Whew what a week !

Goodness this week has flown by. It started last weekend when Emma and Suz stayed and I attuned them to Reiki 2. It was so good to have time with them both and it was a milestone really. You see we had decided to do this last year around the same time, but events overtook me and I really was not in a good place energetically so I had to call it off. It was so meaniful for me to at last share this with my friends.And of course we had a good catch up.  We had loads of laughs, a couple of tears and a good meal with Sue in Cleethorpes on the Saturday night.We each had so many different experiences to share. And Emma was able to tell me more about Bali.  Actually I have decided that Bali will be a good place to leave the big 'C' behind. I am hoping that Bali will give me the opportunity to completely cleanse and refresh my spirit and exercise any bad stuff left in me, especially from last year. And I intend to take a token from my treatment with me and I'm either going to burn it or bury it. Either way I am leaving it there. It is not coming home with me. Job done!
Then a weird thing happened. I have been wanting to try past life regression. And was told that a guy called Peter Wall is very good. The lady that told me led me to believe he was from Hull. And I have been googling him to no avail. Then last week Dennis brought home a leaflet advertising a MBS fair in York. When I read down the list of speakers, there he was. He's from Barnsley, thats why I couldnt find him!
I rang him in the week and arranged a meeting he gave me directions, told me that he would do 2 regressions and it would be taped, that was all we said. Then as I was saying goodbye, he said, ' You know Simon Goodfellow dont you'?  I said' yes - how do you know that'? . He laughed and said' I'm pyshic.' How odd, how would he know that?? Am looking forward to the meeting even more now !!
On Thursday I got my new tattoo, its a Lotus flower ( very symbolic in both buddhism and hinduism). I went to the same guy that did my Om. The first thing he said was ' now thats what I call a real Lotus'. When I told him where I got the design from- the Yogi temple at Menri. He told me he was into Buddhism and had read a bit about it, so we were so busy talking I hardly felt a thing. You see the Universe is still sending me signs confirming I am on the correct path. Then I downloaded a free book onto my Kindle that confirms all the theories I had been discussing with the girls last weekend. Wow.

At the Hospital

Had a good meeting with Jenny Smith, my consultant on Friday. She examined me and said she knew I had a secret to my good skin, how did I keep it so well. All my scars are healing really good and the skin itself is really soft. What did I use on it ?? So I had to fez up and tell her it was my Sunbeds and my Collagen bed !! She really didnt know what to say ! She also said I was the most positive person she had ever had in her treatment room. She asked me why that was? I didnt like to tell her that even 6 years ago I would have been a quaking wreck. The answer ?  My spirituality of course. I told her that my beliefs and my interest in spirituality and meditation are what got me through. Now I know what it means to have 'faith'. I just wish I had it years ago, then perhaps I might never have succumbed to the big one. Although however I think this was my fate. I had a very important lesson to learn and Boy have I learnt it. My life has changed big time. I dont suppose I would ever have been going to Bali or done a lot of other stuff were it not for this.  I have said before how someting life limiting can give you liberation and its true. So true. I am no longer confined to worrying about a poor old age or being alone. My priorities are much more in the now, about enjoying every moment. Its great. Ifs theres one think I can help you with its just that. Live in the moment. Enjoy every minute. Feel the power of now....

Great weekend coming ....

What a busy week. Did two sessions in the shop this week as one of the girls was off. Then getting prepared for this coming weekend when two of my  dear 'woo woo' friends are coming to get attuned to Reiki second degree. I started by revising my Reiki manual and making a few changes- mostly additions. Then I gave Dennis the Reiki two attunement ( as practise for me- well thats what I told him, plus a psychic attunement I came across in my SOL).
Also we've spent a load of time out in the garden as the weathers been fab. And some down time in my newly revamped shed. I so love my shed and the new stuff from Nepal and India looks so much at home. It really is evolving into a meditation and healing shed. I feel so light when I'm in there. Any negative stuff from last year is well gone. I have Smudged, Reiki'ied and Tibetan Singing Bowled it well into the past and this weekend will also move the energy forward. Cant wait to meet up with my friends again, we've all so much to catch up on. I'm not sure how we will fit it all into a couple of days, but I know we will just pick up from where we left off last time. We always do. No awkardness or silence, we just carry on from the last time. Isnt that great?  But before that I have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow at 11, this one is with Jenny my consultant to discuss my reconstruction. Well you all know where I stand on that. And I know Jenny and her team will be ok about it too as it is my decision. The only query is on how long this temporary implant can stay in. So that will be the deciding factor I suppose. Not stressing about it, but will be more able to make an informed decision once I have the full info. Then later Emma and Suzi will arrive and the fun will begin. Saturday shall be taken up with Reiki two, then into Cleethorpes for a Thai meal and some serious catching up ....

