Magic Moments

Bali: “Way of finding that balance of pleasure of this very world and the connection with the divine is to have your feet firmly on the ground and looking at the world through your heart. “ Balinese culture is peaceful, calm, its foundation being community, friends and family. Being a loner without marriage or family is considered out of the way, and tends to disappoint the Balinese. I love the religious practices, rituals they do to maintain balance; the questions they ask strangers- ‘Where did you come from? Where are you going? Are you married?’ . There are three unpredictable volcanoes in the islands, which is perhaps the reason behind so many prayer practices. Elizabeth learns from the medicine man- a toothless man with vast ancient knowledge who has no idea of his exact age, the art of balance in life between materialism and spiritualism. Everyone out of balance, everyone wanting to have that equilibrium restored comes to him- children with rashes, women seeking advise on m...

India: I loved the 36 chapters about Elizabeth's experience in India. I want to go on a spiritual pilgrimage- visit the ‘ char dhams ’, Buddhist monasteries, Jain temples, various faiths, and explore and feel and experience all the calmness in the air in those places. About her stay in India in an ashram, Elizabeth has so much to say. She talks about strenuous hours of silent meditation- hours of going deep into your mind and facing all the discomfort it has hidden in it: all the guilt, shame, resentment, sadness, anger, rage, and even contempt, lust and maddening jealousy. She tells us about the courage that all the people in the ashram had, the bravery they had to just come to that place from several countries, and perform austerities, to experience eternal calmness, spiritual transcendence, and connect with the divine within themselves. Strange enough, the idea of spending four months in an ashram- getting up at three in the morning before the sun rose, chantin...

After a distressful marriage, and long pending divorce, Elizabeth Gilbert was depressed to the core. She wanted to learn to live happily, embrace life with happiness, move on from past love and let go of all the guilts and regrets attached to it. So she spends 4 months in each of the three places- learn the art of pleasure in the culture in Italy, the art of devotion in India, and the art of balancing the two in Indonesia . A year spent in discovering self in different backdrops and mindful retrospection. A pilgrimage of sorts. Goals set for self -dreams turning to action. So she set on the voyage of self-discovery. In Italy when she chose to join a language training school to learn Italian, reasoning with the societal norms and her own mind, I too got a chance to have my monologue. Why does wanting to do something need to be justified? I want to learn a new language. It’s because it gives me thrill and happiness and pleasure. I feel satisfied and happy about myself. You ...

In life you cannot impress everyone, nor can you expect everyone to consider you the centre of their lives. Just know that they love you, and be satisfied and happy for that one precious blessing. Wondering that whether not being near a loved one would be considered not caring, you should forgive yourself and spare yourself from that guilt, because the universe will surely send them your love and care by hook or crook. Sometimes, you can’t just stand at the back wondering whether the person amidst the crowd in front needs you or not, you have to go there and find out, fearing all the while perhaps the person doesn’t need you. Insecurities as these, need to be faced. You need to face them. You need to understand and put it in your conscious and subconscious mind that those who love you always acknowledge your presence, even if they don’t show it, they are happy that you are present. Many people may touch their lives, many people may mean a lot to them, but the place you have in ...