Tuesday, August 11, 2009

dropping in to the center...


tonight, i leave for peru for close to 3 weeks. i feel so blessed to be going on a journey where i will be traveling into the belly of the mother jungle. i have been waiting for the time when south america would call me to her land, and now, she has, and i am on my way to visit her mountains, jungles, highlands, coasts and sacred temples.

traveling is a gift...and in many cultures a privilege. i have been to places in this world where the locals have never left their country, let alone their village. traveling can also be a powerful awakening...one moment, i am in my hometown, living in the routine of my life and "this reality," and the next moment, i am whisked away by a plane that takes me to the other side of the planet, into another perspective of life. food, family, community, beliefs and culture are revealed in ways i could have never tasted or experienced if i hadn't walked the streets, tasted the food and breathed the air of the region of destination.

traveling is always transformational for me...leaving what is familiar can be an ecstatic adventure, especially when i surrender what i think i know for an experience of something i could have never imagined. sometimes traveling offers this beautiful opportunity to see where i haven't been able to see before, meet another whom i wouldn't have met in maybe a more familiar setting and fly a little more lightly in my skin.

the heart sutra is a beautiful mantra...and it so powerfully expresses the hero/heroine's journey in life and in the adventures of travel...both within and without:

gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha...

gone, gone, gone beyond, gone beyond to the other side...praise for the awakening...

wikipedia explains it like this:

the path of accumulation and preparation — Gate, gate
path of insight — Pāragate
path of meditation — Pārasamgate
stage of no more learning — Bodhi svāhā

in the last stages of accumulation and preparation for this powerful journey of healing and exploration...and now, i await the insight and meditation that i will engage in once i am down there...upon my return, the "bodhi svaha" stage of no more learning i interpret as the stage of integration so that the journey can begin all over again.

giving thanks for all that i am learning...and about to learn as i embark on this journey...see you when i return with stories and insights, instruments and songs and carrying another perspective on how to see the world...

love and happy travels to you ~ ' ~