clear specific flow...

Lack of clear specific movement...

Have you ever experienced these moments in your life, where a decision comes forward:

Your mind analyzes one side, takes a peek around the corner to the other, and yet still at the end of the analytical experience, you are left staring at the wall in utter confusion?

Well it may not look exactly like this, depending on your personality type and the level of inner clarity in your life. I know for me, when I am in my moments and times of complete flow, these decisions don't offer an ounce of confusion, for I am leading with my heart, and I am being guided by my spirit.

Now, let's take a moment and be real here:

When does that actually happen in your day to day life?

I know for me, I have learned tremendously over the years, but I am still FAR FAR away from having this complete flow throughout my days. I will say there are moments of complete clarity where its as though there was not even an initial decision I had to make and the door to lean into is staring at me with clear white blue light!

In these moments, I AM FOREVER grateful to myself, to God, to spirit, to however it makes you feel good to say for providing me the guidance to go without question or querry. (I am free of judgments upon you for how it is you feel to convene with the divine.)

However, you and I both know VERY well, that these moments do not happen all the time, and if they do, they often take quite a bit of internal work to get there...

So, lets discuss, what does that look like: INTERNAL work?

"Ok, Aaron, here you go again, talking that mumbo jumbo...

when all I am really looking for is clarity in my decision making process..."

Well, just for starters, let's say internal work is that inner dialogue you begin to have when you realize you are capable of even making decisions. You have become free of outsiders' influence and you realize your life is a set of infinite possibilities.

So within these infinite possibilities, is the one of choice, and with choice must be a way to clearly see all sides of the spectrum, and lean in with heart and mind wide open...

Now this "leaning" process is one where you may think or believe you see the "proper" door to walk into, when all you really want to do is just slightly lean, for an open door will open with poise and confidence and a stuck one will have many jagged spires along the way.

So, let's discuss again, just briefly that INNER work. Again, for me, this work is bringing my emotions to balance, which brings my mind to ease and allows my heart to step forward with grace and determination, knowing the clarity and poise of my inner spirit guidance.

I will preface this by including that I begin to understand this process a bit more clearly simply by beginning conversations with my inner self wisdom. I always like to think, believe and firmly know that within me is a presence, a spirit, and divine being, that has all the inner resources to make all these decisions properly and well. This understanding was clearly discussed and experientially practiced through my time learning at USM.

So, for all of you readers who may have an inkling of what I am discussing; Congratulations for beginning or possibly firmly knowing this beautiful divine being inside of you.

But wait, for all of you who have absolutly no idea to what I am discussing, I will say Congratulations even more, because you probably have not had any kind of life traumatic incident that has turned you inwards for profound answers from deep within your soul, and for this I would be very grateful for spirit is delivering you a life of less challenges and possibly more joy...

But for those of you who just want a simple tasting of what this may look like for you, it goes like so:

For me, I began this process intuitively when I was 17 years old stranded on a 1000 foot military pre-positioning vessel on its way to Iraq. ABSOLUTE JOY, let me express fully!

(can you hear my sarcasm? )

Well it was a immense challenge in my life, tearing me away from all constants and norms I once knew. But like all things, I learned a process of just simple internal guidance.

I sat down in front of my computer one night and began asking myself questions on the computer.

It was just a simple "So what did that mean when that happened when I was young?"

And "Why did my daddie feel that way?"

etc

etc

THIS PROCESS LOOKS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE.

However, do yourself a favor and if you have not tried this, try it tonight, or today, or whatever time of day you are reading this...

Open up a blank page..

Yes( right now, not later now!) with love I express my care :)

and simply begin...

it does not have to look any particular way and it can be expressed any way you choose.

But simply give yourself a few moments, or maybe and hour, to just breathe yourself into the page...

allow your hands to do the walking

your mind to rest in ease

and spirit to pour itslef through your hands,

onto the blank page before you.

let me know how it turns out,

for it may just be the beginning of something great!

