An update from the Queenstown mansion

What a journey it's been. So much has happened in the past 2 months since my last post. It has been one hell of an adventure filled with love, laughter, new friends, old friends, chaos, reflection, Hare Krishnas, conspiracy theories, beaches, mountains, glaciers, sunsets, arrests, earthquakes, landslides, naked hippies, and the list goes on. Recapping everything seems to be too daunting of a task so I will quickly touch on a few experiences that stand out. The journey will begin and end on the west coast, where New Zealand meets the Tasman Sea. From my first swim at Sunset Beach, to my last swim in Haast.

Along the journey I've experienced:

1) 11/11/11. Ever since I was a kid I wondered where I would be on this day. I never could have imagined I'd be in New Zealand at one of the Maori's most sacred places to experience my first Hongi (a tradition involving a maori family inviting new people to their land, their Marae, and allowing them to be part of the whanau, or family). It was such a powerful experience to be welcomed into the family so traditionally. After the ceremony it is tradition to greet each person by touching your nose and forehead to theirs, and breathing in deeply. This greeting is also called a Hongi and is associated with the connection of the third eye and crown chakras and is usually accompanied with the greeting, "Kia Ora" (hello, be well). The crown chakra connection is considered to be a greeting to the ancestors who came before. Later that night after the ceremony, I was invited to experience my first Native American sweat with Lakota John from the Lakota tribe. Another amazingly powerful experience which began under my first full moon in New Zealand at exactly 11:11.

2) The sound of the rocks atop Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom) vibrating under my feet as the polarity of the encroaching storm began to pull on them, forcing Siri and I to quickly make our way down the active volcano through the clouds and hail, leaving behind the steady breath of steam from Mount Doom's crater.

3) The feeling of the wind holding me upright as I test its strength while floating through the
magnificent Marlborough Sounds ON A BOAT.

4) Being picked up randomly at a train station in Blenheim, after discussing what to do next, by a man named Peter who asked me, "Am I here to pick you up?" Not expecting a ride I responded, "I don't know." He then asked, "Are you Neal?" And it was at that point we realized he was our next CouchSurfing host. A good example of syncronicity.

5) Watching in the rain as Nelson's 50-year flood pulled a hillside down slowly to my feet, cracking massive trees in half like toothpicks as it moved.

6) My first earthquake, and then my second and then my third. Although due to my ability to sleep through virtually anything I experienced the second two subconsciously.

7) Being gifted a nice bar of soap for Christmas and showing my gratitude while at the same time wondering if I smell like a dirty backpacker.

8) Going for a swim in the Motueka River after working in the hot sun with a 70 year old friend only to turn around and realize he's fully naked.

9) Full-on chaos... I'll let Siri explain.

10) Waking up on the Abel Tasman trail, after 2 full days of hiking,to our own small, beautiful, secluded beach, only to be interrupted after a couple hours by a huge tour boat unloading tourists fully equipped with 'to go cappuccinos,' flip flops, cameras, and grocery bags.

11) Being pulled over on the way to Takaka Hill with part of our Ruby Bay family, only to find out that our Hare Krishna Conspiracy Theorist friend doesn't have a registered car, or an ID, because he doesn't need them. It was at this point I had three thoughts: "You've got to be kidding me," "Is this really happening," and "Here we go." Throughout the rest of the experience I find out he doesn't believe he is a "driver" or a "person," his birthday is arbitrary because he "doesn't know when he popped out," and he doesn't have an address, or a name. Needless to say, this refusal to cooperate resulted in his arrest. He was pulled away with a smile on his face and we were left stranded with all our stuff, a crazy German builder and a 17 year old Australian kid and no clue where we were. We found out later he was a "Freeman," which is someone who refuses to subscribe to societal rules, good on him. We also found out later that he got out of jail within the hour and returned to the house on a motorcycle. Rock on.

