Who hasn’t heard of Bali? If you’ve had any connection to South Pacific, the musical, you will remember the song Bali Hai.
Bali Ha’i will whisper
In the wind of the sea:
“Here am I, your special island!
Come to me, come to me!”
Of course, the musical had very little to do with Bali itself and everything to do with Broadway and Hollywood.
But there is a truth in the lyrics above. The real Bali, the place I get the pleasure of calling home twice a year, is a magical place; a special island.
I fell in love with it on my 50th birthday when my husband, children and a group of close friends went to celebrate my demi-centenary milestone. Little did I know at that point that my life would become spiritually connected to the place. We built a house there that became the embodiment of that called Villa Pantulan, and it literally means house of reflection.
I’m often asked what made you do such a thing. Well, they don’t call me the Fearless Fifties lady for nothing. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Over the last six years I have come to know and love the Balinese culture, rituals and people.
Can you imagine an entire day where there are no airplanes, no cars, no lights, fires or noise of any kind? This is one of the magical days on Bali is the Balinese New Year, or Nyepi. It is the day of silence.
Nowhere else in the world do they shut down an entire island for one day, including the airport. No planes in or out on Nyepi. In our busy Western world it is inconceivable that this could happen.
However, the night before Nyepi is another story entirely. Giant monsters known as ogoh-ogoh are created as the symbol of demonic spirits. It is an exorcism ritual that takes place the night before Nyepi, when the ogoh-ogoh are paraded around the village area to ward off any evil spirits.
In the parade, the ogoh-ogoh is accompanied by hundreds of screaming people carrying torches, striking gongs or manipulating any sound-producing implements available in an apparent attempt to scare away the demons. At the end of the ritual, the ogoh-ogoh is usually taken to the village’s main intersection and set on fire.
By sunset, the whole island descends into silence because having chased away the spirits, it is essential they don’t let them back in again. Essentially the silence is a sort of hiding from them. If you don’t announce your presence you will be safe in the coming year.
This and thousands of other rituals are part of the Balinese way of life. It is a colorful life with many processions alive with music and chanting. Family life revolves around the temple and the priest, and all members join in.
Bali is seductive. There is no question that magic hangs in the air. Thousands of people come to Bali exhausted, stressed-out, lost and in search of significance, and leave renewed in body, mind and spirit. It worked for me.
Because of this special place in my heart, I wanted to bring other women to experience it and so I created a 9-day retreat this year where women could connect to the place where deep dreams and divinity exist, but which are easily camouflaged by the activities of our busy Western lives.
Through facilitated workshops and cultural activities, we will explore our interior as well as our exterior landscapes, and will travel to the places we normally hold back, to the places we consider sacred, to the places where we have hidden our power and our light. This is a true journey of exploration as we travel together to discover how much more we can be.
Bali embraces your spirit and will transform the prism through which you view your presence in the world. It certainly has done so for me. If you’d like to know more about this wonderful retreat go to www.villapantulanbali.com
Bali Hai….come to me, come to me.
Namaste
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