For as your spirit speaks

and your souls guides its inner wisdom

the truth of your past

comes shockingly clear

into the vigilance and perserverance of your wading emotions

lying

dying

waiting for the moment when they can come alive and feel again

apart from your work

aside from your desire

the tools you need

are simply inside of you

waiting

desiring

feeling into the moment for you to be free

alive and jiving into the breathe of your brand new day

so let this day come alive

let your fingers do the walking

let your soul do the talking

and allow this inner spirit flow

to come alive into the beauty of your brand new page...

Thanks for all your thoughts and wisdom

they are loved and appreciated!

Fire in your Sky

In the heat of our sometimes troubling days, it can be challenging to look back upon something through the eyes of appreciation and splendor. Often times I find myself looking at a particular moment in time through the eyes of introspection and sometimes regret or turmoil. However, I then remind myself, and begin to work through the emotional balancing process that can happen so naturally and freely to bring my mind, back in alignment with my spirit; recognizing and allowing the splendid perfection of the particular situation.

Now, this may all sound like a bit of giberish and play time to some of you, but honestly, what does this look like in your life....

For me, personally, this is simply taking a moment at the end of the day, or between coffee break at work, allowing my muscles to relax,

my mind to ease, and remembering the truth of who I really am: LOVE.

Simply

Naturally

All that there is.

But yes, some of you may say, this sounds all perfect, but I still have these very real emotions which appear to be running this human experience I am walking through.

And the truth is: They are. So the real challenge lays in balancing these emotions, within our human experience of life, bringing us back to the awareness that we are this beautiful divine being having a human experience, as it was always shared with me in the USM classroom.

"Ok, Ok Aaron, I get it, we are beautiful and

divine, but I still am having this damn issue at work!"

So, yes, we will ALWAYS continue to have issues, and growth and evolutionary moments for our life, but it comes to the point to decide on what we want to do in these moments of challenge:

Do we choose to grow?

Do we choose to curdle up inside, allowing these emotions to run our life?

Or do we sit back, letting others make the decisions for us, because we are too NUMB to feel the difference?

And the answer to all of these, my friend, lays in the beauty of the setting sun:

For remember, its your choice to know, to remember, to be the light that sets the

FIRE IN THE SKY!

As the day shifts into the epic splendor of the setting sun

the beauty of our past remains the vision of our nearest dreams

passing by with the swift kick of our passionate forthcoming aspirations

but when seeing the shift from light to darkness

we superimpose the beliefs of others

only to find the beauty of our own heart

remains the constant vigilance of our upcoming journey

for when we retire our false beliefs

and become victim to the splendor of the shifting light

we realize that this overcoming urge in patience

is simply the energy steering us into our perfect captivity,

one where our limitations fall away upon delivery of the dark,

back into the catalytic chemistry of this shifting and inspiring light

for one man’s loss of light is another man’s discovery of inner beauty

rummaged away when he realizes that this light that he has fallen for

will certainly return time and time again

when he surrenders his partial self to the simple settings of this setting sun...

A "make-believe world"

Well its been many months since my last post. I finished an epic four month trip through Israel, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Egypt & Jordan. I had my camera, wallet & phone stolen from me three days before I was returning to the states (obviously, this individual needed these things more than I,) and now I find myself back at one of my jobs in Hawaii till January. I spend about half of my year working as a navigator for NCL on their Hawaiian Cruise ship "Pride of America." So, if you find yourself in Hawaii, be sure to drop me a message and we can catch a trail, a Noni smoothie, or some other kind of deliciousness that these islands have to offer. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to spend

time through these islands, with some friends on every island, it really gives me a great taste of this incredible Hawaiian culture.

After completing knee surgery last week, and feeling a bit down and under from the pain, and simply being worn down, I am beginning to

feel a turn around, as I plan out my next travel trip for a few months. I have been continuing to put together my next poetry book, and will be printing a few hundred copies of my first one "Transformation of Soul: A Poetic Guide to Freedom" for the holidays. So if you are interested in this one, learn more about it here, Transformationofsoul.com. I am continually updating my site, and have much more work to do, but essentially it is 120 pages of my travel photography from around the world, with my poetic free verse poetry infused into it. It's a perfect coffee table size book, sharing with people an experience to awaken something greater from deep within their soul. Some people have

profound experiences through photography, others

through poetry and writing, and with these, its a double edge sword, delivering a soul-filled deep meditative experience, sure to wake up the inner self of love within you.

