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Sat 8 December 2012

I have just read that Nelson Mandela has been admitted into hospital for tests, and it makes me think of how that one of the biggest resistances I had when embarking on my adventure was to not be here in my beloved South Africa if he died.  Well he didn't and here I am at home again, and I know that he is tired and will get called to return to his ancestors one of these days.  But each time I read that he is not well, or in hospital, there is a pain that creeps into my heart, this man is a master and an icon in these time. He is the one of the significant features in my travels where whomever I met in 10 countries, over 8 months, referred to this wonderful human being with so much love and so much reverence.  And he is an anchor that we owe so much gratitude to for teaching us all about forgiveness and reconciliation. 

I can't quite believe that its over a month since I returned home, and here I am in my new home in Cape Town and my life has completely changed and shifted.  I haven't been on line much over this past month and a bit,  and have tried on 2 occasions to write my next blog post, and both times, wrote but was not able to complete the task for various reasons.  Well, I am determined to complete it tonight as I have been feeling disconnected and distant from all the extraordinary people I met in the world, and feel a real need to connect and share a little of what its like to be home on African soil and how amazing this country really is.

I said that I had started writing on 2 different occasions and want to share these writings as they came from a space that was freshly returned and capture what I was feeling and experiencing at the time.

Tuesday 13 November :
Its from Claremont in Cape Town that I am writing after registering at my college for a Bachelor of Applied Psychology which I begin on 4 February 2013 and its wonderful to have the opportunity to just sit here, in a very funky tea shop, and catch up with my blog. I haven't really landed as yet and I think the thing that is overwhelming me is making so many arrangements after having very few over the past 8 months. How different my life is about to become and I am working on just grounding myself and keeping the inner divinity in tact.  Its been 12 days since I landed back in SA and I still wake up each morning and have to take a moment to ascertain where I am in the world.  And I am still living out of my suitcase wearing the same clothes, which although I have unpacked temporarily into a cupboard - wow amazing - still will have to be regathered when I move at the end of this month to Cape Town.

And then I will unpack and start making my nest again - its going to be amazing ! So how is it being back I am asked ?  And my replies vary from amazing, wonderful, not sure yet, still grounding  .....but what is the most amazing of all is how familiar everything is and although I feel completely different within, everything around me is the same as before and sometimes I have remind myself that I have been away from the Garden Route for 8 months.

I have decided 2 things about my blog - one is that Nidhi's Sacred Adventure will continue and although it may not be the same in the way of me visiting so many amazing countries and  places, my journey of growth, adventure and experiences will continue and the journey of my amazing work with diverse groups using drumming, rhythm, life awareness and sacred divinity will create wonderful stories and sharing and I am sure will continue to inspire.  And two is that I am looking into turning my blog into a book and growing the  stories of my travels.  As soon as I have settled into my new life, this will be a new part of my sacred divine adventure,exciting timesahead.

Monday 19 November 
So how is home for me ? its such an interesting concept suddenly, as home for the past nearly 10 months has been exactly where I am in each moment. And there has been little attachment to any specific abode at all as its been quite temporary. In my visions and dreams I wish for a settled space somewhere in the world where I can potter in mygarden, cook delicious and nutritious food and create a sacred divine space to be in ! and I will create this wherever I choose to live or be,but I keep feeling that home is deeply where my connection with spirit is and in so many moments of my days when I am swimming in the sacred river, or walking in the forest, drumming and playing rhythms and connecting with others and sitting around a table communing with my loved ones, and many, many more moments like these that I am connected and I am at home. Its such a beautiful awareness to come to this place within myself. Home is my connection with God, with All that Is and that includes the all aspects of life.

South Africa is the most magnificent country, the spaces, the weather, the sunrises and 
the sunsets, the abundant nature and the rich diversity of its beautiful people. And 
seeing the stories around me of poverty, of lack, of sadness, of opulence, of joy, of music and colour and creativity and of everything that makes up life here, I am looking and feeling connected to it all and grateful once again that my connection and my spirit hasvastness and depth of light, joy, peace and an acceptance of all that is.  
South Africa is ALL THAT IS and how amazing it is to come home to this place of learning,acceptance, tolerance, forgiveness, joy, rhythm, beauty, connections, music, and natureand to just Love it all. I am looking through different eyes and the eyes of my soul are shifted too and I know that it is exactly where I need to be right now.

