Today, I am in Paradise and discovering the Divine in Life~
At this moment in time and space, I am standing on a ragged line of red cliffs in southern Kerala where the land meets the Arabian Sea. Looking out across a turquoise glistening ocean, I feel the expansiveness of my life before me. I love my Life!
While I was in Varanasi, I was introduced into the further realms of Goddess worship through Tantra Yoga - or the Goddess of Energy. Thus begins the awakening of my Shakti energy at a higher level, frequency and velocity. I am guided further into the south of Kerala by the power of this ultimate divine feminine force. Here now I discover the Divine in life, the very essence of beauty and ultimate moving from the darkness into the light. Varkala, with wonderful white sandy beaches, expanding vistas, delicious sunsets and thatch roofed bungalows perched on cliffs is a place for seafood lovers, yoga & meditation. Among this serene and calm ambience is a melting pot of nationalities and an important pilgrimage centre which radiates Shakti. Ma - our mother of Nature for some reason draws me near.
While I was on the plane travelling with Jet Airways from Chennai to Trivandrum, I received a copy of their in-flight magazine. Inside was a feature article on Varkala. On the last page of the story there was a small advertisement for the guesthouse called Arabian Soul. I loved the name - and the colours for the ad are similar to my website. The energy felt right and I tucked the magazine in my bag with intention to give the guesthouse a call.
One evening, after my birthday backwater adventure, I contacted the guesthouse….they were full but the young man told me to call back at around 10pm the next evening as something may be available. Lucky for me…when I called they did have a room for the day I wanted to travel.
I left my home stay near Kollam on the 12th. The manager’s wife is taking a university program and I was lucky to create a free ride to the train station. Once there it was time to pack the backpack and rest of the goodies in such a way that I could easily get on the train. Once the trains arrive, it is a free for all getting a space. The entryway to the train is not always conducive to things hanging off the sides of packs. One thing about getting trains…I sure feel like unloading the stuff I seem to collect. Sorry friends back home…you may have to do without all the gifts I had planned to bring.
A very kind man who spoke some English helped me get the right car and passed on my bag and guitar. I just stood at the doorway of the train. It was another sleeper car…no assigned seats and I was not about to wrestle someone for a spot. The train ride was only 30 minutes. Easy.
Once at the Varkala station, I got off and just stood there. Which way to go? I saw a couple with a small child standing there too. We all looked at each other and laughed. The exit was on the other side of the tracks with the walkway…some distance. We decided to step down the ramp and cross the tracks. We helped each other with packs and bags. Me, I felt like a kid playing hooky from school. I love India for the impromptu meetings with people. You just never know whom you will travel with at any time. Nice couple from Israel. We hailed our taxi…my favorite little white car stopped (reminds me and even smelled like the 52 Dodge that I once owned). Soon we were on the north cliff of Varkala with the freshness of the seabreeze and warmth of the sun.
I arrived at the Arabian Soul Guesthouse on the north cliff of Varkala. It is located a few steps back from the main ocean cliff walkway with beautiful gardens and a peaceful atmosphere. A lovely couple greeted me. My hosts Brygid and Naveen are very kind and eager to please their guests. Check out http://www.arabiansoul-India.com/. Upon check in they asked me how I heard about their place. I told them about the Jet Airways in-flight magazine producing it from my bag. They both were ecstatic. They had heard something of the promotion but had not actually seen the ad, nor who actually put it in the story. Being in business for only 5 months, this was a great achievement. It turns out they had an upstairs corner room with a nice ocean view available for a little more money. I took it for the next 6 days.
While waiting for my room to be ready, I took a stroll along the cliff walkway to admire the softness and beauty of the area. The Divine feminine energy was calling me - within a few minutes I discovered a lovely lady in a little shop overlooking the sea. My hair was in dire need of some Goddess attention. Rasha was so eager to please and assured me that she could lure out that divine Goddess even more with Hair and Henna. Before I knew it, my hair was sassy and fun. Not only can Rasha cut hair, but she is an amazing henna tattoo artist. I had so much fun being treated with special attention and chose an Arabian design. The trip to India was my ultimate 50th birthday gift. That aside, I also decided to make a more conscious effort to celebrate and rejuvenate my body. It has served me well for the first 50 years and now I will honour and treat it like a golden temple for the next 50. I loved the henna tattoo. It is so good to have it, play with it and know that it only lasts a few weeks. This way it is not something that I live with for the rest of my life. All the products used are natural. What do you think?
Varkala has been such a wonderful experience. I love the people and friends that I have made here. Many of them are from around the world - France, Sweden and the list goes on.
The white sand beach that meets the red cliffs is great for sunning, swimming, enjoying the local fruits, meeting friends old and new and living in the loveliness of life. The Papanasm beach is also a sacred location for pilgrims to bring their family members' remains and allow the sea to absorb and liberate. The little cliff top restaurants have fantastic foods and a great location for sunset. I found the area behind the cliff top restaurants and shops to be very quiet and interesting. Many small Devi temples and little guesthouses are located here. I was blessed to meet people that had discovered the unique flavour in Varkala and had come to stay. The Devi Shakti dwells everywhere in Nature. Each small temple and holy site has its own shakti or unique power and beauty. These places aroused interesting stirrings and experiences inside of me.
Each morning and most evenings just before the sunset, I would enjoy a very invigorating and powerful yoga class at the local Namasthe Ayurvedic Mission. The Dr. of Yoga, Dr. Rajash, is a wonderful teacher - always willing to challenge me further in my practise...physically, mentally and spiritually. Ultimately, yoga is this process of unfolding the spiritual self, emphasizing the concepts of harmony, union and the consolidation of personal traits for a higher goal. In this unfolding, breath awareness is probably the most important and essential tool. My sadhana deepens mysteriously with each breath and moment of awareness. I choose to go within as an inner explorer expanding awareness of I AM THAT!
The morning class is a good Hatha with blend of Iyengar and Ashtanga and the afternoon is more a blend of Ashtanga style. Got the heart rate and the body sweating in the late afternoon. The sunset from the yoga studio is stunning.
The janardhanaswamy temple, another name of Lord Vishnu, is centuries old. All of the temples that I went to had the essense of Divine Goddess Worship. I was blessed to be invited to special puja (prayer) for women.
Whenever I would enter into the temples, a women would come and tell me that I was Parthi and that Shilva was my husband.
Parvati is Lord Shiva's consort (she is more of the peaceful Goddess energy).
The whole universe is created by the shakti of Shiva (female creative energy).
I honor Lord Shiva who is pure existence and the Celestial Yogi. Om Navah Shivaya!
I am enjoying the connection with the divine feminine, the movement within and the playfulness and fun ness of BEING me. Alive!
Life is like a wild tiger. You can either lie down and let it lay its paw on your head or sit on its back and ride it!” and at the same time...take a pit stop and indulge in Italian chocolate mousse!
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