Mid-year reflection Day 1

Today, I spent some time in mid-year reflection, a process that will continue for the week and will inform my programme for the rest of the year.

Some reflective insights:
To save money - I need to change behaviour
Given that I am studying this year, finances have become more important and as I look at how do I reduce my budget, one of the obvious ways is to reduce expenditure.  It occurred to me instantly that cutting down on expenses demands behaviour change, like no more buying coffee from the vending machine, managing my resources more carefully and prioritising where I put my time - because time is money. I will have to be doing some focused exercises to support these choices.

I need to value my money
I am reminded again that my money is my reward for my labour, it is my income derived by selling my labour.  Let me not squander it, let me value it, however great or small.

Creating balance
Indeed I am a social being as I mapped out my life, I see so much activity that includes people. I have recently learnt through the ancient Indian medicine practice of Ayurveda that I have dual opposing doshas (types) and so I am also very happy being a quiet person and this too is reflected in the ways that I practice self-care. I can see that I am getting better balancing these 2 aspects of my being.  In the past I would get lost in the one aspect and then the other. I guess I am getting better at being me - thank goodness, after all I am not getting any younger :)

Gratitudes for this day:
I am grateful for my capacity to forgive
I am grateful for Faroek, who celebrates his birthday today and is a wonderful father to my grandchildren and husband to my daughter, Layla and really has become my son. A beautiful, joyful, smiling, ultra marathon athlete, sporty and talented young man - a great example to other young men. 

WE WON

If you know me, you also know that I am not the joker in the group, I am the serious sometimes boring one. So last night when I was elected as UCT's President of Convocation and my first speech was more funny than serious.  It got me wondering why? And where was my Amandla! and my Ilizwe lethu!

In short I was surprised and so I was still processing - again, if you know me....

I was super optimistic that as a united front of alumni, students, staff and black academics we could garner support and at least, win this convocation battle. I never set out to be in this role, I agreed because we needed someone everyone was willing to support. It is my honour to serve in this way. I am truly humbled by the faith people have in me. Being me, I had no victory speech nor did I even consider what I may say should we win. Now I know the value of having a prepared victory speech :) Though I still prefer my way, no expectations.

Then our win became so personal on social media with congratulations to me, and that is so uncool. Asseblief mense, WE won, please, enkosi, siyabulela! The protest space is expanding at UCT and we all need to own it and we all need to own the gains we make! The decolonial road is long and winding it is only through unity that we will get there!

And then some more best days in India

Saw that  this was never posted so I am retrying. from my trip to India.

In my last blog I said that that day would probably be the best day of this trip. I now know that there is no day that can be called the best. So many wonderful things have happened! I actually got to meet Dadi Janki as she slowly invited all the participants to meet her in small groups.  Dadi Janki is 101 years old and a Yogi who is clear of mind and thought, humourous, arms are still strong, though the legs struggle I was fascinated to note that she does not have much wrinkles on her arms and feet as can be seen on so many people when they are in their seventies. 

A day of highs!

Meeting Dadi Janki, visiting Jain Temples and Sound Spa with Brother David - what a blessed day it was yesterday! No doubt it will be one of the most memorable days of this trip.

Dadi Janki is 101 years old, she is one of the two Yogis who lead the Brahma Kumaris - a woman-led organisation. She gave us a class in the morning and the night before had led us in meditation. Dadi walked into the hall and one could clearly feel the energetic vibration increase, noting that there were already over 200 of us present! One cannot help but have great respect for this remarkable soul who is an example of the power of honouring one's spiritual being in this physical world.

The ancient Jain Temples are in the middle of Mount Abu town's hustle and bustle and still has daily worshipers, as it contains altars to many deities. Exquisitely and intricately carved marble is all over, the ceilings and pillars and walls - unfortunately no cameras are allowed inside. Built from the 11th to the 13th century it is breathtaking and I cannot imagine what was used to achieve such beauty and accuracy.  The temples are monumental works of art, the energy in the place is just wow!  Tourists are permitted in the afternoon and so it was a much quicker visit than I hoped with all the people flowing through the temples.

Our day ended with a Sound Spa, with Brother David who played many instruments for us - wooden flute, didgeridoo, various indigenous instruments from different parts of the world and singing bowls. Oh the singing bowls - i could feel my body vibrating and wanting to fly away. What a fantastic way to end our day. I will be checking if I can take a cd home.  

