Category Archives: Ubud

The firefly story

imageLast night I was having dinner at Sari Organik in front of a beautiful sunset. It was a nice moment although a bit nostalgic because the time of my departure was nearing.

I love taking pictures and since I moved to Ubud I always wanted to take a picture of fireflies. I am often surrounded by them when I am outside in the evening time.  Unfortunately they are not easy to be photographed in the dark, and all my attempts miserably failed.  Fireflies bring back childhood memories as I grew up in the countryside. There use to be many in Italy at that time, but through the years they gradually disappeared because of the herbicides used in the fields by the farmers.

At some point, last night, I noticed something like a drop of water falling from the ceiling. Puzzled by that I looked closely on the table

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and there it was, a firefly. It looked like it was disoriented or about to die. So I quickly grabbed my phone and started taking pictures. And finally I captured this nice shot of this beautiful creature. My dream came true and I was so happy. Later on she jumped on my shirt, I was so excited  I could take her home with me. I had to walk a bit but surprisingly she never flew away. When we were at home I put her in my bedroom and a bit later it looked like she regained her strength. So I switched off the light and there she was, flying again across the ceiling. It was such a  cool feeling to watch her…

I think there are some lessons to be learned from this story. The first is that dreams always come true if you are patient enough and willing to never give up. The second is that in life you don’t need to be a strong powerful creature to survive, it’s ok to be delicate and vulnerable like a tiny firefly. What matters is in whose hands you are going to end up with. If you are in good hands then you will be safe, and not matter who you are and how hard life is, you will be able to survive and fly high.

A path of my own

IMG20141113114032Today I decided I am not going to bother Ina. After all in Ubud there are plenty of choices. So I decided to go back to Kardashian Cafe & Spa. I have been there a few time as you can see from the pictures below. Before it has always to have a lunch or breakfast al fresco over the koi pond, with a beautiful view of the rice fields. But this time I went straight to the spa for an hour Reiki Chakra balance treatment. Chakras are the energy centres in our bodies that spin and distribute our prana / chi / essential life force. The practitioner name was Kade. Again I was able to get in a deep state of relaxation. This time I felt less pain and when I turned around, facing down,  that was the best part. I feel so lucky to have found this source of healing.

My Reiki experience

450px--Schumann_resonance_animation.ogvI want to share with you my experience of trying Reiki here in Ubud. It is a form of alternative medicine that uses a technique commonly called palm healing or hands-on-healing, through which the practitioners believe they can transfer universal energy in the form of qi. Reiki has its origins in Japan, it’s more of a spiritual practice and it is not tied to any religion or dogma. Although it has not being scientifically proven to be effective in the treatment of any illness, Reiki can enhance your body ability to heal itself and can help you achieve complete wellness by addressing the physical, mental and emotional issues that are holding you back.

My session was about an hour long. I simply lay down on the bed as my friend Ina, the practitioner, gently put her hands first on my forehead, and later on she moved them to a different part of the body. I was a bit nervous at first but eventually my body slowly entered a deep state or relaxation. I actually felt in a similar state before when many years ago I tried hypnotherapy. But in the case of Reiki I felt warm waves passing through my body, they were painful at times like they were washing away my emotional pain. As the session progressed I became more and more relaxed, and some memories were passing through my mind. After the session I realized that those memory were somehow connected with the pain that I was experiencing during the treatment. By the end of the session I was so calm, almost sleeping and when Ina woke me up I was so deeply relaxed that my body actually felt so heavy, I could hardly move.

Today, one day after the treatment, I feel a much better person. I am much more relaxed, my mind is clear, stress free and is actually refusing to think negative thoughts which is an amazing change for me. So I did some reading today on Reiki. To those of you who are skeptical, particularly those that need science as a proof, I am saying this: one thing is for sure, our subconscious mind is far more powerful than our conscious mind. You can read all about it in this article

But… that our subconscious mind is powerful and can be trained using suggestions, well… that I already know from the days I tried hypnotherapy because that is the main idea behind hypnosis. The subconscious mind will accept all suggestions that are sent to it provided that the conscious mind’s supervision is absent. But in the case of Reiki there was no talking of any sort. And that is what amazes me, it was all about energy flowing. So I did more reading and I found that there are measurable effects occurring during a Reiki treatment. Brain wave patterns of the practitioner and receiver synchronise at the Alpha State and pulse in synchrony with Schuman Resonance, a set of spectrum peaks in the extremely low frequency portion of the Earth‘s electromagnetic field spectrum. The biomagnetic field of the practitioner’s hands in this state, has been measured to be at least one thousand times amplified above normal levels. Infact Ina’s hands became really warm at some point. Independent medical research has shown that this range of frequencies will stimulate healing in the body, with specific frequencies being especially effective for different tissues. So there you have it, a bit of scientific explanation. And guess what, I found out that there is also a Hypno-Reiki available, which blends the two powerful healing therapies. So, all in all, you can be a skeptical or a believer, you may realize it or not, but one thing you cannot deny: the mind is very powerful and has unlimited potentials.