And back to Sat 8 December, and where I am right now. I have just moved into my new home in Hout Bay which is in Cape Town. I have spend the past week unpacking my lovely things and touching base with a life that I placed in a storage garage for much of this past year and its been amazing to re-create my home and find a special place for all the parts of myself in a relaxed and quite different way. And to keep witnessing myself quite shifted and different and needing different things to keep me balanced and connected to my centre and my core.

I am off tomorrow on another adventure, which is exciting and will give me the opportunity to Be in nature, under the incredible African skies, writing and creating in a retreat space in Standton which is close to Hermanus on the east coast.

6 days in a special place in Africa, working with ancient story, observing the end of the year and exploring a new cycle.

This is perfect way for me to end off my year and prepare for the steps that I have taken in creating a new life and a new way of being. I am looking forward to writing and learning and experiencing so much more in the new year and sharing my adventures.

Until I write again in 2013, I would like to say thank you to you all for sharing my journey with me this year, for your encouragement, feedback, inspiration, friendship and just for being there and making it so exciting for me to write and share with you.

I wish you peace, light and love for the new year and new cycles. We are the people we have been waiting for and we hold so much love and so much light to shift and expand this incredible world into new beginnings.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Nidhi xxxx

Divine Seed

Its Sunday the 28th October, the day the clocks are set an hour back in the UK as winter is fast approaching and its cold here - very little sunshine.  And its 3 days before I fly home to South Africa after what has been the most amazing, inspiring, life changing experience and I am here in Chiswick, London staying with my wonderful friend Kara and her blessed family. I am super excited to land on SA soil, to feel and breathe the rhythm of Africa, to feel the warm sunshine and the openess of the Garden Route and the magic and sacred waters of my beloved river, the ocean the beaches and the beautiful people I hold in my heart, but there is a feeling of fear and I am feeling a certain amount of apprehension about my return and how its all going to be.  This is a good thing, why ?, because it gets me to observe what is happening for me and to ask the questions as to why I am feeling these emotions especially after all the amazing work I am doing and experiences I have been having over these past months.  My daughter said to me this morning - "Mom you have the power, you went to Russia !" and she is so right and I have been to places and done things that have created a brevity within myself that I never thought possible.

So why the fear about going home ?  there is much said about the issues in life that will always be there no matter where we go, or whom we are with, no matter what,  the issues will remain until they are dealt with and confronted and we take full responsibility for what is happening to create the issues.  When I left South Africa on this amazing journey, I had certain things that were not working for me in my life, I was lonely and needed to make changes.  And I have and I have been able to really confront my loneliness and also stimulate myself, meet amazing people, having unbelievable experiences all while living out of one suitcase and a backpack, and really get in touch with me, myself and I.  What an amazing journey this has been for me and many times I have commented on the reflection of my beauty and inspiration in the amazing people I have met and really deeply connected with.  And the gift and magic of it all - I have beloved friends all over the world and have conquered a huge
challenge - being alone !

So the fear about going home is about something else.  Its a projection and a wondering and a questioning of myself and the path that I have chosen to take as I walk my walk on this magnificent earth. I found this amazing quotation written by Hafiz just as I was sitting contemplating how to share what is happening with me and feeling compelled to do so.  It brings me to sharing my split open, the point of making the decision to walk the path of being congruent and walking my talk - becoming the Sacred Divine Adventurer inspiring and sharing my divine seed which in turn will inspire others to shine their light and be their magnificent selves.  And it is with this inspiration and this passion I decided to make a big change in my life and stop smoking marijuana 15 months ago.  When I made this decision I was at a crossroads in my life and I realized that to be authentic and really fulfill the essence of my life's purpose, I needed to clear away the fog and the clouds of deception.  I felt I was out of integrity and trying to balance a reality that was dishonest and filled with deceit.  The decision was an amazing one for me, and I really started feeling the shift almost immediately.  I had smoked for 23 years and only started when I was 27 years old, so it was an adult decision for me.  And it was amazing for me as I opened up to a part of myself that I didn't know existed and it assisted to meet friends and other people from all walks of life who were doing it too.  I felt accepted and part of something.  One of the most alive memories for me is that when smoking a joint with kitchen staff in bars and lounges in Cape Town in the 1980's,  when we were going through so much in our country, and the information of what was going on was withheld from us, the opportunity arose by sharing and chatting with people living in the townships,  giving me the opportunity to know more of what was happening and to share moments of compassion for the devastation.  Marijuana was the thing that brought us together, but it was the thing that exposed me to a darkness as well, and other drugs and the damage that it was doing to other's lives, especially young people.  I  always justified my usage and kept my world clear and filled with light and love, but if I am honest with myself and really look at the path that I decided to follow, this was an illusion.  We are all one and what I do and am part of, reflects in others and visa verse.  I carried this for 23 years.  And even when I stopped smoking I didn't realize how out of integrity I was with myself.  My journey has brought me to a new awareness now and it with this awareness that I need to make amends heal this part of my life.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He/She did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He/She will make all things right
if I surrender to His/Her Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him/Her
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

