Time flies; it’s been a couple of months since I’ve blogged. We did a lot of traveling last Autumn to celebrate my 60th and it took me a while to regain my balance after our last trip. I came home exhausted. Unfortunately, I spent much of our trip bathrooming due to a nasty fish dish from the Arabian Sea outside of Mumbai.
The statue of David at the Academia in Firenze is the nearest thing to perfection that I have ever seen. The fresh pasta dish of Amalfi cooked al dente in olive oil, garlic, sundried tomatoes and warmed through fresh tomatoes did such an exquisite dance on my taste buds that talking became an intrusion. Roma, where every time you turn a corner, there is an architectural delight to behold. The world-famous fashionistas of Milan who have engrained accessorizing in the culture so much so that wearing a t-shirt and jeans, one becomes a fashion plate. Listening to the operatic pop of Il Divo while sipping on a glass of Vino Noble di Montepulciano, the nectar of Tuscany, is bewitching to the senses. I’m on my way to Italy. I love, love, love this country. Even the language is mesmerizing as words roll off the tongue in a poetic waterfall of romance. My favorite Italian phrase is ‘Buona Serra’ because it’s music to my ears.
t’s Hallowe’en. Since I’ve moved to Jersey, I have found my spirits dampened each year because Hallowe’en festivities are subdued by Guy Fawkes night or Bonfire Night.
In 1605, Fawkes was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England without success. Upon his return he was introduced to Robert Catesby who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. Those who plotted against the King leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords and Guy was placed in charge of the gunpower which they stockpiled there. On 5th November, he was found guarding the explosives. He was then tortured over the next few days until he eventually confessed.
This weekend, I’m off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Travel for me is a mainstay in life. Besides the sheer adventure of it, travel is a way to step outside our day-to-day. Or as a client recently said, “I love to travel because I awake out of my sleep.”
This year, I have been writing a memoir. I’ve been recalling the moments of my journey. I remember a day in Mexico that changed my life. I was a wide-eyed 18-year-old at the time.
My girlfriend Kim called me up and said, “Let’s go to Hawaii.” I didn’t have the money. She had been awarded money following a car accident and said it was her treat. We had been best friends off and on for a decade. Wow, I jumped at the chance!
I was scheduled to speak at a local Yoga Festival a short while ago but things went sideways on the day so I did not. Shame. Here’s a shortened version – a little Jnana yoga for the soul.
Many of you know that yoga isn’t just about exercise, postures or asanas. The different disciplines of Hatha Yoga were designed to prepare one’s body to sit for long periods of time in meditation. Meditation and contemplation are what’s known as Raja yoga.
From my perspective, meditation is one way to train your brain. The practice helps us release thoughts of the ego… wondering, worrying … to connect with ALL THAT IS.
Bhakti yoga is living a devotional life and surrendering to God. Mantra yoga is to awaken the self with deeper meditation. Karma yoga is the path of unselfish action with personal consequences.
Jnana yoga was to be my topic because it is the wisdom of knowledge and I’m all about self-knowledge and growth. I think it’s the most powerful thing we can for ourselves!
As I write this blog, I’m looking out my home office window. The sky is a lovely mixture of pale blue, white with predominant strokes of grey. The clouds form a montage of pale hues. Below is the sea, a grey and very faint turquoise. The tide is halfway out. There’s a calm about the weather today. I heard on the news this morning we could be in for thunder and rain showers so I suppose this is the calm before the storm.
So different than yesterday’s sky. I could see the coast of France clearly in the distance reminding me that I although live on a tiny island, Europe is at my doorstep and for that I am grateful. J’adore my trips to France.
I remember an ex colleague of mine couldn’t understand why I liked living in Vancouver or San Francisco. He said, “Everything is so far away from the West Coast!“ I thought it was such an odd statement because there was SO MUCH to the West Coast with easy reach to Hawaii, Mexico and the neighbouring Provinces or States depending upon what side of the 49th parallel I was sitting.