Lions and jaguars

No telephoto lens, this picture was taken with my iphone. 

Yep, we really were this close to a pride of wild lions.

Our guide was amazing. We were driving along at 20 MPH and he saw 

this jaguar to the right of the road about 40 feet from our vehicle. We had 

a hard time finding him even after we stopped and he pointed him out to us.

Climbing Girnar Hills

I woke up at the Leo Resort and had an urge to take a walk. No real intention was set I just felt I needed to walk. I met several interesting people as I walked up the road and as I continued to walk I found myself feeling more and more like the people looking at me were seeing their first glance at an American. I continued walking and then found myself climbing a staircase made of stone. Then I noticed that every hundred steps or so the steps were numbered and realized I was climbing Girnar Hills. I took this as heavens suggestion that it was now my next challenge and so I kept taking another step. Though I was a bit sick with a mild fever I decided I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't climb to the top. Something inside of me suggested I remove my shoes and refrain from drinking until reaching the top, and so I did.

A serious cup of tea

Tea is serious business in India. It is such an honor to sit and drink it with friends.

It's important to always observe a sober and stoic attitude when drinking tea.

Unless of course, you're in a silly mood.

There must be a word for this strange phenomenon; whenever the camera is pointed at me for too long I have an irresistible urge to insert my finger in my nose. :)

Mama and baby

One of the sad parts of India is the way the dogs are viewed. They are the lowest members of the community and nearly hated by almost everyone... even Ghandi. We all have weak parts, this is one of India's.

Best Rickshaw

Juice-bar in junagadh

Driving in India

Fluent Gujarati

Indian hair trick

I learned this trick from Dukshaw, the mother of the home I stayed in. Now I can put my hair away for a while with nothing but hands.

Cricket with the Neighbors

Lots of Fruit in India

Breakfast in Ahmedabad

First Morning in India

I love cows

My daughter Hannah asked me to pet a cow for her while in India. These cows were on the grounds of a school that teaches little children dressed in white how to sing Sanskrit and chant ancient mantras.

homeward bound in 1 week

It has been way hard to blog consistently here. The internet cafes are few and far between and the time it takes to upload a video to youtube and then add it to the blog is too cumbersome with these slow internet speeds. I'll have to do this all when I get home but there is some interesting material on my camera; coming soon.

More than I could've hoped for

I landed in Ahmedabad and walked out the main doors to about a dozen taxi drivers all clammoring for my attention. What a lively welcome! "Sir!! Do you need a taxi?!" "Well... yes, I guess I do." "Where are you going?" "I don't know." "What is the name of your hotel?" "I don't have a hotel."
This dialogue was then repeated about three times and after many confused expressions and much bantering back and forth between them,  the decision was made that they would drop me off in the middle of the city. I agreed. And so after being taken to the city center I began to walk with my violin in one hand and my rolling backpack following behind.
15 minutes later I was approached by a student on a motorcycle. He was smiling and happy to see me and asked what I was doing. I told him I came to say hi to India, play violin for them and visit the yogis. He asked me to play. After a quick show for about 20-30 people he took me to several other places to play. Then he asked if I wanted to smoke some hash. I declined so he handed me off to one of his friends who offered to take me to see an ashram with children studying Sanskrit. On the way he asked if I wanted to see his house. He had called ahead so when we arrived his mother and sister were waiting there so excited to meet me.
After a little visit and a mini concert they asked me to stay with them and I have now been living there for these past few days. The entire family has truly adopted me. The mother gets upset if I try to help with any chores and there faces contort with disgust when I offer to pay them rent. They pay for my bus tickets and most of my food, which by the way has not been my typical raw cuizine. I keep insisting that I am a fruitarian and so they oblige me with fruit salads but then during their mealtime I have found Indian hospitality too persuasive and persistent to resist. It feels like I would be crushing them to stand firm and so I eat. And it is lovely. The flavors are delicious and the feeling of family is so comforting. And of course my body suffers a bit; it has not had cooked food for nearly 5 years. But their faces are so happy when I eat with them. I think it is worth it for the short term.

I am so happy I did not follow the common path and wind up in some hotel room completely cut off from the people. I have a family and their entire network helping me at every turn. I feel loved and taken care of, albeit, a bit too much at times. In many ways I am a child here because everything is so new. When crossing the streets I must have my hand held, literally. The traffic rules are like nothing I am accustomed to. We walk right out into the middle of speeding cars, motorcycles and scooters who all honk and swerve to miss us. It feels dangerous but I have become convinced I could close my eyes and walk accross safely though I have no plans of proving this idea.