So, as you travel about in your day to day world:

Have you ever noticed a feeling that maybe there is a feeling that is pulsating deep within your veins,

a pain that has no desire to leave your body,

could possibly just be a make believe experience created by the unequalized emotional state that is lingering through every cell of your body?

Well, I know I have, and here is just a few short poetic words about the experience of this “make believe," emotional world.

For your emotions are real in every way, but we all have a choice on how we would like to experience them..

I like to dive into them, find the other way of their tumultuous feeling

For these feelings are all one, driving us in deeper to the fuller purpose of their meaningful deliverance...

Through the entrance of our emotions

exists the unparalleled exit of our deepest darkest fears

being put forth into the conscious of our everyday reality

attempting to escape into the creations of consistency

which keep us rooted deep between the deeper

dimensions of our parted youth

for when these emotions emerge

and the past formulations of unprecedented years

formulate into the treason of our becoming wisdom

these emotions which once ran our way of being

have now dropped deeper into our wavelengths of immaculate inner beauty

waiting for the moment when we reach within

and scream “yes”

and “yes” I will be the light that yearns that brilliantly to shine upon the world

I will be the sunshine that discovers itself

wondering aimlessly amongst the trees of our inner passion

and so as the sun shines itself on this beautiful day of waiting chemistry

we find the time and the strength to be vigilant and perseverant

about how we come alive to the people of our day

How we learn to overcome these fantasies of our beliefs

and dive in deep, deep, deeper to the truth that is smacking reason and love

into the veins of our awaiting brilliance

shining

gliding

aligning itself to the perfect exit to the distinguishing of our make believe world.

Georgia love...

Well its been quite a few days since my last post, and now flow begins to form again. So in my last few days in Russia, I spent camping in a beautiful village along the Volga River. The village was also in the form and creation of many of the principles shared within the Anastasia book series I mentioned before. It was a fascinating experience to live with these individuals for four days with a strong language barrier. My good friend Katya was the translator for me, allowing me to gain some insight into the beautiful souls within this village. She and her sister had lived in this village while her sister was pregnant. The village is known for its way in natural child birth, each individual who comes there desiring their own special way, completely created by the loving hands of the village folks. Upon entering this space, I could feel the child-like atmosphere and ambience of so many individuals embodying the beauty and essence of their inner child, but living and creating as adults. The food was incredibly delicious, all vegiterian, with a strong ounce or two of love in every bite :)

The experience was once again profound for me, as I struggled through the challenge of remaining in a bit of silence, with many people whom I would have loved to get into very deep conversations. But in this experience, spirit created for me a way to understand, appreciate and love the souls of this village, even without fully understanding the words from their mouth.

And I realize now for myself, my addiction and appetite for travel more and more, especially when I am simply understanding and seeing people simply by the essence which pours out of their being, so even though without conversation can be challenging, it creates another way to honor and love the beauty of humanity.

I had some insightful poetry I wrote in the village, but I am without my journal in this moment and taking advantage of the 5 star free computer access Sheraton hotel in the sea side village of Batumi, Georgia.

My original plans was traveling to the sea side city of Sochi in Russia, to get another taste of the Black Sea life, but my intuition was leading me to Georgia instead (and only a 30 day visa in russia, was not nearly enough time to see very much, so I will return again sometime soon, to dive deeper into the forests of Siberia.)

So, now here in Georgia, I am overwhelmed by the hospitality that rings strongly into the heart of every Georgia individual I meet. There is this intoxicating smile that each person from this country possesses.

I decided to give some more hitch-hiking a possibility in Georgia and it has been brilliant. While in the small wine country town of Telavi, I was picked up by this middle aged man, who barely spoke a word of English, however in his deep desire to show me his nearby villages, I spent the entire afternoon being escorted around to every beautiful cathedral nearby!