Ceremony for theGunung Lebah temple

A major religious festival at the historic Gunung Lebah temple, which is not far from my home, has been going on for the most part of October and has reached its peak today. The religious festival comprises six different major rituals: Karya Mamungkah, Tawur Panca Wali Krama, Penyejeg Jagat, Tawur Pedanan, Ngenteg Linggih and Pedudusan Agung. As part of this, there are large-scale temple dedication and purification rituals coupled with major sacrificial rituals to appease nature’s spirits. In addition, Ubud locals – as the temple’s main custodians –  participate in declaration of faith rituals. All these elaborate rituals mark the completion of the extensive renovation project of the temple. Here’s some pics I took from the street.

Sun poisoning

Yesterday I learned the hard way what it means to live in a tropical area. I walked for a long time in the sun at midday, without a hat or sunblock protection, feeling safe as my skin color is already brown. It was extremely hot and I started feeling dehydrated, after a while I had to stop for water. My body was absorbing heat, making mr weak and exhausted. After I got home I was shocked to see my face. I had some weird red bumps and was still not realizing what was happening. Today I am KO in bed, with fever, dizziness and ice on my face. They call it sun poisoning. Lesson learned.

Serpente in casa, che spavento

Mi sono appisolato in camera per un mezz’ora e quando sono uscito ho trovato questo bel serpente sul divano. Quando mi ha visto ha cercato subito di scappare ed e’ finito sul pavimento. Pero’ scivolava sulle piastrelle (povero) e non riusciva a trovare una via di fuga. Così ho chiesto aiuto. Mi hanno spiegato che questo tipo di serpenti non sono pericolosi. Vivono nei campi di riso e raramente vengono in casa. Avra’ sbagliato strada…  😉

The Ubud market

I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t buy good vegetables during the day… then I talked to Alfred. In Ubud the fruit and vegetable market happens during the night, between 2:00am and 8:00am. The prices are extremely cheap and great quality, real organic food sold directly by the farmers. I had to wake up at 5:00am but look what I could buy with less than 7 dollars. At 9:00am the streets turn into a souvenirs market for tourist.

Villa Miring

The  house I was staying was too small and too noisy. I was living close to a big hen-house and I would wake up every day at 5:00am. There are quite a few roosters in this area and they all love to sign in the morning. So I found this new place just a few yards away. I really like it and I am paying only 16 dollars a day. Amazingly cheap

Tra libellule e serpenti

WP_20140920_004Le libellule si sono presentate anche questa mattina e una ha cercato di entrare in casa. Ma l’apparizione piu’ inaspettata e’ stata quella di un bellissimo serpente, penso fosse un piccolo pitone. Ha attraversato il giardino dove ero seduto a prendere il caffe’ e mi sono venuti i brividi. Ci sono parecchie galline che vagano libere tra i campi di riso qui e qualche topolino, il posto giusto per sfamarsi. La proprietaria della casa mi ha detto che non devo preoccuparmi, non sono pericolosi. Sono animali timidi, basta non calpestarli. Vedo molte persone lavorare nei campi di riso anche la notte. Se loro non sono preoccupate non c’e’ ragione che io lo sia.

Moved to Ubud

WP_20140920_002I came to Ubud just by chance, following Dian’s suggestion and I fell in love with the place almost instantaneously.  The first day we went for lunch to Sari Organik, a quite a popular place here thanks to TripAdvisor. The restaurant is located 20 minutes walk  up on Subak Sok-Wayah, a small path not accessible to cars in the middle of rice field terraces.  Many tourists come to see this area because of the amazing sceneries, the quite surroundings and unspoiled landscape. I came as a tourist too but very quickly decided to move here. I saw a small house with the “for rent” sign and quickly made a deal with the owner and few days later I moved in.  I love the countryside and I grew up in house in the middle of corn and wheat fields, so it brought back some childhood memories. I felt some good vibe in this place and the villa was pretty cheap: only 12 dollars a day. I thought it was the right place to settle at least for a while. I needed to relax and get some peace in my life after what happened in Singapore. I was not in the mood to stay in the crowded and noisy area of Bali and if I missed the beach I could always go there for a short trip.