quinta-feira, 28 de outubro de 2021

12/The Egypt Chronicles - Embracing The Uncharted Territory of Life: A Journey of Allowing

12.

The Desert

10th March

Day 3 in Siwa and life keeps on generously bestowing upon us its infinite preciousness.

We start our day with one more of those delicious local breakfasts that will keep us going for the rest of the day and are then taken to see the inner city - the Shali, which is under reconstruction work and is as old as human settlement in this area, dating back to the 7th century BC. Like all other buildings here, this one is made of clay, hay and date tree wood. Ahhhhh. The naturalness of these fresh walls exudes silence. Peace. That same stillness that can be felt in any temple of any creed. The sacredness of one’s private abode.

Many families used to once live here and Hemaed tells us the story of how the two main families became estranged and from then on fought each other vengefully, until they somehow managed to come to an agreement and started to coexist.

Power, deceit, jealousy, greed, revenge, the cause of all of humanity’s calamities and yet it could be so simple if we were to collectively acknowledge that not only is there more than enough for all, but also that in cooperation we can achieve so much more than in defensive separateness, always ready to attack or be attacked. It has been an experience. Indeed. And we have taken it to the very borders of possibility, this experience of separation. Eventually it will be enough.

After this visit we go for a walk around town and come across the Siwa museum. A small and simple building which houses the history of human settlement in this area, from the attire, to the agricultural implements, the house ware and everyday utilities we get a little more acquainted with local customs across the ages.

In a few short hours we will be going on our Desert Safari, which is something we are definitely looking forward to.

Meanwhile we go back to our room and by now my dear friend Joana is in strange mode. Something that happens whenever she feels challenged to receive more or to open up to new possibilities and skills she has not yet explored. This triggers a host of insecurities that creep up and peek out from every corner of her fears to create an aura of unsettled discomfort that not even she can put her finger on but that does however make itself known.

This comes about not only because of the wonderful time we have been enjoying here but also because I have invited her to record some videos of self-massage to add to the My Own Silence Retreat Online Package. She has been getting these inner invitations to dive into self-massage and share her skills in this new way for a few months by now, but she keeps on putting it off. And then I come along, always the catalyst for change and transformation and present these very tangible and doable options and shabang! The whole avoidance game explodes into a million little pieces and can no longer be used as a hiding shield.

Well, we do get down to recording 2 videos in the room. These you will never see because Joana has meanwhile gotten out of the hiding mode and is now full throttle into her element with this new creation of hers, so she created some new ones.

Those first ones were just the trigger for Joana to allow the more that she is to blossom and be widely shared.

Anyways, whilst we are in Egypt Joana will be switching “deer with the headlights in her eyes” on and off successively and I will keep on peacefully and gratefully receiving life’s generosity, holding a safe space for us to enjoy our time here as much as each one of us can allow.

At 3 pm the 1970' Land Rover Jeep is ready, waiting for us outside and we merrily jump into the back, finally going deep into the desert.

Before that, we stop by at Adrere Amellal Eco Lodge, an amazing place created for retreats, right at the edge of the desert. The walls are embedded with Siwa Salt crystals and the rooms are spacious and lavishly combine natural elements with an aura of luxury. We are told that some famous pop stars like Katy Perry have chosen this as their holiday place and loved it.

There is a swimming pool, a salt room for massage, a huge vegetable garden which serves the kitchen where all of the meals are prepared, several dining rooms and living rooms and silence. Immense, profound silence. Now this is a place where I would love to host an InPassion Luxury Pure Silence of Isness Retreat. So I make the choice. Let’s see when it will materialise.

We then head off into the desert. The beauty of the dunes, with their peaks and valleys shaded by the sun’s light patterns, the vastness, the emptiness… We could just stop and lie on the sand, submerging into the wholeness of this experience. But our driver is used to taking people for joy rides up and down the dune slopes, for a bit of an adrenaline boost… And we must hand it to him: he drives very well! The most special thing for us is that we do not feel any adrenaline boost at all and I am surprised to not feel that sinking in the pit of the stomach when we go down those steep sand slopes at top speed. Nothing. I feel peace. That’s all. Wow! Safe taken to a new level.

We eventually come to a lake in the midst of the dunes. A beautiful, serene lake where we get to stop for a while and record a few more videos. Hummmm. How special!

