Decisions Decisions..

Internal conflicts arise on a regular basis. The struggle between logic and intuition, body and spirit, responding vs reacting, yada yada yada. I had one of these moments this past Friday morning at 4am when my alarm clock yanked me from dreamland. My body pleaded for more rest (as I still was struggling to get back on a indian sleep schedule) and at the same moment my spirit yearned for exploration and adventure. My spirit triumphed in the case as I arose, threw a few items in a backpack and headed to the airport. The destination was Varanasi which is considered one of the holiest cities in all of this spiritually saturated country. My fellow explorers were Ibanga (friend and co-worker) and Seth (Pal who is traveling around the world for a year).

Varanasi is by far the dirtiest city I have traveled to thus far in India. The cows are abundant and roam freely. Hence, landmines in the form of cow shit are everywhere. I came outfitted only with flip flops and miraculously made it through three days of roaming this dangerous environment unscathed....

On the other side of the spectrum, the energy and vibeof varanasi (also referred to as benares) filled my spirit with peaceful acceptance of everything and everyone. And that should not be take lightly...considering the plethora of shocking, strange and intense experiences one encounters during a visit to "the holy city".

The city sits on the ganges or ganga river which flows from the Himalayas and is believed to provide life to mother india. Similar to Mecca for Muslims, Hindus come to the ganges for cleansing of their spirit and take "holy baths". People that know me understand that baths and spirituality are to of my favorite pastimes...So what better than to join in a "holy bath"?!?

Well my friends, the problem is that the ganges is really dirty. There is a 7km stretch of river kissing the shore of Varanasi. In this same area, over 30 large sewers are flow in the river. The water is septic meaning no dissolved oxygen exists. Water samples show it has 1.5 million fecal coliform bacteria per 100ml of water. Water that is safe for bathing, based on the above stats should have less than 500 FC! To make matters worse, Hindus believe that being bathed in the ganga and then cremated in wood burning fires is a way to break the cycle of reincarnation and achieve "moksha". So people bring their family members here and other places along the ganga for this intricate process which is omnipresent 24/7, never stopping. Babies that expire (the term for death) are often put in the ganges for rebirth...

So taking all this into account and just looking at the pollution that hangs out on the surface of the river I was perplexed. Again an internal struggle... This time between logic and spirit. My mind and senses told me: you would be cuckoo for cocco puffs to do this and my spirit said let go, surrender to "the holy dip"...


I must confess, in this situation logic overtook spirit and I chose not to take a "holy dip". Although, on a side note: after three days of not bathing, when I returned to hyderabad I had what felt like a spiritual experience as I washed my body...

I would recommend Varanasi to any traveler exploring mystic india, as it will provide you with resonating experience.

There are some good pics and videos in the links if your interested in seeing some of what varassi has to offer.

Reflections...

New Years is my favorite holiday. I love it for many reasons...

Below is a list of questions I find useful in looking back and forward with presence...

COMPLETING THE YEAR - 2006

· What was my biggest triumph?
· What was the smartest decision I made?
· What one word best sums up the year?
· What was the greatest lesson I learned?
· What was the most loving service I performed?
· What is my biggest piece of unfinished business?
· What am I most happy about completing?
· Who were the 3 people that had the greatest impact on me this year?
· What was the biggest risk I took?
· What was my biggest surprise?
· What important relationship improved the most?
· What compliment would I have liked to receive?
· What do I need to say or do to be complete about the year?





CREATING THE NEXT YEAR - 2007

· What would I like my biggest triumph to be in the coming year?
· What advice would I like to give myself?
· What are my financial aims to the year to come?
· What am I most committed to completing?
· What major indulgence am I willing to experience?
· What would I most like to transform within myself?
· What am I looking forward to learning?
· What risks will I be willing to take?
· What is an undeveloped talent I am willing to explore?
· What brings me the most joy? How will I experience that in the coming year?
· Who or what am I committed to loving and serving?
· What word will I have as my theme in the upcoming year?

I wish all of you a delightful new year filled with love, light and levity!

