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.

💙💚💛💜💗

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