12 Days Housesitting

It just so happened that the family had a vacation planned during the month of December for twelve days so they entrusted me to watch over the animals and the house. Eden stayed home but was gone the majority of the time working so I had some quality lone time.

Day in the life housesitting on Mount Nebo

Wake up on the floor around 6:00am. Do a little yoga and stretching. Drink two huge glasses of water. Feed the cats. Hang out and observe the chickens while I feed them quality vegetable & fruit scraps, crushed up egg shells for calcium, and then a grain mixture, along with a can of cat food they love. Load up my backpack with three oranges and some water. Hike deep into the national forest with 15 kilos of weights in my bag. Stop to lay down on my pack and slowly eat my oranges and enjoy the smell of fragrant essential oils bursting out of the peel, while I watch the wind blow through the trees and look at the physical and mental clouds as they pass me by. It's so peaceful. Make the somewhat brutal hike back up to the home.

Strip off my clothes. Put on some music as I wilt down some spinach that's about to go bad to freeze for smoothies. Dancing of course. The sun is out so I take full advantage and soak up some blissful rays while I watch some cotton like plant material floating around in the sky. In my natural naked state. What a beautiful day. I don't understand why it's totally ok and normal for babies to walk around naked around their parents & family & even complete strangers, and then cultural and societal norms come along with all their limiting beliefs and suddenly it's weird and even wrong.  Can you imagine that? It's weird or even wrong to be in your natural state around family. You should be able to be most vulnerable around family. It's your own blood for God's sake.

Stand in a pink bucket, take a couple minute shower that ends up using about a gallon of water that is then thrown out on the bamboo plants. They have a very unique waste rejuvination system that uses worms and other critters to turn waste into clean energy that is then pumped out for Nature's nourishment. If we were to take baths or flush a lot of water down the toilet constantly the worms literally drown and then they have to replace the system for about six grand. Not only that but the only water they have is from the sky so when that runs out it's a major pain and expensive to get more water trucked up here.

The afternoon is spent reading, breathing, napping, writing, doing some light work around the house, and working on the neurolinguistic programming exercises that Elissa taught me. Rewiring my subconscious essentially.

At 3:00pm I release the chickens to the outside world and collect any eggs. It feels great to walk around naked. Food is always a major part of the day with me. Always cooking up something new. No recipes. Sweet potato pancakes made with oats, almond flour, eggs, and a coconut creme honey syrup to top it off. Vegetable flan with sausage, onions, garlic, mushrooms, herbs, eggs, and puff pastry. Roasted almond fudge made with almonds that I soaked overnight to reduce the phytic acid level, then gently roasted and blended with coconut oil, walnuts, local honey, cacao, pure vanilla, and then allowed to sit in the fridge. Pumpkin skin soup made from a rich greenish-orange variety. Sauteed pumpkin skins, onions, and garlic cooked down with homemade bone broth then blended to creamy perfection. Old rice transformed into rice cakes. Food is glorious.

As the sun is setting I go on a walk through the forest hills. The temperature is perfectly cool. When I get back I call out to the chickens, "here chook chook chook here chook chook chook." They all come running down to me doing those goofy chicken wobbles. The night ends cooking up some fine food for me and Eden, reading more, hanging out with the cats, and laying out on the tramp.

Thankfully I love my own company so I rarely get lonely. The rest of the days housesitting looked fairly similar to that, with variations of work and sometimes I'd go on a hike with Nick or go over to his house to get more books or check out his sweet DJ setup for making music.

I think loneliness (or boredom) is just another word for lack of knowing yourself, and furthermore, a sort of delusional fear of quiet stillness. But technology is exceptionally good at distracting people from truly knowing themselves. Next time you take out your phone or get on the computer for the zillionth time just ask yourself. Why? Is it because you're bored? Lonely? Can't stand silence? Crave the artificial stimulation? Can't wait to receive that approval and recognition from social media that will vanish in the blink of an eye? Don't enjoy the simplicity of your own company? Food for thought.