December

I left India on the 10th of December and headed to Europe for work and pleasure. In India there was no sign of the Christmas holidays or weather below 60 degrees which shifted drastically as I arrived in London. After a brisk two days in the UK , I flew to Brussels, Belgium (where waffles and I were born). Gina and I spent two days there and then took the train to Paris for five days of R&R. I am now back in the US and here until mid January. I am delighted to be reconnected phyiscally with family and friends during this traditional time of gathering.

Ancient Eyes

Eyes are the gateway to the soul, hers is old

To polish or not to polish...

While exploring Bangalore I came across a man on the curb stitching a pair of shoes. Upon further review I noticed that he had all the tools for a proper shoe polishing. I glanced down at my well traveled boots and they looked thirsty. I impulsively decided to get them polished. The man handed me a pair of flip flops to trade for the boots and once that transaction was complete he began his craft. I sat next to him on the curb and watched the transformation. When he was finished I admired his work. Suddenly the coin was flipped, my mood shifted… I began to miss the look of the boots prior to polish. They had character, a roughness and openly expressed who they were and where they had been. Even though beneath the surface they were the same, I felt their truth was hidden.

Sitar and Tabala Concert

Last night I was privileged to attend an amazing musical performance. Indian classical music is well known and appreciated for its complexity and resonating sounds. The sounds of the sitar and tabala are like chocolate cake and red wine; a perfect complement. During the concert I lost track of time and space as the music had a meditative and trance like effect on me. Check out this link for a taste...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTMxx8gLkeQ

Recent Reads

Below are some books I have read in the past few months that I would recommend:

Holy Cow- An Australian women moves to India and struggles with the transition, life and the Indian culture. During this time she travels throughout the country looking for answers and meeting interesting people along the way. If you coming to India this is a good primer
Shantaram- This book rocked my world. Read it!It was one of the 1st I read while in India and despite its intimidating size it, I promise it flows effortlessly. Roberts paints an amazingly vivid and accurate picture of India. Soon to be a Johny Depp movie.
Age of Kali- Kali translates into Destruction and this book takes you on a trip throughout different states within India via the eyes of a British journalist. The book drags at points but if you want to learn about some fascinating history and states of India it is worth your time.
The Greatness Guide- Robin Sharma is a life coach and author of many bestsellers. This is his latest and if you are looking to take your game to the next level it has a lot of worthwhile tips in it.
The Monk who sold his Ferrari- This Sharma book is a cheesy, yet tells his story of leaving his legal practice to find himself in the Himalayas.
Catch 22- A book based World War II, Heller clearly has ADD as he jumps around more than house of pain...In spite of that it is a great book.
Leadership Presence- When you see it you know it...This book describes how the field and skills of performance arts can be incorporated into everyday life to fuel your fire.
The Tao of Physics- East meets West and the links and connections are fascinating. Capra talks about how science and eastern philosophy are very similar. Bland at times but a good book to skim.
Running with the bulls: From Wharton to Wall Street- This book describes the life of a student at the #1 Undergraduate Business School in the country. It is interesting how intense these young people are...
Great Expectations- Its a classic and Dickens writing style can be challenging to follow.
Many Lives Many Masters- A doctors reflections on a his work with a patient doing past life regressions.
The unbearable lightness of being- A Great book about a man's search for love, connection, himself and how fate twists.
The Manuel of the Warrior of Light- Written by the author of the alchemist, this book is a set of quotes that I find empowering.
The Rules of work- A real quick read for those of you playing the corporate game.

I would love to get a few recommendations from you!

VINO!