This particular adventure also included eating some of his mother's delicious Georgia cuisine and then being gifted a hand-knit sweater, that still had the smell of sheep permeating through its threads.
So, as my days continue here in Georgia, I continue to see and experience this profound level of generosity and inherent goodness within the people of this small country.
Just today, I was walking through Batumia, saw a small farmers market and decided it was time to have a couple of home grown tomatoes and some yummy green lettuce, that I do not know the name of in English. After buying the tomatoes and lettuce for about 35 cents, I sat inside this farmer to stay dry from the rain. As I began to eat my light snack, I was soon being brought a single vegetable from almost every babuskah in the market. With a warm hearted smile across their face, they turned my small snack into a full course meal, simply out of the goodness of their heart. The veggies were delicious, the bread fresh out of the oven and the spicy peppers full of flavor... so without too many more words, I think you are beginning to breathe in the culture and flavor of this country.
I will be heading north shortly up the mountains, to live with the mountain people, have some meditation time, and go for a 3-4 day trek with my new buddy from the states.
I will try to be more effective in my posts and next time include some beautiful photography, but simply let your mind run wild to the possibilities of spirit that fly within this world...
For as the game of life muttles on
All possibilities of creation,
run purely from heart to heart
from city to city
Allowing the true transcendence of time
to be the captivity of our new born religion
a religion beyond the borders of restriction
a birth of a way of being
which simply only speaks from the heart
allowing the pure creation of our greatest inspirations
be the shining moment of our greatest sun
for across the earth,
across the globe
beauty speaks itself wisely amongst us all
For the possibilities of adventure and insight
Are all just a mere "lurk" or two around the corner
so unwind your spirit
let yourself take that moment to dream
to fall asleep amongst the stars
to speak into the soul thats desires to play like a child
to breathe for the first time
to see the same sight as though it was your first
for even though I have the opportunity to travel
the same adventure works for anyone
at any time
its just waiting for the inner child in you
to come alive and breathe deeply into the
beauty of this glorious humanity!


until next time my beautiful loves :)

Lessons in Mother Russia...

Its sometimes in this journey of our heart, where the greatest lessons emerge in our least expected circumstances. Sometimes, in a simply journey of joy and discovery, our dark deep fears emerge directly into the front of our consciousness awareness. There have been a few times in my young and short 27 years upon this earth, where these lessons ran directly into my streaming thoughts. And often before, in the seats of my youngest imaturity, I was unaware of the possibilities of growth and evolution that were being displayed before my heart. And as I grow deeper into the pure observation of our beautiful humanity, I am continusouly displayed many ways where the evolution of my soul is still running awake and alive to my present day reality...

Well enough of the theoretical observation, I will get there an deeper in just a moment of time.

This journey began again with the slight nudge of spirit. I entered into the city of Kazan, just a few short days ago, to begin my observation and appreciation of yet another fabulous Russian Community. Kazan, being one with a straight Tatar influence....

I don't feel like going into history, but look it up if it interests you...

After two days in Kazan, I feel asleep the other night to the sounds of the Netherlands beating Uruguay in the world cup seminfinals. I was sleeping with the awareness that I would take another day in Kazan, explore more and possibly enter some beautiful lakes...

However, like other moments of this journey, I was awakened from within at 3 in the morning after just a few short hours of sleep. I realized this was something speaking to me, so I listened and got a little caught up on some of my blog entries... :)

And within time, I realized I was being called to this other city about a 7 hour bus ride from Kazan. I had already made some connections with some Russian friends in the city, but did not think I would have thetime to make it to this beachsidу community before my 30 day visa expired.

However, within just a few short hours, I was on a 6:50 am bus to Samara...

Now, let me preface this next part with just a little discussion of the language barrier that can be present in many interactions of this journey. I have found comfort and understanding often with people simply with discussion through intuition and comprehension, beyond the need for a universal language, as my comprehension of Russian only grows very slowly.... IE, I have been able to have conversation of the heart, with simply interaction and understanding without the use of words...

So upon arriving into this city of Samara, I sent texts to my friend and she informed me we would be meeting after her work. Well this did not exactly happen, as while I was walking down the city cener street, about an hour before our meeting, she happened to ride her bike right by me and delightfully our meeting reached an earlier time :)

So, we began our conversations and I realized that there would be a strong language barrier in this communication. Her comprehension of the English language was strong, but a bit more challenging for any form of fluid conversation or thought, which is absolutely perfect for the creation of spirit taking place...

