BALI, ISLAND OF GODS
Part I - Magic Discovery
Part I - Magic Discovery
I discovered Island of Gods in April 2006.
It was love at first sight. I was so deeply in shock in front of that much natural beauty that I knew after 2 days that I would end there a way or another.
As a result, I decided to rent a house, which I did end 2007 for 3 years.
In fact, this island is very powerful in all means. Spirituality is more than present. We can, besides feeling it strongly, almost touch it. Incredible.
This island power can be of a very big help, as it is in my case, but it also can break some people…
Balinese people are very nice, friendly and always have smiles on their faces. They might be poor or facing big difficulties, although they keep their pride and dignity.
Balinese life is all about religion (hindu) and therefore about ceremonies, processions, cremations and prayer. Processions and ceremonies are beautiful, colorful and spread kind of serenity and harmony feelings.
Balinese year counts 217 days! That means 2 new year celebrations a normal year. One of the most surprising events in Bali is without doubt Nyepi or Silent Day.
At that period, the whole island has to be completely silent for 24 hours. No cars, moto, planes…allowed. People aren’t allowed either going out from home or hotels, be on streets, as well as making noise…and most important, lights are not an option.
Balinese people believe that Ogoh-Ogoh (demons) visit the island on that very day, and if no sound and no lights, these demons will think there are no inhabitants and they’ll move to other islands or places.
The first time I was in Bali at that period, I thought it was crazy to stop all activities and especially flights. But after experiencing it, I thought it was lovely and that should be done everywhere in the world. This year, I experienced it again and was very happy about it. That represents a total rest, and more than that, at night the sky we can watch has no equivalent anywhere else on earth (maybe Antarctica) as it’s extra clean and we can see very clearly the stars…It is above all description…
I lived 15 years in China and traveled a lot in Asia. Bali is the only island which offers way much more than island activities such as water ski, jet-ski, diving, surfing, swimming…
Bali is an island where sceneries can be very different from a place to another as there are of course beaches but also rice fields, mountains, vulcanos, natural reserve…
Ubud (inland) is a magic and very spiritual and arty place. This year I experienced “Peace Day” where we were around 500 participants and were given each a bird. We had to repeat several times “OM” very seriously and religiously then had to free the birds altogether at once. Then we were given a bag full of water and fish. We walked around 10 mn til a forest and there, we had to free fish in the river after pronouncing the ritual “OM”. Then, we were offered a meal.
You can’t imagine the peaceful feeling it gives. Peace, harmony, love…
A week later there was “Love Day” also in Ubud.
Om or Aum is a very beautiful, single syllable word.
The syllable consists of three phonemes, a Vaishvanara,[1] u Hiranyagarbha and m Iswara, which symbolize the beginning, duration, and dissolution of the universe and the associated gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively.[2] Aum is pronounced in three sounds - A (aaa) , U (ooooo) and M (mmmmm) and signifies Right (A) and Left (U) Sympathetic Nervous Systems (SNS) and (M) Parasympathetic Nervous System. Right SNS (controlled by Left part of brain) looks after the actional aspect where as the left SNS looks after the emotional aspect of human beings.
Bali is the perfect place for people who are willing to have some rest, nice vacation and at the same time experience some spirituality. It’s also very helpful when someone is in a phase of healing (mentally, psychologically as well as health wise). Everything is available there for that, from healthy stores/restaurants, to holistic therapists, yoga classes, cleansing programs, healers, readers (for future), well being places, SPA , massage salons…
I just came back to my country, Lebanon, after 8 months in a row in Bali where I went to my usual healer, had cleansing, healing process (on my own), went to readers, went through a more than strict diet, forgetting for a while about meat, poultry and non natural food (I really feel much better, great difference), swimming every day, doing yoga, walking on the beach, riding my moto between ocean and rice field , taking time to read, simply, sleep without feeling guilty, in one word living…the real life, not the one we’re forced to live and have nowadays in western societies.
In Bali, time stops, distances mean nothing…every person lives following his /her rythm. What a luxury to be that free of everything and especially from material world where everything is about competitivity, money…where we exist only through social position…What a pity…
After 8 months of taking care of myself and enjoying the beauty of Bali and spirituality, and without thinking too much, I can say that now I know where I am going in life, what I do want and what I do not want, everything is crystal clear…Unbelievable but true. Retrospectively, I now understand that when I arrived in Bali in August 2010, I was in a bad place in my life, not knowing what I wanted, how, didn’t know what I was looking for and why I was feeling all that bad vibes.
Answer 8 months later, at my arrival in Lebanon or few weeks before. April 2011. I am a new person, thanks to my beloved Island of Gods, Bali.
You’ll have more about Bali in the future, but also about China, Burma / Myanmar, Cambodia…
And I’ll share with you, visitors to my blog, my photos of these places, the most representative of it …
Hope I made you travel, dream a bit and brought you something.
Part II- Bali's religion and other facts
With an estimated 20,000 puras (temples) and shrines, Bali is known as the "Island of a Thousand Puras", or "Island of the Gods".