Elissa & Summer have turned me onto drinking more water and I was very surprised that after two weeks, I experienced signs of dehydration. A dry mouth that no amount of water could quench. They likened it to being out in the desert, and then when one has arrived at the oasis the body just can't get enough. I experienced dry mouth for another two weeks or so. Water is hugely important. Clean water that is. Most people aren't aware of it or just don't care. The problem is the body will send you a hunger response, when the reality is you just need clean water. Not soda, not diet friggin' coke, not fruit juice, good clean water, and lots of it. But the body learns to get water from food, hence the hunger signals. At first it seemed I was pissing all day but after a few weeks I was able to absorb more and more.

I enjoy just observing nature in action. There's so much to learn and experience through nature, like mimicking the positive traits of animals. The way a cat stretches after a nap to improve circulation. The complete unity of ants working together. The way birds use the opposition of the wind to soar higher. The cats graceful movement in total awareness free of any mental noise. I could go on and on. I love living without a phone or a laptop.

I bought myself an early birthday present. A one way ticket to Dunedin! A seaside town on the south island of New Zealand. Stoked! I'm taking off March 7. I made some plans for new years with my buddy Haowen and his Chinese roommate. I'm heading to his place the 28th near The University of Queensland and then we are journeying over to Moreton Island (free tickets thanks to my hiking buddy Nick who used to work for Moreton Island Adventures) and camping on the beach for a night. Haowen has never been camping! Then doing something epic in the city for New Years, and a few days later I head to my next host on the Sunshine Coast. I'll be staying at their home right by a beachside resort they own and helping with cleaning, maintenance, and their two kids. Two chemical free pools, saunas, surfboards, push bikes, three vegetarian meals a day. Just some of the things that will be available to me. Yeah son! From the mountains to the ocean. My kind of Yin/Yang balance. 

Spirituality

I came across this a few days ago and it is without a doubt one of the most profound spiritual books I've ever read. I found myself intensely engaged the entire time and officially blown away because of the underlying experiences this man had on his journey, as well as the feeling of fire in my heart.

For a little context, Daniel Odier (the author), at the age of twenty three, left Europe for the Himalayas looking for a master who could help him penetrate where texts and intellectual searching could no longer take him. He wanted everything: the wisdom and spirituality gained from the life of an ascetic and the beauty, love, and sensuality of a life of passion. After months of searching deep into the Himalayas, Daniel met Devi, a great female yogi who radiated immense love, beauty, and grace. Devi had been practicing Shivaic Tantrism for about seventeen years, primarily living in the mountains in a homemade hut.

This is a conversation between Daniel and Devi.

Devi, talking about Awakening, said, "The intensity comes precisely from the fact that there's no end to it. There's no return to restrictive activity. All activity, all play of the mind takes place within Awakening. Everything can enter and leave, everything can emerge, everything can be tasted in all its richness."

Daniel asked, "But why do we lose this capacity for wonder?"

"Because the little grey men come to reside in the consciousness. Education, society, sick love, hate, desire, jealousy, ambition, mental and material quests, all these things make us strangers to ourselves. We think only of copying, imitating, achieving new states, and whether or not our desires are fulfilled, we lose the happiness within us. Then we come to imagine heaven and hell separate from ourselves. This is a great subterfuge, which allows our consciousness to function outside of ecstasy. If man knew that he himself was God and heaven and hell, no illusions would have a hold on him; nothing could limit his consciousness. Placing heaven outside self allows suffering to become an institution maintained by society's dream at such a high level that we can no longer escape from it. Whatever our fortune starting out in life a day comes when we decide to limit our consciousness, to dry it up."

"As for the mystical crisis of adolescence, the great revolts that make us doubt the path indicated by others, one day we step back and decide to pay our imaginary debt to society. We accept the death of our true selves. And the great fraud is that this death troubles no one. To the contrary, it is watched for, welcomed, and rewarded. As soon as the price of this spiritual death is accepted, it becomes extremely hard to follow another route. That can happen only at the cost of immense effort and very great courage. Those who have accepted their own deaths have only one possibility: to become followers of a religion or group that places the divine outside the self. Thus, everything is subsumed by society's order and interests, aligned to those of the churches and sects, which operate from the same common base: the death of divine consciousness. The driving forces are guilt, fear, obedience. The results are rigidity, distance from sensory objects, obsession, Puritanism, violence, moral codes, exclusion. In India, America, China, the Mideast, Europe, that is the mode of operation we see at work throughout."

