The Breath - All that (it) Is

 

The Breath - All that (it) Is

Becoming fully Conscious of the Breath is opening the door to Love. 

I remember that moment in August 2008 when I first realised that I had never really loved, as if it were just a few seconds ago.

It was right after a Conscious Breath Workshop, my very first, facilitated by my dear friend Placídia Espinha, sharing wise moments from Norma Delaney, coined as the Doctor of Breath, and who would come to be my Mentor of Isness, the one I have always looked to as a living example of what it truly is to be a Divine Human, and even now that she has passed, she still walks by me on my path of Being Human a breath at a time, in the deepest Compassionate Breath. 

As I gradually fell into the soothing rhythm of her voice, into the words that resonated so deeply that they seemed to be my own, in the sweet arms of my breath, something gradually changed forever within me. 

My heart was beating strong, so intensely that it seemed to want to jump out of my chest, my Mind knew not what to say, how to define this, my body was shuddering from head to toe. It seemed like the air I was breathing wasn’t enough to fill all of the space that was opening up in me. In my Centre. Home. 

At the end of the workshop, after having taken one of the participants to the station, with my car parked in front of my house, an astounding encounter took place in my belly. All of a sudden, all of the love I had sought for outside of me bloomed in my guts, filling me completely. The tears streamed down my cheeks. I was laughing and crying all at once, shaken by the realisation that all of the Love was, at long last, within me. 

I felt everything I had felt whenever I had fallen in love, but now it was inside of me, with myself and with an extraordinary difference. This love was forever, without the shadow of any doubt. The Love of my Essence. And thus a dance of infinite Love ensued, as I was invited a breath at a time to receive myself more and more and more, to allow, to let go, to stay. 

I had initiated my quest of myself in 2004, having quickly obtained my Reiki Masters, my Magnified Healing Masters and a series of other practices, starting to facilitate courses in 2005, with am ineffable thirst for discovering myself, going through process upon process, practicing with unquestionable discipline, for my focus was only one: to be free. 

And though I had been lost for the rest of my life up until then, lost in the worldly need to do and have, from the moment I heard my inner calling to find myself, nothing could stop me. 

It was a painful journey, which seemed so slow to me, unending. As soon as I discovered one more layer of ego to unfold, dozens summed up to it, in a growing mountain that seemed impossible to transcend. 

I knew I could not give up. I wasn’t aware why I was in a hurry, but the truth is I couldn’t stop that crazy speed. 

There was nothing more relevant to me but to transcend myself and no matter how challenging each new wave of emotions that came forth for transmutation was, the path remained one: ahead. 

I have always known that one learns more when teaching, so I improved my knowledge to the degree where I could teach what I needed to learn, remaining coherent with my practices, certain that I could not accurately share what I was not experiencing myself. 

Where and who was God after all? Where and who was was I? What were we? What was life for? How did things happen the way they did and why? … So many questions which I needed answers for. I was insatiable. 

I studied, and studied, and practiced, and learnt, and taught, and practiced and practiced without not even one day in-between until that moment in 2008 when Love flooded me, at last.

This was the advent of Trust. Unquestionable Trust. And the Breath gradually became my only point of Presence, of returning to the Here and Now, my focus beyond illusion.

From then on the journey did not become easier. Not at all. It intensified exponentially. In the exact proportion of this infinite Love, so did my Shadow Self show itself, Shadow upon Shadow upon Shadow, all of my fears standing in line to visit and question me. My worst traits, my most feared incongruities… Everything being stripped bear. Naked. No filters. No hiding. More and more into myself. 

And I breathed.

Everything that bothered me in the outside world was reviewed inside, for I soon realised that the world was just a reflexion of my own glasses.

I climbed many Courses, I dived, I overcame. Through the Crimson Circle, also introduced to me by wise Placídia, I discovered Aspectology - the dance of the Aspects of Personality and at a live course in Frankfurt, with over 250 people present, I saw my darkest Shadow right in front of me. The darkest there is in all of us. And I understood that the Devil was not really out there. It was and always had been inside. 

On one hand it was a relief - I no longer needed to protect myself from something unknown that could assault me any instant, coming from anywhere. On the other hand, this Shadow was the most feared one. The one that can kill. The one that is capable of the most atrocious acts and that lives in the unexplored intimacy of each one… waiting… always commanding, wanting to become our very Soul.

