rain in dali, china

dark night, pouring rain, minimal umbrella 

i could be anywhere right now

but i am here

my home a country away, my home a world away, my home 

right here

now

tomorrow night in another town and another bed, but still wearing the same old dirty indian yellow shirt, and sleeping under the same yak-hair shawl i bought in nepal 

new friends today, new friends everyday 

"if we have affinity, then we will meet again," he says, catching my eye across the crowd of chanting old women in traditional bai-tribe outfits

it's time to go 

"if we have affinity," i repeat, and smile knowing that it's all affinity, it's all yuan-fen, it's all complete magic, synchronicity, and a blessed symphony of massive dimensions that we can only dream of

"we humans," said my new sculptor friend today, hands calmly massaging his bowl chipped on the outside and smooth on the inside, "we humans are like hair. if the universe is a human, then we are but hairs on the human. we are less than the leg hair or arm hair. but we think we are so much…" 

he merges taoist philosophy with each pot, each vase, each ceramic piece filled with loving kindness, calmness, and general goodwill

they will have a baby in 2 months 

in 2 months i will be… 

"you do too much," he says, as we share life stories, "just pick one thing and completely dedicate yourself into it."

the most powerful herbal infusion is not a mishmash of different herbs. one herb fills the bottle and you let it steep

dear life, how am i steeping? 

i have not even yet begun, small hair just beginning to be aware of being nothing but a small hair… 

"i am an artist," i said today, as she fondled my notebook and cooed love songs of all sorts to my companion-journal of 5 years, "life inspires me"

thrissur, india

Photo from a month ago, with some of my teacher Babuji's family in Thrissur, south India... people will often ask, "Aren't you scared?" regarding my travels. But... you must realize that this world is full of beautiful people. There are much more beautiful people than horrible people. If you project out a feeling of fear, then you will draw those few horrible people towards you. If you exude joy and love, then you shall draw that towards you as well. And also, you are born gifted with all the intuitive powers of an animal of the Earth, like any other, but coupled with a mind. Silence the mind, tune into intuition... and if your powers of attraction don't draw amazing people towards you, then your powers of intuition will help you know the difference between the "yes" and the "no" people.

May you say "yes" with passion, and "no" with conviction.
May you attract great beauty to yourself!

snowy mountains

jiling and lingjia, snowy mountains above deer park- magic

himalaya

waterfall behind deer park in north india, himalayas

taiwan taroko river crossing

i literally met this guy in the river: both the photographer, and the man in photo. these photos are from many months ago, during my taiwan taroko trip, my birthday wilderness solo in january. i am still in india right now- just wanted to share these photos, as i can't upload any india photos yet! 

story of me with man in the water- this powerful river has some sweet rapids... that could rush you downriver really easily and turn you into delicious river pancake, around the next river bend. many rains at that time (the night before actually) rose the river up to past waist level (thus my sexy pants). crossing the river, at a deep part of river (though still walkable) with crazy rapids, i didn't know how to cross. at that moment, seemingly out of nowhere, man in photo shows up- he is a local village elder who knows all the best routes thru the river. he helped me across. on my way back across the river coming downstream, he magically showed up again and helped me cross once more- i just feel like this story is metaphor: when we really need the help, beautiful grandfather and grandmother turtles and all kinds of brothers and sisters will just show up. help just shows up when we need it- and when we ask for help. 

blessings on your journeys, my brothers and sisters. may you ask for help, and receive guidance, as your need arises 

love, jiling 

babu

babu tells a story 

there is the monkey god, hanuman 

he doesn't know that he has great powers 

one day he encounters a wise old teacher 

who sees the strength, beauty, and power lying latent within hanuman 

teacher tells hanuman what he sees within him, and helps him realize his power 

hanuman gains confidence and keeps developing his powers 

he steps into the god powers that he has always had 

this is the power of a good teacher 

and this is all the magic that we have lying latent within all of us 

traditional candles

clay or metal cups 

they are small and fit comfortably into my hand 

fill with coconut or any other oil

put a cotton wick the length of my pinky into cup, letting it rise up a little above the oil 

thickness of wick is 5-strands

wet the top of wick sticking out with fingers 

sing a song to give thanks

light the wick 

have a comfortable flame for a nice long while 

keep singing 

this is south indian traditional "candle"

much better than wax! 

i will make many clay cups when i make a home again 

to put fire into 

i put these photos up thinking that my friends justin, bill, kari, joy, tamarack, and other traditional-ways pottery-loving friends would appreciate... and put the simple effective skill to immediate use!

in temples here they use metal instead of clay to hold the candles... have many indentations into a clay or metal plate, for the wicks to hang out. one cup or bowl or plate can hold many wicks and much oil to sustain it all... a beautiful powerful light. great for rituals, romantic dinners, and effective night-lighting. 

temple flower tree

i have only seen this flowers in trees next to ashrams 

they smile big toothy grins like they are in bliss, 

and waft sweet honey vanilla heart-opening scents

into the thunderstorm-approaching-big-wind air