Thursday, November 19, 2009

BALI HEALING TOUR


Jero Mangku Made Rata

STORIES
We've had the extraordinary fortune to offer our guests the opportunity to experience traditional Balinese healing by Jero Mangku Made Rata.  Although he is renown as a "bonesetter," that's not all he does.  People come to him for anything and everything.  One of our guests had 3 plantar warts on his right foot that no medical treatment could remove.  Jero Mangku concocted a paste that he heated up and applied to the warts.  Once the paste dried and was removed, the warts simply fell off.  Another guest suffered from repeated bronchitis and still another guest had a family history of serious stomach problems.  As soon as I'll receive their written stories and the happy results, I'll post them here.  Jero Mangku is also known for his ability to remove tumors. He promised to call me when he treats his next case, so I can watch and document the process.

COMING UP SOON:
I would like to invite you to experience Bali's traditional healers, mystical places, and delicious foods.  Come stay at our villa and let us spoil you.  Learn how the Balinese view illness and healing.  Watch traditional healers treat patients.  Receive a treatment if you feel so inclined.  Visit Tampaksiring, the temple of holy waters, and Bali's mysterious Room 327 at the Grand Bali Beach hotel in Sanur (see previous posts).  Enjoy a full moon or new moon ceremony and dance.  Join Dayu (our cook) as she finds the ingredients for an authentic Balinese dinner at Ubud's traditional market.  Learn how to prepare it and then indulge yourself in a banquet of Bali's culinary specialties.  Sounds good?  Let me know you're interested and I'll send you details.

MORE STORIES:
Bali has changed us to the core.  It is its own universe - at once dense and clear, baffling and necessary.  Excess is normal and nothing is what it seems.  A ditch is not a ditch; it's the god of water passing by your house.  And don't think you can act like the Lone Ranger because you are not just one person - you are quintuplet, born with four other "siblings": Placenta, Blood, Water, and Navel, who stay with you and grow with you as long as you live.  Invisible to the normal eye, they nevertheless exert real influence.  Any imbalance in relation to your "siblings" has consequences.  It's like carrying a whole family around with you wherever you go, a family that can read your every thought.  So it's here where I learn again how stories enchant and knit the world together.  I never dreamed I would receive so much.


Masked dancer at Arma Museum

Friday, November 6, 2009

BANNER DAY


Lunch by Dayu: Grilled eggplant, tuna steak in mustard sauce,
Okinawan sweet potatoes, urap (spinach with spices)

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Finished my first painting!
"How I Plan To Lose Weight"
(continuing my series of "How I plan To")
40" x 40"  Mixed Media

BALINESE TEENAGERS


Novang (left) & Sintya

Our gardener Bendot surprised me with a late night visit of his 12-year-old grandchildren Novang and Sintya, still attired in their dance costumes after their "Kupu Kupu" (Butterfly) performance.  He wanted me to take their photos.  I happily obliged.  The moment we finished, both girls snatched up their cell phones from Bendot who was holding them, and started texting.  Of course, I had to take a picture of that too.