And I breathed. 

The Compassionate Breath has always been my Safe Space, soft and gentle, bringing me by the hand back into the unified Human and Divine, who merge to create a truly loving reality. Serene. Simple. 

With the consistent practice of Conscious Breath, or Compassionate Breath, as I like to call it, one can attain absolutely everything that really matters. In other words, all that humanity in general expresses a need for: happiness, peace, love, harmony, abundance, health…

But how can it be so simple? Well the “how” becomes irrelevant because the practical and real experience of what happens when breathing consciously proves itself. It defeats the need for explaining. 

Conscious Breath is not even a practice, such is its simplicity.

It boils down to just breathing deeply and softly through the nose (unless it is blocked… and then one breathes as one can ;) ), allowing the diaphragm to relax, so that the belly can expand when one inhales and rest when one exhales. At first it can be challenging for those carrying a lot of tension in the chest, for it can seem that one cannot get to the belly, but the point is to just allow the breath to find its own way, without trying to control or force its flow. It will adjust to its own rhythm. 

This breath is called conscious, because it is all about us becoming aware of it, bringing all of our attention to it, feeling it coming into our body and filling it, as we accompany it while it comes in and goes out, bringing ourselves completely to the here within us, right now. Letting go of all the rest. Allowing the thoughts to float on the surface as if they were leaves rolling down a stream, without having to hold onto any one of them and not having to control them either. Letting go and staying. More and more, just staying. Allowing the breath to cuddle us, warm us and embrace us, to fill us and expand us. 

Any tensions immediately start to dissipate and a space of inner silence starts to open up, a space where we feel welcome to stay, landing in our Centre, our gravity Centre, down below the navel. A space that opens up to receive us, as we open up to be just here, in this complete now moment. 

In this space in us we can finally feel held. It is, after all, our House, our Safe Space. 

And it is from this Point of Presence, at the core of each Conscious Breath, that we can observe ourselves compassionately, without the noise of judgement, without the distractions of having to do, think, run… and even of having to hold onto our stories. We become the observer, void of space and time. Just Present to whatever is showing up in our conscious awareness. 

Acceptance becomes a boon, received in profound gratitude for only with it can we choose again, without fighting against ourselves. Cooperating with our expanded wisdom, diving into our feeling senses so that the mind can serve us, rooting firmly in our body, in our life, taking full responsibility. 

This has a practical and tangible effect on our health, for all of the imbalances become clear and we can thus see, embrace and transform whatever was causing eventual diseases of any kind. And even accepting the natural course of life and death, if this is the inner calling. 

The immune system becomes strong, for fear is recognised and transmuted, stress is reduced and eliminated, eating habits and all other daily practices become more coherent with our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being without having to be imposed. It becomes natural and simple to respect ourselves and lovingly care for ourselves. 

We can behold the world without being in a constant fight against this or that, understanding the greater whole which has its own rhythm and which we can contribute to in a very precious way through our serene presence, if we choose it to be so. 

We gain access through the Compassionate Breath, to all of the answers we have sought for so much and even to the possibility of letting go of most of the questions for they become irrelevant as the continuous clarity dispels them. Our extra-sensorial capacities expand, giving us access to much more than we could see so far, allowing us to let go of our perceived limitations, as we evolve and mature emotionally, spiritually, entirely. 

We become able to make wise and coherent decisions, of letting go of the compulsion to procrastinate, which has served the purpose of decelerating our own evolutionary process and we can access extraordinary creativity. This allows us to create truly valuable lives, full of purpose and replenished with everything we have dreamt of but did not really believe to be possible. 

Yes. That’s it. The Conscious Breath, in all of its Compassion, is the fertile ground from which all of the impossibles are born. Whatever the Mind denied because it could not grasp or comprehend, becomes visible and simple, and whatever is not visibly feasible is simply irrelevant and unnecessary. 

Effort, the need to be perfect and to have everything under control, the illusions of us not being good enough, capable, useful, etc, are dispelled, as well as guilt, shame, resentment and so many more prisons. 