When I first read that I was absolutely speechless. I read it over and over again, letting it sink in. This is the truth that I've experienced. What stood out to me is how dysfunctional the belief, that God, or the Universe, or Cosmic Consciousness, or however you want to define it, is separate to us. We are divine beings. Christ himself said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within." So why is heaven and the divine looked at as somehow external to us? To me Christ is saying, "Look inside! Heaven is simply a state of consciousness, and you are it, you are heaven, you are hell, you are everything. It's all inside you. And it's your choice in what place you choose to dwell." Just as when he said, "I and the Father are one." He's saying, when you are aligned with your true essence, you are One with everything and everyone. That essence could never be external.

Also, what stood out to me obviously is how the driving forces of many religions are guilt, fear, and obedience. I know firsthand what that way of living did to me, and all I have is my own experience to work with. It drove me into my own miserable psychotic world, and I will NEVER be a part of those beliefs ever again.

What I appreciate immensely about Tantrism is not only the simplicity and spontaneity, but the divine perception of women. The fact that in many religions men hold all the power positions, and are even seen as holding more Godly power, is one of the most judgmental, sexist, disrespectful beliefs that I know of. To me that feels so deeply wrong. That belief system reeks heavily of the male ego.

Here are some more gems from the book.

"We all feel that we must find an antidote to the frenzy in which we live, but for all that we are not ready to adopt beliefs and practices that are culturally foreign to us. In Tantrism, we do not go toward some external thing. On the contrary, we direct ourselves toward our core, our own minds. Tantric practice demands nothing more than this return to the Self. To know, observe, and to calm ourselves, we don't have to take recourse in any belief whatsoever. Everything is born of the mind and returns there. We are image and reflection at the same time. By observing the mind we will find there all that we have lost to the exterior: peace, tranquility, the strength to act without being subject to filters or limitations that we have accepted or created, the power to fully communicate with life."

"The means for knowing our minds are mediation and the practice of full consciousness. In Tantrism, meditation is very simple. There are no supports, no visualizations, no complicated mantras, no fetishes concerning posture. You sit on a comfortable cushion or on a chair. You calm down. You breathe peacefully, without forcing anything, and you observe. Ideas run by very quickly. You do nothing to slow down this relentless rhythm. You simply take note of the degree to which the mind is racing out of control. For many, it already comes as a huge surprise to see that we can be conscious of this incessant bombardment. Little by little, after three or four mediation sessions, the sitting, the calm, the fact that we are there waiting for nothing, not competing, without a single goal except to be open, to breathe, to feel, brings about in us a strong sense of well-being."

"In order for the practice to change our way of living and perceiving the world, it's important to make an effort and compel ourselves to meditate each day. Very quickly, the pleasure and the calm that come over us will make it so we don't need to force ourselves to meditate. That will happen naturally, like being drawn to a source of please. Deep well-being restores communication between our minds and bodies as well as the potential of our active and emotional life and quality of our relationships with others. This pleasure has the particular advantage of always being available, since it depends only on itself."

"While everything else in life is an occasion for measuring oneself against others and putting on performances, meditation opens a space where there is nothing to prove. We are there simply to know ourselves, to accept ourselves unconditionally, and to love ourselves without making judgments on what we do or think. We communicate with all our energies without dismissing anything. All energy is precious. Anger, jealousy, violence, and negativity are just as acceptable as their counterparts that we consider positive."

"By no longer labelling and classifying our impulses, we gain access to a fabulous reserve of energy we can use for meditation and for paying attention to the world. There is no progress, in the sense that we apply that term to a sport or a game. Everything can happen very quickly if we simply agree to sit down in complete freedom. There is nothing to learn, no texts or esoteric principles to study. It's enough to let oneself be free from all mental and physical constraints. The single indispensable thing is to have the desire to know oneself, to take full advantage of life, and to release oneself from suffering."