Then there was Convergence Festival, a full on "break from reality" fest. I guess you would call it a spiritual, holistic, community love fest equipped with a sauna, swimming holes (which apparently attract mass amounts of public nudity), amazing people, lots of love, workshops, music, shamanic journeys I will forever remember, and more love. Toward the end of Convergence I had a very powerful meditative experience that inspired me to write the following letter on the nearest piece of paper. It should sum up my experience at Convergence. I have to admit I have never been able to write so quickly, while at the same time been able to articulate the thoughts in my head so clearly and precisely. When I finished and set my pen down, I was confronted by a lady asking to use the pen. I truly had no idea she was standing next to me and she caught me by surprise. When I turned to respond my heart began beating so intensely in a way I can only compare to an adrenaline rush. The lady then asked if I was ok and said, "I like the energy in this room," and proceeded to sit down next to me with her legs crossed, her eyes closed, and her hands on her knees. This is what it said:

• More than ever before all the infinite forms of life on this planet are in distress. Every part of our human selves is in pain, emotional, physical, social, environmental, and spiritual pain. Our surroundings, our necessities for life, our resources are being pulled right out from underneath us and we feel hopeless, at times. We feel hopeless at a time when we need hope more than ever. Convergence is that hope, that Love, that unity and purity that is in every one of us. It is these things that will save the life force on this planet and bring it back into balance as it should be. After all it is not until you hit the bottom that you see the light and gather to create a collective will, a collective energy, a collective consciousness that is pure and rich and more powerful than any cancer that plagues us now. What we have here gives me so much hope to keep fighting, expanding and moving foward in a direction of enlightenment. The unconditional love here gives me the power to confront all the negative energies I encounter, and I hope for the ability to change those negative, erratic frequencies into the soothing, peaceful rythm of life and love. We are circling together in so many different ways and this family, this unity, is so unbelievably sacred. Let us not forget this and go back out into the world with the power and tools to help prepare ourselves and the rest of humanity and life on this planet for a brighter future overflowing with that life blood we are all craving so intensely, that LOVE.

The Convergence experience ended with the start of an amazing journey with our new friend Ami in our new hybrid Toyota we somehow manifested. The three of us drove straight to the beautiful, majestic west coast, stopping only for a little hike through a maze of limestone cliffs and an hour spelunk through a cave filled to our knees with running water. The road trip down the west coast consisted of beautiful beaches, killer mosquitos, playing chicken with the Tasman Sea's massive waves and staring at the reflection in a pond of the sun setting on the magnificent Fox Glacier and beautiful Southern Alps. The last night of the road trip I had a moment of reflection and immense feelings of gratitude while standing alone under the nearly full moon watching as the waves crashed to shore under my feet. The greenstone-filled beach rumbled and breathed with each wave pushing and pulling at the shore line, and the scent of the warm driftwood fire burning behind me. It was my heartfelt farewell to the Tasman Sea and all its beauty and power.

So here we are, in our very own mansion overlooking Queenstown and its surrounding mountains and lake, free of charge. I never could have imagined this adventure would have led me here and I can't help but feel blessed as I look out the window at a sunset a photograph couldn't even explain. I have experienced and learned so much in the last couple months, it has been truly expansive. This trip has been full of self realizations, spiritual awakenings, beauty, and adventure.

Thank you to all of you who have helped me and supported me on this journey. I am full of humbleness and gratitude.

Cheers

The House of the Hari Guru

Harideva and Guruvati, also known by us as the Hari Guru or HuG, run a small farm and B&B in the remote and beautiful Motueka Valley, nestled among the hills and just across the road from the river. Their property is a quiet haven of beauty and peace, with roses and fuschia taking center stage this time of year. They have several houses on their property which they rent out to a few young families, as well as a small meeting space they rent to a nearby Hare Krishna community. We spent two weeks WWOOFing there over Thanksgiving, and ended up returning to their house for Christmas as well (because we all know how important it is to spend Christmas with family).There is no way for me to fully express how magical our experiences were during our stay, but I will try to touch on a few experiences that might give you a taste of the place.

First of all, speaking of taste, Guruvati is one of the best cooks I have ever known. She cooks strictly vegetarian (the only one exempt from that rule is the dog), also without onion, garlic, or mushroom (as part of their spiritual following). Yet despite their (and my) ingredient limitations, I never had the same meal twice, which would have saddened me had the next meal not been even better than the last. She wasn't an extravagant cook by any means, preferring to keep the main course simple with one or two side dishes, but she would always throw in something out of the ordinary (like homemade goat cheese or vegetable croquettes covered in berry wine sauce). We had artichokes from the garden almost daily, and homemade jams and juices with every meal. And don't even get me started on our multiple Christmas delights-- all I will say is, BEST.CHEESECAKE.EVER. Praline and graham cracker crust, cinnamon and honey swirls, fresh hand-picked berries... I should stop before the memory of it makes me drool on the keyboard.

