Abundant Michael: Adventure

Body Evolution,Brazil, John of God

I have been evolving my body and health for many years with massage, yoga, magic and more. So this week’s gathering on Body Evolution is interesting to me.

 

 

John of godHere in Brazil I am visiting the Casa of John of God for healing and spiritual work. The Casa is located in a small town about an hour’s bus ride from Brasilia. My first healing was trusting in many strangers to help me find the right bus and get off in the middle of nowhere (it is not an official bus stop) in the dark of Tuesday night. My hotel reservation hadn’t come through but I had faith that I could find a place here and after asking at three places that were full I did. The hotel is run by a German man and his wife who moved here eight years ago for healing and decided to stay. I got to practice my Portugish (my mix of Portuguese and Spanish) at dinner and I was happy that one of the other Brazilians thought that I was from Argentina! I guess my Spanish has improved a lot over the last 10 months :-)

 

 

The next day I got up for the 8am line at the Casa - hundreds of people all dressed in white were there to see John of God who is a faith healer who has helped millions of people over the last 53 years. There are meditation rooms and a video showing John of God working on people.

 

 

Usually he works on the spiritual level but sometimes he will do minor surgery and watching videos of that squiged me out a bit - I thought I had processed my fear of blood last year at DO cutting workshop but apparently there is some stuff left there! After a wait in line for a few hours I got my turn and got a treatment suggestion of a crystal bed session - which as very relaxing 7 crystals and colored lights one for each chakra. The next day I saw him again and this time I will get spiritual surgery after which I will rest and abstain from pork, peppers, alcohol and all sexual energy (including self-stimulation) for 8 days. The first few items are no problem as I don’t eat them anyway.


 

The first time I saw him at Omega in NY I had to abstain for 40 days so 8 days sounds easy - though still good practice for using non-sexual ways to relax and pamper myself!

 

 

While standing in line I realized that the power to heal myself comes from within - from god that each of us has inside. And that I can change anything in my life with a mixture of intent, emotional clearing, belief changes and physical action. I felt empowered and I invite you to consider any life area that you want to change and to list how you can do things in each of these four areas. I did that when I returned to my room on my money issues and sure helped me!

 

5 tips on Cusco for the spiritual traveler

Here are some useful places in Cusco for the spiritual traveler.

 

South American Explorers http://www.saexplorers.org/ They have a club house in Cusco that has lots of information on tours and sharmans etc in Cusco and the whole of Peru (and other countries). They are very friendly and speak Spanish and French in addition to English. Not sure about Portugese but you can ask! They also have double rooms with shower for USD $12/day and there is a beautiful garden there to hang out in. It is a great place to meet other travelers and get tips. You can also email them with questions. Non-members can visit but to use all facilities and get discounts on tours you need to be a member which is $60 per year. There are also club houses in other countries.

 

 

  • Healing House http://www.healinghousecusco.com/ They have many yoga and other healers and offer many classes. There is a free meditation class Monday nights. A great place to met other healers. Say hi to Nicki and others if you go.


  • San Blas market - a few blocks from SAE. Cheap place to buy veggies and get lunch for less than USD $2

  • I recommend staying in San Blas area rather than city center because 1) it is cheaper 2) less touristy 3) only 5 minutes walk from center anyway. 
     
  • There are many temples and ancient stones in Cusco area. You can hike to the Temple of Monkey and Moon from San Blas in about 30 minutes. Nicki teaches a yoga class at the temple of the Monkey each week.

 

Ubatuba,Portuguese,Europe

Michael SmithI am in Ubatuba Brazil (about 200km from Sao Paulo) staying at a healing/yoga retreat place in the rain forest next to the beach. I got the message that I was supposed to relax and restore here - the message came in the form of days of rain (rain forests can be wet!) and my email being down for a week (thanks Sandra for getting it back up!). There are several other healers here and I have been exchanging healing and yoga classes with them. I received a ayurvedic massage from a German-Brazilian woman - my first time doing this kind of work - it used lots of oil and spices and I will say that it has improved my connection with my my lower three chakras and grounding!


I have been learning some Portuguese here - it is somewhat similar to Spanish or maybe Italian because it is very sing song language - sounds like the people are so happy! The people I have met have been happy - almost in a childlike innocence way that I like. And there is a national tendency to sadness and regret too. I wonder where these national tendencies come from? Does a country's history (in Brazil's case as a colony and slave center) affect the national psyche ? Or does the psyche attract a certain kind of history? Or perhaps it is both in a feedback loop. No so different from how an individual's patterns and history interact. Makes me think that solving some international situations may be helped by shifting these national patterns...