"The whole art of Tantric practice is to develop this presence in the world, which meditation deepens daily. You find yourself enjoying things that until then didn't seem the least bit interesting. You note with surprise how this opening completely transforms your quality of life and interactions with others. All of a sudden, you will have created an empty space in yourself, a sort of park where the trees, the flowers, the pools, the shade, and the light will allow you to relax and let others enter."

What profound material! I love where I'm at in my journey. Putting all my focus on the values most important to me, which are love, acceptance, complete openness & honesty. At this point I seek to embody everything I've learned from many religions and teachings, like loving service from Christianity, non-reactive meditation from Buddhism, Yoga, the ancient wisdom of Chinese Tonic Herbalism and Ayurvedic Herbalism, specific stretching and exercises and ways of living from Taoism, as well as connecting sexuality with spirituality, and now the simple wisdom of Tantrism. 

An Epic Weekend

I was lying in bed, trying to sleep away the emptiness. I experience moments and sometimes entire days where everything is covered in meaninglessness. Like no matter what I do I can't feel anything. The world is devoid of joy. I've learned over the years though, to not get so attached. Mental and emotional states come and go, and if I practice non-attachment then life retains a certain lightness no matter what, because I'm identifying with a deeper part of my being that is beyond thoughts and emotions.

I heard footsteps and looked out the window to see Silva walking up the steps with someone else. After they came downstairs that's when I remembered a Chinese helper was arriving today. I got up to meet the man. Jacob. He's been a student at The University of Queensland studying economics and wanted to change it up during his time off. He was amazed at the location and environment of the home.

One of the first questions Elissa asked him was, "What's your real name? Your Chinese name?" It's a funny situation because teachers in China obviously do not know Australian culture because they will tell students they need to change their names to fit in better, but the reality is Australians are so straight forward, they think "What are you trying to hide? Just tell me your real name." Haowen Guo.

Haowen was like a little kid taking everything in. "Ahhh it's amazing." He noticed the trampoline and it was the first time he ever saw one in person. As he jumped on I joined him, and just watching him trying to balance, his limbs flopping around like rubbery pencils, I couldn't help but burst into laughter, especially after secretly bouncing him higher and higher. Exactly what I needed. Afterwards I was on the couch reading and Elissa seemed to intuitively read my feelings of emptiness and came up to me all excited like a little kid full of unconditional love, "cuddle time!" I'm already saying I love you to this family.

As dinner was being prepared, sitting outside on the sofa, Haowen opened up my world to Chinese culture, explaining all the exotic food in the different regions of China, some history, China's relationship with Japan, the corruption in the government & school system, and lots more. At this point I have some mental momentum building which is making me feel better by the second. There is no substitute for traveling the world and being immersed in different cultures. Haowen said he loves spicy food so during dinner I gave him some exceptionally hot cayenne pepper. A few seconds later, "Oh my god." "Oh my god" ah ha. "I thought you liked spicy food Haowen!" As his mouth was on fire that's when I gave him a proper verbal welcome.

After that hilarious dinner I was teaching Haowen some of the daily work duties, taking full advantage of the fact that his English was good but not great. After a while he caught on that I was totally messin' with him. Hearing his accent and pronunciation of words I entered a state of hysterical laughter where everything was, for lack of a better word, hysterical. Soon we both couldn't stop laughing. I went to bed laughing that night.

From an internal perspective this day could be explained as this: From complete emptiness to non stop laughter. 

We kicked off the weekend with a early morning hike on one of the many trails in the local bush. Summer & Elissa got me into carrying weights in my backpack so I'm up to fifteen kilos at the moment. By the time I leave I'm gonna be a beast.

Group nap on the deck.

Even Siris joined in.

We had a heat wave come through this weekend so from about noon until four it's zombie land. One of the chickens died from old age and ten minutes into digging a grave my clothes were sticking to me from the humidity and sweat. I felt a burning on my leg and looked down to see heaps of jumping ants all over the place crawling up my legs. My leg went from burning to feeling like it was on fire for five minutes straight. They aren't poisonous, but damn did that sting! 

