The Original “Burning Man”!
I have been in Bali for the last two months… it’s wonderful to be in such a nurturing environment….
It soothes the soul and reconnects the human spirit to the natural world.
I feel so blessed to be here and to feel the healing power of the earth… here in this spot, by the river, looking down to the sea.
When you arrive in Bali as a stranger you will be surprised how warm, happy and welcoming the people are…
They are genuinely loving and inclusive… how can this be so…. after centuries of slavery and mistreatment, by their own Maharajah’s, the Dutch plantation owners, the Japanese invaders and now the abusive Multi National Corporations?
I believe it’s because the Balinese have a secret.
As a culture (not Indonesia) the Balinese are truly the last Magicians on earth working in the old ways….
This is why we understand each other…. this is why it is such a healing environment for me…
Do you remember the Bali Bomb Attack?
One year, one month and one day after 9/11…. Manufactured by the same force as 9/11 for the same purpose…. to get the troops to Iraq… to protect the oil owned by some very greedy irresponsible individuals called corporations who have the power through control of the media to command governments…
After that bomb which killed 220 people and engaged 88 countries in a huge international interconnected healing process….
The Balinese Priests found in their ancient records a prophesy, about just such a catastrophic event and a clear list of instructions for the priests on how to ‘space clear’ and ‘restart and heal the heart’ of the island!
It was transcribed six hundred years earlier, from a vision by a priestess while praying in the Temple high up on Batu Karo, the nearest volcanic mountain to the retreat center.
Yes that’s right! Bali is truly a land of organic magic.
The priests of the old land based religion found the instructions for the ceremonies to be performed to restart the heart of the island…
Everyone joined in….. for months large groups of men clad in black shirts and a black and white checked sarongs (the black and white checked sarongs representing the integration of the dark and the light,) walked the back streets of villages with big wooden bells on their chests, holding them with both hands, in unison they would shake the bell and make the sound of an enormous heart beat that traveled out over the land through the villages, the rice fields, the coconut plantations and down through the rivers onto the beaches….
The sound seemed to reactivate all parts of the island….
It was a truly thrilling experience, to be in the midst of such single minded devotion to the energetic health of mother earth, ‘Dewi Sri’ in Balinese.
As an active alchemist and ritual magician I was fascinated by the highly organized ceremonies prepared and carried out in a rolling fashion across the island… by a cultural system dedicated to the energetic health of their land and the inner health and harmony of their people. Such love and devotion with no promotion or advertising or resistance was amazing to watch…..
How do the people of Bali stay so calm and so clearly happy despite being enslaved and abused in all manner of ways for centuries?
There are perhaps a variety of answers to this question….
One of their secrets, is they have developed annual space clearing rituals as a context for whole communities to express their creativity coupled with rage and fear appropriately… rather than in petty ways, against each other and more importantly they wisely created ‘time’ to integrate the outcome…. A change in frequency… How amazing is that!?
The time of year they chose to perform this profound social ritual for peace by expressing creative rage aligns with Easter in the Christian experience, the Passover for the Jewish community, it includes the ideas of the Wicker Man and in more recent times the modern American Mystics of ‘Burning Man’…. in US underground culture.
The rule is … if you don’t let loose once a year, your negative energy will overcome you and disturb the harmony of the village…
Now we all know that’s true!
I have been thinking about this for a while and now I am going to do something about it!
I’m going to stop trying so hard and relax, play, dance, sing and swim in the sacred dance of ceremonial life in Bali for ten days….
We get to build two giant size bamboo puppets from all local materials. They are known as ‘The Ogoh Ogoh’ (literal translation ‘more than one Ogre’). The night of the burning…. On the river beach…. We get to scream and rage with the village and set them on fire…..
By the end of the “Night of Fires”, ‘The Ogoh Ogoh’ have finished their important work… they are a cosmic sponge for all forms of evil, all forms of disharmony in the body, mind and spirit of communities and the individuals.
Join me… let’s find out what we can do together…
Nyepi 2010… read all about the workshop, what we will be doing and how to join in here…
I’m ready to have fun, play and create with my soul family, I’m ready to express my feelings and find a new level of inner peace on the day of silence… are you interested?
Blazing tales of wonder,
Remembering all we have ever been and are about to become…… S xxx
Thank you
10 days of relaxation and laughter in Bali sounds like a slice of heaven, if only my current bank balance could match my wanderlust! My spirit is certainly crying out for some much needed Rest and Relaxation! Enjoy your time Shankari, it is well-earned and much deserved!
So glad to have your blog back, uplifting for sure.
had a wonderful uplifting stay in bali.. i simply love the places and feel that i can stay there life long… can anyone please tell me why i am feeling so attached to Tanah Lot temple and why i am missing that place too much.
I’m so glad that you’re back. I love reading your blogs. A few days ago I was wondering what happened to you, then I received your email. I love the ritual performed in Bali. I think if I went outside and screamed right now they might hear me on the moon. I totally believe that we must relieve ourselves of rage and fear, etc. I was so excited about 2010. I couldn’t wait to say bye bye to 2009. Then 2010 started with a big stack of bills and more of the same I felt so defeated and enraged and I thought “oh my God” it’s only February. I think one big giant scream would cleanse my soul. Have a great time in Bali and scream one big giant one for me. Take care.
[...] …For more info on the Ogoh-Ogoh… please read “The Original Burning Man” [...]