" on in Antigua (Guatemala 2010)

I met Narkis while at the meditation center in Guatemala, however we didn’t become friends until the end of my trip. After my time in Mexico, I returned to Guatemala to study with a teacher in Antigua – the same teacher in fact, that Narkis was planning to study with as well. Our friend Mika re-introduced us and together, we moved our little lives “up the mountain” outside of Antigua to begin our next journey. We kicked off our friendship in the strangest of ways, having decided to spend the first 10 days in silence and deep contemplation as we began our studies with our spiritual teacher. I attribute this unconventional manner of getting to know one another as the reason we became so close so quickly. Using our intuition and respecting each others’ path and feelings – especially while in silence – allows you to “feel” a person in a way that just chatting about life, jobs and the externals can’t seem to penetrate. After our ten days of “seeing” each other for who we were at that time, we definitely did our fair share of chatting the following month while continuing to live together in Antigua. We shared a room, shared our stories, and shared lots of laughter as we stumbled our way through this spiritual path we both were traveling. I’m impressed with this amazing and insightful friend, who at such a young age is digging deep and finding her true and authentic path. She lets nothing hold her back and whatever she dreams or envisions, she works to make a reality. I’m in awe of her, inspired by her and love her deeply!

And now, back to Tel Aviv ….

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Oct26

WALLS – to Sit Upon and To Separate

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WALLS – to Sit Upon and To Separate

Father and Son working together

After a night of late-night burekas and wild-boar sightings, we actually got up early on Tuesday morning to begin our trek to the northern border of Israel and Lebanon to an area called, “Rosh Hanikra.” However, when we got to the car to take off on our trip that morning, the battery was dead which means we were going nowhere for the moment. Not to be deterred however, like Liron had said in the past, every situation in life always has options. It seemed in that moment our best option was to call Liron’s dad, David, to come and rescue us. He owns a taxi and as some luck was on our side, he happened to be in the area. Within 10 minutes, he was there, our knight in shining sedan, to revive our dispondent and distressed vehicle back to life. Liron’s dad laughed at the probable thoughts of those passing by as he hooked up the jumper cables. He pointed out that from an outside view, it looked like these three stranded youngsters had called a taxi – not for a ride, but for a jump. Funny how perception can be so deceiving and we never really know the real story behind things …

Once the car was resurected, we thanked our life “savior,” jumped into our chariot and away we went. We arrived in Rosh Hanikra about an hour later, at the northern border between Israel and Lebanon. Coming from middle America, the only borders I ever see are the ever-disappearing Borders Bookstores closing down across the Midwest, or the Interstate crossing borders between state lines that are simply marked with oversized billboards saying, “Welcome to Georgia: The Peach State” which you read, honk, lift your feet and then drive on through with no fight or fuss. It was fascinating to me to see this border – a well-guarded, barbed-wire-enforced divide between two countries. The sight was a bit disturbing, especially knowing this arbitrary construction was the only physical structure dividing two countries that had suffered continual (and very recent) conflict since the inception of Israel. (To read about the brief history between these countries, follow thislink).

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Oct24

Boys, Baked Goods, Burekas and Wild Boars

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Boys, Baked Goods, Burekas and Wild Boars

Harley’s Visit to Haifa and the lessons I learned in a day

This post is sponsored by the letter “B” (as if you couldn’t tell)

However much they rock, I'll have to save the Bangles for another post

Although this post is sponsored by the letter “B” and all its beautiful, blessed glory, however fitting it would be to include the 80′s pop group the “Bangles,” I simply cannot do it. You see, their hit single, “Manic Monday” is in fact, quite the opposite sentiment to the Monday morning Liron and I experienced in Haifa. There was nothing “manic” about waking up around noon, drinking coffee in the sun porch and reviewing the dreamy visions of our true life fairy tales in the forest the previous evening. Now if they had released a snappy tune entitled “Mellow Monday” that would be another story…

Avoiding anything “manic,” we simply channeled our laziest selves while we loafed around the apartment waiting for Harley’s arrival to Haifa, and for the adventures to begin.  We didn’t really loaf long due to the combination of our late rising and Harley’s early arrival.  Practically as soon as he appeared at the door, we turned right around to leave the apartment and drive to the Arabic part of Haifa which is high on the mountain (and for the life of me can’t remember the name of this place). Our mission was fueled by our empty stomachs and our desire to get out of the apartment and see some more of this fascinating country.  However much I was loving the hummus in Israel, this time however, our objective was FALAFEL.

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Oct23

More Dancing, Desserts, Doors and Dreams come true! – Part 2

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More Dancing, Desserts, Doors and Dreams come true! – Part 2

You guessed it, this post is sponsored by the letter “D” once again!

Having survived an all-night trance party Friday night, getting two hours of sleep the next morning followed by three hours of driving back to Mika’s house, somehow Liron and I managed to stay awake on the hour-long train ride from Tel Aviv to Haifa. Although I had been hanging out with Liron since late Thursday night, there was so much activity and craziness, we hadn’t really had a chance to talk ourselves. And Liron and I always have much to discuss.

But first, now is when I get to tell you about Liron, because I love this man so very dearly!

