We have started the day with a full one day trek into the Laos jungle to the source of a great waterfall… amongst amazing scenery, drizzling rain and muddy path we arrive at the source. There are 8 in the team..two Germans, a Dutchman, a New Yorkian. one from the Ukraine, a Californian, the Laos Guide and a good ol’ Aussie …me! ( sounds like a scene from the 5 km Olympic final minus the Africans).
The jungle itself is alive with the purity of nature. Back in the Thai Massage camp this can be easily missed as minds get preoccupied with the dangers of a scorpion bite, the bacteria in the water or the adaptability to one month in a tent and squat toilets. We have 40 students again this year from every corner of the globe. Many have just walked out of airconditioned apartments of Paris or the subway systems of an inner city life. Big Step. One student has never given a bodywork session or been to a yoga class. I tip my hat at the courage of this big step into a one month adventure they really know little about.
There are moments like now that can be brought alive by the mystery offered when everything is an unknown.
We discover the source of the waterfall after a few hours trekking. A small spring bubbling up from under the water surface that is obviously hooked into some underground water course, results in one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever experienced. Our one month camp in the jungle , the multitude of Laos villages that border the water course, hundreds of agriculutural and butterfly farms and subsequent produce, the green, diverse and flourishing plant ecosystems and a wonderful array of animals are all simply surviving of this small spring and the water that flows forth.
The Californian student slowly places a large yellow flower in the stream and we all watch in a spontanoues ritual of Honouring. “Maybe we will see the flower float past our tent in a couple of days? ” one woman remarks. This small gesture of placing the flower in the water has awakened a rich and expanded reality for many. I reflect on the Source. Is the flower and the spring now the Source. The spring, the flower, the stream and the forest..The Source. What about all of that and Me! The Source Expressed Through my Self…..not a small S ..a capital S.!!
Unconsciously,when we look around and see the Immensity of life itself, we so often step aside and separate ourself from our True nature and seek a happiness or a ease of suffering from a Source outside. I watch the flower still drifting down the stream as I awaken to a wonderful reminder that this Immense richness I am experiencing is the same life that flows through me.
So easy to forget, it’s expression is clearly reflected through my knowingness. It appears a duty and a honour of the grandeur of Source to get the ‘little stuff’ out of the way and let it all shine forth.
I simply look up into the sky and see the expansiveness behind the clouds..Smile inwardly and say Yes.
