isha – Laurens Traveling

South to North

Haha, we’re in the air again.

I feel quite different from “normal”.
Having spent a week in the Isha Yoga center, with daily meditations & yoga, hours of it at times, embracing mysticism and a more humble side of life … Something happened.
Even if I don’t know what. Nor could I explain it. So I’m not going to try. But maybe I kind of will.

A 34m high statue of Adiyogi, the first yogi.
A tribute to the first human to seek and achieve enlightenment through looking inward.

I thought I used to be interested in knowing. Gathering knowledge. Learning more.
Now I understand that learning more does in fact not mean gathering knowledge.
Everything I’ve ever learned in some form has been an experience.
And my experience is all I know and will ever know.

My new commitment as of now is to un-know everything that I still know/believe.
Because isn’t knowing and believing the same thing?
The conviction that a thought is true?
And do I need to believe anything that I experience?
For me, it’s a clear no. My experience in fact is all I know.

Yes, I definitely recommend being open to yoga and meditation to everyone.
At the very least, it opens up the possibility for new perspectives, which is fun, interesting, useful, and who knows, maybe even transformational!

But enough of this dwelling on my weekly meditation, yoga & introspection retreat,
Although before I conclude these thoughts on them, I want to share a poem I wrote:

Struck by nothing I could understand
Eyes of Shiva fire love with relentless power
I was gazed upon
In pure ecstacy and joy
my being was shaken
time froze
nothing mattered
a connection beyond words

I was touched beyond skin and bone
Forced to face a reality I cannot grasp
I am small

And also this experience
with the last one
will fade
to a memory
desecrating the aliveness of experience.

I choose to not know
I choose to seek
I choose to be open
Because it seems the unexplored world
beyond body and mind
has messaged me.

Whew, that was serious. Here’s my friend Danish instead, kaleidoscopified.

As far as Indian travels are concerned, we’re having the expected daily change of plans.

While we were peacefully being confused in conversations with locals, enjoying the beautiful local scenery and culture, haggling for tuktuk fares and opening our eyes wider than we thought was possible in every waking moment, a sudden event struck us like lightning from the sky:

A message from our friend Danish.

This sounded a little concerning, so I called him as soon as I saw the message…

What happened? Are you ok?
– Yeah, yeah, no problem whatsoever, the thing is, there’s this Indian wedding going on. And since it is usually a huge and crazy event, you guys are totally invited.

Oh wow! Cool, thanks! Where is it?
– In Delhi!

Aah, just 2000km from here. Let’s go!

And so, a few days later, at the time of this writing, we’re in the air again.
In the flight we’ve booked on a whim, to North India!
A continent we were now pulled to, expectedly unexpected!

As a great mind once said: With great change of plans come great possibilities.

A wedding. Taj Mahal. Krishna’s birthplace. Varanasi?

Our 3 week trip is turning into an action packed adventure with a blend and taste of much that India has to offer! Let’s go!

Isha Yoga Center pt. 2 – Volunteering and Food

The Yoga Center is awesome.

From the caress in the branches of the wavering clouds, to the depth of grace in people’s eyes when they greet you.

Something special is going on here, which is the least I could say.
Being here is like a homecoming, it’s like the place I’ve dreamed about for years.

People are not posessed by ideas and rituals, by theories or blindly following.
Everyone here is living the message: grace, love and awareness.

The center thrives on volunteering. 1/3 of all the work is done by people willing to, They just do it, to throw themselves into it, to give themselves fully and be in the moment.
There’s no bad work, only bad effort.

Now I joined a 8 day temple service, where I help guiding and greeting the people into the temple.
In and aronud the temple there is full silence,
the temple is made purely for meditation.
It’s called the Dhyana Linga.

So, theee 8 days will be mostly spent in silence.
Not an easy job, but what a great challenge.
What an opportunity to stay in the moment and be confronted with the mind.

I’m not too sure how I feel about it.
I’ve had a homesick strike today and also a push to move on.
However, yesterday I dreamed that I was home already and regretted not going on with the travel.