The Small Human Self feels welcome, since it is in the arms of the Breath, in our Centre, at Home, that resides the Essence of all that we Are, the crystalline love that alchemizes all of our pain.

And though it may begin as a meditative practice - without being actual meditation since it does not depend on visualisation and other components of classic meditation - it gradually becomes a way of life, the way of permanently remaining in the here and now. With consistency, through our choice to become focused and bringing our attention to the Breath in every moment, in any place. In this body. In this life.

And it is so infinitely simple.

I believe that it is exactly in this simplicity that the greatest resistance in allowing the Breath to be our guide, our permanent inner Guru, resides. But despite all of the resistances, it remains available to be received and accepted as it is. 

And I breathe. I breathe myself complete. Alive. Present and grateful. I receive myself and give myself in each continuous instant. Being all that I Am. Nothing and no one is ever missing for I have all of the love inside of me. I have discovered that I am abundance itself! And the most incredible thing is that love comes to me from everywhere, everyone, in every way, in an unconfined flow of such magnificent proportions that I could never have imagined this. Magical. Truly magical. 

This is InPassion’s invitation - Inspiring Passion. Breathing ourselves in fulfilment. Alive. Present and grateful. With no separation between the in-breath and the out-breath. No lapse between giving and receiving. Being and having. Knowing and doing. Simply being Human, Divine, all. 

Fixing Duality?

 Fixing Duality?

We have been going around in circles with this elusive riddle for millennia, always entertained in hopes of perfecting what cannot be perfected.

Whilst incarnated here on Earth, we are limited. Our vision is always limited and the supposed ideal of perfection created by our minds is false and unattainable - simply because it is a fallacy of the mind.

Perfection does not exist and therefore it is not achievable.

Duality cannot be fixed because it is just that - duality. It is what it is.

There is no way of knowing all there is to know or to achieve a supposed ideal of perfection. If we had wanted to know all and be the Absolute Perfect One, we would not have incarnated in the first place! We would have stayed in our state of absolute Beingness.

Nevertheless, the Human can use his free will to choose to become a disciple of the Master that is born within himself, discovering him, surrendering to the Divine moment to moment and adjusting to this continuous fusion, always accepting oneself in the Human condition and discovering oneself in the greater whole that one is, without expectations of perfection.

And in doing so, we will be able to see all other Humans we interact with here on Earth with compassionate eyes, knowing that whilst the Divine is not accepted, seen or lived, only separation is available, with its shackles of pain and suffering, the folly of forgetfulness, the veil of illusion - of duality in all of its glorious diversity.

Though duality cannot be perfected, it can only be lived in harmony through its recognition as it is and its transcendence, viewed and lived from a point of inner unity which, however, does not make it easy to navigate. It is always challenging. But judgement is not supportive of this navigation, for it is naturally dual and separatist.

Compassion, on the other hand, can only be discovered more and more from our Divine Essence’s point of Presence, as we accept ourselves and embrace ourselves in its Infinite Love. The process of reunion of Human and Divine is, therefore, a continuous process of complete devotion.

The Master is born within each one of us as a result of the continuous reunion of Human and Divine, of the Human’s unwavering surrender to the Divine. The Master has no need to be concerned with the state of things around him. The Master knows that such consternation can only feed duality itself and thus he navigates within the unified field of consciousness - in the infinite space of nothingness where all is possible, creating the bridge that removes the illusion of separation.

When confronted with duality, whatever it may be, the Master finds the space in-between all things.

Is it easy? Not necessarily.

Is it simple? Absolutely.

And is living in duality easy? Not at all.

Is it simple? No, it isn’t.

This is why I choose to surrender to the oneness of who I am, which I do not know for it cannot be known, but which I discover and become aware of moment to moment, allowing the Master in me to guide me on the path that is not marked for there is no map to define it beyond each absolute Now.

My way of supporting humanity in its evolutionary process, is to create and live a template where duality, drama, pain, separation, fighting, effort, judgement, rejection, are not the rule. This, as far as I can perceive, creates new potentials in itself. These new potentials cannot, however, be imposed or forced upon anyone, as this would be their very antithesis. But, by being lived, they become available. The rest is not in our hands. The Human’s free will is always the one who determines what is to be done and inasmuch as our Divine is and always has been right here, within us, until we were ready to acknowledge it, until we could say “I’ve had enough of duality”, so it is with all of the potentials that transcend it.