I have heard that many people who have come from Europe here to Brazil recently - to escape the chaos there in financial and social issues. The Brazilian economy is strong (and the Real is high compared to the dollar or euro). There are social conflicts here too but the country seems more able to deal with them. Beautiful beaches, mountains, forests, wonderful food, friendly people - quiet a place!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iguazu Waterfall cleansing

Today I saw several hummingbirds feeding. According to the book "Animals Speak" it is a symbol of freedom and joy. Relates to my travels. And also to the Wednesday Gathering this week on Polyamory as self Determination.

 

This week I am in Iguazu Argentina visiting the famous Iguazu Waterfalls here. Here is the triple border of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil and is surrounded by national parks in all directions that have preserved the rain forest since 1932. I arrived in Este Paraguay - which is a border town famous for smuggling and discount goods - though sometimes the brand name goods are knock offs. There was a wild west, almost criminal air to the town. Next day I took a taxi ride the few miles to Puerto Iguazo in Argentina and went through three counties in less than an hour - my passport got a workout with 4 entrance/exit stamps. This part of Argentina is much more affluent than Paraguay - with most of the business being tourist related.

 

It rained all day but I didn't let that stop me going to visit the waterfall. It didn't matter because in the boat trip we got so close to one of the water falls that I got soaked anyway! The power of the water is immense here - I really felt a connection to Mother Earth with the water and the rain forest together. There are many walkways around and on top of the falls - actually there are about 290 water falls in all arranged in a horse shoe over 2700 feet long. The river above the falls is really wide here. I was able to walk to within feet of the top of the waterfall called The Devils Throat - which is 270 degrees of thundering water. As I stood there, getting "rained" on by waterfall mists I visualized all the toxins in my body draining out to the ground just like the water cascading down by me. It really worked well to drain my sinuses and help me to relax!

Traveling - 9 month report

I have been traveling for 9 months now. This is a summary of my year to date. I lived in La Paz Bolivia for 3 months, initially staying with a friend from yoga teacher training, then sharing an apartment in downtown La Paz with another healer. I studied Kabballa at a local healing center and I taught Kundalini yoga classes too. I learned Spanish from a book and just practicing in the street plus watching movies in Spanish with Spanish subtitles. I even watched a bit of What the Bleep do we Know in Spanish!

Then I lived in Mexico for a month, on the coast south of Cancun. Things are more Americanised there and about four times more expensive than Bolivia too (but still less than USA). I went on a shamanic retreat and did meditations at Mayan pyramids. And went snorkeling in the warm Caribbean sea. I also found a yoga school and taught some Donna Eden and other healing methods there. (I highly recommend Donna Eden's 5 minutes daily energy clean up routine - you can find on YouTube - I have been doing it since January and it has really helped me deal better with all the shifting energies that are happening this year).

In May I went to Peru for another shamanic and magic workshop - and to visit a magical place called Cusco! I really got into the swing of doing morning yoga, working a few hours, eating a relaxed and healthy lunch, chatting with new friends and hiking in the mountains around the city. The streets in the San Blas neighborhood are cobbled and cars don't go there much, which I like! I also joined South American explorers club http://www.saexplorers.org which I found full of resources and a great place to meet interesting people. Though them I discoverd Healing House Cusco which is a group of healers and yoga teachers living in a group house. I thought about moving in but they were full. Now I think I don't want to base myself in a town that so heavily depends on American tourism for income, because in the event of a financial crisis the economy there will be in serious trouble. I am currently looking at Chile and maybe Paraguay where there are towns that are pretty self sufficient and not so connected to the American economy.

The magic I learned in Peru - Jaden Phoenix's Holographic Healing - has been very powerful for both healing and for manifesting what I want. She has a book out called Beyond Human which both full of useful way to do magic and also is easy for a beginner/skeptic to get into (Jaden used to be a skeptic and mildly depressed when she started her magically journey as she shares in the book).

I went to Kundalini yoga Summer Solstice in New Mexico - which was a wonderful, spiritual experience. I used the Holographic Healing to make meditations and yoga poses that were hard for me to be easy and give me the lesson that I needed to get from them being hard too! Then I drove 4500 miles across the beautiful American West = to San Francisco to see a girlfriend and a shaman then to the Rainbow Gathering in Washington state - near mount St Helens. Spirit helped me find people to ride share with and the whole journey was easy and fun. I have been to six Gatherings now and this time stayed at Green Village which was about back to the earth skills such as wild plant eating, mushrooms for eating and healing. I went swimming in the ice cold mountain stream (well for about 20 seconds anyway!) and just as the bears do shit in the woods. Which all is good preparation for living in a farmhouse near Desaguadero Bolivia on the shores of Lake Titicca without shower or bathroom!