I return to South Africa and begin my new life with clarity, with congruency, with an openess and with an honesty and self respect at the space I am in.  I have undertaken a path of Love in Action with my life and my work, and as I grow and develop this truth in my life and walk on my path in full integrity, I know that there are moments where I may stand alone, and walk on shaky ground, where my truth is questioned or where I question myself and have to make decisions that are not always comfortable.  I have met quite a few people on my journey that have made the same decisions within their life to make changes about confronting addictions and working the steps to recovery, making amends and living a more spiritual life.  They are beautiful authentic people who hold the Grace of God deep within their heart and this has inspired me and filled me with a new found light and strength to step each step of my life connected with Spirit and in the Light of Love.  This is a blessed decision holding a huge amount of support and love.  This is the ancient fertile plain that I believe I hold title to.  And sharing my moment of splitting open and discovering something that has been holding me back and dimming my light, is such a congruent moment for me, as it gives me the sacred opportunity to be open and honest in everything that I do and say, even when I write my blog posts as a sacred divine adventurer.

 if light is in your heart you will find your way home - Rumi

Thank you for reading my splitting open sharing and for walking my path with me.  May I continue to inspire and honour this journey that I have undertaken and keep true to my word.  I am a blessed being filled with so much light and honour and blessings, and I truly hope that as I continue with this adventure, that the light will continue to shine brightly.

Until next time, Om Shanti Shanti Shanti xxx

What a gift this is !

Suddenly, very very quickly, and quite out of the blue, I realised that tomorrow 2 weeks I am flying home to SA.  A lifetime of journey or maybe a journey of a lifetime is winding to a place of closure and re-opening to something new.  When I embarked on my journey, so many of my beloved friends shared with me that I would change, that I would be a different person through the experiences I would have and through the people that I would meet along the way, and I knew in theory they were correct and that such a big adventure could only bring about expanding and opening of new parts of myself.  But I was never quite sure of what the changes and shifts would be, how could I as all was still in an itinerary and in my vision still to be created and experienced.  Well I can say now, with all my conviction, that through the experiences that I have lived in the past 7 months, I have shifted, transformed and am returning to South Africa with new feelings about myself.  The shifts and changes are subtle and deep within my being, the acceptance of myself and who I AM is for me the reflection of my sacred, divine adventure and the mirror has been in the amazing people I have met and interacted with, through whom I have been able to witness Who I Am - and my eyes have been opened.
What a gift this is !

Its very interesting for me to have been ill these past 2 weeks as when I left the Garden Route and left SA, I was also ill and my body is such a wonderful indicator for me to read how I carry my stress, fear, angst and healing processes.  How different the 2 experiences have been and I am amazed and how important this time of healing and resting, being in such a gentle, loving healing space with my beloved friend Santosh, reflects the change and the shift in my manifestation and the mammoth transformation I have gone through.  What a gift this is !

