August 29, 2004 I have known Raya & Heidel Bethel since
they were an adorable six-year-old pair of twins. They are
now each 30, and if it were possible even more beautiful,
intelligent and talented than before. Currently they are
in the internal adornment business: they paint murals and
otherwise beautify interiors. Should your home, office,
or other building be in need of decoration, particularly
if you happen to live in the Greater Seattle area, please
contact them! Otherwise just take a look at what they do,
at www.paradisestudiosart.com.
My Seattle visit this August included as usual a seminar
at Bastyr University, after which I proceeded to Sonoma,
and another set of beautiful women, including Bette Timm,
Sarada Von Sonn, Dr. Carmen Frigerio, and a pair that though
not twins are honorary sisters: Bette Timm's daughter
Marijanna Schurtz, and Bette's "second" daughter India
Gomez. I arrived just in time to wish Marijanna "bon voyage"
on her departure for college - an exciting time for her, and
an emotional time for her mother, as the nest empties. As
India is also considering a move, Bette is threatening to
fly the coop as well!
From Sonoma to Berkeley, and a night with Scott Blossom,
Chandra Easton, & their gorgeous daughter Tara
(whose delightful princess costume was already ready for All Hallows Eve),
then on with that family and Dr. Carmen to Esalen, on my
first visit to that renowned retreat center, courtesy of Shiva
Rea & James Bailey & their delightful young son Jai. I found
Esalen to be pretty much all it was cracked up to be; my vote
for best feature goes to the hot pools, which sit on a craggy cliff
face above pounding surf. A 2 a.m. bath there, with no one but
the sky, the stars, the waves, the rocks, and the steam for
company, immediately inspired me to contemplate a return visit!
Aug 15, 2004 The first half of August took me to Canada,
first to the Maritimes and thereafter to Quebec, where Rose
Baudin & I spent a very enjoyable (perhaps less enjoyable
when cold rain was falling) week at the Sivananda Ashram
Yoga Camp (673, 8th Avenue, Val Morin, Quebec, J0T 2R0,
CANADA; phone (819) 322-3226; www.sivananda.org). Nestled
in the bosom of the beautiful Laurentian mountains, the
ashram boasts among its many noteworthy features the airplane
(a Beechcraft Baron, if memory serves correctly) that Swami
Vishnudevananda once piloted into various sites of conflict
around the world, trying to promote peace. A long and winding
flight of steps takes one from the ashram proper to the hill
above it, on which is perched a temple of Murugan, a.k.a.
Kartikkeya, Skandha, Kumara, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha,
Arumugham, and Velan - the elder son of Siva and Parvati,
representative of Mars on Earth, generalissimo of the gods
in their eternal fight against the demons. With a peacock
for a vehicle, a spear for a weapon, and high places as
his natural abodes, Murugan is as darling to the residents
of Tamil lands as Ganesha is dear to Maharashtrians.
This ashram temple has become beloved of Tamils (mostly
of the Sri Lankan variety) from all over Quebec, and other
parts of Canada, many of whom make a pilgrimage there
each July for the Murugan festival that is held in Val
Morin at the same time that it is held in Kataragama,
the once-remote shrine in Sri Lanka's southeast that is
sacred to Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims alike
(see http://www.Kataragama.org/). 25,000 people made the
trek to Quebec's version of Kataragama this year, many
carrying kavadis, the lavishly decorated heavy wooden
towers that are hallmarks of Murugan's worship. Some also,
following hoary tradition, inserted hooks into the skin of
their backs, and skewers through their cheeks, and such.
Having once witnessed such an event (in Malaysia), I am
sure that this one was truly a sight to see.
The weather in Quebec tending toward the cool, even in
August (the province's motto being, "Mon pays, ce n'est
pas un pays, c'est l'hiver" - "My country is not really a
country; it is winter"), we made good use of the ashram's
centrally located sauna, which gets well stoked each
morning. One sunny afternoon we made an excursion to the
nearby ski area of Mont Tremblant, now rendered slightly
surreal by a developer who seems to have based the design
for his township on the Epcot Center. The views from the
top remain superlative.
After a brief return visit to Texas, where Miss Roshni
Panday was visiting, I headed toward a fortnight on the
West Coast, in preparation for Australia ...
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