Hello Again!

I feel like so much as happened since I last wrote, and I'm not quite sure where to start? Well, lets see... this past weekend I went on the most amazing hike up these waterfalls at a near by mountain that sits just outside the city, and it was truly beautiful! It's really tropical here, so it's fun to look at all the different kinds of trees, flowers and insects. There is so much timeless beauty in nature, and I find that I can get completely lost the miracle of it's creation. I was really starting to miss hiking because back home I try to go at least once a week... I'm so spoiled with the Flatirons in Boulder! I'm really happy that I found this trail so now I can go more often. The waterfalls were just beautiful and the trail winded up the mountain for a couple of hours. It was great! This past weekend I also visited one of the most beautiful Buddhist temples I have seen since my stay here. It's called Wat Omoung and it's tucked away in a national forest surrounded by huge bddhi trees and incredible greenery. I am not sure how long ago it was built, but I could really feel its deeply routed history while walking around. It was built underground, blocked by a mossy wall that has three small entrances. The dark passage ways inside are made of fading red brick and winde around through different series of tunnels. As I ventured around in amazement, I felt chills in my spine at knowing that I was walking in the same place that people prayed in secret, probably thousands of years ago when Buddhism was not widely accepted in this part of the world. There were two alters set up in the caves where a golden statue of the Buddha sat in lotus position, and where people would sit to pray or meditate. What was even more fascinating was outside of the temple entrance sat dozens of statues of the Buddha that had been rescued from different parts of Asia from around the 1400's. The statues were incredibly worn torn, with missing limbs or heads, but the beautiful part was that they all evoked the same peaceful image that the modern representation of Buddha provides today.

Apart from visiting new places and experiencing all of the beauty that Chaing Mai has around every corner, I am falling in love more and more with the community of people that I am meeting here. It's amazing how we tend to let our guards down while traveling, especially while traveling alone! I feel like at home I was always a bit guarded when it came to bringing new people in to my life all the time because I always made myself so busy, that there just did not seem to be enough hours in the day. Work, to do lists, traffic jams, etc., are all things that kept me from being open to the wonderful people that surround me at every moment. Here I don't really have those distractions, and most of the other travelers do not either, so all we have is time to connect, and it really has been amazing. I have met some of the most beautiful people, and even though many times it's only just for a few days while they are passing through this cute town, it really is just a blessing to exchange such positive energy and learn something new from each person that I meet. This really is an international community here in Chiang Mai, but of course the more diverse people I meet the more I come back to the same conclusion, which is that we are all exactly the same. We all have so much love in our hearts, and when we can openly allow ourselves to express that, it really is the most beautiful gift you could ever give someone!

This week I attended a series of lectures given by a couple named Tara and Gonga who were living at an ashram in India for the past two years studying with a siddha master named Shri Kalishwar. They are traveling throughout Asia giving workshops on the 5 elements of healing with an intention of reconnecting people to mother earth. They talked about how rapid modernization creates a sense of personal separation from the universe and from each other, and since everything is made up of the 5 elements (fire, air, water, earth and ether) regaining balance within ourselves will help us to also experience balance within the world we live in. With the direction of the global economy, social injustices and our environment spiraling down ward, I think this is something very important to direct our intention towards. Eastern philosophy takes a mind, body, spirit approach towards manafesting positive change within the world, which is something that I support as well. We really can not just isolate the gas prices or the housing market or the mass amount of global starvation, because it isn't getting at the root of the problem. Going back to the Dali Lama's teachings on interconectivity: if everything really is connected in this world, then all of our individual actions directly effect the greater picture. Looking inside and asking "what can I do to help elevate the suffering for the entire world" is a huge question, but I believe that it's the right step towards positive change. I do think that our modern lives have created disconnection from the world 's natural recourse and from the universal energy that we all share. For me the work starts inside, so that I can then take it out into the world and help those around me. I am looking forward to taking the 5 elements healing workshop this weekend, because I think it will help me to create balance within myself so that I can also work towards bringing balance back into our world. So excited!

Hope you are all doing really well! Have a great Thanksgiving week, and I will be sending out my gratitude towards your side of the world on Thursday!
Much Love
April