Still in Menri

Today I am printing off my Reiki second degree manuals after revising them, ready for next weekend when my two great friends shall be staying here and I shall feel very priviledged to give to them the Reiki attunement. It will be a lovely weekend, lots of laughs and catching up to do.  Its been really good to read up and revise some Reiki stuff, I rediscovered a great meditation that I had forgotten about, centered around 'Om' of course. I shall retreat to my shed this afternoon to do this meditation.
Have been dreaming a lot since we got back from Nepal. Mostly my dreams feature Menri Monestary and the monks. All really peaceful and when I wake up, just for a second I believe I am still there. Its a wonderful feeling, in fact I do feel that I have had a spiritual top up, and its still going on.
We have booked another holiday, this time to Casablanca. We are going to be there for my birthday in June. I am really looking forward to that. But in the meantime I have been trying to prepare for Bali by buying some nice easy going Kaftans and Harem pants, all a bit hippy I,m glad to say. And of course they will be fine for Casablanca too. My nails are almost back to normal and my hair is almost an inch long- and kinky !! Its weird, Ive always had straight hair, however I have been told it will return to normal eventually. So I have decided to embrace the curliness and make the most of it!! anyhow back to my Reiki preparations ......

Normal day

Been quite busy this morning in the garden. We have trimmed the hedges and a couple of trees that needed doing. I have also planted some pansies and primroses. We worked quite hard and at the end I still felt I had energy left. This is amazing. It may not sound like much but its quite a change for only a short time ago. Although I felt my energy levels were ok, I could not have held the hedge trimmer let alone cut anything with it !!  Its so good to be able to do these things once more.
Then off to the Oddyssey center for a Reiki session with David. We had loads to catch up with first, like details of our holiday, which now seems such a long time ago. Yet its not even a week !!
I had a great Reiki treatment. I relaxed into the couch and went down deep very quickly. I think I even dosed off. But whilst I was having it I saw his Holiness and he smiled at me. It was a really benevolent smile, it felt good.  Maybe I crossed his mind temporarily- who's to say ?
Anyhow a busy week, then Den's down to Norfolk to see his Mum for Mothers day. Next week I will have Suzi and Emma here for a Reiki 2 attunement. Cant wait ...

Weird Stuff

I said I would go through some of the weird things that happened, well here goes. We kept loosing things and they kept reappearing a few days later. Not important things, but things like the electric plug adapter. We got to Delhi and couldnt find it. We emptied the suitcase ( both of us- twice ) and Dennis went out a bought a couple more. Two days later I opened the case and there on top of the clothes was the original adaptor. I lost my little stone buddha. It was in my travel bag and it disappeared - we both emptied the bag to look for it. It was definitely not there. Then a few days later I put my hand into my bag to get something out and it literally dropped into my hand!! This happened with Dens throat sweets, our emergency supplies of flapjacks and a couple of other things. Even Dennis began to get freaked. Then it was my belief that doors that had been opened last time were definitely closed on this trip. We couldnt get into a lot of the temples that we were at last time, it even looked at one time as though we couldnt get into Menri.  Ani was not at the Tara school but back at Boudha which we had just left.  It was as though the Universe was telling me to get on with things and stop looking back. That was how it appeared to me anyhow. Then  synchronicity, in Shimla I bought a few books on Hinduism, one of them on Sri Ravi Shanker and his breath of life. We then came across an advert in a shop window advertising his teaching !!  The American lady staying at Menri knew Chongtul, Cathy and Karen Williams.  How unlikely was that ??
We also both experienced weird dreams all the time. Mine were having conversations with people and giving advice and handing out crystals !! Om kept appearing everywhere, I kept buying Ganashe's again, then found out from my new book on Hinduism bought in Shilma that Ganashe is the manifestation of OM !! MAD