My gift to Earth, is living in complete Trust in my Essence, without having to know what that is but discovering it in the experiences that this Trust provides, making this life as non-dual as possible, as I live it, since the potentials only become real and tangible, feasible for all who want to experience them, when lived. And so far I can only be profoundly grateful for the immense generosity and abundance that this choice of surrender in complete Trust brings me on a constant basis.

I interact with duality, of course, I am apparently immersed in 3rd Dimension and I live amidst it, but I do not have to feed it or create my reality from it. My starting point is unified, from within, as long as I concede to surrender.

As Martin Luther King once said “I have a dream…” adding my own words “and I weave it, I live it one breath at a time”.

This path that I am on is strange and uncommon. It is my path and only I can walk it in the way I discover within my continuous surrender to my Essence, trusting I will know what needs to be known in each moment. I am not and do not intend to be perfect, as this does not exist.

Each one walks their own unique path and that is in itself, perfect :)

My gift is stillness in the midst of Darkness, so that whomever chooses to face it can relax, knowing that the fear that it generates is illusionary and fleeting, but what remains after it has dissolved is pure gold. I provide the silent space where compassion presides, which in turn helps the mind to quieten down and allows one to fall deeper into the here and now, in total acceptance of what has been so far rejected, be it Light or Dark.

I know it hurts to face the Shadow Self. I know it hurts physically, it hurts at all levels. I know because I have walked that path in total surrender to all that was hidden. I know it is a Pandora’s box and that each one opens it a little bit at a time, as one feels ready to assume and accept it. Compassion is essential so that the guilt, the sorrow, the resentment, the rage, the sadness and everything else that is hiding within the Shadow, does not hang loose, creating stagnation and repetition.

Nevertheless, our Light is even more frightening than our Darkness. It frightens the Small Human Self, who sees himself as not worthy of it and lives caught up in the wheel of separation, in lack.

Beyond duality, in the alchemy of the fusion of Light and Dark, there is neither one thing nor the other. There is the indefinable - something that is born from the void, from the continuous flow of Being.

Yes, it is possible to live in continuous alchemy, with the joyful gratitude of being One from within, allowing the red carpet of the Master’s Magic to be laid before us as we step without faltering, experiencing the sweet gifts of the infinite Abundance that the dance of the Divine Human provides.

At this very moment, the whole world is being confronted with these pains that lead to an eventual “it’s enough”. And that is precious, for it allows the awareness that maybe there is something beyond duality, after all.

But the warrior is strong. It has been training for eras and eras, in the most fierce battles, and in the face of fear, indignation, lies, all in all, confronted with survival, the faithful warrior comes forth and promises to win one more battle in our behalf. Another one of thousands, millions, so many wars already fought and yet to come. Until one day, exhausted, he finds himself sitting on the side of the road and hears the Soul’s whisper inviting him to let go of the sword, relieve himself of the armour and look at the Love that is calling him Home, allowing himself to dissolve into the ashes of Personality he once believed to be, and be reborn in the transparence of reunion with the All that he truly Is.

Consertar a Dualidade?

 Consertar a Dualidade?

Andamos iludidos com este enigma há milénios, sempre entretidos a tentar aperfeiçoar o “imperfeiçoável”.

Enquanto encarnados aqui na Terra somos limitados. A nossa visão é sempre limitada e o ideal criado pelas mentes de suposta perfeição é falso e impossível de atingir - por ser uma falácia da mente.

A perfeição não existe e por isso não é exequível.

A dualidade não é corrigível pois ela é simplesmente o que é.

Não há forma de saber tudo o que há para saber nem de atingir um ideal supostamente perfeito. Se quiséssemos continuar a saber tudo o que há para saber e a Ser o Todo absolutamente perfeito não teríamos encarnado. Teríamos ficado tão só e apenas no estado absoluto de Ser.

No entanto, o Humano pode usar o seu livre arbítrio para se tornar discípulo do Mestre que nasce em si mesmo, descobrindo-o, entregando-se momento a momento ao Divino e afinando-se nesta fusão contínua, sabendo sempre aceitar-se na sua condição Humana e descobrir-se no todo maior que é, sem expetativas de perfeição.

