hello brothers and sisters,

I have comfortably settled down in the guesthouse of a tibetan buddhist monastary in Dharamsala. Right now I am sitting next to a 12 year old monk who is playing grand theft auto, quite ironic. Lets see, since i last updated I had a week long fast in the most beautiful remote mountian village and then moved on to Dharamsala where I have been taking all sorts of classes. I did a 5 day Tibetan massage course and with the same teacher i took several one day classes: Tibetan singling bowl healing, deep relaxation, balancing air and water elements in the body, and i just started a 3 day "fixing" class where we learn how to quickly alleviate pain and tension in the problem areas like the knee, lower back, neck, etc. Yesterday we learned about the pressure points on the butt and around the hip and i yelped when the teacher did the exercise on me. it was so painful! but i guess that means that i really need help in those areas.

For the fast, I went up to the little mountain village with two other wwoofers, valdemar and an american girl emily. It was a very interesting expericenc. We a 5 hour bus ride snaking along impossibly bumpy roads with steep cliffs always right outside the open door. It was good practice for exercising no fear. Somehow, no matter the conditions, indians always remain completely calm and composed. when we arrived, many villagers came to the town center to observe us innocently and the little children gathered round us, giggling and smiling. i think we must have been the first westerners many villagers had ever seen. communication was difficult because only 2 villagers spoke english, and the rest spoke some language that was not hindi. But still, i hung out with the villagers and somehow communicated little things. The village, Nagtal (not sure how to spell), as we later found out, is in a restricted area (no foreigners aloud) because of its proximity to China, which we could see from our balcony, 150 km away (we had to most incredible view). Apparently the area is known for its "black magic" healers who can remove snake poison with incantations and energy from their hands. Sounds like pranic healing to me.

I have many pictures to share but the internet connection is too slow to upload them, though i havent been taking as many pictures as i thought because it is hard to capture the infinite beauty all around.

Fasting was hard. We ate only small amounts of fruits and steamed veggies, and the whole time i was craving bread so much! next time i do a fast i will definitely not do it this way. i think with a juice fast craving food is not as much of an issue. and when the time is right i would like to try a lemon-water fast. One thing that we made that really really delicious and healthy was a mixed fruit porridge. Here is the recipe:
4 bananas
2 apples
big handful of raisins and other dired fruit (preferably that have soaked over night)
cook these ingrediants together and you will have a super sweet and tasty porridge of sorts, but to make it even more delicious with a good texture (and good for your bowls too) add a couple tablespoons of psyllium husk.

In dharamsala there are so many courses happening all the time, i feel like i could stay here for ever. As i mentioned Ive been taking all sorts of Tibetan healing classes, I also took a cooking class and learned how to make tibetan bread, without using an oven! They simly put the pan on the stove with a cover and flip the bread a few times. This technique solves my banana bread dilemma, as i have yet to find an oven. Currently i dont have access to a kitchen, but when i do i will bake up a storm. Having no kitchen ive been going out to eat all the time. The food is so cheap and so good! And by trying so many kinds of food ive gotten a lot of ideas for my own cooking. I will be very happy when i have a kitchen to use.

I am also doing a taoist sound healing meditation class. Its powerful, but kinda funny. We learn different sounds that resonate with certain organs and allow negative energy to be released. After class today two girls offered to give me reiki. it was very pleasent, but they said my stomach was going crazy. and then a guy gave me a thai stomach massage and confirmed that something is not right. I will go to the tibetan (or maybe ayurvedic) doctor tomorrow.

Tomorrow I start a new course which is taught by the Rinponche at the monestary where I am staying; its called "dream yoga". The Rinponche is known as "the Rainmaker" becuase when there is a drought, people call upon him to bring rain. In dream yoga you learn how to lucid dream and how to interpret your dreams. Also how to "lucid daydream" because they say that even our waking reality is only a dream, and when we become aware in the moment we can alter our "dream" however we want. Should be interesting.

Right now Im reading "One Taste" by Ken Wilber, a writer on integral spirituality, and it is amazing! He also talks about dreaming, and how after meditating for 20 years he can remain aware as a witness of his dreams, and not engrossed in the "movie" in the mind. I highly recommend any of his books.

Feeling tired and too lazy to explain more, but all in all things are wonderful.

peace out homies!