When in doubt go to Bali.

Attempting to sum up my time in Bali in one blog post is a daunting task, I'm afraid I won't be able to properly convey the spirit of this magical island. Walking around smelling the incense, witnessing the locals assemble, and put out offerings for the gods, admiring the beauty of both the landscape, and the people are just a few of the things that make this place so special. Much of my time was spent in Ubud, I did spend my first two nights in Kuta, and the next few on Gili T. Ubud is the cultural hub of Bali, originally I planned to stay a few days but it's the kinda place where days turn to weeks. There is a plethora of yoga studios, spas, gluten free restaurants, healers, juice cafés, art studios and the list goes on. I dive in and sample it all from a juice cleanse, meditation classes, $5 massages, an art workshop, and even some sessions with Balinese healers. My first experience with a healer is with Cokorda Rai who happens to be a very famous healer in Bali. To find out what needs to be healed I'm told to sit with my back to Mr. Rai he then touches my ears, nose, mouth, shoulders and various points on my head. I am then asked to lay down where he uses a stick to push on my feet at the various pressure points to see if there is any organ issues. Once finished Mr. Rai exclaims "nothing wrong with you, you lose a few kilos good, need to lose a few more, that's it nothing wrong with you." Feeling a bit ripped off, and silly I just paid someone to tell me something I already knew, I thank him for his time and walk away. Then a funny thing happened a feeling of gratitude washed over me I can lose a few more kilos, others are not as fortunate as I. I read about kundalini healing and became intrigued, so I booked a session with Guru Made Sumantra. After completing an energy analysis, chakra, and aura readings, we prayed together. He ended the session by performing the Balinese Melukat Ceremony for self-purification with me. This session had a tremendous affect on me, and maybe on the few others that I have shared the details with ;) I bought a 10 class pass at the Yoga Barn and enjoyed the many different yoga and meditation classes. After one mediation session with Dr. Punnu, in which I later described to him as being on "a roller coaster ride of emotions" I was given a Deeksha blessing which was really cool. Another highlight was attending the Tibetan Bowl Meditation along with 32 others under the full moon. What an amazing experience it was to listen to the sounds of the ancient singing bowls, along with the great outdoors. With all this spiritual awakening going on I knew I needed to rent a scooter after realizing the only reason I haven't was because I was scared. Day after day I came up with a plausible reason on why today was not a good day to rent one. Then one day with out any chatter in my head, I just went for it. What was supposed to be a one day rental, turned into two days. You could not keep me off of that thing. I rode to the Rice Terraces, I went to Goa Gajah and saw fragmented remains of the phallic symbol of the Hindu god Shiva, the Yoni, and the elephant headed god Ganesha. I chased sunlight and made sure to go on the roads that scared me the most at least 3 times. Traveling has the power to change you, if you let it. The changes can seem small like realizing you enjoy making art and riding scooters or they can be life changing like deciding you want to be better and do better than you did yesterday. I'm without a doubt a better person for traveling, I know my circle, I know what matters most to me, I'm humbled, I know more, I feel more deeply for others, I'm happier.

The Path to Happiness

As I depart Australia I am overcome with the sense that a chapter of my life has closed and I am embarking on another. For many years I have been planning Australia. I have put off a lot of things and used the reasoning, "after Australia I'll pursue that." I have always wanted to travel long term and along with getting a working holiday visa for Australia I have considered working on a cruise ship, in a resort, or teaching English as ways of accomplishing this goal. These ideas came and went but Australia remained a constant. Once I returned from Asia I knew that I would have to make Australia happen soon if it was ever going to happen. There is an age limit when obtaining the working holiday visa, turns out some dreams do have deadlines. I felt lost for some time, I knew that deep down I should follow my heart but I was letting the noise of what others expected of someone my age, drown out my inner voice. I started saving for Australia but didn't become serious about it until after I saw a new age healer, and she put things into perspective for me. After our session she told me she could sense that I was at a crossroads in life and was feeling indecisive. She added that either path I choose will lead to happiness but if I let my heart be the guide I will experience a state of nirvana like happiness, as I will be following my destiny. A lot of people may scoff at this and some will say I could have told you that, and deep down I knew it to. It took someone else saying it out loud for me to really realize it. If you don't do the thing in your heart you know that you should, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. I stayed in Australia for 7 weeks which is far less than originally planned, I knew it was time for me to go. Now I know without a doubt that all I need, all anybody needs to do is tune out the noise and listen to our hearts, by doing this no matter what you win.