E nisto conseguirá ver todos os outros Humanos com quem convive aqui na Terra com olhos compassivos, sabendo que enquanto o Divino não é aceite, visto ou vivido, apenas a separação está disponível, com as suas malhas de dor e sofrimento, da insensatez do esquecimento, do véu da ilusão - da dualidade em toda a sua gloriosa diversidade.

Ainda que a dualidade não possa ser aperfeiçoada, a forma de vivê-la com harmonia acontece apenas com o seu reconhecimento e transcendência, vista e vivida a partir de um ponto neutro de unidade interna que mesmo assim não a torna fácil de navegar. É sempre desafiante. Mas o julgamento não é um coadjuvante nesta navegação, pois é naturalmente dual e separatista.

E a compaixão, essa apenas pode ser descoberta mais e mais a partir da nossa Divina Essência, conforme nos aceitamos e acolhemos no seu Amor infinito. O processo de reunião do Humano com o Divino é, pois,  um processo contínuo de devoção plena.

O Mestre que nasce em cada um nós como fruto da reunião contínua do Humano com o Divino, da entrega inabalável do Humano ao Divino, não precisa de ficar consternado com o estado do mundo à sua volta. O Mestre sabe que essa consternação apenas poderá alimentar a dualidade em si mesma e por isso navega no seio do uno - no espaço infinito do nada onde tudo é possível, estabelecendo a ponte que remove a ilusão da separação.

Ao ser confrontado com a dualidade, não importa o que seja, o Mestre encontra o espaço entre todas as coisas.

É fácil? Não necessariamente.

É simples? Completamente.

E viver em dualidade é fácil? Não, de todo.

É simples? Também não.

É por isso que escolho a entrega ao uno que não sei pois não pode ser sabido, mas que vou conhecendo e descobrindo momento a momento, deixando que o Mestre em mim me guie no caminho que não está trilhado nem marcado pois não há mapa que o defina fora de cada Agora.

A minha forma de apoiar a humanidade no seu processo evolutivo é criar e viver um template onde a dualidade, o drama, a dor, a separação, a luta, o esforço, o julgamento, a rejeição, não imperam. Isto, tanto quanto sinto, cria só por si novos potenciais que não podem porém ser impostos ou forçados sobre ninguém, pois isso seria a antítese do que são. Ao serem vividos, ficam disponíveis. O resto não está nas nossas mãos, pois o livre arbítrio Humano é sempre o decisor e tal como o nosso Divino está e sempre esteve aqui mesmo em nós até que o quiséssemos ver, até que disséssemos “já chega de dualidade”, assim é com todos os potenciais que a transcendem.

A minha dádiva para a Terra, é a de viver em confiança plena na minha Essência, sem ter que saber o que isso é mas descobrindo as experiência que essa confiança proporciona, tornando esta vida tão não-dual quanto possível, à medida que a vou vivendo, pois os potenciais apenas se tornam reais e tangíveis, exequíveis para todos que os queiram vivenciar, quando vividos. E até agora só posso agradecer tamanha generosidade e abundância que esta escolha de rendição e confiança plena e constante me traz.

Interajo com a dualidade, evidentemente, estou aparentemente mergulhada na 3ª Dimensão e vivo no seio dela, mas não tenho que alimentá-la ou criar a minha vida a partir dela. O meu ponto de partida é uno, interno, tanto quanto consinta a minha entrega. É uma dimensão própria. Não encaixável.

Tal como dizia Martin Luther King “Eu tenho um sonho…” e acrescento “e bordo-o, vivo-o uma respiração de cada vez.”

Este caminho que fiz e tenho feito é estranho e incomum. É o meu caminho e só eu o posso trilhar da forma que vou descobrindo conforme me entrego continuamente à minha Essência, confiando que sei o que é necessário a cada momento.

Não sou perfeita, nem pretendo ser, pois isso simplesmente não existe.

Cada um caminha o seu próprio trilho único e isso é perfeito em si mesmo :)

O meu dom é a quietude perante a sombra, para que quem queira encará-la possa ficar sereno, sabendo que o medo que ela gera é ilusório e passageiro, mas o que fica depois de ela ser integrada é puro ouro. Proporciono um espaço de silêncio onde reina a compaixão, o que aquieta a mente e permite um cair mais profundo no aqui e agora, na aceitação plena do que se rejeita, seja Luz ou Sombra.

