>New Pictures in the India Album

(Those that have been following this journey know the story behind the bracelet, but let me retell it because it figures into this one.)

So, around midway along my pilgrimage from France to Portugal, a man came up to me and told me; “You must go to India. Take this necklace. It’s from India. Its desire is to return and you may ride on the combined will of the Universe to take you there.”

So I twisted the necklace around my wrist and wore it for seven months.

In January, LeapNow asked me if I would go to India instead of back to Central America. A piece of my life puzzle snapped right into place as I glanced down at that bracelet, smiled, and said, “of course.”

But the bracelet, being made in the finest of Indian quality, broke no less than twenty times. Each time I pulled out my pliers and patiently twisted the cheap copper back into union.

But the night before I left home, the bracelet broke once again during a restless night of sleep. And so I put it on my bedside table to wait till morning to put it back on. And, in my haste of last minute packing, I forgot to grab the bracelet before going to the airport. So unfortunately — not in India — but on my night table in Oregon, it remains.

When I got to India, with a hint of sorrow, I kept my eye out for another similar one in the markets but could not find one. (I learned later, that the particular style is only found in the state of Rishikesh.)

Regardless, I kept a third eye out. And eventually I found the bracelet.

I had just entered the Mother Teresa House for the Destitute and was doing my round of morning greetings, bowing my “Namastes” and touching the feet of the “untouchables.” I sat down on one of the cots and started addressing a small line of tasks; untying the knot in a drawstring, buttoning an unreachable button, adjusting the fit of a dress, when suddenly, into my hands a broken necklace was dropped; An identical reflection of the bracelet that sits at home on my bed stand.

I made not a single movement as the understanding of the omen set in.

“This is your place. Everything you have ever done had led you to here. You are on the right path. Continue.”

The small act of incredulous magic in my hand almost smirked right at me. And all I could do was shake my head and smile…again.

(I share this example because these are the type of omens that proliferate my life. People always ask me what I’m doing, where I’m going, but I haven’t any idea! Like a trail of breadcrumbs, I simply follow the omens along my path with insatiable appetite.)

But my story with the bracelet is not finished!

I have had the great fortune to spend the last two weeks with one of the most inspiring women I have ever met. Her story is 52 years long and one I would never dare repeat, for my words are meager and pale in comparison to those that roll off her sharp tongue. She will write a book one day, and then all will have the fortune to sit by her fireside open jawed and enraptured by tales of her enchanted existence. What is important in regards to my story is that she left home when she was 17, and has been bouncing off the walls of this world ever since. In sharing with me her example existence, she has spread her arms and opened the potentiality of my path up to me. And horizons clear, I now understand the scope of my mission.

So I have made a decision.

I have decided that my journey shall never end and my travels will not be counted in years, but at least one (this) lifetime. My path treads through, but never again IN the United States. My place is not there. It’s here; Outside. From now on, my home will be carried within me. I hereby happily give up all my false (socially conditioned) inclinations towards a homestead, motherhood, social normality and financial stability. From this day forward, I gleefully soak into my bubble bath of a lifetime of outer exploration and internal realization. I dedicate my life to seeking its inherent meaning. No more voices except for the one that whispers directly from my heart. And I won’t stop until I can look up at the stars with perfect understanding of my place in this Universe. And since that will never happen, from this day forward, I shall identify myself in the occupation boxes of country border crossings only as a “perpetual pilgrim.” And if I should perish along this quest, than so be it. For to die while living out my dreams is all I could ever ask of this life. And thus, I slam down my gavel and declare my personal verdict: Liberation.

I hereby set myself free.

So I made this decision while mediating on a cliff facing the snow peaked Himalayas. That night I went to bed and dreamt the following;

My house in Oregon had been taken over and occupied by dozens of monkeys. I distracted one and made a sly entry through a side door. I ran downstairs to my bedroom and began packing everything I loved all together for a journey. Suddenly I stopped. I looked at the pile of things and said to myself, “What am I doing? I don’t need any of this for where I’m going.” I dropped everything I held and scanned the room one last time. And then I saw on the bed stand the bracelet. I walked over to it, picked it up and held it in my hand and examined it. And with an odd grace I realized that I was dreaming. In consideration of this I said, “Nope. I don’t even need this anymore.” I dropped the bracelet back onto the bed stand, went over the window, opened it, and went out.

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Wait! So the story continues!

After I wrote the last piece, I went through Reiki Initiation (a process of fasting, meditating, ceremony and “vision quest” that initiates a person into the field of healing hands). And on my vision quest (essentially being sent out into the forest alone and asking the universe to open up and reveal to you a personal message that can come in any life form) just guess where I found myself?! Surrounded! By over 30 Languor monkeys! I wasn’t the only one surprised to find them. A forest ranger told me that he’d NEVER seen a Languor monkey up so high in the mountains. Apparently, rising temperatures (global warming) have sent them scrambling up to a place where they can breathe again. But monkeys in a PINE forest?! It was outrageous! And as I sat there marveling at the oddness of the sight, I said to myself, “What are you doing here? You look so odd, so out of place!” And thirty small black faces turned to me with curious, questioning stares that asked back, “Oh yeah. Well have you looked around YOU? You don’t fit in so well yourself. What are YOU doing here?” And I cocked my head and thought about it and decided, “Well, the place I come from doesn’t sustain me anymore, so I had to move.” And then the silent answer came back, “…well so did we.”

And then one jumped on the tree over my head and peed on me. 🙂

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As if the Himalayas haven’t done enough already to me — we are now off on a 9-day trek through Kuari Pass. That picture below is our camping spot on the 7th day.

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