There is something I would like to share ............. I lived in Cape Town in the 1980's,  a time when SA was going through such turbulence and terrible times, there was so much fear, there were bombs and explosions, arrests, no freedom of expression and it was horrible.  I was a young mother then and so much of what was happening around me was a reflection of what was happening within my own life, trying to survive in a very shaky world and there was a place where I would go for inspiration, to reflect and to gain power.  This is Chapmans Peak.  I would sit on the side of the road on the pass and look at to the point over the vast ocean and I  would prayer, talk to God, and I would get power and strength to carry on and I always knew that all would be okay.  This power point is extremely beautiful.  During the years that I have been living first in Jozi and the on the Garden Route, every time I go to Cape Town, I visit Chapmans Peak and have a moment with this point always using my time there to ask for guidance and to say thank you for the immensity of this power point for me.  And now, from 1 Dec 2012, I am relocating to Cape Town and have found a garden apartment in Hout Bay, 5 mins from Chapmans Peak. What is so amazing about this is that I am so excited to go to my fav. spot and open my arms and embrace my power point and just say Thank You - I have gained so much courage from this point of power, so much strength to get through so many dark and lonely moments in my life, and now I have the honour of being able to say Thank You.  What a gift this is !

My time in Scotland, after Findhorn, has been very still and much of the time has been resting and healing in the guest room of Santosh in Rosyth.  And during this time, there have been very few sunny, warm days, mostly rain, grey and cold days, making resting and being quiet really easy.  And giving me the opportunity to just be still.  I haven't seen much of this beautiful land, but the bits I have seen are so beautiful, especially the sky, so open, close to the earth and just expanded.  On Sunday that has just passed, Santosh and I set off on an adventure to a place called the Hermitage, near Dunkeld, in the Scottish Highlands.  I discovered it when we arrived there that I had stopped there on my way to Rosyth, and so wanted to get out and walk in the forest near the river but it was raining.  Well this time we went prepared with boots and umbrellas, jackets, water, etc. for our adventure.  Santosh is far more prepared that I am - she lives here and knows that the sun has only shone about 15 days this year, but I come from Africa so my wardrobe is slightly different.  Anyway it was amazing, walking in this magical forest, with moss and trees and just the wonders of the natural world so abundant.  A fairy playground I am sure, I could almost hear their laughter and joy as we walked and breathed the crisp, cleansing air and felt the invigorating coldness on our skin.  The sun popped in every now and again, but generally it was muddy and wet, and I did slip at one point and ended up with a brown muddy patch on my knee - but it didn't matter, this was medicine for my soul and I loved every moment of our walk.  We ended at the car park with a delicious coffee and muffin from the vendor, and then set off on a drive through Dundee along the Fife Coastal Route all along fishing and other villages, all steeped with history and amazing stories.  It was a wonderful day, and having Fish & Chips in a fishing village called Anstruther, drinking organic Elderberry wine, and a walk on the pier after sunset.  A wonderful day with a wonderful friend, and so amazing to have someone to share magic moments with, take photos, laugh and just be - What a gift it is !

 The last time I spend my birthday alone was in 1979, I turned 19 and was living in Hillbrow, Jozi in a bachelor flat, and I was in a not so good space in my life.  31 years later, I am about to spend my birthday alone, in that I don't have my friends and family with me, but not alone by any means in that I am going to do a detox retreat in Norfolk  and will be pampered, nurtured, healed and renewed, which is such a perfect way to spend my birthday, and honour myself and the journey I have just been on.  I am reflecting on how my life has shifted and changed, not only on this adventure, but as each year and milestone is reached, the manifestation and growth I have undertaken has been phenomenal, and here I am at 52 in the most perfect place right now, spending time with ME, What a gift it is !

My next post may be from London, it may be from OR Tambo Airport, and it may be from the Garden Route.  I only have 2 weeks left of my journey and want to make the most of each and every moment.  I have so much inspiration to share and will have much to write about as my Sacred Adventure continues, but that is then and this is NOW.  Being in each moment and loving what is, is such a gift, and What a gift it is !

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti xxx

Love & Magic & Miracles at Findhorn

Findhorn has been something quite extraordinary and since I arriving there,  it feels like I have been there a lifetime.  I have had my heart expanded to new levels and the magic and essence of  the Findhorn community is something that I dreamed of experiencing for so long.  Findhorn is a community living love in action on every level, the people are amazing, and their essence is so beautiful.  I witnessed a feeling of being safe like I have never quite experience before in my life.