On driving and buses
The driver must convince everyone that he has no regard for human life and then make sure that when his bluff is called, which as almost never, that no-one actually gets hurt. Driving here takes total and undivided focus. It is the ultimate video game. And though it seems insane and intense, the pressure is very superfiscial. There is an ever-present caring here and it is evident even on the roads. Drivers are constantly forgiving  the sins of others here. Everyone is taken care of even if they receive the severest of horn beeping.

On affection
I discoverd that Gujerat is the most devout of all the states of India. The population of vegetarians here is almost 100% with the only exception found in the hotels for visitors. There is a cleaness here, not in the outward landscape but in the hearts of the people. Their childlike nievity and innocense is so refreshing. Men are able to hold hands and walk with their arms around one another and no one is afraid that these displays of affction will be misread as anything more than friendship.
During my tour of Ghandiji's ashram I was sad to remember our cold condition when only 1 of three white couples would look at me let alone return my greeting. The Indian people are very warm and loving. Almost all of them  look me directly in my eyes and greet me with an adorable head bobble. I love it here and find that I am able to overlook the poverty and outward filth which resides side by side with the feelings of love and heart felt kindness of the people.

Saddness
It is a sad thing for me to see American television here on their sets. It speaks to me of the almost certain inevitability of the corruption of their most valuable assett.

On yoga
The whole world is doing yoga, except India.

Freaking out

So much work left to do

Some days I see how far I've come. All the Ayahuaska journeys that have helped me to shatter the illusions, the fasting, juicing and raw foods that have enabled me to take long hard looks into the depths of me, the yoga asanas that have released tensions, angers and sorrows from who knows how many lifetimes.

I thought I had come so far, and in some ways I guess I have. But leave it to those living closest to you to reveal the areas that need work.

Yesterday was a day of frantic last minute preparations for the trip and a day of somber reflection on and shock at the morning's egoic tantrum. I had thought I had worked through all this pettiness. 

If nothing else it supplies me with fuel to maintain a realistic and humbler view of my current spiritual state. It also allows me to see that no matter what I involve myself in during this earth game, my spirit guides are always there loving and caring for me. I recently had the joy of raising my awareness a few levels and was able to view the holy mother and some older sisters graciously caring for me. I asked if they would come to India with me and they seemed amused by the question, as if there was any way they could be separated from me. They care not how many times I stumble, how often I throw my tantrums and how stubbornly I refuse to follow the highest path. They are filled with love just to behold my true essence. And this gives me hope enough to get up and start down the path again.  

Back on the juice... again

One of my greatest strengths is my ability to get up after a face plant. I took a "break" from the juice fast for the weekend... plus a day, but I'm back on the juice now. I had a near brush with disaster and an intention to go raid the avo section of Fred Meyer this evening but my friend Betta helped me keep my head.

I'm wondering if I will be able to have access to juice in India. If I find watermelon I can make my own with a nut-milk bag.

Jimmy's Vegetarian Kitty

Raw Vegan Chocolate Milk

Hi Guys,

Today is 21 days till departure and 5 days into my juice fast. I think I have attained "lift off." My body is feeling so clean and shiny and my friend Betta is telling me how different I am. That's why I juice. It brings out the best in me. People don't annoy me when I'm deep into a juice fast, and the whole world just feels like a better place to live.

I went the first part of the day, until about 4:00 o:clock, with no water or juice and my whole body was in such a state of peace. It was like I had no distractions coming from within me. Then right before I made a green juice demo video I did experience a crash and my mood slipped into a dark place for about 10 minutes. I have noticed these transient mood swings during previous fasts and try not to get too upset as it seems it is something leaving rather than a real problem.

I made some videos with the help of my good friend Betta today and thought I'd experiment putting them up on my blog. The first one talks about my beliefs about raw cacao as a health food.

The second video show's you how to make the world's yummiest raw vegan chocolate milk.

Just remember to keep one hand behind your back when opening a young coconut.

I hope you enjoyed these videos and get a chance to try the chocolate milk yourself.

The countdown continues

A little over 3 weeks till departure and I am busy trying to get all the material ready to turn in for the next CD project so that when I return from India there will be boxes of CD/DVDs waiting for me.

Today is day #4 back on the juice, if we excuse that little mishap with the BLT, and I am at the threshold of what I call "lift off." It happens between 3 and 7 days of a juice fast when your appetite gets tired of throwing its tantrums and you start feeling more alive.

One of the things I love about this phase is the childlike nature that returns to me. Last time I fasted for 3 weeks I found that I was no longer content to climb into bed. No, I needed to do a summersault into bed! 2 months into another juice fast I recall being assigned a long reading project in a room all by myself, with a chair that spun. That was fun.

I thought today might be lift off day but instead I am dealing with a mild headache and other strange aches in my upper spine that come and go every time I fast. Arnold Erhet taught that a fast is a great diagnostic tool that reveals current and future problems in the body by causing flare ups during the first 3 days. He said that after the diagnostics, the fast, if maintained for a long enough period would also allow the body's natural healing process to occur in those same areas.