I went thought a lot of growing this year - both workshops and living in new places/ways to shift my stuck patterns. Also about ten healing crisis that I got a lot of help from Glory and Sandra and others on. I think (and other people have told me) that I have grown wiser this year - more calm, more accepting. I certainly hope this is so because as we move to 2012 I believe that living from my heart rather than my head is where I need to be. I have heard this idea from many places - yoga, Shamballa, Matrix Energetics, Holographic Healing, Dromelo Makezidek. Now I am living it more often than not. And don't get so attached to the thoughts in my head. Don't get me wrong, I love my mind and it is a great tool for living smarter. But the "I" is in my heart and I can make good decisions from chaos on my intuition and with the help of spirit.

Long term travel resources

If you are interested in traveling long term here are some resources that I have found useful

  • http://www.sovereignman.com/ - escaping from single sovereign nation to have multiple flags - practical advice on money, passports, doing business in other counties. Free blog and newsletter, paid in depth actionable info, monthly teleconferences and local resources rolodex if you become member
  • http://www.internationalman.com/ - forum and newsletter for permanent travelers. Some good reports if you register. Similar content to sovereignman at less cost. I use both to cover more bases.
  • http://www.qwealthreport.com/ - blog and newsletter for internationalizing yourself and your finances. Free website and paid membership.
  • http://www.tynan.com/ - nomadic life style tips and ebook. Good tips on saving plane costs and traveling ultra light, his annual gear reports are fabulous!
  • http://www.locationindependent.com/ - how to get started traveling and working abroad, good on dealing with emtional objections, first steps, family issues. blog and (paid) ebook.
  • http://www.vagabonding.net/ - practical tips on traveling freely and light. blog and book
  • http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/ - 4 Hour Work Week - how to spend less time working and more time doing what you love. Tips on mini-retirements, outsourcing, starting your muse. Blog and book. The second edition has lots of on the ground tips from readers.
  • http://freelanceswitch.com/start/a-comprehensive-guide-to-starting-your-freelance-career/ - a free good step-by-step guide to starting your own freelance business (in English and French)
  • http://100startup.com/ - how to start up your (remote) business for $100 or less, 6 free PDF guides under the Resources section
  • The travel.stackexchange.com/ - travel stack exchange is good for researching and asking travel questions. Free site. Quick response to questions.

Vagabonding quote from Lavinia Spalding

"Don't think about it too much. Don't make pro and con lists. Pro and con lists are nothing but trouble. If you think about it too much, you'll just end up staying home. … My family and friends often say to me, 'I'm living vicariously through you.' Don't ever live vicariously. This is YOUR life. Live."

If you have any other website or books that you find helpful let me know

Second Son, Slash and Burn, Unity healing

I do daily energy clearing exercises to keep my vitality and health good. I think this is especially important in these rapidly changing times. So this week's Wednesday gathering on Polarity Therapy for Vitality is interesting to me

Here in Paraguay I have been reading "The Second Son" by Charles Sailor, a novel that explores what happens when a Brooklyn ironworker discovers that he has amazing healing powers and is thought by some people to be the second son of god. Interesting to look at how people give their own power away and even when he points this out to them and helps them to help each other directly some people still want to worship him instead. Also on how many give away theor power to governments, business, religions etc. If you like spirituality, self empowerment and a good story then I recommend checking it out.

Slash and burn farmerWhen I was in the jungle last week I also saw some slash and burn farming - where they cut down the jungle trees and bushes and burn them in order to grow vegetables and grass for cattle. The problem is that the soil in the jungle is very thin and basically mostly sand. Only having the complex mix of trees and bushes and animals does it thrive.What I noticed is that the grass fields were much drier than the jungle and many fewer species too. I don't know for sure bu but I think after 10-20 years even the grass can not grow and the land could tend to desert. Isn't this what happened in the Sahara in Africa? Forest cut down, grass land over grazed, dries out, turns to desert. At the hotel I was staying at this week they had a satellite photo of the whole earth and I noticed that the north of Africa was yellow and brown (desert) whereas the same area in South America and the Far East was green (jungle). I am guessing that before the agricultural rise of man in Africa 10,000 years ago that North Africa was a tropical forest like the Amazon is today. What a loss for our planet! I felt sad.

Perhaps the earth needs some energy healing too. Perhaps that is partly by the 2012 healing of all the people on our planet... so we can see that all is one and that hurting the planet is hurting ourselves.

