So, this is what the real world is like. The School of Life rocks! Schlap, schlap on our faces!

INDIA

There's the world to explore... And then there's India. A whole other planet. It's so varied, so diverse, yet people seem inexorably connected.
First, I felt like an alien. I felt like when I went to Maranhão, my father's home state, for the first time. Like I've never seen, smelled, heard, sensed, the real world. Because India is the real work, not manicured Europe, that I love, don't take me wrong, or North America. And I must confess, I prefer to visit the real world rather than the very well planned urban spaces. Yes, I like the planned comforts of the urbanism, and I probably prefer to live on them (yes, I'm hypocritical sometimes...) . But from time to tome we just need to be energized by real people having real intense deep grounding connections and existences.
We live so disconnect from what matters here in the West: family, spirit, soul, care, connection, love. I'm not saying India is perfect, far from that. The sexism is aggravating and it hides itself behind the veil of religion, which to me makes it even more disgusting and insurmountable. But there are people, people, people, flooding like bees from a beehive, everywhere. And I'm a people's person. The thing I appreciate the most about being alive is human interaction. And in India I had so many wonderful, beautiful, unexpected, uncomfortable, undesired, hilarious and specially enriching encounters like that, that I felt enchanted every single day of my trip.
The fact is India is a delight to the senses. Even though I don't like Indian food and curry, so that sense was out of the picture for me. But the sight, the hearing, the smell and even the touch are so stimulated (no concept of personal space in India, sorry). There's a lot of noise, I thought Brazil was noisy, not at all, motorcycles, trucks, cars, people, music, it's deafening. But oh so many colors! Not a single sari print is the same, it's amazing! And I was worried about the smells before I got there, but they were just fine, I think Brazil can be worse actually.
And in India death and life are in place everywhere, all the time, and I love it. It's all about the cycle of existence, birth, death, rebirth. Life is sacred, it's cherished as a divine gift, and so is death. Death is integrated in daily life, not denied and swept under the rug like here in the West. It is just a passage, it's not the end, maybe it's just the beginning, since it's viewed as liberation from material existence. I've always been fascinated by death, by the silence and stillness I imagine death is all about, and see people actually embracing it felt like I was understood finally.
There's a lot more to write about India, don't worry. I'll write about people, places, bad experiences (I did get a Delhi belly 2 days before I was supposed to leave)  and beautiful moments. I'll definitely go back to India some day.

It is interesting to think one of the most peaceful, quieting, calming days of my life was in India, a place where you'd suppose you would never feel like that, since you're never alone, people running over all all the time. And it's also interesting because this day was in a city  didn't even think of visiting, it was a suggestion from my dear kundalini teacher at the time to go there.
Amritsar, the Vatican of Sikhism.The Golden Temple, their St. Peter's Basilica. Surrounded by a perfect square lake, a beautiful water mirror. All is marble, incredibly clean. It's all very orderly, which is impressive for India, for the number of people. The way to get there is chaotic, traffic rules are non existent in India. But when you step on the white marble square in front of that space, the energy is already transformative.  And because every person has the reverence attitude of those in the face of the sacred, it is so still. People are actually connected through what is most divine in their hearts, the love for humanity, the care for other human beings.
Forty thousand meals served per day, in a city of around 1.5 million people. Thousands of people working daily in a military organization to prepare all that food. Every single person is working voluntarily, working to serve strangers selflessly. And the atmosphere is of pure peace.
And my beautiful guide, Mandeep, wow, just being around him was soothing. One of the gentlest people I've ever met in my life, a British gentleman. So wise, beyond his years. So generous, teaching me about the traditions of his faith. Like we say in Brazil "the calm in person", he just transmits peace, dignity, integrity, honor, stillness. Having him as my guide there just made everything perfect, to have such an insider showing me the ropes, and taking wonderful pictures of me ;) .
After I left Amritsar, I felt spiritually purified. Besides Varanasi, which is a whole other post, I never felt like that anywhere else in the world. It was, together with Varanasi and Goa, the best part of my trip. I'll go back to Amritsar again.

“Eu sempre falo que o trabalho analítico é como o trabalho de uma mulher rendeira. Ela vai bordar em torno dos furos e isso não quer dizer que vai cerzir os furos. Na medida em que você produz, vão se identificando, se localizando os furos em torno do qual o analisando borda. Em certa medida, é isso que se consegue deduzir no final de uma análise, são esses furos, que é aquilo que não se liga, que não tem sentido, o que não tem uma significação. Mas é a partir disso que se vai localizar uma identidade, é a partir disso que surgirá algo novo”, Dominique Fingermann em http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/revistadacultura/reportagens/nos-repetimos .

Que descrição belissima da psicanalise! Um trabalho artesanal.

“As formas como as pessoas apresentam a repetição têm sempre algo a ver com o desencontro: o amoroso, com o seu próprio corpo, com o que se imaginava ser, com algo que esperava que um dia fosse acontecer, com o seu ideal. Esse desencontro é fundamental consigo próprio, com o outro, com o amor, com o sexo, com o sucesso, com o dinheiro, com o ideal de si mesmo. É um desencontro em relação a uma procura”. Dominique Fingermann em http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/revistadacultura/reportagens/nos-repetimos

"Keep in mind that a well-developed feminine side is a tougher and stronger emotional person. They are the ones who go through the intense pain of child birth. They are the ones committed to raising the young ones even if they have to do everything on their own. So emotional resilience and strength comes from the feminine. There is absolutely nothing weak about the feminine in either men or women. But the perception is so because the feminine requires time and attention before it reveals itself. We can’t rush to the feelings. Like a flower, they won’t open just because we demand it so. The masculine has to set the stage, to decide to make time and then be gentle and encouraging."

From: http://www.meditatecenter.com/inner-marriage-of-masculine-and-feminine-aspects/

De que vale a vida sem coxinha???

Balcony view

Seawall

Vancity

My sister!

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