Maybe lift off will happen tomorrow.

A discussion with my belly

I was doing great. Minding my own business when all of a sudden a  BLT (not really, just a raw vegan attempt to imitate what we remember a BLT tasting like) appeared on the shelf of my refrigerator. I didn't care how ugly, brown and dead the thing looked. I had to have it. My friend had dropped it off for me to try. Up until then it was sparkling clean citrus juice all the way.
In my defense, this "sandwich" was oh so tiny! Smaller than a deck of cards so it doesn't really count right? Tell that to my belly which is a little upset with me this evening. The discussion goes something like this.
Belly - "I thought you said nothing but juice?"
Me - "Yeah... I know... but it was like a last meal, (stammer) before we really go for it." (Innocent smile with fake enthusiasm)
Belly - "How many "last meals" are we going to be dealing with then?"
Me - silence... "Yeah I know"
Belly - "Now, you know I don't want to hurt you... but I have to. It's the way things work. I can't be covering for you anymore."
Me - "Okay"
Belly - "You take care of me and I'll give you gifts you never dreamed possible. Think of the peace that comes with an empty and quiet digestive tract. The shiny youthfulness that's been smothered by cashew cheese and avocados is waiting to open up for you once you find your way clear of all this. Recall how all the passions are your servants when I am given what I need and how out of control they all get, running rampant after everything that glitters when you indulge your appetite for rich foods. The more you feed those passions the hungrier they get. And consider how the world seems to be against you during the chase for the next fix. Keep hurting me and we're  both going to suffer."
Me - "Okay, back on the juice then."
Belly - "It all starts right here with you and me. If you learn to control this most basic urge you will in one pass control them all."
Me - silent but more determined than ever.
Belly - "Okay then. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and let's do this thing! Let's build a temple that is worthy of your calling. All 26 trillion of your faithful servants, your microscopic friends, are standing by at your command, willing to build whatever you choose. Make a good decision for us all."

Back on the juice.

Speaking of following the whispered desires of my highest guide, I'm back on the juice. Citrus juice to be specific. I'm surprised just how quickly I start to feel wonderful again when I leave the rawfood junkfood behind. I know that a liquid diet always brings out the best in me but have been lingering in the world of tasty treats choosing to try to satisfy my cravings instead of pursuing my highest path.
Enough of the lingering! It's time.
Grapefruit and orange juice only and I am feeling light, energized and peaceful after just one day. One nice thing about being on the raw diet for these past few years is that now when I jump into a fast I don't have nearly as many of the unpleasant detox symptoms as before.
Part of me wishes I could go back to cooked food just for a while to sample the exotic curries, chapatis, chutneys, and dhal, but I know what these foods create in me and want no part of it.
It will be good to land in India completely clean and ready to offer them my best.

To India!

I have been studying yoga for about 5 years now and have read much of the spiritual teachings that have come out of India. Most recently while reading Yogananda's "Autobiography of a Yogi," I became intrigued with the idea of visiting the origin of these teachings.
I also read Leonard Orr's book "Breaking the Death Habit," and saw that he was offering a tour in India to visit the immortal yogis. He is not talking about immortality of the soul. This we have always had. He is talking about physical immortality. He claims to have met 7 or 8 individuals who are over the age of 300 and have learned how to maintain the body in such a way that it lasts as long as Biblical accounts claim of the earliest humans.
I have seen in my own body that if I am totally willing to follow the whispered desires of my highest guide my body begins to rejuvenate and the signs of aging decrease. Through a prolonged juice fast of over 3 months I had coworkers at the hospital I nursed at thinking I had come to them straight from high-school and nursing school. They guessed my age at around 24 and did not believe me when I told them I was 42 until I pulled out my driver's license.

I decided to go for an entire month so I could really get a sense of India and not be rushed for time. Now as the reality of the trip begins to settle in I find myself questioning the wisdom of this choice.

I have been drawn to fruitarianism for the past few years though I've not been entirely able to limit myself to fruit. I have heard many stories about people getting sick for weeks while traveling in India from eating contaminated food so it seems that it may be a good time for me to make a clean break into the world of fruitarianism. I will not have a food processor or juicer at my disposal and the veggies will have been washed in contaminated water leaving peeled fruit as an attractive option.

While my main purpose of the trip is spiritual discovery I have recently been exploring the idea of attempting to give some performances and sell CDs. Who knows what may come of this idea? I have been told that if I were to begin performing in a crowded location I would easily gather thousands for the show and might get injured from the crowd. Having played on the streets in Portland/Vancouver for the past 2 years and finding it hard to draw a crowd of more than 20, I find this is hard to believe.