Next we are taken to a hot spring in the midst of the desert, where there is a makeshift café and a straw hut bathroom. We have a Turkish coffee, which I have grown quite fond of, and get our swimsuits on to dip in the hot water that spews up from the core of the Earth. A natural spa surrounded by nothing but sand peaks. Feels sooo good!

Interestingly enough, just like in India, in all of these places we find no women working. Only mostly young men. Apparently women are not supposed to be working at these places. Especially in smaller towns like Siwa. In Cairo one can find a bit of everything but in more remote locations cultural and religious constraints are still very visible. Not that I have anything for or against this. But being a woman I assume that if given the choice and shown new possibilities, maybe some local women would also like to have more opportunities to raise their own income and become more independent and less hidden.

One thing I must say: we are always very respectfully treated and feel very honoured to be served by the masculine. So thank you very much!

After the desert hot spring it is time to move to a location where we can admire sundown, not before stopping at a place in the dunes that is full of sea shells, clearly showing that this place was once the seabed, many thousands of years ago.

As we head to the sunset viewpoint it becomes clear that it is not exclusive. Quite a few other jeeps head to peaks nearby and it becomes a little bit noisy for a while, until they all settle and let us admire the sun’s final farewell to a very special day.

Locals seldom really appreciate their surroundings and though they do make a profit out of them, I suppose after a while it becomes a bit of a routine so our jeep driver gets himself entertained with his mobile phone whilst we make a few more videos and just relax and absorb the intangible purity of this place where time disappears into nothingness.

To say this day has been special seems to be an understatement. My heart is so fulfilled, in such a state of surrender that I could simply disappear into the ethers and be done with humanness.

This is not a foreign feeling for me. It happens often enough, as my life is rife with fulfilling experiences and I feel this sense of completeness so profoundly that I know I can leave anytime but I also know I am staying for I have only tapped into the tip of the endless possibilities of living in a state of bliss. My discovery is this. My being on Earth now is an exploration of beingness beyond all I have ever experienced to this extent and in doing so I am aware of the potentials I provide as well.

There is a passion in me, an inspiring passion that never dwindles and that grows the more it is shared. So I can but celebrate. Grateful for being able to stay here, now and discover the new Earth I am creating together with all of those who also allow it and provide it for themselves and hence for the collective.

💙💚💛💜💗

Read the other Chronicles here:

11/The Egypt Chronicles - Embracing The Uncharted Territory of Life: A Journey of Allowing

11.
A Day in Siwa

9th March

We rise bright and early, feeling refreshed and ready for a day of new surprises and explorations in Siwa.

Our hefty breakfast full of the local goodness and richness, is sure to keep us up for the whole day. Tea, coffee, orange juice, local bread, olives and olive jam, grilled tomatoes, boiled eggs and fresh fruit. There is really nothing missing.

A young man shows up and Salama lets us know he will be taking us to the Salt Lakes in his van. That’s where the morning comedy starts. The van is quite old and the young man can’t figure out how to deal with its gear box, let alone the fact that it really is not in the best working order so we have to eventually descend and opt for a more local kind of transportation - the young man’s motorbike with a back cart, where we sit on some patchwork rugs and get ready for a bumpy ride.

It turns out to be even bumpier than we expected, as well as slow, but we do have a sharp sense of humour so if you can picture us both sitting in a push cart on the back of a motorbike, bouncing up and down, I am sure you too will have a hearty laugh.

On the way we pass by many truckloads of Siwa salt, being driven by none other than the military. So we understand that the reason for all of the military in this area is not only due to the proximity of the Libya border, but mainly because they were given the exploration of Siwa’s special salt which is the same as to say Siwa’s gold.

As we approach the salt lake and the place where the extractions are underway, we look at each other in dismay. Miles and miles of dry red soil, where there once was this most beautifully blue salt water. Red, dry soil as far as our eyes can reach. And then, here and there, a pool of the turquoise blue salted water, being upturned by heavy machinery that removes the salt and leaves the land bare.

It honestly feels like Mother Earth is being violently raped right before our eyes and there is nothing we can do about it. I feel this torn land in my bowels, bleeding, screaming “Stop!” Whatever enchantment I had had towards seeing these turquoise blue pools has now vanished under the shock of the feminine being torn and beaten to a pulp by the masculine and I dive deep within myself for any remains of past memories that could be bringing up this feeling of sad disappointment. But no. It is not coming from my past. It is just this. Here. Now. And no matter how I feel, once again I am invited to come into compassion. To allow the depths of my Wisdom to remove the blame, the shock, the outrage , to bring me into that clear point of non judgment, yet knowing that my viewing this is just a reminder that Mother Earth is, indeed, being raped by and large the world over, in many more locations than we would care to acknowledge.