So after a few hours, and some amazingly great Russian cuisine, her friends began to arrive in her one room, very Sovietly covered flat, and I realized that her friends whom she told me spoke english well, was not exactly accurate.

Again, perfectly fine.

As the pre evening discussions began, I often sat in the corner, simply appreciating the love and beauty of the people before me, and occasionally engaging in conversation. I then, in the beginnings of a "deep meditation," had a strong flip over my consiousness...

I thought, wow, this is strange, almost as though I ate something that changed my clarity of consciousness, and in this moment, I began to watch my mind drift between this fine line of strong fear and love....

As our dreams once become our reality

A fine line exists

between a space of greater light or greater dark

A space of chemical foreplay upon the senses.

where in the journey to light

is the pathway leaving behind the abnormalites of dark

Created in perfect unison

Fallen by untrenched fears

this pathway continuously presents itself upon the mind

Challenging us to follow our dreams

or steer to the fears

but when the fears dissipate

and love rejoices

All forgotten fears glide easily away from the consciousness

to which they were created

for in the journey of beauty

is the rocky road of our troubles

Sifting and falling away

these once troubled avenues

now fly like beautiful angels

away from the beauty of tomorrow....

Now, this fear that surprised me in this moment was overwhelmining strong and dilligent. It encapsulated every thought of my movement and breathe and I began to loose straight clarity of my easy thoughts and awareness....

But I soon realized, this was a test of spirit to truly overcome this moment of trepidation. For the fears that overcame my thoughts were that of a deep childhood nature, being displayed into every "foreign-Russian" individual in the room. As I sat there, in a bit of a quagmire, I had these beliefs that these individuals around me were discussing the bizareness and obsurity of my behavior, and honestly I felt I began to loose control...

Now, loosing control can be on a variety of levels, for sometimes in meditation, it is often brilliant to feel the loss of control, and simply fall deeply into the energy of love that is created.

However, this loss of control was increasing my heart rate and my blood temperature, beginning to feel every "perceived" thought of the individuals in the room.

Now, this is where the language barrier was both perfectly created, but also divinely orchestrated. For in normal conversation, with other English speaking individuals, I could have easily explained my present circumstance and there would have been very little too create worry, just a few simple laughs....

However, in these moments, in my deep dark entrenched thoughts, I created every soul in the room "out to get me," in simplified terms, a habit and a continued thought upon my previous way of being. So, now here I was, loosing a bit of control of my consiousness awareness, in a city far away from any real soul to whom I thought knew me, creating this situation of my fears with the individuals as puppets of my consciousness inside the room.

In this moment, I felt very alone, very segregated and I watched my thoughts drift between that line of light and dark...

The line that history has shown that with some of the most intelligent and wise individuals of our day, have fallen upon, loosing full understanding or reason for ones actions, just simply following one direction or the other..

And has history shows, those leaders who follow that line of light are forever remembered as the amazing artists, political leaders, saints etc. of our time, Jesus, Buddha, Davinci, etc,

And those individuals who follow that line of dark, are also forever remembered and genius, but in the darkness of our greatest trauma, Hitler, Stalin, etc.

Both situations and both "types" of people are both created by God and live in complete harmony and beauty. And it become overwhelmingly fascinating for me in this moment to see how my thoughts, my beliefs, all of which are a patterning of my evolving soul, was creating anything and everything in this situation. Either to follow that reaction of my mind being displayed into trouble and fear, or follow that line of love, into divine joy and ultimate compassion of being..

So, in this moment, after speaking briefly with a trusted friend in Moscow, I began to go deeper and deeper within. Those people around me, wondering when this strange American man would return his spirit back into his body...

And it was through this moment and in this perfectly created situation, I literally fell deep into this divine state of love. I had never before had such an overwhelmingly realization to the beauty of all those around me and upon further understanding of my consciousness realized what I had created.

