2010 in the Himalayas
Happy 2010!!
I hope all is well and your year is starting out perfectly. Peace and hope to all people, especially to the Haitians at this time.
I am starting out this new year high up in the Himalayas. It’s been a month now that I have been settling into my hillside home. Its a mere 200 steps straight up from the road to my place and my legs are getting strong doing that climb several times a day. From this height I can see up and down the whole valley: Up towards the snowy peaks of the northern passes that lead into Tibet and south down to the lush Kullu valley of terraced fields of corn and wheat.
I will be here another month, taking time this winter for a long meditation retreat. It’s a miracle that there is internet here, when I lived here 10 years ago, for a decade, we had no internet, or TV, telephones or hot water! The edge of modern technology has finally reached here, although it is still at the edge as everyday the power cuts off at least once and the internet bleeps on & off .
There has been a drought here this year, no winter monsoon. Usually at this time it’s cold and rainy with no escape from the damp, but this year it is dry and already getting warm during the days. This is nice for comfort, but not good for the crops and food prices this year.
I’ve been reading the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures and meditating. I manage to attend three or four yoga classes a week as well. Each day is a blessing here and I absolutely adore the ancient magic of India.
This week I hiked up in to a distant valley and found a small hamlet there, still looking like it could be from 500 years ago. They have a wonderful enormous old temple to Brahman, the Creator. No-one knows how old it is! After being allowed to go inside to see the inner chambers, we were asked by a local man over to his place for a cup of good old fahioned mountain chai, tea! We sat peacefully on the family porch with him, his great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, wife and new little baby boy. That was the most perfectly made, delicious chai I have ever drunk!
I will post some photos of my time so far here.
