Himalayan vistas

while the views are spectacular from my flat in dhramsala, nothing quite took my breath away like this 9 hour round-trip hike to a saddle in the sky known as triund. we arose early and began hiking around 8 am. the trail was oft steep and slippery, while other times it was just a soft meander through thick forests and heavy fog. the day was filled with moments where we could see 10 feet, were getting soaked, and surrounded by a cloud, then in a flash the sky would open up and we could see peaks ahead of us and the very villaged valleys below. it was a nice way to hike. we never quite knew the destination above nor where we had been before. we were stuck in the moment and had no choice but to remain in the NOW and see what was near us at the time. the fog allowed each curve to be noted, each tree to glisten with dew and the views to be all important when it was their turn. as we trudged and navigated, the heavens would momentarily reveal their jewels and we would have grand visions of the entire mystery around us. it was magikal.

(click pics for full vision)


view back towards dharamsala. my flat is at about 6000 feet and the hike brought us to 10,000.



at the very top there was a guy who had carried a tea shop up. nice place to relax and grab a creamy chai, but a weird sight to see none-the-less...

the golden temple

the golden temple is a Sikh temple in Amritsar, India. the religion is fairly new as it was founded in the 1400's by a man who was fed up with both Islam and Hindu dogma. he refined the teachings of both religions and met somewhere in the middle of the two. there are no dietary restrictions, ascetisim or extreme fundamentals. the sikh wear turbans and do not cut their beards or hair. they are aligned most often with the warrior caste and most carry a small sword they receive when they are young. the original guru, called guru nanak, wrote hymns and text while stressing living well and meditating in GOD daily. i have met a few sikhs and they are a peaceful and accepting bunch. there are around 20 million sikhs in India and 100,000 in the US as well.



we arrived at the temple around 3:30 AM and as we approached there were sikhs leaving ready to start their day after participating with their GOD. as we entered barefoot, we washed our feet and passed into a huge building surrounding an even larger seeming courtyard. the golden temple was ablaze with light reflecting from is gold plated surface as it sat on an island surrounded by water known as the "pool of nectar." i almost fell over. there were people still sleeping, bathing and wrapping their turbans. the vibe was peaceful and still. anyone is allowed to sleep in the outer temple area and free food is served at dawn and dusk. there were thousands present we we arrived.

the golden temple houses the original book of hymns in the religion. each morning at 4:30am it is "woken up" by bringing it down the long and skinny path that connects the temple island to the main courtyard. it is "put to bed" at about 10:15pm each night. both ceremonies are full of ritual and are attended by those that live in the area as well as pilgrims from around the world.
my friends and i were the only westerners in sight and few seemed to notice or care. we walked the path through the 'pool of nectar' while ebbing and flowing with the crowd seeking the glowing building in the center. the energy was so think in the air i could almost grab it. people were focused, very close and yet calm and collected. no one was rushing and any pushing seemed to lack any ill-intent.
the building was as stunning inside as it was out. there were tons of bright colors and intricate patterns. the floor and base of the building was inlaid white marble with depictions of flowers tracing all over. i felt as though i was not processing any of the surroundings but was rather tuned into the whole experience on a different level. i could FEEL what was around me. i could feel the chants and hymms that came as the book was opened and all the people turned to face it it. i could feel the calmness as i meditated on the roof of the temple. i could FEEL. it was one of the the most magical experience of my life.


dawn rises on the temple.


the path leading from the right is the narrow passage from the outside walkway. the building in the distance is the outer ring of courtyard and is mirrored on the other side. the place is entirely different from the bustling and dirty city outside it. it is a whole new reality with an entirely different ambiance, flavor, felling and character than any place i have been.

"i climbed to dharamsala"

these are some views form my neck of the woods. most of the days have cloud cover and rain for at least part of the time. some days the viability is 10 feet and others we can see a few hundred miles to another range in the distance far from the hill we are perched on. as with all the pictures on this blog, you can click for a larger high-resolution image.



my flat has a huge balcony on it and quite the expansive views. great place for stretching and sitting in the mornings with a little breakfast and the "Hindustan times" newspaper. the area below is the kangra valley.



view from backside of my flat.




it took a few days after my arrival to see the gray peaks of the Himalayas behind dharamsala and above the plush green hills that protect them. most days they poke their head out for just an instant and often they sleep behind the soft comfy curtain of cloudy cover.



a hiking trail a few minutes beyond upper dharamsala and 10 mins from my flat, offers glorious views. since it is monsoon season there are big rivers, little streams and water flowing downhill anywhere it finds a seam.