A situation, where fear overwhelmed my being, but love surpassed every thought, emotion, action and present day creation of this experience....

So, once returning to my body, in broken English attempted to explain my journey of the spirit, and soon the room was filled with laughs and love...

Wow, this was amazing. I had realized that again, spirit, life, journey had given me this amazing opportunity to overwhelm my body, mind and soul with a fabulous lesson of my self growth...

I know the length of my description can be challenging to you, however this is simply my finest attempt to share with all of you the process and delightful complications of a growing internal love and awareness.

So, if did not loose you, then thank you, for it becomes overwhelmingly fascinating me to attempt to put to words the flow and growth of my evolving, loving state of being, which is why often my words go to poetry, in attempts to describe that space between.

In my next post, I will discuss how the conversation of greater truth continues to arise amongst all nations, all people and my own discovery of a more specific innate peronsal purpose...

blessings, love and light to all of you, and share if you would like, for I appreciate and respect all of your adventures into a more aware self as well :)

-Aaron

tales of a Dacha.

Into the outskirts of Nizhny Novgorod....

As you noticed from my last post, one of the aspects of this Russian life I enjoy the most is simply entering into the countryside. It is very practical for almost all city dwellers here in Russia to have a "dacha," outside the city. So normally, on the weekends, especially in the summer months, the roads are very congested leaving the city on Friday afternoon and even more on Sunday night. However, this slight congestion is worth every minute for the calmness and serenity that exists in this quiet country homes.
As a couchsurfer and a world-wide friendmaker, I found myself with the great oppurtunity to spend this last saturday and sunday with a family in their beloved dacha. It happened to be the father's birthday, so all of the family came out for the excursion. I thought possibly at first that I would be unwelcome, being a foreigner and not part of the family, but from the moment I arrived, I was greeted with OPEN arms of love and huge curiosity.
Even before I could close the car door, my friend Olga's 84 year old grandpa was giving me an earfull. He spoke russian and a bit of German, as do many older and elderly individuals, as in their hayday, German was the international language of choice.
I continued to share with him my true inability to fully comprehend his witty remarks in both Russian and German, but he continued to share away and soon began to ask questions galore about me...
Within a few minutes, the man of the hour, PAPA, stole me away from the family bombardment and began to show me his beloved Dacha.

Now this was not just a simple Dacha, this happened to be an old schoolhouse for children, so this place was HUGE. With two floors and an ample amount of space, this home was incredible. It had this old soviet type feel to it, just simply transcribed into wooden logs and large sleeping rooms. He gave me the thorough house tour, and before long, I was chopping wood, assiting him with his beehives and fully engrained into the beauty of this home and this loving father.
We soon sat down to begin our daily feast and my eyes were huge with anticipation with all the goodies laid before the table.
So as my appetite got quenched and my taste buds awakened, I soon feel deeply in love with the compassion, care and generosity of this family. The toasts also began, which in Russian tradition means a steady flow of Vodka.
Now, being that I am a bit older in my traveling and drinking days, my quench and love for alcohol is not quite the "necessity" that is used to be, however in this particular situation it is very customary and down right rude, not to partake in the vodka drinking aspect, especially for a birthday. So my liver tolerated the day's festivities and honestly with the more toasts that were given, I felt my comprehension of Russian greatly increased....

I also recalled a previous story while traveling through Minsk, in Belarus. My friend Charlie and I had been welcomed into the home of one of the Belarussian women we were traveling with..
By the end of the evening, I had drank more and eaten more than I every thought possible, all to the company of two older women who spoke zero english and two younger women who spoke very little. But as I recalled in this previous traveling adventure from many years ago, I always began to understand the fluidity of the language with increased Vodka...

