A Conclusion and an Interesting Twist

I know you're all holding your breath wanting to know about the Basti or enema expeience. Well needless to say it wasn't pleasant and I'm really hoping that something good and worthwhile will come from this.

My first colon piercing experience involved only half a cup of oil. Let me just say that since water and oil don't mix well together flushing it down the toilet is nearly impossible. The next morning 1 whole litre of this brown looking herbal concoction was slowly poured into me. It felt warm and hmmm... like it didn't belong there. After a half hour on the toilet and a cold shower, I thought I was going to be fine when my stomach and abdomen started complaining. The cramps that ensued had me in tears. And I was filled with sadness and anger. Old energy blocks apparently dissolving away into the porcelain bowl.

I repeated this 2 step process one more time. Do I feel clean? Not really sure. Do I feel healthier. Umm no. My blood pressure dropped dramaticaly, and I was extremely tired, and I lost a couple of kilos (in muscle I think).

According to Vijay I need to build up from here - see it as a new beginning. Well my hopes are up and I'll let you all know how I'm doing when I get home.

And now for something completely different:
Vision school update.

I feel like a drop out. Today Jose and I went to an optometrist. I was tired of straining my eyes from not being able to see with the reduced prescription (both eyes were seeing different things) I was given at the school For Perfect Eyesight. And lo and behold my prescription is right back to where it was before I started the program. Perhaps it's because I neglected my eye exercises, perhaps the faulty prescription I was wearing was straining my eyes, or perhaps my vision never improved at all and I was duped!

But Jose's improvement has held so far. It can't be a hoax. And a good friend managed to improve her eyesight through similar methods a whoppin 3 points! So despite this horrible blow I commit myself to trying again. (Maybe Salima will share her eye improving techniques with me).

Diving into Ayurveda

OK. So I'm doing it. I'm diving head first into a treatment plan that I'm a tad skeptical about, however I will try it with an open mind.

Arriving to Goa felt like the weight of the world was sliding of my shoulders. The warm sea air (noticeably cooler than the scorching heat of Tamil Nadu), the palm trees swaying in the breeze and the portuguese architecture gracing the tropical landsape. Ahhh heaven. I spent 2 months here 5 years ago, but I was bracing myself knowing that the tourism industry, always predominant, had exploded. Especially in my cherished Arambol, a formerly sleepy little fishing village now grown beyond recognition.

Our first planned stop was Candolim. An old friend (Vijay) opened a gorgeous Ayurvedic clinic here, and we thought to stop for a brief hello, a couple of days and then head down to my old haunt Arambol. Vijay treated Jose and I to some free massages, steam baths, and facials. And I was hooked by the luxury of it. Vijay also has a way with words and he convinced me to stay for a treatment. After contemplating his offer I accepted.

I have to admit this mode of medicine is a bit bizzare and often uncomfortable. I had experienced some basic massages - but the first day of treatment was something else.

I met with the Ayurvedic Doctor who told me very little. I had to fish everything out of him. He took my pulse and I asked him to explain what he found. He said I'm Vatta Pitta. A blend of 2 doshas. In Ayurveda there are 3 Doshas - Vatta, Kappa, and Pitta. Each a constitution having it's own quirks and tendencies. I will get more info on the specifics and add it to future postings.

Anyways I'm starting with a treatment to remove excess Vatta. 4 women pund me with linen bundles filled with piping hot herbs, while a 5th woman prepares fresh bundles as the temperature of the beating must remain constant. This is done while I'm contorted into 7 different positions. Some comfortable, some not. This process lasts around an hour. After which I'm so stinky that even after a shower my boyfriend won't come near me! This follows a wonderful Ayurvedic massage performed by 2 people (I will describe this further soon).

After the brutal pounding I am guided into a "steam bath", which looks like a medeival torture device - a big box with a hole for my head. I sit there for 15 minutes while steam medicated with a combination of herbs is piped into the box. This feels almost unbearable after all the previous treatment. But the facial I get after makes up for it.

Catching Up, Allopathy vs. Natural Medicine

it's 9:15pm in the Keralan heat as I sit in a dingy internet cafe writing on a sticky keyboard. We're in a small city called Kollam (or Quilam) where one can hire a boat and go explore the backwaters of Kerala. The bakwaters are a series of rivers, canals and lakes that connect a significant part of the state.