Gyan Sarovar

Gyan Sarovar, the venue, has the most beautiful  gardens and is a beautiful sight to behold as you arrive after an arduous journey. It is a big complex with a number of buildings all looking well kept and immaculate.

I posted this 2 days ago, however wifi connectivity is limited and the programme busy - so here it is after a failed effort. 

The rooms are small and modest. I am sharing with 2 other South Africans. The bed is hard and the bathroom is different to what we are used to. In India the bathrooms can surprise in different ways.

There is an amazing team of people preparing  and serving the food because there are hundreds of people on the property. All meals are simple and wholesome - vegetarian  with no onion and no garlic, these do not from part of the BK diet.

Saturday we had a tour of the property. Everything is simple and humble. The focus is on spiritual service. 

The solar power used by the Brahma Kumaris, (BKs) is phenomenal, using 3 different systems of solar heating, one providing a source for the kitchens another for back up when the lights go out and another provides power to some of the operations.

We also went to the town and did some shopping. Notably mostly out of towners were in the shops. The many fabrics and clothes are produced locally in this area. There is a lot of poverty in this place based on the condition of the homes I saw. The BKs and the Jain Temples in the area bring tourists and help to keep the economy on the go.

Most guests arrived Saturday and we had a beautiful  welcome session which ended with each person receiving  a shawl, blessing and a toli (sweet treat). Brother Charlie led us in a powerful meditation.

The welcome  included Dr Partap of the Global Hospital - a BK project, he spoke about the science of spirituality. The hospital is located in the town and serves the community. The doctors are not paid, they volunteer and practice meditation. We will have a visit to the Hospital in the week, I  looking forward  to it.

The blessing I received last night: By living your life in peace, you contribute to a peaceful world.

I am holding this in my consciousness today

Getting from Cape Town to India

It was easy enough to decide to leave the city of Cape Town to take a journey that I have dreamed for a few years now. 

When the invitation came to attend the Peace of Mind Retreat in Mount Abu - where the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual  University  head quarters are, I did not hesitate to accept it. This was the 3rd opportunity I  had to go to India. In this case, the 2nd invitation  to the Peace of Mind Retreat. I did not want to pass it up.

The last time I had to pull out due to lack of funds. This time the money came the same week I received the invite. It was also the same week we got our kitten, Flower and the same week I was knocked out by the flu or something for 8 days. This germ continued to boomerang 3 or 4 times since.

So preparing for this trip was not as easy as saying YES to it.  I could afford the trip because I have had quite a few projects to work on. The workload was a challenge to manage with the recurring illness. Today I sat in the plane to Johannesburg thinking it's a miracle I managed  to organise myself to make this happen. The time within which to get everything together was short and I did it all in small chunks. Window shopping for luggage bags, then later going to buy it.

Carving out an hour of my day to book flights or do another errand. Somehow I pulled it all off.

The real achievement  here is that I was able to put my own self care needs above work demands. This trip is about taking care of my spiritual needs. This is a real growth point, especially  since i did this with a full workload.

It was still a challenge to stop working to let go of projects that are underway and to trust that they will be okay and still be there when I get back.

So saying yes was easy. Making it happen was challenging and I persevered. Now, it is happening. I was not always this woman, today I am thankful  I  am woman who can make her dreams come true.

Peace

Let's create the world our children deserve

SJC organised a great programme called Healing Wounds for the families of some 11 sisters who were killed in gender-based violence. Today I was honoured and humbled to share a simple self healing tool with these families who were mostly women.

In the afternoon I found myself listening to #DivasUnitedSA. We were enthralled by an all female Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra and women with the most wonderful singing voices including Thembeka Mnguni who was hands down the hot favourite of the crowd! There were Young Divas who wowed the crowd. Then the winner of Young Divas 2016, Dirja Lekas sang a solo - Believe by Cher, It was so heartfelt, this 12 year old girl with an amazing voice brought me to tears.

I cried, because those young women who lost their lives too had hope in their hearts, promise and potential and are now gone. I cried because I cannot be sure that this young girl with the voice of an angel will grow to be a successful women singer, that she will not be violated by this world. I cried because I was reminded that us adults, the mature of our society need to do better, need to pack away our egos and create the world our children deserve!
Are you with me?