Bali Lockdown

Eat less. Pray more. Love forever. Closed to the outside world for nearly three years, Bali returns to its roots. Gunung Agung, the sacred mountain of Bali is much more than a tourist attraction. It is the energetic center of Balinese Hindu life. To grasp the impact of this closure on an island almost entirely dependent upon tourism: 57,000 people visited Bali October 2019. 57 people visited Bali October 2021.

The upside: more family time, more time for culture and art, and more time for meditation. Here are some simple, elevating messages:

Earth: Seven of Flames ‘Swords to Plowshares’

Want to get married or buried? Balinese Hindus must have a metatah or tooth filing ceremony — even post death. Canine teeth are gently filed down symbolically releasing aggression and other negative traits.

We all encounter people, groups, or institutions for which we feel a natural antipathy. We may blame them for problems in the world. We may think that the world would be a better place if they would just cease to exist.

When we encounter those whom we could easily label as ‘enemies’ we actually are meeting a great opportunity. In the past, we may have felt that the answer was to be defensive or to fight against them. There is another way.

Spiritual maturity counters ignorance in others by exemplifying a different way of life. Kindness, compassion, forbearance, tolerance, generosity — a listening heart — these are our ‘weapons’ of choice. Nonviolence in heart, word, and deed has a way of ultimately demobilizing and converting those who wish to defeat us.

Water: Judgement ‘Ancestral Healing’

Ancestor worship is a large component of Balinese Hinduism. Once a year — a year is calculated according to the rice growing cycle at 210 days, ancestors return to live in the family compound with their family for a ten day period.

Here is a simple, yet powerful, ritual that anyone can do to liberate themselves and a ‘bad’ ancestor from a troublesome family narrative.  Identify and release a challenging trait that you may have inherited by changing the story.

Here’s an example of how it works.

A villainous character — Cousin Lawrence — loomed large in my mother’s family history. The story goes that Cousin Lawrence swindled the family fortune. He became wealthy. My mother and her mother lost their part of the family fortune. So we should have been wealthy, too. But we lost out because of Cousin Lawrence.

To release Cousin Lawrence from the anger and resentment carried by other family members, living and dead, I am going to do this simple ritual. I am carrying around a sum of money and waiting for an opportunity to be generous. When that opportunity presents, I shall joyfully and freely give the money away to a needy person or cause.  While I am doing this, I am dedicating this action to Cousin Lawrence.

I am feeling a compassionate heart …. ‘May you be released Cousin Lawrence.’

This simple action can liberate Cousin Lawrence. It can also release me from the poisonous effects of how this story that has colored my relationship with wealth.

Look for an example in your own family history. Identify an ancestor or group of ancestors and their story. This may be a painful story or a sad story or an angry story. It is up for healing now.

Devise a simple and meaningful action. Follow through.

Sky: The High Priestess

Bali has a ‘High Priestess’ — the first to be recognized in more than one hundred years. After a near death experience, Ida Alit downloaded the knowledge of ancient languages, prayers, and practices that allowed her to be formally recognized without years of formal training or through marriage to a High Priest. Her status and scope has evolved as she embarked upon an international mission and married a foreigner.

We often associate the High Priestess Major Arcana card with intuition and receiving inspiration — a fairly passive process. Today we recommend reversing that process. Reprogram your minds through the practice of affirmations. Choose a simple affirmation that addresses a key issue for you. Think, speak aloud, and/or chant this regularly. It can take 21 days of regular practice for a major transformation.

Here are some examples. Or, craft your own!

I Am Enough.

I Forgive You.

I Speak My Truth.

I Am Free.

I Am Calm.

I Am Happy.

I Am Grateful.

I Am Brave.

Fire: Two of Flames ‘Find Your Teacher’

Ubud Bali, the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’ has its share of gurus — genuine and not. The word ‘guru’ simply means teacher in the Balinese language. My personal guru is my best friend — a woman of infinite patience who painstakingly instructs me in the art of crafting various iterations of bamboo and other leaves and flowers into canang or offerings. We do not share a common language and I never went to kindergarten so I am like a three year old with all thumbs.

We may have had a lot of ‘education’ and also may be largely self taught. When we survey both our past and present, how many true teachers have graced our life? Now may be one of those rare, uncharacteristic times when you have the desire for a relationship with a teacher. It’s not just what is out there that you can learn, but the process — the process of being in relationship with a teacher.

The appearance of the Two of Flames here signals that you know what you are hungry for — discovery and a passion for spiritual adventure. Life involves a conscious selection from various spiritual paths. Relax. Keep your spiritual curiosity alive. When the time is ready, and when you are ready, the teacher will appear.

Images from the Oriens Tarot Deck by Ambi Sun are used here by permission.