Well back to this present divergence into the Russian dacha... As the day progressed, I soon learned I would be the man helping out to begin the festivities in the Banya.
For those of you who are unaware, the banya is basically the Russian Suana, customary especially in these Dacha homes. It is a two part wooden hut, one with a very strong burning stove and another with a washing room. In between these two rooms, is the space for eating very salty fish and drinking beer.
So, as being the father's helper with all aspects of this day, I started to load the stove up with firewood and begin the Banya..
As the fire started to heat up the hut, we went off to tend to the beehives...
Honestly, at this point, my hesitancy, if it ever did exist, was completely thrown out the door. In normal conditions, sans the vodka, I feel my brain would have kicked in a little bit harder about actually putting on an old beekeepers suit and tending these hives. However, in this exact situation, it was perfect, for I learned that actually the vodka helped calm any of my nerves and I soon realized that there was very little to fear around the bees. So for next time, I would gladly do the same, even without the prearranged nerve calmer...

The beehives were amazing to me and even more so how he laid out the traps to catch the wild bees and then bring them back to his home...

As the day progressed, soon I was informed to get naked and begin the Banya tradition. This was a interesting moment, for the place of the eating table and the place of the banya were relatively close, but like all other things through the day, I simply followed the lead of the father, who ginerly took off his suit and plunged into the outside pool.

He went over to get the salty fish and beer and I began to prepare for the extreme heat of the following hour or so....

Once inside the Banya, it is customary to take rolled up trees leaves and have your banya partner slap you furiously with these leaves...
Need I say more, that with a natural flow of beverages, and great food that this experience was incredible.... After jumping into the cold plunge pool, I got to experience the tastiness of the fruitful berries that were growing everywhere, my favorite being the blank curants...

Well I could continue on and on with this story, but essentially, this day helped me really discover the meaning and purpose within these Russian Dachas. For as the family works hard in the city during the week, living in the flat, the real inspiration and growth happens out here in the countryside. I saw the vibrance and energy that was felt and appreciated, giving each of them the strength and perseverance to work through their difficult weeks.

Now, this whole story takes place in the glory of the hot summer, and my taste buds and body temperature can only imagine the extremes had I been here in the beats of the cold Russian winter....
Maybe that is for another adventure, but for now, we left the dacha on Sunday, returning to Nizhny and the following day I hoped on the Russian Railroad to the city of Kazan, where my adventures are currently happening...
more for another day..

A creation into consciousness...

A

I spent last sunday in a small eco village about 150 km south of Moscow. The village was created around ten years ago. I have been reading a book series entitled Anastasia, which is essentially about a Russian Entrepreneur who comes across a woman living in the Taiga, completely off the grid, raising her son and thoroughly intertwined with nature and the animals. The books go on to demonstrate and talk about a vision for small villages of this type to be built all across Russia and the world. This particular Village was created and envisioned from much of the same principles.

From the moment I entered into the open vast expanse of green, wild flowers and the fresh smell of wilderness, my heart and spirit began to slow down just a little bit. I was happily greeted by the friends of my friend Ekaterina, whom I am staying with here in Moscow. She, personally, had experienced living in one of these settlements, when her sister had a child completely in nature a few years back. So Alyonna, and her mother Ekerna, greeted both of us with a warm Russian embrace and even with a strong language barrier, I could simply feel and understand the presence & energy these women were living in within this community.

It was amazing to simply connect without language and understand and feel most of their discussions. Intuition was practiced and experienced for me throughout the day! We shared together some local honey, some wild berry jam, and the best were the Siberian Cedar nuts. These are small brown nuts with an incredible sweet taste and also thoroughly discussed throughout the ringing Cedars book series for their natural healing capabilities.

As the day continued on, we had lunch with some of the other local families and got to be a part of a raw cooking class taking place amongst the children of the village. One of the older women of the community brought all the children together to teach them about various herbs and also how to make a very tasty typical Russian Dish. It had potatoes, dill, radishes, cucumbers, some locally cultured milk and a brew made from fermented nuts. Once this was all mixed together it made a sort of raw stew that we all thoroughly enjoyed!

Having my friend Ekaterina with me, allowed me to understand a lot of what was happening, as she could easily translate their discussion. A few of the homes we visited were built 100 percent from raw materials, simply by mixing clay, straw and various stone mixes together, these homes were built to be cool through a warm summer and easily sustain and comfort through a harsh Russian winter.