                            

I participated in experience week workshop for my first week and stayed at Cluny Hill, the building which was the first hotel that Peter & Eileen Caddy & Dorothy McClean ran with God's guidance more than 50 years ago.  Its a beautiful old building with amazing trees and woods behind it and view of green rolling hills, a golf course which although not an amazing, environmentally aware space, ensures that no other development or building will happen preserving their view. 

The dining room at Cluny is quite an extraordinary room with big windows looking over the golf course and gardens, where the sun streams in (when it shines) so beautifully.  Cluny is like Hogwarts and the hotel from Faulty Towers, with everything in between. Experience week is a full immersion in the community of Findhorn Foundation and each activity and process is a beautiful way to feel the essence and the love, gentleness and kindness that runs through community.  There were 16 people in the group from 11 different countries (Emma from London, Dominic from Lancaster, Mark from Hamshire, Claudia & Patricia from Brasil, Marcus from Austria, John from USA, Hekla from Iceland, Mary from Australia, Doris & Pia from Germany, Ruben from Norway, Lucia from Argentina, Tsjeard from Holland and beloved Ria from Japan and our 2 focalisers Monika from Germany & John from England). We all bonded and connected very quickly.  At the Findhorn Foundation, there was a feeling of friendship and real nurturing immediately I arrived, and I loved it.  To be in such an aware space with aware people, and to share and eat with people, to laugh, to cry, to wash toilets, clean the sauna, work in a team, follow a meditative and attunement process of holding space and honouring each other all of the time was so amazing.  I fell in love with Findhorn and had many moments of not wanting to leave, feeling like I could just stay there forever filling my cup, and living a way of life that is so amazing.

Then last week I attended their 50th Birthday Conference - Love Magic & Miracles, and this time I moved to The Park, the original site where this Magic Findhorn Community began in 1962, with 3 founders living in a caravan park, right next to an air force base.  Now a thriving community expanding and growing, living with nature and working in ways of ecologically harmonious principals as well as the energy of Love in Action, its inspiring and shows me that with Spirit and Love it is possible. I shared a house called Diane's with a Scottish couple Fergus and Marion, and 3 other women, Ellie from USA, Marie from London and Janice who is Irish, but lives in Sussex and has previously lived at Findhorn for many years.  And we had so much fun and very many incredible conversations and wonderful moments of laughing deep, deep to the core, which is so amazing and uplifting.  The conference was an amazing opportunity for different teachers to inspire, inform, motivate and shower my senses with so much dynamic information.  Robert Holden, Caroline Myss, Andrew Harvey, Phillip Newel, Marko Pogachnik, David Spangler, Thomas Moore, Dr Ervin Lazlo, Geoff Daglish (South African), David & Vera Harmonic Temple, Sylvia Black (South African), Jay Ramsay and Judy McAllister, aswell as Barbara & Francois taking care of all the music and entertainment and magic in the most wonderful way.   I felt completely conferenced out by the end of the week. And I started the week with a dose of flu which just reflected a release and letting go for me after so many months of travelling and holding so much together.  There are many South Africans who live at Findhorn Foundation and visit every year, each with amazing stories and beautiful energy and it was so amazing to meet and connect with them.  Do you know that everyone loves our SA accent, people just loved the way I speak and kept telling me - that has been so much fun.

And then straight from the conference I stepped into 'Living as a Congruent Human Being' with Caroline Myss,   for 3 days of such spectacular information delivered in the most extra-ordinary, self opening and aware way, and this was an extremely life changing experience. And again I met more South Africans that had come for the workshop from Durban and Jozi and a wonderful woman Morag who runs a project in Umkomaas in Kwazulu Natal, and now lives in Cumbria UK, whom I connected very deeply with and who I know I will be working together with in the future.   I am still filtering and absorbing my experiences over the past 16 days,  and am now happily ensconced with my beloved friend Santosh, where I will be for the next 10 days, preparing for my return to SA and enjoying this opportunity of spending such wonderful quality time with a sacred, beloved friend. And my flu has continued into a full on infection so I am now resting and healing from in the soft cocoon of beloved Santosh's guest room and love energy.