Fond Farewell

What a time we have had, Menri was amazing!! When we got there we were told we would be put up in the Medic center. This was to fool the Police if they came to check, as European Doctors usually stayed there. We were told if asked by the Police that we were staying in the local town.  Apparently the Indian Government has decided - without any notice - to demand that any visitors apply for a 'visa' to visit the monastery. Visa applications take upto 4 months to process !!  What a bunch of wankers, we believe China has put pressure on them to just make life harder for Tibetans  in that its hard for Westerners to gain access!!! We were asked not to leave the building the first night and a young monk cooked supper for us and an American Lady from the Bon Shen Ling Foundation who had been under self imposed ' house arrest ' for a week!!   That was weird because when we got chatting, she of course knew Chongtul, but also Cathy the american lady who was with us at Glastonbury and Karen Williams, the lady who organised my very first Nepal trip. What a small world !!
That night we were asked to attend the final exam of Rinpoche's friend Dako. This meant we were taken to his rooms to witness the fitting of his ceremonial robes and then given special badges to wear that basically said we were friends or family. We then went into the Temple with all the monks and his family to witness his exam which included wonderfull chanting and ended with him throwing sweets and money at all the monks and orphans, it  was great fun to watch the kids scrambling for the goodies and I felt quite proud of his performance- just like he was family !!
Afterwards we were invited to meet his Holiness, which was lovely, after presenting him with his tea and he giving us his blessing, he invited us into his living room for tea. Disgusting Butter Tea !! We had quite a chat with him , he is very charming and charismatic and was delighted that we were English. He told us of his time in Primrose Hill London in the sixties and we spoke a bit about the current problem with the government. It was really nice to be in his company.  The next day was the Mask dance. We were given special seats on his Holiness verandah from where we could get  a birds eye view. All the locals started to arrive and sat down in the courtyard. some had brought a picnic to eat before we all received lunch c/o the monastery. The dances lasted all day, the masks were amazing. The dances were all ritualistic and authenic Tibetan, and thoroughly entertaining. But 5pm we were feeling quite tired, but we received two invitations to dinner from the monks. In the end we accepted Dako's and were treated to Mo Mo and Mushroom soup in his rooms. The other guests were a Japanese lady who worked for the UN in Baghdad and her Tawainese partner and the Tibetan Doctor from the Monastery. Needless to say the evening turned into a debate on politics and lack of world peace. Dennis and I tried to hold our end up, but I think they all decided to group UK with the US and we both came off pretty badly. Actually the UN lady was sitting on the fence- as you would expect, so maybe it was a draw.
We had to leave the next morning, and wanting to give a donation to his Holiness we had to walk to the far end of the Monastery to the Yogi temple. We made our donation and he walked a little with us. He said next time we visit we needed to make sure we got Chongtul to book us into the new apartments that they are building, and that we should stay longer. And yes I guess we should. Dennis then asked if he could take a photo and he duly obliged by putting his arm around me. Such a lovely 85 year old.
Then 5 hour drive back to Delhi where I became a Diva again and refused to stay in a grotty hotel in the Tibetan quarter. Having spent two days in austerity in a monastery this girl needed some luxury !! So we booked into the Radisson near the airport. By the time we got to our room it was 7pm. After a wonderful long shower we ordered room service and went to bed as we had to be up at 4.30am to get the flight back to Kathmandu.
We spent our last afternoon saround the Stupa. By now Dennis had succumbed to the Lurghy so he stayed in the coffee shop whilst I did Kora for about 45 minutes. It was great to be able to concentrate on saying my Mantra's whilst doing Kora. Somthing I really needed to do, very uplifting. Then we bought prayer flags to be hung from the Stupa and stood and watched to make sure they did it. Later that evening we returned for a final meal with Chhewang at Flavors, and after that we did a couple more final Kora's in the peace and quiet of nightfall. I became very emotional, mostly because I was so grateful to be back. They were severall times over the last year when I did not think it would be possible, so I guess it was only natural to feel quite choked at the final farewell.
There have been loads of odd goings on on this trip that I shall write about later but for now I have tried without success to upload this Blog several times. I am now in Doha airport having been delayed for an hour on our connecting flight to Heathrow.  Next stop BALI!!!

Back on form

Feeling much better today. Had a good walk around Shimla this morning,found a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kali, an avatar of Vishnu. They were having a service so couldnt see much as it was pretty crowded and noisy with clapping and drumming.  Then we walked upto the church, which is so English, and typically no one was in it, and there was a big sign saying silence. How far apart are those two worlds Then a little rest over lunch and back out for some shopping this afternoon. We wandered off the main shopping street and into the side streets, they were crowded with locals and suffice it to say we were the only white faces. The sights and smells were amazing.  The Sari shops were something else. Then we found a bookshop and bought a couple of books. One on Hindu Mythology and another on Sri Sri Ravi Shanker and his Art of Living Foundation. Am now thinking I would love to go to his school in Bangalore and study Pranayama; the breath of life.  We are enjoying India. Its much cleaner than Nepal and more prosperous. However I cant say Ive felt much spiritually. But we have both agreed we would like to come back for a longer stay. So Bangalore might not be out of the question. Have purchased a really nice Ganeshe and a Ganeshe picture, and a couple of Om things of course, so shed will have a load more stuff when I get back.
Still dont know if we are able to stay at Menri. Have emailed Chongtul but not heard anything. So we have agreed with Chhewang that we will go straight to Menri tomorrow and find out whats happening. If we cant stay there we will stay in Solan and get a taxi over on Sunday for the Mask dance. Dennis has been on the internet and told Chhewang what hotel we want to stay at if we cant stay at Menri. This is to ensure we get a good hotel and to avoid arousing the Diva in me.
Cant believe we only have 4 days left, its gone so quickly. And these days will fly by especially as we have a 5 hour drive back to Delhi from Solan. Then 1 night in Delhi before we catch early plane back to Kathmandu for our final night. Then thats it- all over

She' ll be coming round the mountain when she comes !!