Amazon, Bolivia, Rurrenabaque small airport

I have been reading "2150 AD" by Thea Alexander this week while I was traveling around the Amazon. It is about Macro consciousness in 2150 AD (aka unity consciousness) and how we can reach this level of awareness now in 2011. One of the Macro powers is that thoughts become things, including our financial reality. I have experienced this myself when doing holographic healing on my money beliefs and seeing results in my 3D world. So this week's Wednesday gathering with Sand boxer Joel Hamaker on consciousness and cash flow is interesting to me.

 

AmazonHere in Bolivia I have been traveling in the Amazon near Rurrenabaque for the past week. I went on a tour of the Pampas (aka tropical water meadows) and river seeing many crocodiles (even petting one friendly one) and capybaras (a water rat as big as a dog). Also birds and monkeys. And I trekked in the jungle. The energy here is very primal Mother Earth - I felt my root chakra being healed just being here. Back in town the internet cafe was packed yesterday with Israeli travelers calling home before Rosh Hashanah - much Israeli travel for 6-12 months around South America after their army conscription has ended - so much so that there are restaurants with signs in Hebrew here and the internet cafe had Hebrew keyboard software. I have to say that using Skype with Hebrew menus was a challenge for me!

 

Another thing I liked about Rurrenabaque was the small airport - no security check, no full body x-ray scanners, can keep your shoes on all the time and even carry liter bottles of water on board that you have bought in town. Partly it was because the plane was a 19 seater turbo prop. But actually even at large airports here in South America there is not the security hassle that I experience in USA or UK. I like that! And to be honest I feel just as safe flying here.

 

Next week I am off to Paraguay again, then to Brazil to visit the Iguazu Waterfalls and Sao Paulo. If you know someone in Brazil or have suggestions for activities there please let me know!

Trauma, Iquique, living with ellipses

TraumaTrauma can be hard to get over - whether it is abuse, war PTSD, rape or other the emotional scars can last a long time and affect all parts of your life. I remember being hit by a classmate when I was 8 years old just because he could, and I was afraid of people who looked like him for years. I also got teased for being effeminate at high school - which took me until I came out trans about ten years ago to deal with. Maybe these are small trauma compared to what others have and they affected me a lot, living in fear. Living in love space is much better. So this week’s Wednesday Gathering on new research on healing trauma is interesting.

 

Chiles BeachHere in Chile I traveled to Iquique in the north coast near Peru. The land here is a desert right up to the beach - in fact I think that nearby is the driest place in the world. It is weird driving by sand and rocks with no plants and yet all that water is right next to it. I thought that might be how the Earth looked billions of years ago before plants and animals moved from the oceans to the land... or how Mars with water might have looked as the sand was red in color.

 

I have been practicing living my life with ellipses (...) - that means I don’t plan out months in advance but leave space (the ...) in my life story for new stuff to occur. Often chance meetings and synchronicities lead to exciting new things. I think in these times of changes and chaos leading up to 2012 this is a good way to live. Be flexible and follow your heart over your head - intuition is much better at dealing with chaotic times I feel.

Chiles 201st Birth - Independence Day

The Equinox is here and what better time to celebrate with a Mayan Solar dance!

 

Chile I am in Chile this week, checking out possible places to live here. It is much different from other South American countries - organized, affluent, clean. More like England or France than South America it seems to me. Not sure why Chile is so different - perhaps being separated by the Andes from other countries helped, perhaps there is a German influence here for organizing, perhaps the length of the country - over 2000 km with a narrow width (150km) means they had to be more in control. I am not sure. But everything runs on time and efficiently. Prices are like Europe too though. And the police are mild and dress, well like police in England or Germany - no machine guns, bullet proof vest and combat boots like in Bolivia or other countries I have been in recently.
 

 

Perhaps it is just the national energy or enneagram that is the reason why Chile is different... 

 

Chiles Independence Day

Anyway Sunday is Chiles 201st birth - Independence Day from Spain. The same age as Paraguay. These republics are pretty old by world standards. Thought Chile has had some bad patches - I was at the Allende museum today - had his final radio speech from 1973 when the military attacked the presidential palace and took him off to be killed. He knew he would die if he stay be he decided to stay on the radio until the end as a symbol of protest. Fortunately that dictatorship ended in about 1989 and things are democratic here now. In fact there are regular student protests here which I am told the police treat with care to avoid seriously hurting the demonstrators.

 

"I am off to the far north of Chile next - for some sun and beach time - before returning to La Paz"

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