Our stay with HuG marks the initiation of our journey into the broad and eclectic world of Spirituality and Religion. The Hari Guru are members of a spiritual following called Ananda Marga, the main mantra of which is Baba Nam Kevalam, translated to "Everything is an expression of the Divine," or, more simply, "Love is All There Is." I am so down with that. During our stay we often chose to join Harideva (or as Neal called him, "Hairy Dave") in his twice-daily kirtan meditations. Every morning and evening he would don his yoga pants and give us his secretive gap-toothed smile as he shuffled toward the meditation room, which was the signal. Guruvati would join in if she wasn't feeding the goats (her favorite pastime) or working on dinner, and we would all sing the mantra and move in unison while Harideva played the guitar. Singing and dancing together is a very powerful meditative experience in itself, and I often found myself surprised by how quickly the music stopped. We would then sit together and meditate to the sound of birdsong and wind. Afterward, we would walk outside in silence, only to be greeted by the sweet, heady scent of roses. This experience was meaningful for me in several ways. I found that starting the day with peace and mindfulness sets the tone for nearly all subsequent experiences for that day, making love-focused actions so much easier to choose. I also discovered how quickly and effectively movement and song can put me in a meditative state of mind, something which previously required a good deal of restless shuffling and forced focus to accomplish. HaHA-- ADHD is no match for the powers of movement!! Plus, I just really love the mantra. I could sing it every day and it would never get old (unlike my mind's usual fallback entertainment of "Baby One More Time." Just kidding. That would be terrible).

During our stay, the neighborly Krishna clan invited us to Sunday rituals. Every Sunday evening, the Hare Krishnas would have a call-and-response kirtan (spiritual sing), followed by a discussion-slash-sermon on the Vedas (various spiritual scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita, which are utilized by many different religious sects), then we would share a delicious vegetarian meal. It was always a memorable and unique experience, and boy, did we always leave with something to talk about! We would hear about justifications for vegetarianism, karma, other sentient planets, and the "so-called end of the world"; and then we would head back over to HuG's and hear Harideva's passionate response to it all. It was extremely satisfying to get to hear so many new philosophies and then stay up super late having in-depth discussions about reincarnation and home-schooling and the like with such an enlightened soul, especially since his viewpoints are paired with his powerful desire to implement socio-economic change for the greater good. Ananda Marga is actually only one side of the coin; the spiritual beliefs are a supplement to the socio-economic theory of Prout (aka Progressive Utilization Theory). I will not go into great detail about this, as those of you who are interested will get a much better understanding of it through your own research, but it is basically a social theory which creates tools for sharing the earth's resources to reach the highest collective good. Neal was particularly interested in the application of Prout in the real world, and he spent many evenings alternating between reading furiously and presenting me with his personal opinions on the subject matter. I personally have not often heard of spiritual and social belief systems being paired together in this way, since most everyone in the U.S. seems entirely obsessed with keeping religion and politics separate, so needless to say I was intrigued. It also sparked in me the urge to always keep in mind "the people" as a unit when I try to decide what is best for my individual well-being.

Finally, although I very much enjoyed the farm work we did, it was a relief to get a little break once in awhile. Harideva took us down to swim in the cool river water a few times, and once we went on a bush walk to help him reset his rat traps. Supposedly we were walking on an established trail, but in my view, it was a "trail" only in the way the ferns and vines trailed behind my barely visible hiking boots as I struggled awkwardly along. I was also entirely convinced we were going in circles. The birdsong and beauty quickly overcame the obstacles, however, and we were once again wooed by New Zealand's mystical nature. We got home and were greeted by the tinkling sound of Guruvati's laughter as she observed the panting dog, our dirty clothes, and the leaves in my hair.

There are so many stories to tell about our growth and shared love with our hosts, but the point is that our eyes have started to open to new ways of living which can help us to keep joyfulness and mindfulness in our Here and Now. It is hard to forget how fortunate we are to be here when every other moment is an awe-inspiring experience, and we will definitely never forget that it all started at the House of HuG.