Arrived in Delhi in the middle of the afternoon, the taxi driver gave us a quick tour, the Presidents Palace, The Gateway to India, the Red Fort and Gandhi's cremation site. At the Presidents Palace Dennis dropped my camera !! Needless to say it stopped working after that. I am convinced that the Universe wants me to move on, it is definitely closing doors this time. When we eventually got to our hotel it was a really nice one. By this time I was exhausted so Dennis and Chhewang got a Ricksaw downtown so that they could get me a new camera.  We decided to eat in the hotel- which was vegetarian and also ' dry'. It tickled the boys to see me drink Coke. Next morning we were up at 4am to drive to Kolkan to catch the Himilayan train at 12.10 !!  The train and carriages looked all of its 100 years, our seats were very basic and small. We could only just squeeze on. and you rubbed knees with the couple sitting opposite you. There was nowhere for luggage so it was all piled up around us completely blocking the limited space to the toilet, which you really wouldnt want to use anyhow. There were 30 people in each carriage and we were the only Europeans in ours. The rest were a mixture of Indian's. As soon as the train started they all began to get out their picnics and continued to eat over the five hours it took the train to travel up the mountains and into Shimla. We had three stops of about 10 minutes which gave the Indians chance to re stock their picnics from dodgy looking vendors and us a chance to stretch our legs and let the blood flow back to our bottoms, which were getting more numb by the minute. At one stop I had to relent and go to the toilet. I ended up with a couple of American women peering into the ' First class ladies toilet'  with the usual dread and apprehension. I would guess that knowing the train was due in the toilet attendant had decided to make it smell nice and had thrown a pail of disinfectant all across the floor. Whilst they were gasping and gagging I decided someone had to show some gungho spirit and I calmly paddled through the water and into the toilet. We Brits are made of stern stuff- afterall we were responsible for the railway in the first place. Duly relieved I left them still pondering, moments later the whistle blew telling us all to get back on the train. I like to think the ladies are still there, standing with their legs crossed and pinching their noses.
The scenery from the train was stunning and you could see the various tunnels and bridges across the mountain.  You take loads of photos the first couple of hours , the second couple of hours you begin to tire of this and the Indians all fell asleep. Our bottoms became our proccupation as we shuffled from one numb cheek to the other. At last we arrived in Shimla after 13 hours of travelling. I was really pleased to see the 93 year old porter that had featured in the TV program and took a photo of him, wished I could have gotten his autograph.
Then Cheewang told us our accomodation would be basic for tonight but tomorrow he would sort out a better hotel. That was a red flag to a bull moment.  It was cold in Shimla, we had travelled for hours, my throat was really sore, my stomach was suffering from a paratha we had eaten in a dubious cafe earlier and I was looking forward to a nice bed. So in my best Diva mode I put my foot down, supported wholeheartedly by Dennis who was feeling pretty much the same. So after a hike up loads of steps into Shimla we got a room at one of the best hotels. With central heating. We had a meal and then I fell into bed and was asleep in minutes. Woke up at 4am with a burning throat, it felt as though it was closing up and a banging headache. Took pills and got back to sleep. This morning Dennis went out with Chhewang and his Uncle whilst I stayed in bed resting up. This afternoon whilst changing some travel cheques we met a pharmacist who is coming to the UK in September to work in his friends jewellery shop, he wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics which we were able to buy in the local pharmarcy so hopefully these will clear my throat up. Got to see a little of Shimla and hopefully feel better enough to see a lot more tomorrow as it is very pretty.
Then Chhewang told us he has spoken to Menri monastery and that they are not allowed to have any guests stay there during Loshar. Apparently the government is involved and its to do with the present Tibetan situation. I have emailed Chongtul to see if he can confirm this. So our stay in Menri looks dubious. We may have to stay in Solan and get a taxi over to Menri and just stay for the day. This is a major disappointment but theres nothing we can do, at least I will get to visit. Again I cant help thinking the Universe is closing the door. Have faith though because when one door closes another opens .....