We began our journey into Kerala in Trivandrum - nearing the southernmost tip of India. We arrived by plane from Bombay - that an adventure in itself. Though we planed to quickly move through the city and head to the beach, we got stuck with dis-ease. Jose had a bad case of Delhi belly (or maybe Pune belly). He was so dehydrated that we finally decided that yes the hospital was an appropriate place to go. After struggling to find a rickshaw driver who understood the word hopital we made it to Govindras hospital. A lovely place set in a Colonial House. Within seconds of paying 50 rupees for a hospital card we got to see the Dr. He looked at Jose's tongue at declared that he was dehydrated and prescribed and I.V. right away.

The nurse led us to an open area of the hotel, i mean hospital, where Jose was able to commune with nature as he recieved inter venous nourishment, while I lay down on the bed next to him. 2 hours later the water back in his system we go to see the Dr. as we're about to get discharged Jose, to my horror, passes out into the Doctor's arms. More I.V. the Doc declares. 2 hours later we're discharged with probiotics, rehydration solution, and a bottle for a stool culture. I was amazed, they didn't try to give him a single drug, treated him with respect using only natural forms of medicine. That and a dose of homeopathic Sulfur from me.

That morning I awoke with a painful kink in my neck. For me the doc at the hospital prescribed muscle relaxants. Next thing I know I feel weak and dizzy, and by evening I have a fever and I'm delirious. We all the hospital and they tell me I have a viral fever, if I need to come in the morning I should. I guided Jose through my Homeopathic computer program and we came to the remedy Aconite (I was terrified, my neck hurt, and i had a nasty fever). That calmed me down a great deal. Then the intense headache started, I got insatiably thirsty and every movement was an agonizing ordeal. I took a dose of Bryonia - a remedy that has helped me many times in the past. By morning I was weak but able to rest and eat. The next morning we both had enough strength or the one hour train journey to Varkala.

I think the drugs the Doctor gave me may have made me sick or at the least didn't help my neck in the least, while homeopathy got me through the night. I also met several people in the last few days who suffered from bad fevers for several days and were given antibiotics by medical professionals. Hurray for alternative medicine. Next time I'll talk about my Ayurvedic experience in Varkala - now it's time for bed.

An Introductory Ramble

I promise to not have too many of these long hauled rambles, but I do want to begin by introducing me, this site, and my intentions.

I've been fascinated with mysticism since as long as I can remember. As a child I gobbled books by the dozen that had to do with fantasy and science fiction, and by the time I made it to junior high school I had a keen interest in the occult. I started to realize that magic is an ever present aspect of everyday life and that it's actually possible to to encourage its presence through awareness, intention and spirituality. This became the focus of my university education as i studied performance, religion, shamanism, and their connections to healing.

Now to take a little aside here to discuss spirituality. This is a word loaded with meaning, that is used much too frivolously and simultaneously much too seriously. By spirituality I am not referring to frou frou new age capitalism, nicely packaged and sold to the public as true religion, and I'm not talking about dogmatic institutions that claim theirs is the only way; I'm referring to the underlying soul of humanity. I'm talking about the archetypes that can be found in every culture, inevitably pointing us in the right direction. I'm talking about a personal exploration of reality and reflection of the self, other, and the universal whole. A journey to be taken lightly, with joy and compassion as well as depth, determination, and commitment.

So what is health and healing and how does it fit into a spiritual paradigm? What is the role of religion (which I define as a belief system regardless of organisation or lack of) in healing and healing in religion? This is one of the questions I'm on a journey to investigate. I expect to find polarity, dichotomy, dualism, and unification - Answers? Maybe. A journey? Definitely.

I now prepare to head to India where I plan to explore Homeopathic Medicine, Ayurveda, Yoga, Tai Chi (I'm aware it's not of Indian origin but my spectacular Tai Chi teacher lives in Goa), Devotionalism, Prayer, Tantra, and anything else that may fall in my path.

In the meantime as I prepare you will find ramblings, philosophy and the results of my research.

one last thing the picture above is of a bedouin I encountered in Petra, Jordan who was sharing with us some medicinal plants (not just the ones he's smoking)

I look forward to comments, so please feel free to add yours