ummmmm.... glorious. meadow with Pegasus chillin for the evening chow down. glorious.



after a month in this wondrous place, the beauty still never escapes me. every morning i am still awed by the nature that i am engulfed in. every afternoon as the clouds rush up the hill beside me on their search for a slow ascent towards the peaks above, i am floored. each night the stars in their bright clarity give me hours of stare time. i feel as though i can understand why everyone whom i have met here, rich and poor, young and old, able-bodied or not, always have a calm and pleasant nature to them. how can one not be at peace when this is what the know of the world...?

a day in the life... or something

i can't believe that 3 weeks have already passed here in dharamsala. its been quite the experience. a majority of the volunteers left yesterday as the most popular duration is 3 weeks (mine is 6 weeks). of the original 27, there are only seven of us here for the weekend as we await the new group due on tuesday. it was sad to see people leave as we had all become surprisingly close in such a short amount of time. good memories and people to visit in future to come.

as mentioned previously, my volute er time at the special school is quite exciting as we are in the final preparations for moving to the new school. i have been busy doing regular classes while also trying to help out with the new place. the opening party is scheduled for the 14th of july and we are expecting around 50 people to show. its great to watch the project move towards fruition. the school looks amazing and is equipped with hand painted stars, clouds, fruits, veggies, numbers and the alphabet. we just got a computer, curtains, new lights and there is mini-garden in the works. these kids are getting an amazing facility, great staff and fully deserve this blessing.

my days are long but move swiftly and are often quite stimulating. as of now, the special school is only in session in the mornings. i have been running the class of 4 lately as the teacher and other staff are trying to crunch out the final details on the new space. we usually start the day with some simple yoga poses and exercises to get the blood flowing. all of the kids have some form of physical difficulties so we do a wide range of things from stretches to jumping to wrist and head rolls. its one of my favorite parts of the morning. we usually move into sign language next. there is a set of like 30 signs that use a modified form american standard and are geared at helping us all communicate about basic things. the kids like to test me on my ability and laugh hysterically if i mess up a little. we are also working on hindi, math and english with three of the students both in notebooks and on the computer. they are all at different levels and it took me a few days to figure out what sorts of exercises and homework were both challenging and possible. one of the hardest things to communicate has been the concept of carrying when adding larger numbers. using beads, fingers and tick marks have been the fail safes. the end of the morning always involves bananas, cookies, parachutes, balls and fun matching games. we also do the india version of chutes and ladders, which manifests as snakes and stairs... fun times. i loving the challenge and smiles that each day brings and i have a HUGE respect for those that teach special ed on the regular, it is both a skill and an art.

since school is over in the afternoons i have experimented with a few different activities. some afternoons involve painting aforementioned walls at the school and others are for reading, naps and wandering/wondering. i also have spent some time volunteering in the tibetan section of town, called Mcloud Ganj, teaching conversational english to exiled monks and students at a place called the hope center. the stories of escape from china are always the intro and its great to hear first hand about Buddhism and life as a refugee. also, earlier this week i had a chance to listen to a lecture by the head of the national tibetan library, which is located a few minutes from my flat. the monk was amazing and had the most gentle and sincere candor of anyone i have ever met. his previous job was accompanying the dali lama on his foreign trips and serving in his cabinet, so he had quite the inside scoop on the man, his plans for tibet, talks with china and what enlightenment means/feels like. he uploaded tons of data into our brains and did it with the jolliest of smiles. i got the ask the final question of the session and had my mind blown by his explanation of "emptiness." woa.

while i am at the halfway point in volunteer time, it is still new everyday and india always has surprises. i am interested to meet the new volunteers and take some more weekend trips around the area. on a side note: a yogi just opened a studio next door to me this morning and rocked my world with new-to-me postures and a segment of laughter yoga along with tons of breathing techniques. his eyes are bright and full of playful joy as they dance in the candle light of early morning. holy moly.

life has been good and i feel very privileged to be on this adventure. it is so rewarding to give and receive on such a visceral yet somehow still mystical level with the kids, other volunteers and the culture. i feel that i am learning sooo much and absorbing information all the time. my voice has also become strong and i have ended up in some pretty interesting conversations with anyone that will listen and share with the kid who has an octopus on his head :)

it is really powerful to wake to a disastrous newspaper headline from the world at-large and then bear witness to those in the trenches finding the pure beauty that always accompanies its negative opposite half. it is sometimes hard to see the light in the midst of despair and fear, but it is always there, it just takes a correctly focused set of eye-minds....



wishing bliss everywhere to all.
i love india.
i love you.
namaste.