What to do? Accept. For now. Somehow knowing this must stop.

I no longer feel like bathing in these saline pools. I settle with admiring their beauty and dipping my feet in, whilst thanking Mother Earth for creating something so special. But I cannot wipe the sadness away. Not right away. My heart cries for Her. For us. What are we doing? What have we done? There must be someone. The government. Someone in charge. Someone who can come and see this and stop the rate at which this destruction is being executed.

Later on we find out that not only is the military the government itself, but also this salt is exported. It is a delicacy. Well maybe, if you come across salt from Siwa, you might remember this story about where it comes from and how it is extracted and eventually not buy it. That is the power we as consumers have.

That evening we share our dismay with Salama. He is a bit afraid. He does not really want to have this conversation. We also talk to Hemaed. The manager of Albabenshaal. He too is not inclined to discuss this, though we do feel he sees our point and agrees with us.

Someone tells us that the salt grows back in a few months, but the amount of barren land, dry and stripped bare does not seem to me to be getting over it in the near future.

This is a case where it might be more balanced to maybe create a special resort where people come to bathe in these highly therapeutic saline waters, thus justifying keeping them beautiful and safe from those massive bulldozers and trucks constantly stealing her grace.

And the noise… I haven’t told you about the noise and the smell of burnt petrol but I am sure you can imagine it pretty well, considering there are more trucks moving back and forth than I can count and bull dozers at the turn of every heap of salt, incessantly humming their dissonant tune of progress.

Well now, I believe I have made my point clear as to how we felt about the Salt Lakes and it’s time to move on.

Our next stop is at the Cleopatra natural spring, where there are a few “shops” and “cafés”. We choose a tasty lime juice and sit on the top floor, whilst letting go of our prior disappointment and enjoying the present moment as the blessing that it is.

After a while we are ready to go and our “tour guide” asks us if we’d like to go to a natural hot spring, somewhere on the way back, managed by a bunch of young guys who seem to be getting ready for the evening clients.

They can’t speak English, which does not present an issue, as the young man we are with just lets them know we are going for a dip in the pool and that just about settles it.

It is not the cleanest pool we have ever been in, but considering it is natural, we just surrender and receive this opportunity with gratitude.

Soon enough we get out of water and ready to go but believe it or not, our “chauffeur” is nowhere to be seen. He dropped us here and took off somewhere. We wait for a while, imagining he will show up any minute but the minutes go by and he remains invisible.

I eventually call Salama who does not pick up the phone and then Hemaed who says he will see what he can do. Well whatever he did worked because the young man finally shows up about an hour late, as if nothing had ever happened, saying he was just down the road. Meanwhile we got ourselves entertained with the lovely cats roaming around and we of course couldn’t be bothered to be upset with him but when he drops us off at Albabenshaal and the moment comes for us to pay, we decide to give him a bit less which he does not really like. Yet, he does understand.

We are fortunate to have our backs in very good working order, otherwise this Siwa “limousine” ride would have been a tough cookie! But it turned out to be so much more in synch with the local vibe and by now I can tell you we are into Siwa!

Despite the toing and froing in the streets, the mosque loudspeaker calling out for prayer times, the dust… this town is special. It has an innocence to it and a peace, the laid-back stillness of desert life. There is this ancient non-cosmopolitan calmness that gives it a very particular rawness. A safe haven tucked in the midst of the vast desert.

We had actually thought about the possibility of going into the desert to spend the night with the bedouins but Mr Thomas is totally against this and though Salama could arrange it, we decide to respect Mr Thomas's advice. We understand his misgivings. Two women tourists out there in the desert with who knows who. He does not want to be responsible for anything unfortunate happening to us. We know that could not be the case, of course but we cannot explain to him why we trust the way we trust. We know that in our reality we are cared for and respected but we also know we are many miles away from home and it serves us best to embrace this man’s advice and let him be at peace as well.

After a nice rest in our room, we decide to go out and pick up some street food today. So we can taste a few different local dishes that people around here eat everyday.

I cannot tell you what it was, because it was a long time ago and I did not write it down, but it was super tasty, that I can remember.

We go for a last evening walk up and down the main street and decide to retire for the night, feeling really happy with our choice to accept the suggestion to come to Siwa, despite the morning shock at the Salt Lakes.

Siwa is definitely a place we will want to come back to.