A simple pleasure I miss and cannot acquire in India is a good bottle of wine. One of my last stops before leaving for the airport was a local wine shop. I carefully picked some bottles and then strategically wrapped them in one of my suitcases. I knew that the legal limit into India was two bottles and decided to risk it…As I was filling out my customs sheet and throughout my flight I wondered if my booty would be confiscated or not. After about 24 hours of travel time at 2:30am I lifted my (weighed down with wine) bags off the conveyor belt onto my cart. I took a deep breath and walked smiling up to the final security check. The man looked at my bags, me and my customs sheet. At the last second he looked down at my bag pointed to some white chalk on my bag that said “LBS 7” and said “you need to go to the left and talk to a customs officer”. When I arrived at the counter, I was met by an older man with a crooked grin on his face. He pointed to my bag and said: So you have 7 liquor bottles in your bag (LBS 7), this did not include 3 others I had bought which were in another bag. We volleyed our cases back and forth like Sampras and Agassi until I served up the question he was waiting to here: What’s it going to take for you to let me keep my pirates treasure? There was a twinkle in his eye as he said “as you wish”.

As you wish is how Indians hedge their bets. Without any context they force you to give much more than you should for tips/bribes or if you don’t they let you know…in a way”as you wish” sounds like your royalty and they are at your beckon call, not that they have you by the Family Jewels…

Hearing this before, tired and feeling feisty I said, As I wish huh…, well how about you let me pass out of the kindness of your big and warm heart…He laughed and repeated “As you wish” and pointed to the right. I looked to where his finger directed and surprise, surprise right next two the customs security is a ATM (yes, bribes are a integral part of Indian culture). A few minutes later we were both happy as we created an Indian “win win”. The security guard who originally would not let me pass got the signal from my new friend and let me pass without a hitch.

Homecoming

After living in India for five months I returned to the US with A concert tour like schedule. DC, Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, New York City, Orlando and Atlanta were my destinations over the course of three blurry weeks. I immediately became aware of how organized, calm and clean the US is; on the surface. Highlights of the trip were reconnecting with family and friends, my good friends Tom and Becky’s wedding, enjoying the Falls kaleidoscope of fleeting colors, getting to indulge my senses in simple pleasures not available in India and co-authoring the 1st two chapters of what I think will be an amazing story ….



There is a intense battle of tug of war between my heart and head as I think about my future and choices to be made.





Comfort is calming, Chaos is Challenging, which path would you take?

Conversions

I am still struggling with conversions in many ways. One is with the money and its weight here in India. Every time I use the rupee I instantly think about its worth in dollars which distorts my judgment. For example, when I left for a weekend trip I gave my driver 500 rupees and told him to do something nice with his family. My friend said to me: you gave him 8% of his monthly salary, imagine if you boss gave you 8% of your monthly pay as a tip...

In addition when I run my experiences in India though my filter of life in the US I fall into a similar trap, as there is no comparison. This fuels the fire of expectations that are not extinguishable and does considerable damage in my environment. Like someone who is learning to dance and keeps looking at their feet, I find myself lost in translation rather then embracing the present experience.

Mumbai and Pune

I spent the last four days working and exploring Mumbai (aka Bombay,India has slowly renamed most of their major cities slowly after the partition in 1947) and Pune. Jack and Judy who are family friends have lived in Mumbai for the last 21 years. I stayed with them and had a interesting time discussing the similarities and differences (mostly differences) of Indian and American culture and their life in this intense city. Mumbai is a city of over 18 million people and bursting at its seams. It is home to the largest slum in the world, Bollywood and the setting for one of my favorite books Shantaram (http://www.shantaram.com/). After 2 days in Mumbai I took the train to Pune which is proclaimed "The oxford of the east" for its educational institutions. The city was going bananas because Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are there filming a movie. Pune is also home to the Gandhi memorial and OSHO Ashram.

Pondicherry

This past weekend, a co-worker of mine Marcelo and I decided to explore the french colonized coastal town of Pondicherry. My objectives were simple: eat some fresh seafood, drink some french wine, learn about the history of the town and let the ocean wash away a long stressful week. Mission accomplished. It was very interesting to explore how the french and tamil cultures have blended together. People in India our the most socially tolerant I have met and the two dance effortlessly in this small town. Marcelo, a man of many talents speaks numerous languages and that came in handy many times. One time in particular, speaking french to the owner of a restaurant where the waiter assertively told us they were out of wine. Magically a bottle of Bordeaux appeared on our table.

One of the highlights of the weekend was exploring the community of Auroville :http://www.auroville.org/av_brief.htm