 I love Findhorn, I love the peace and the feeling of complete safety I felt there, the opportunities to workshop, learn and share so much, to practice humility and love in action, the tuning in and connecting knowing that anything is possible and that miracles happen in each moment of each day.  Walking, meditating, sitting and being in a magic field of this story, connecting with amazing people from all over the world, making the most exceptional friendships that touched my heart so deeply making it really sad to say goodbye, all contributed to the most wonderful experience.  There are so many silent moments, spaces of such beauty and deep connection with nature and her beautiful spirits and devas in so many forms and designs.  Abundant birds and a sky that offers a dimension that is omnipresent and expanding.

Scotland is beautiful. WOW.  Driving from the Lakes to Inverness, then to Findhorn and now to Rosyth where Santosh lives, 30 miles from Edinborough, has been the most beautiful journey experiencing this expanding sky, cloud formations, hills and mountains, rivers, forests all of such beauty and so holy and sublime that my heart has been expanded by the majesty of Mother Earth and her Nature - a gift that is so extreme that words once again are insignificant.

And now as I prepare for the next 21 days of my journey before I leave the UK and fly home, and have a moment to reflect on my experiences and the exceptional adventure I have been on, I am so in awe of where I have been and the incredible people I have met and connected with.  And its not possible for me write it all in my blog as often my words are just so insignificant and can never capture the heart connections that I have witnessed and the immensity of the friendships that I have created, or the interactions and conversations I have had in different places with people who I may never see again or whose names I don't even know, and yet our encounters are placed like diamonds within my heart, each to be treasured and honoured for their beauty and significance.  And I am extremely grateful for it all.

When I arrive back in SA, I will stay on the Garden Route for November and then am planning to relocate to Cape Town to continue this adventure, and recreate my life.  I have decided to dedicate the next 5 years to writing a Masters on Drumming & Rhythm as a Therapeutic Tool and to writing my book on the Women in my life.  How this will unfold is the mystery, and an opportunity that I am open to and look so forward to.  Within this time, I plan to study Applied Psychology, travel and continue my research work with various groups around the world with whom I plan to facilitate rhythm workshops and research the benefits and the transformation process.  My work I am now calling Love in Action, which I am offering as service to the great Mother and All.  And my book to be written as an inspiration with wisdom and knowledge of living in these incredible times of change and transformation.

My adventure has just started, and having this opportunity to write and share my blog, has opened up my connection with the divine in a way that has created a excitement within me to write and continue learning, growing, sharing and inspiring as my life unfolds, and my divine sacred adventure will continue.  I am honoured and blessed to have so many exceptional people that have joined me on this journey and surround you all with blessed light and love as we continue, together, with love, magic and many many miracles.

I love you - I see you - I thank you - Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

The Mists of Avalon ............

To end  my sacred adventure in England is perfect and I have the most wonderful time exploring Cornwell, Glastonbury, Avebury and now the Lake Districts.  I am loving the people, the soft scenery and the magic spaces.  Old, ancient buildings, graveyards and beautiful temples both Christian and Pagan. I have visited the The Eden Project, The Gardens on Heligan, village ports that resonate with stories of old and yesteryear, almost stuck in a time of their own.

In Tintagel I stayed at  Camelot Castle which is right on the cliffs on the Atlantic ocean and overlooking Tintagel ruins of what is thought to be King Arthur's Castle.  Camelot Castle was an experience that still has me wondering, the hotel is a castle and is furnished with original furnishing and authentic features, and the walls are filled with the art of Artist and co-owner, Ted Stourton.  The whole energy around this space is different and I felt while I was staying there I had walked through the veil into a completely altered reality, nothing sinister as many believe, nothing bad or energy draining, but something magical and resonating on a different frequency.

This brings up something that I have said many times before in my blogs and in my life, accepting and not judging other's truth is such an interesting journey.  And its a challenge for all of us, as so much creates charge and gets us to question what is right and what is wrong.  Its a very personal value system that we hold within ourselves.  I work with energy and feeling, if I feel unhappy or unsettled I know that at any moment I can change my reality, and I do.  And is it not just amazing that we are all so different and unique and without this diversity life would not be as amazing as it is.  Within nature nothing is the same, each being, atom, life force is unique and different.  Look at snowflakes, and look at us humans, there is not one nose, eye, fingerprint that is the same - how incredible is that.  The internet and technology as amazing as it and connects us all so powerfully but it is also used for people to dis-credit and judge others and these words have become so powerful and can cause countries to change, look at the Arab spring which began in Egypt.  We need to be discerning and careful in what we respond to or allow within our reality.  And so I again will express that I am writing based on my own experiences, my own discernment, and my own feelings.  Unique and different beings are usually judged so harshly and yet we are all different and unique.  Amen & So mote it be.