Sei que dói encarar a Sombra. Sei que dói fisicamente, dói a todos os níveis. Sei porque fiz esse caminho em entrega total a tudo o que estivesse escondido. Sei que é uma caixa de Pandora e que cada um abre-a conforme se sente preparado para a assumir e aceitar, sendo que é essencial a compaixão para que a culpa, a mágoa, o ressentimento, a raiva, a tristeza e tudo o mais que aí se encontra, não fique pendurado a criar estagnação e repetição.

Ainda assim, a nossa Luz assusta ainda mais do que a Sombra. Assusta o Pequeno Eu Humano que se vê como não merecedor e que vive na roda viva da separação, em escassez.

Para além da dualidade e na alquimia de fusão Luz e Sombra, não há uma coisa nem outra. Há algo indefinível - algo que nasce do vazio, do fluxo contínuo de Ser.

E eis que sim, é possível viver em alquimia contínua, com a gratidão alegre de Ser-se Um de dentro para fora, permitindo que o tapete vermelho da Magia do Mestre em nós se estenda diante de cada passo que damos sem vacilar, experienciando as doces dádivas da infinita Abundância que a dança do Humano Divino proporciona.

De momento, o mundo inteiro está a ser confrontado com estas dores que levam ao eventual “já chega”. E isso é precioso, pois torna possível a consciência de que talvez haja algo para além da dualidade.

Mas o guerreiro é forte. Tem treinado ao longo de eras e eras, nas mais ferozes batalhas, e perante o medo, a indignação, a mentira, enfim, perante a necessidade de sobreviver, o fiel combatente entra em cena e promete vencer mais uma guerra por nós. Mais uma de milhares, milhões, tantas e tantas guerras já vividas e por viver… Até que um dia, estafado, se sente à beira do caminho e ouça o sussurro da Alma que o convida a largar a espada, a aliviar-se da armadura e a olhar para o Amor que o chama de retorno a Casa, deixando-se diluir nas cinzas da Personalidade em que fixamente acreditava e renascer na transparência da reunião com o Todo que realmente É.

 

Riding on the Storm

🌊Riding on the Storm ⛈ 

This story takes place in the far-away time of Pre-Covid Era, in the far-away land of Egypt.

Now more lightheartedly 🙃😉

I am going to share a small part of the magic that took place whilst in Egypt at the beginning of March this year - smack in the face of the dawning of the Covid saga. I will be writing the Egypt chronicles with more detailed sharing on the whole experience, but for now here goes the Storm Sailing preview. 

The initial plan was that there was no plan.

Let me explain, a friend of mine and me were invited to an International Conference in Cairo which was on the 4th and 5th March, so we booked the flights and the Hotel for 2 nights and left the rest in the hands of providence 🤓 🤔

Somewhere along the line we found ourselves in Siwa, a beautiful desert oasis, right on the border with Libya 🏝

On one of the days whilst we were there, we got to visit the Oracle Temple and eventually sat in the premises just feeling the power of this ancient place of worship where Alexander the Great himself had come to obtain the Oracle’s insight.

As we were sitting there, just breathing, a young man passed by and we eventually engaged in conversation. He was named Abdo (from Abdullah) and our interaction ranged between travel experiences and religious views, mixed with cultural sharing of differences and a very friendly offer to show us around once we got to Alexandria - our next destination, on this unplanned landscape of possibilities.

We ended up going separate ways and later on that evening we got a text from Abdo saying he was leaving unexpectedly on the night bus back to Alexandria because there was a huge storm coming up 🌬☔️

We had no idea about anything because of course… we don’t watch the news. But our driver, Khaled, who was supposed to pick us up the following morning round about midday, also sent us a message asking whether we were still intent on going to Alexandria as there was a storm coming up. We of course replied yes. We just felt completely at peace with all of this.

Our driver then decided to come and sleep over at Siwa so that we could leave early in the morning in hopes of not getting caught up in the storm.