The next stop will surely be Kerala, but I’m not sure when I will be moving.
The ashram surely is a great place, the days are filled, and I can stay here cheapeter than the rest of my travel, hwich is maybe beyond merely useful at this point, I might end up having to watch out to have any money left at all.
But when volunteering I can stay here for free.. And get the 2 included meals as well, it’s really amazing.

They cook for probably a thousand people everu day, if not more.
And for every program, like the ones I attended, there’s a different menu.
The food is delicious and the diet is perfect.
Every day, some raw vegetables, a piece of fruit, and then rice or potato or dosa’s with different kinds of extras.
I don’t even think I’ve eaten the same thing twice in these 14 days in the ashram… It’s ridiculous.

And it must be the best diet I’ve ever had. From nuts to seeds and fruits to rice, to healthy hot drinks and fruits and vegetables I’ve never seen in my life.
Eating every day is a huge experience.

The way we eat here is something special at well.
Silence.
Sitting in large rows on the floor, men opposed to women, a metal plate in front.
An invocation chant, all together, nobody moves.
The food servants (I believe all volunteers) walk in the rows with buckets of food, each bucket one thing.
They keep walking around until everyone is finished, when they pass, you can always just ask for more.
Noone will leave hungry.
Then you take your plate and wash it.

Most people are barefoot here.
Not only does it give a great connection with the ground, an extra sensation to the perception, is it good for the rest of your body to have pressure on the feet,
also it reomves the issue of where to take off your shoes.
Besides more enjoyable, it’s just easier.

Anyway, time to go back to bed.
Time to prepare for a whole day of butt -and painhurt, of meditating in the now and consciously and passionately doing any task given.
To give myself fully to whatever it is – that is the message here.

To become more alive.

@ Isha Yoga Center

Isha is very nice. The people are extremely patient, warm and helpful.
The food is delicious and the amount of comfort in the rooms is extremely above my expectations.

I’m looking forward to the program, which starts tonight after dinner.
I’m getting more calm and relaxed, although I underestimated the exam and travel stress that has been now obviously vibrant in my body and mind. I need a ton of rest and naps, and hope to recover soon.

However, I’m feeling really calm inside, and living slowly. This is making me realize again how rushed we do things back home. Even the simplest things go in such a hurry, that there’s no time to do anything profoundly.
I’m walking slower, eating slower, meeting people slower, breathing slower. And everything is more enjoyable and profound this way.
There are many rituals here, which all have a precise goal and are very elaborated. I’m just going with the flow and being open to anything. At least that’s what I’m trying. I notice a lot of resistance in my mind, which doesn’t seem to want to engage into new things, or maybe is scared for something, I don’t know.

I’m glad I can take the time to relax here, quite opposite to my last stay in India.
Looking forward to the rest of my stay here.

…

A few days later
…

There are many things to say about this ashram, and words would be hard to explain most of them.
The way people eat, drink, talk, smile, walk, and do everything here, is so vastly different.
So vastly more natural, more human.

I’ve been diving in a very beautiful and rich culture and country, into many beautiful people.
It’s just unthinkable how a place like this can still exist in today’s world, however it’s very much here.

While I don’t feel like spending too much time in this blog, I think I should spend at least some, although I don’t feel like there is that much that I need to say.

Everything here is done with grace, respect, and thankfulness, at a normal/human pace. One thing at a time, but thoroughly, fully.
We eat in silence, all together, sitting on the floor while the people go around with buckets of food. You can eat as much as you need.
There are a few temples, gardens and walking paths, places to play, places to meditate, places for yoga, big halls, small halls.
It’s quite undescribable.

The program had a very significant but small effect on me, that I feel present and slightly growing daily. It’s been a beautiful experience and I’ve been bonding with so many people.

At this point, I need half of the food I usually eat, 1/3 of the water I usually drink, and between 2/3 and 1/2 of the sleep I usually get. No jokes.

In 2 days I will take an ‘advanced’ program, we’ll see how that goes. And now it’s time for my homework for it.

Thanks for reading 😉