Perfect time for an afternoon journey to a local waterhole. It was so refreshing and peaceful. 

After I jumped in Summer gave me the update that there are eels, frogs, spiders that hide in the cracks and give out nasty bites, and other creatures lurking around. Thanks for the update Summer. 

Cheers everyone.

The new wildlife continues to inspire me.

Summer heat + waterhole + wildlife = a quality afternoon

Although Haowen doesn't know how to swim so he didn't get in.

That night as me and Haowen were sitting outside waiting for everyone else to get ready for Summer's local dance performance, listening to thunder that was so powerful it felt like it came straight from Zeus himself, he said, "ahhhhh this is life." Indeed. Indeed it is. Just before that, as the storm was coming in, the windows were still open and Haowen pointed out a large orange sized spider on the window that was right in front of me. Whoa! I'm chill with most spiders at this point, but if it can cover more than half my face it needs to be escorted outside the premises.  

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I swiped some off of Haowen's phone instead. Summer's dance included two other women and three chairs. No other word could be used to describe the dance other than sexy. Afterwards, the dance floor opened up, and that's when I saw Nick (who I've been going on hikes with) prowling in the outskirts. I immediately got up and brought him to center stage. Dancing is the best, especially when people that seem to be anxious or worried or too self conscious just let loose. 

Quality pics from Haowen. 

Silvanna having fun with some local clay that the Aboriginal's use as face paint. 

A new day and a new waterhole. This one was much more spacious and had some nice cliffs to jump off of. We picked up Summer's long time friend Jive (sweet name dude) and had another great afternoon. Recently Summer randomly came across research and anecdotal experiences praising the benefits of sleeping on the floor, and she inspired me to try it out. The main issue seems to be that because the muscles and tissues of the body have to conform to the mattress, they are never able to fully relax, as well as the fact that most beds are not good for long term posture and spine alignment. Me and her have an all or nothing mindset so we took pictures of our back and stomach and in three months we will be able to visually see any differences and feel any as well. 

From left to right. Summer. Haowen. Jive. Silvanna. Elissa. Tristan. Moi

It was Tristan's birthday so the day had many surprises and the food was exceptional. For dinner we had Seafood pilaf with scallops, salmon, prawns, and squid, vegetable flan, and a heavenly raw macadamia nut cheesecake (no dairy). 

Afterwards a dance party complete with fog and a disco ball Summer got in India. At one point I had my shirt off around my head doing robotic karate, Haowen was pullin' off some fresh Chinese moves, Elissa and Summer were dancing like hippy chicks in the sixties trippin' on acid, and Tristan was break dancing among other things. I secretly hid my camera (not that anyone would have cared) to capture the epic-ness. 

The night ended on a high note, going on a journey to look at some stars. We walked up to a decent spot and everyone layed out on the pavement. My two Australia sisters. My Aboriginal brother (Tristan is a civilized Aboriginal living in the modern world). And my Chinese brother. There were misty clouds blocking our view so we could only see a few stars, then a few minutes later it all cleared up magically. A few long stretches of silence just taking it all in, then a car swerved around the corner to see us laying on the pavement. Teehee. But wait, there's more. We walked down to a big pond where there was a mating frenzy of frogs taking place. I didn't know frog sex sounded so wild. There was a sound, i kid you not, that was the exact same as a woodpecker.

Summer and Elissa, being done with meditation & yoga classes for the year, had the rare opportunity of having a Sunday off, so we all (except for Eden cuz she had work) took a trip up the coast to the beautiful town of Noosa. First stop. Nutworks, which is a huge macadamia nut farm and across the street there happens to be a ginger factory. Ooooooo. The shop was intoxicating and I made the mistake of bringing in my wallet so I had to buy some chocolate covered goodies.

The Ginger Factory is like a tropical ginger Disneyland complete with rides and overpriced food and a train that goes around the outside. 