Liron - tempting us with food (Guatemala 2010)

During my time at the meditation course, I became acquainted with Liron as we would chat here and there throughout the three months either outside the meditation temple, by the lake or over dinner (except when we were ALL fasting and Liron, who didn’t care about it, would be in the kitchen making fried egg and guacamole sandwiches in front of our starving and food deprived faces). Sometimes we’d chat while sitting in soggy pools of our own dripping sweat inside the sauna that got fired up every Sunday. These chats were quite brief, at least for me, because whenever Liron was in the sauna, you knew it was going to be excruciatingly hot! He was well-known for piling on the firewood and getting it as steamy as you could stand it – which I never could – yet he’d sit in there forever just breathing in the heat and purifying himself to the core.

He would sometimes come around to my cabin to discuss certain ideas related to the things we were learning and we’d end up talking for long amounts of time. Sometimes he’d come with new insights he’d just discovered and wanted to share, and sometimes he’d come around with chocolate or some other treat that we’d share as well. That is Liron – he is extremely generous. He is willing to share all that he has with you openly and without attachment. He loves ideas and knowledge and once he’s on to something, he is ready to pass along that knowledge to anyone who would like to listen, all for the sake of helping and supporting others on their journey. He truly is a giver and has dedicated himself to a life of service and helping people advance on their spiritual path. This was a major part of his second Sun Course as you will see.

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Oct22

Dancing, Desert, Desserts and Driving – Part One

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Dancing, Desert, Desserts and Driving – Part One
Dancing, Desert, Desserts and Driving – Part One

This Post Sponsored by the letter “D”

Friday, October 21st – DRIVING

After a night of drinking Goldstars and vodka shots down under at the Outback Pub, the Sun(nies) rise was a bit late on Friday morning. How fitting we were at the “Outback Pub” that night since the next day, we would be meeting with our fourth Sunnie – Mr. Harley Q, the crazy Australian himself. Sluggish as we were that next morning, we were eager to get out of bed and get the day started to meet Harley in Tel Aviv. Now this poor particular Aussie had to get up at 5am to catch a five-hour bus ride from the south where he was staying with his girlfriend on the desert Kibbutz where they met. As he told it, the bus was filled with 18 and 19-year-old Israeli soldiers all carrying machine guns and gabbing on their iPhones, as they came home for the weekend on military leave. Not the most comfortable scenario, especially for a hippy Aussie, but one he was willing to endure just to soak up the radiance of us other Sunnies in Tel Aviv.

The Sun Course Family - Guatemala 2010

Now I feel I need to tell you a bit about Harley. If you haven’t caught on quite yet, all my friends and I met at a meditation course in Guatemala last year, and our particular level was called the “Sun Course.” (Now that may clear up the whole “Sunnie” and sun analogies and you can stop thinking I’m weird – at least for a while …) For the three months of the course, I didn’t really know Harley at all and we barely interacted or had conversations with each other – especially since during those three months we were in silence a total of 50 days, which makes becoming chums a bit difficult. We did meet in dreams sometimes, but that’s another story and too much to get into for one blog :)

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Oct20

Mika Mania

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Mika Mania

It’s all about grounding, letting go and loving life ..

Tuesday, October 18th

I arrived at the Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday – 27 hours after I had left my house to begin the trek. As my airplane grounded from the sky, my beautiful and mighty friend Mika was there to gather me up and teach me a few much-needed lessons about grounding as well.

Before I begin the litany of social events and fun times we experienced together in those first few days, I feel I need to tell you a little about Mika. I met Mika last year when I arrived in San Marcos, Guatemala, as part of the meditation course we did together.

Mika triumphing over her Passover meal

Although she only stands a mere five feet high, she is a powerhouse of passion and pizzazz. She loves life and devours every beautiful  moment available to her. Back in Guatemala, having only known her for a few days, I already started calling her “Mika the Amazing” due to the depth and expansiveness of her heart (she prepared an entire Passover feast – while in silence and fasting, to share with our Sun Course group in celebrating of both the Jewish holiday and the ending of our first five-day fast as part of the course). I also started calling her “Mika the Mighty,” after a night she came storming out of her cabin and chased away three very drunk (and very large) travelers who had wandered over the fence into our meditation center late one night. This is an image I’ll never forget – wee little Mika berating and scolding these guys who stood towering over her, yet were cowering at this crazy woman channeling the fear of God upon them.  She came to Mexico while I was at the yoga school right when I needed her, and she was the one I shared margaritas with on the beach after she taught me the lesson of, “Drea, life is hard enough sometimes. We don’t need to make it any harder. Life is meant to be enjoyed.” To me, Mika is the epitome of strength and passion, mixed with a huge heart and desire to give love to the whole world.

Ok, now back to the story ….

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Oct18

Fleeing to the Holy Land

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Fleeing to the Holy Land

Fleeing to the Holy Land

Considering I had just made my final decision a few weeks prior to actually launch myself forward into this next journey, Monday morning (October 17th) came around so quick that my mind felt like it was suffering from whiplash. My known destinations include a three-week trip to the Holy Land to visit friends I’d met on my previous travels, and an open-ended ticket to Thailand to attend a yoga school, rent a cabana on the beach and see where my life will take me – or where I’ll take my life …

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