Cornwell was magical, there is an acceptance there for being different, a cohesion between religion and the old ways, there is a tolerance of difference and its tangible feeling this difference.  In Boscastle is the the Witches Museum, and amazing museum honouring Witches and the journey and ways of the Wise Ones.  Within this museum are stories of such destruction, abuse and horror and what is amazing this is one of the only places where these stories are told in the context of which these abuses happened.  It was an honour to visit this museum and I am so grateful for this experience.  Again being different and unique and making a stand against the norm brought huge destruction and abuse of a minority of people who were just living their truth and honouring the great Mother Gaia.  Oh dear - Forgive them Father/Mother God for they know no what they do .......... !

       

And then I was in Glastonbury and it is a magical, very alternative and very different place, quite extra-ordinary.  Again there is an acceptance between Christianity and Pagan ways, and they share their celebrations and rituals and honour each other's belief's and differences. Its quite remarkable.  I loved walking the streets, visiting the shops and talking to the colourful people that live here.  There is an old Knysna feeling here, with many traders, hippies, Witches, conservatives, Christians, and everything in between the diversity.  And the energy is amazing - I would so love to come to the Glastonbury festival - it must be absolutely wonderful to see the expression of creativity. attended a Sacred Drumming circle in a beautiful old chapel in Glastonbury.  The drums used are Frame Drums and the experience of drumming and singing sacred songs, honouring the energies that support and give us wisdom was wonderful.  And the group of women were all ordinary, down to earth, real, lovely people all sharing a common connection of love and honour for the earth and for eachother.

On my route to Avebury, I visited Stonehenge.  WOW its was such an incredible experience to walk around the stones and witness something extraordinary.  I met a Shaman on my walk around the stones, she had a staff with the head of a deer - she and her deer looked exactly the same.  She took me on a journey right there on the path, to connect with the stones and the energy surrounding me, it was amazing.  Then as I looked into her eyes, I knew that My time is now - its was a tangible, real experience.  And when we were complete she said "Its Time, you know exactly what to do ........... and I do.

Avebury was also amazing and the are where so many of the crop circles happen in the fields.  And the stones, amazing stones that are on fields of green, where people walk and connect.  And the diversity of people visiting Avebury is again a wonderful reflection of how people can coexist and just be who they are.  I stayed at Overtown Manor, a working farm in Wroughton, and it was so lovely.  Comfortable and nurturing and the peace and gentleness just wonderful.  Close by is Barbury Castle ruins, another amazing place to walk in circles on ruins from a Castle from long, long ago.  Each step resonating with another time and another place.

   

Driving has given me loads of time to think and ponder on my life when I get home to SA.  Its fast approaching and I am making plans and really considering my various options.

Now imagine having a clear, white canvas in front of you and next to you on a table are paints, crayons, pens, brushes, glue, scissors, images, charcoal, everything in all colours, shapes, sizes, genre's ever imagined.  Now imagine this canvas is magic and whatever you place on it can change, disappear and then reappear as you will it to.  Well that is how I am feeling about my journey and as I step my feet back on SA soil, my canvas becomes clear and I have the power to create whatever I choose to - Now that is exciting !  And I am envisaging a new life that is so rich in possibilities and options and I have decided that taking about the weather, like the English do, is the best possible way to go through life as it can't bring you down - the weather is like it is - unpredictable, ever changing, and keeps us on our toes as we never know what is really going to happen next.

On my way to The Lakes, I stopped for a night with Sue and Roger in Shrewsbury.  They have a house in Knysna and come to our drumming classes when in town and what a wonderful evening we had.  There are the first people from home that I have spend any time with since beginning my journey and it was so good to share and laugh and be with a family and with friends for a bit.










And now I am exploring the Lakes and am on my way to Findhorn.  Another dream that I have held in my heart for so many years that I will now fulfill. I am truly blessed and keep knowing this.