Being the ginger factory, I was hoping to enjoy a quality ginger beer, but instead I received a watered down artificially flavored drink with spirit alcohol added. "Hand crafted" my ass. 

We stopped at a local shopping center when we arrived in Noosa, purchased goodies for a picnic, and then drove the ten minutes to see Elissa's sister who lives right on a lake. 

Butterfliessssss

Picnic by a colorful saltwater lake + great company + pelicans + the deadly red bellied black snake = a refreshing afternoon. 

Lookin' fresh my Chinese brotha! 

Ladies and gents, I introduce you to the highly venomous red bellied black snake. As we were about to leave a bunch of nearby kids spotted it, and later it poked it's head out just so I could get a high quality picture. Thanks buddy. Enjoy swallowing all those frogs and other reptiles whole.

Tis' the season of snakes and mozzies

Cheers

Mount Nebo Lookout

Last day of meditation this year, for an organized class that is. 

Memories in Time

I was in the library checking out books and the girls came down all dressed up for a dance party, and well, how could I not get in on all that goodness? 

Another night. Elissa's boyfriend Tristan came over and we watched a short film he created on racism that won awards at many film festivals all over Australia. 

Me, Summer, and Elissa were having a picnic outside and I turned around to a blue tongued lizard right under my thigh. I freaked out for a moment cuz I thought it was a snake. It was a harmless little dude. Elissa picked it up and examined it. They've had all sorts of wildlife come to them when they are sick. This one didn't look injured at all but he was uncommonly chilled out. A few days later we found him dead by the house. Later that night as I was cutting up vegetables for dinner, Silvanna was playing my all time favorite song on the piano, Clair de Lune, while Summer and Elissa buried him on the hill above the tramp. 

Right as I shut the bathroom door I heard a swarm of birds land on a nearby tree. I looked outside the window to see a family of tropical lorikeets munching on some leaves. 

We  stopped at the train station to pickup another helper from Chicago and on the way back swooped up some more baby chickies. Silvanna was stoked. Actually, everyone was. The helper ended up leaving the next morning to spend her last days in Straya' on the beach in Byron Bay.

Sunday morning. Last session of yoga at the home. The focus for today was awareness of the whole body through mindful stretching. The last part consisted of giving and receiving love via a massage. I partnered up with a guy I didn't know at all. Afterwards, we enjoyed a huge picnic on the lawn complete with a whole turkey and homemmade cranberry sauce (no connection with Thanksgiving just a coincidence). This is my kind of spiritual sunday. Loose clothing. Yoga directed by Summer. Being actively engaged with other people. Massages. Sunshine. And a picnic out in nature. Doesn't get much better than that. 

It was the last session of meditation in Brisbane. I took a few capsules of tonic herbs that have been used for thousands of years to enhance meditation & mindfulness before we left. After arriving and meeting everyone we all did some stretches and relaxed into thrity minutes of non reactive meditation where you simply focus on the sensations of the breath and don't move at all. Ten or fifteen minutes pass and my legs start to get tingly because I haven't mastered my sitting position, but I just breathe. Thoughts come and go. I just breathe. A mosquito lands on my neck. I just breathe. The wind brushes up against my skin. I just breathe. Soon my focus is intense. Inhale. Exhale. Chest rising. Chest falling. After the thirty minutes was over and Summer began the guided meditation of imagining gooey liquid light spill down into the body from the top of the head, I felt a profound feeling of peace enter deep into my bones. Into my cells. The rest of the night I felt blissfully serene.

Me  and Summer were enjoying a picnic outside when a bird swooped in to eat some of that delicious purple banana flower nectar.

On different walks I've seen a variety of wildlife, such as a wild pig hustling across the road, a few wallaby's (looks like a small kangaroo) that hop around like energizer bunnies on steroids, and a huge variety of lizards and birds. Australia is a nature lovers paradise.

Jumping on the tramp one day and still being used to a larger surface area to work with I was trying to do some combination backflips while Summer & Elissa were watching. Mid flip I knew I was going off, and ended up slamming my back and legs into the deck. Thankfully I didn't break any bones. Just had some nasty bruises.