Part II- Bali's religion and other facts
With an estimated 20,000 puras (temples) and shrines, Bali is known as the "Island of a Thousand Puras", or "Island of the Gods".
When Islam surpassed Hinduism in Java (16th century), Bali became a refuge for many Hindus. Balinese Hinduism is an amalgam in which gods and demigods are worshipped together with Buddhist heroes, the spirits of ancestors, indigenous agricultural deities and sacred places. Religion as it is practiced in Bali is a composite belief system that embraces not only theology, philosophy, and mythology, but ancestor worship, animism and magic. It pervades nearly every aspect of traditional life. Caste is observed, though less strictly than in India. With an estimated 20,000 puras (temples) and shrines, Bali is known as the "Island of a Thousand Puras", or "Island of the Gods".
Balinese Hinduism has roots in Indian Hinduism and in Buddhism, and adopted the animistic traditions of the indigenous people. This influence strengthened the belief that the gods and goddesses are present in all things. Every element of nature, therefore, possesses its own power, which reflects the power of the gods. A rock, tree, dagger, or woven cloth is a potential home for spirits whose energy can be directed for good or evil. Balinese Hinduism is deeply interwoven with art and ritual. Ritualizing states of self-control are a notable feature of religious expression among the people, who for this reason have become famous for their graceful and decorous behavior.
Apart from the majority of Balinese Hindus, there also exist Chinese immigrants whose traditions have melded with that of the locals. As a result, these Sino-Balinese not only embrace their original religion, which is a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, but also find a way to harmonize it with the local traditions. Hence, it is not uncommon to find local Sino-Balinese during the local temple's odalan. Moreover, Balinese Hindu priests are invited to perform rites alongside a Chinese priest in the event of the death of a Sino-Balinese. Nevertheless, the Sino-Balinese claim to embrace Buddhism for administrative purposes, such as their Identity Cards.
Wikipedia Source
As you know it now, after reading Bali part I, I lived on and off for the 5 passed years in Bali (to be precise, between Bali and Beijing).
I just came back to my country, Lebanon after 8 months in Asia, mainly in Bali.
Bali is certainly island of Gods, also kind of paradise on earth (not for too long if balinese and even some tourists keep on doing what they're doing to the island, but that's another chapter), Bali is also the paradise of animals and insects of all kinds.
I have big fears when it comes to some animals or insects such as cockroach, mice, rats, big and thick lizards, wasps and...snakes of course...I really can't stand reptiles, it's my phobia number 1.
A bit more than a year ago, I saw my first snake IN my house between the kitchen and the guest room and can't describe how hysterical I went. Luckily a couple of australian friends were with me and the man handled that nightmare. 1 week before that, the agent who rented me the house, saw a cobra in my garden.
When you know that most houses in Bali are open space, you'll understand these creatures can go anywhere they like!!!!
This year, in Februray 2011, I moved to a friend of mine, due to the end of my rent contract. Her house is a real jewel in the middle of what's called green belt, means rice fields. It's also located on a river.
You have to know that generally speaking, rice fields and rivers = rats and snakes...
So, a month after moving in, on an evening where we were chilling in front of a DVD I heard my friend saying very quietly: " Lara, stay calm and pull up your legs", I started screaming of course, thinking it was a rat but nooooo, it was a very long and a bit thick snake. It was crawling towards me, went on the cushion at my feet...Imagine...
2 days later, I'm in the swimming pool right above the river and I see a very long branch from part to part of the river, my friend comes to me with what she calls a great picture...it appeared to be not a branch...but an anaconda. Dead, thanks God, but still...
Again 1 or 2 days later we're sitting, she, a guest and I in the living room when I hear a big noise of something falling right next to me. I look and what do I see? aaaaaaaah....a monster....1st time ever in Bali I see that size lizard, ugly to death, between iguana and komodo lizard...started screaming again of course and ran away.
The end of these adventures took place 1 day before my departure from Bali: It's 7, 45 am, I am sitting on the lounge chair of my room terrace, reading my mails when I see in a blink something coming out from under my chair and moving. I convince myself there's nothing, but few seconds later, not capable of concentrating anymore on my mails, I give it a look and OH HORROR, a snake, smaller than the other one but still thick, very colorful means dangerous and its tongue all out is crawling soooo close to me. But this time, it was so close that I was afraid tos cream, just pulled up my legs called quietly but very scared the maid and house employees...
What an adventure.
Not to mention the bats flying in my ex house, right above my head and hanging from my roof (inside, in my room), you know in their favorite position head down, to the frogs in my bathroom, living, dining room and kitchen, the bees and wasps hive above my bed, sometimes a mangouste or a mouse, gekos and little lizards walking on the ceiling...
When I called at least 5 people 1st time I saw a mouse in my house, everybody laughed at me, answering the same: "everybody has a mouse or mice at home in Bali, darling"...Charming.
But one of the reasons if of course that Balinese make offerings to the Gods 5 times a day in front of each house, restaurant, shop...even on the beach. So, in the offerings, there are flowers but also food.
Bats for their part love Mango and papaya, and in my garden, I had 2 trees of these fruits.
Frogs come out after rain.
Charm of the islands they say
Suite of adventures tomorrow...
