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I’ve lead many spiritual trips to Bali over the years – from our “Eat, Pray, Love” trip to the Sacred Mandla Pilgrimage that circles the island in a spiritual tour of the same temples Balinese pilgrims visit. And while I love getting a massage in Ubud, watching people get readings from Ketut Liyer, white water Continue reading A Visit to Bali’s Pura Uluwatu Temple  
My screeching alarm clock coincides perfectly with the call to prayer from a nearby mosque. It’s before dawn and I’m both disoriented and angry. Where am I again? Oh yeah. Cairo. Why am I awake so early? Oh yeah. Emil. I’ve just worked two weeks straight and, regardless of the opinions of the muezzin or Continue reading Sunday in the Valley of Salts 
Open publication – Free publishing – More carl jung Here’s another great little treasure from the immensely talented Paulo Coelho, that he’s made freely available to everyone. It’s called “Statutes for Life.” Enjoy! Here’s a wonderful short gem from Paulo Coelho – that in his typical generous manner he’s made freely available to all. It’s called “The Manual for Climbing Mountains” (even though I don’t think it actually has much to do with mountains). Enjoy! Continue reading Paulo Coelho’s Manual for Climbing Mountains Here’s a terrific article on travel wellness by Spirit Quest Tours alumnus, and veteran world traveler, our dear friend Amy Mosher. Enjoy! Are you wondering how to avoid digestive upset while traveling abroad? Bali Belly, Delhi Belly, the Turkey Trots, the Cairo Curse, the Bangkok Bloat, the Dakar Dash, or the Hong Kong Crud Continue reading Eat, Pray, Puke? How To Be Healthy, Not Hurling, While Overseas About this talk Speaking at the most recent EG conference, author, philosopher, prankster and journalist A.J. Jacobs talks about the year he spent living biblically — following the rules in the Bible as literally as possible. About A.J. Jacobs Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer Continue reading Video: A.J. Jacobs on his year of living biblically Here’s a wonderful TED talk video from Robert Thurman. I had dinner with Bob (some years ago, now) – he had steak, wine, brandy & cigars. I remember we discussed the point at which an animal or plant’s level of consciousness becomes an impediment to eating it. It was fascinating. I was also at a Continue reading Video: Robert Thurman on becoming the Buddha This is the first entry in a periodic series about the temples of the “Sacred Balinese Mandala.” Today we begin with the center, the heart, the most revered of all nine temples: Besakih. Bali is often called the land of 10,000 temples, and while no one actually has quite an exact count, that’s as Continue reading Balinese Temples: Besakih – The Mother Remember that trippy new-age song from the show “Hair” about the dawning of the age of Aquarius? Well, turns out it didn’t just rhyme. We are moving into the beginning of that Zodiacal age, and this Saturday the Moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Ring a bell? Continue reading The Age of Aquarius Begins There are 9 “directional” temples that cover Bali. These temples are each dedicated to a different deity from the Balinese Hindu Pantheon. In addition each temple (and direction) is associated with a color, a weapon (or ritual object), a sound, a written symbol and a part of the body. This is also called “nawa sanga” Continue reading The Balinese Sacred Mandala Pilgrimage During our last tour, with Houston Baptist University, I ran into my friend Robert Bauval over breakfast at the Mena House and he reminded about a spectacular phenomenon: the “solar rebirth” at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor which occurs at dawn on the morning of the winter solstice. I was familiar with this, but Continue reading Karnak Temple at Dawn Near the Winter Solstice I have visited an awful lot of unique and unusual sites over the years, but rarely have I seen a place that is simultaneously as unassuming, and as evocative, as “Inscription Canyon.” Located deep in the Mojave Desert north of Barstow, California, you have to be willing to do some 4 wheeling in Continue reading Petroglyphs in Inscription Canyon In upper Egypt there’s a temple dedicated to Hathor at Dendarah. It’s a remarkable site. While the current temple is Ptolemaic (i.e. very late in Egyptian history) it’s built on, and contains, elements from much, much earlier times. Continue reading The Mystery at Dendarah Two recent news stories – from very different parts of the world – help to confirm what we’ve known for a very long time: namely that sound was an integral part of ancient spiritual practices and that resonance was a key technology that was recognized, understood, and used, by the ancients. Continue reading The Use of Sound in Ancient Rituals The Balinese practice a unique form of the Hindu religion that they call Agama Hindu Dharma, which is something of an amalgam of “traditional” Hinduism, Buddhism, animism, ancestor worship, Zen and perhaps even a little Shinto. We in the West tend to think of Hinduism as a form of polytheism, but this is erroneous. Continue reading Balinese Hinduism: Generator, Operator, Destroyer Practically everywhere you look in Bali you will see offerings made to the Divine: flowers, rice, leaves, food, candy, and even a little money. The tiniest offering is a delicate little cone made from banana leaves and flowers (it looks just like a sushi hand-roll), while the largest and most elaborate will be as tall as a man. Continue reading Balinese Offerings You can find the most amazing and beautiful things in Bali: from 12 foot carved stone Buddhas to the tiniest, most delicate silver filigree work – and everything in between. It’s all of the highest quality and the lowest prices. Continue reading 10 for the price of 1: The Arts in Bali The average Balinese will, between birth and adulthood, pass through a whole series of ceremonies that ritually mark, and celebrate, the various stages of human progress. One of the most elaborate and important is the “matatah” or tooth filing ceremony. The optimal age range for tooth filing is generally considered to be between 6 and 18 years old – but even the elderly will have it done. Continue reading Balinese Tooth Filing The Balinese can be called by 6 different names: personal names, birth order names, kinship, teknonyms, caste names and public job titles. Continue reading 2 of 6: Balinese Naming Our Balinese friends and guides, Yenta and Darta, often joke about “rubber” time in Bali (that’s one of the great things about our friends at Tour East – they’re always on time). But it’s not surprising that time would be perceived a little differently in Bali than here in the States. The Balinese use three different calendars at the same time: Continue reading Balinese Rubber Time |
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