The Body Adjusts and Refuge in Devi Ghar

The body is so resilient and adaptable. When the immune system is tended and nurtured then most challenges will be dealt with in the manner of the design. But travel creates stress...and stress taxes the immune system. That's when stuff can happen. The stress of travel comes in the form of changes in routine, changes in time zones and sleep patterns, changes in eating, exposure to new people and regional energies, excess expenditures of energy, experiencing new energies, emotional issues from schedules to stimulation by the sights and sounds of the area visited...on and on it goes.

I rarely get any sickness, and when I do, I look to how I have not taken care of my basic nurturing needs. I have had some temporary challenges on this long Indian adventure. The first was learning how to use the water. Bottled water is what travelers use. I did brush my teeth with tap water in the hotel on the first day before I was reminded. But it was the spicy Indian food that took its toll first. The digestive system is very sensitive. Now, I like spice and flavor...but everything had something in it that was not my normal diet. Needless to say the rumblings came quickly. But it was just a day's worth and nothing that compromised me. I have to say that the places where we stayed all had good food with options... and I trusted their kitchens and staff.

I was adjusting well until we came to Varanasi. This, like so many Indian cities, is a smokey city. But the smoke here has the added element of the crematoriums. When we first took to the streets on New Year's Eve there were millions of people afoot. The dust was visible and palpable. Within the first hour I noticed some throat irritation. I brought along emergencyC and a really good multivitamin so my system was maintaining. But when you throw in the emotional and spiritual elements of Varanasi, the system has trouble keeping up. It was mild at first and really did not kick in until we left and arrived in Delhi for an overnight before our two days at Devi Ghar.

I was fine through dinner and even when we danced the Zorba the Greek thing down the halls of the Imperial, all was just fine. But when I got back to the room I noticed an intensification of post nasal drip. Within an hour it had reached the lower throat and the throat chakra with a strong burn. An hour later it was effecting the lungs. Now I have had what I call cleanses before, but this moved so fast. It kind of told me that there was an energetic cleansing of deeper levels occuring. Needless to say, it was intense. Visions of spending the rest of my trip in bed appeared...stop it! Antibiotics to the rescue. The seasoned traveler carries whet is needed to meet the unexpected...and some potent antibiotics are a necessity. Except that I do not use them or even think of them, so I had none...enter room mate..and a 10 tab dose of CPro...of course, I will take them. Plop, plop, fizz fizz...

By morning I had turned the corner and, though I had a meaty cough, the sore throat was gone and things were softening...aaaah...But from that point on, someone in the group, at some time, had something. Let's just say that the challenges/stressors were catching up.

Onto the Lake Region of Udaipur to a secluded old palace on a hill overlooking a small support village. This place was just what was needed for us all. The lake region provided some energetic elements that were appreciated right away. There was water and there were mountains. These combined to create a topography pleasing to the eye and an energy that was soothing and revitalizing. It was the perfect prescription for intensity of Varanasi. And we all took advantage of the care offered in the marbled rooms with views that cleansed any left over vibrations. Arrival day was just acclimating and moving in...creating personal space. Drinks and dinner and reflection on the trip thus far brought us back to a good mood that accompanied us to sleep. The following day was the lost day when each is left to their own process of reflection and rest and task. It helped so much...I wandered the grounds and took a bunch of pictures as this place had so many angles and doors and walls and views and fountains and shadows and stairs...still life heaven. Later that day we had a ball shooting a spontaneous video of Americans at play. Look for it online down the road. There really wasn't even much interest going into the village. We just wanted to play like royalty and spend time behind the walls recuperating and gathering energy. It was easy to simply find a seat with a view and watch the rural world go by...

And, by the way, there was a noticeable absence of motorcycles and horns and hustle and annoyance. That is one of the things that made this place so peaceful and nurturing. The body's adaptability makes it hard to know the impact of something until it is gone. The motorcycles and horns and near misses were beyond annoying...and now, they were gone. Praise Allah!

This is a short entry. I am a day or so behind in my entries. We are actually on our last morning in India. I fly out tonight and will set foot in Newark 15 hours later. Then a short 6 hours to Los Angeles and my waiting car and I am back in what may be termed my "real world". I am interested to see how I shall be when I get behind the wheel. I have not used a cell phone in 20 days...more on this later.

I shall include pictures when I get home and can go through the thousands. I shall make one more entry regarding India itself when I talk about 3 days In Udaipur...probably be written during the flight home. Then I shall add a final entry about the re-entry into my home life in Cambria, California.

Let's just say that when we left the nurturing high walls of Devi Ghar, many of us had reached the realization that it was time to go home...but what we experienced as the bus pulled us up to the dock to go the the Leela Palace was completely unexpected.