At 6 am, when we went down for breakfast, the day was dawning very peacefully, no wind at all, though it had rained and hissed during the night. But now it was so peaceful that we had our generous meal outside 🍳🍊☕️

We took off at 7, as arranged. Around 2 hours later, Khaled got a message from Siwa saying all hell had set loose and there was fierce rainfall there - something extremely unusual.

We, however, were clear from all of it until about 200 km later, when it started raining but not so much that we could not get to Alexandria. When we got there, the worst had passed, so in fact it was wonderful that we had not been there earlier.

We were staying at the 5 star Hilton Alexandria Corniche, right in front of the beach, in a room arranged for us by a wonderful lady we had met at the Conference and so it felt very cosy and comfortable to stay in and go “out” for dinner to one of the 3 special restaurants there. We chose Greek and enjoyed a very delicious meal, which was then digested in our very welcoming room as we rested for the following day.

Abdo was coming to “pick us up”… by bus and take us around, as promised.

The following morning the weather was absolutely peaceful and we were taken to the most relevant places, we learnt how to get round in the mini-buses and were pampered by his extreme generosity, as it is the custom in Egypt for the man to pay for everything. We kept on insisting we would pay, since he was a student and getting ready to get married and start a new household, but we just had to surrender and receive.

It was a lovely day.

We stayed one more day and were able to travel around easily now that we were proficient at catching the frequent mini-buses… Well, so proficient that we even lost our Hotel and went all the way to the end of the line, which was quite fortunate really because we got to see a place that had been recommended and we wouldn’t have seen if we hadn’t got lost!!!

Our train to Cairo was in the evening and it took a few more hours than expected because apparently the lines had been affected by this massive storm.

Have I told you that the whole country was shut down, schools and all, on the day we were daintily being driven from Siwa to Alexandria? Well yeah, but we weren’t part of the storm scenario.

Actually, this kind of weather is apparently extremely rare in Egypt - especially one that has the whole country shut down.

When we eventually got to Cairo, at about midnight, the weather was serene. No rain. No wind. Just perfect for us to get ourselves into a rickety taxi and to the Hotel 🚕🏢

We came to know that the storm had dwindled down that very day, a bit earlier than our arrival and it had destroyed houses, roads and what not. In short, it had spread sheer havoc but it did not so much as touch a hair of ours. Nothing.

The following day it was actually sunny, just as it had been in Alexandria, and we got to go for our final walk around the main square and mostly rest and interact with some of the people we had met at the Conference.

Meanwhile, the whole Covid bubble had burst and we were so oblivious of the rest of the world’s predicament, that when someone sent me an email informing me that something would not be possible because of the Covid-19, I asked whether that was a new Government directive 😂🤣😅😆🙂🙃 Had no idea back then that it was the actual name of the virus!!!!!!

My daughter had sent me a message asking whether I didn’t think I should anticipate my journey back because it seemed like the airports would be shut down because of the Corona Virus but I told her all was well. She needn’t worry. We were going to arrive home safe and sound on the pre-arranged date.

And so we indeed caught our plane on the 16th, only to find Vienna airport emptier than ever and to arrive at Lisbon airport without a hassle in sight, free sailing all the way out.

That very Thursday, the 19th of March, Cairo Airport was shut down, but by then we were enjoying a nice cuppa back home, completely surprised that now finally the whole world was realising what stopping meant and could have a chance to taste a bit of this peace we had been living all along… Or not. Each one to their choice.

And so goes the story of how we rode the storm across Egypt and never got touched by it.

I supposed being a skilled Dragon rider does come in handy whilst surfing a feisty weather forecast 🐉🐲🌊

The greatest gift that I received from my improbable trip to and through Egypt, was being able to experience at an even greater level than ever before, that whatever the Human / Master / I Am unity says Yes to, will open the spaces in-between, no matter what is going on in the world around us. Trust is the fundamental ingredient that rolls out the red carpet. 

And I suppose it was a great way of getting me out of the risk of getting caught up in unnecessary storms back home, whilst everyone was starting to panic amidst the first effects of the virus. Nothing better than to get myself to a place where none of that was going on yet so that when I finally came back, I just got the privilege of everything quietening down in the whole world and being able to listen to Mother Earth’s sigh, as She got a breather from all of the Humans’ incessant agitation and exploitation. 

Strangest of times. Who would ever imagine…