The expressions of gratitude and continual growth were ever present throughout this community, as it was easy to see their constant evolution as individuals, but also as a large community within one combined vision. Some of the residents spent the entire year within the settlement, simply depending on the strength and durability of their home. Others spent their summer weekend inside their home building and preparing it for all of the seasons.

The grasses were filled with small red wild strawberries, which were a delicious bite of pure natural living. Each wild flower had its own unique specialty, and purpose, and most of them with a delicious flavor. One unique family was almost complete in their vision of building their own home in the shape of an oak leaf. The bottom floor of this beautiful “Dacha” was mostly complete, with the second floor still on its way towards completion. Each inch of these locations was a perfect demonstration of the ingenuity and focus of a family towards a combined dream of sustainable regenerative living.

The day was happily greeted by a brisk jump in the local stream, which many of the locals were enjoying. The water was extremely cold and refreshing, filling my body and soul with the pure energy of this magical land. From this stream and many of their own wells, each family plot had a large supply of water. This was not just ordinary water either; I could feel the layers of earth it had been filtered through to be delightfully delivered to the grateful embrace of my mouth.

After meeting with many locals and fully engulfing and absorbing the vast beauty of this settlement, a cozy nap amongst the trees in the naturally built hammock was perfect. My body needed a rest and my spirit had a moment to rebirth. As I began to drift into the beauty and energy of this environment, I began to see the creation of this new planet.

Captivated by the presence of a new dream

Living upon by the thousands of years of ancient wisdom

Locally created by the dreams of the grateful and fortunate

This grass speaks its season of glory

Into the spirit of the waiting child

Speaking,

Laughing

Loving

The creation of the perfect consciousness

That he has been so pleasantly greeted upon

When the earth begins to speak its wisdom

The Sun allows the stars to speak

To wait in the open veins of its forgotten father

Bringing forth the presence of this newly remembered dream

Being lived in by the warmth of a new race…

So with the thoughts and experience of this beautiful day, I entered back into the busy streets of Moscow, with an even greater appreciation of this life I lead and more importantly YOU lead. For this day brought the knowledge back to me, that in every moment, and in every location, this same life can be lead as these wise people of this village. They may be acting out upon their own individualized dream; however this can take place for anyone with anything. I personally resonate and feel the energy and vibe of this more natural way of living, but with a simply breath of your growing plants outside your busy city apartment, or a calm embrace of the sweet air surrounding you, it is quite easy to return your consciousness to the love and truth of its being.

Soon, I will be off to more country homes and village beauty farther deep into the vastness of Russia…but more another day.

Blessings

A warm Embrace...

After leaving the congested city of Cairo and leaving Egypt behind on this trip, I made my return to Israel for a few days. I stayed in an elcetic part of Tel Aviv with my friend Tal, who I met through Couchsurfing.org a great website for those of you who are travelers...
The streets of Israel were so queit and peaceful after being in Egypt for so long. I determined that the sexual frustration of the men, mainly who are driving in Egypt is part of the sole reason for the ridiculous amount of honking and absurd state of driving. I remember in my travels through Indonesia, also a Muslim country, the drivers there were absolutely absurd as well...
So after being pleasanly greeted back in Israel (I loved returning from Egypt, going from being yelled at by crazy Muslim men, to being questioned by beautiful Israeli women). I will take the later of the two anyday!

So now after a flight up to St. Petersburg, I am walking through the streets of this old city, loving every minute. The Russians are in a good mood, as the weather is pretty good, the sun is shining for almost 24 hours, and the vodka continues to be excellent.
Upon getting into St. Petersburg, getting lost a few times, I met a young Finish woman on the bus, who helped me get to my new couchsurfing home, a little bit outside of the city, where she happened to know the people I am now staying with. I love the way the PERFECT souls end up in my life, in your life, exactly at the right moment. It would have taken quite a bit longer to find my new home and I would not have been so happily greeted, if there was just one simple change in any of my actions through the day.
It's amazing to me the way in which spirit, God, fate, destiny, divine presence, however you would like to put it... works in our lives. Even while traveling, I am meeting exactly the souls who are coming into my life, for the perfect reason. Each individual, whether I "speak' with them for two minutes on the train, or simply pass by with a big smile across my face, each one is there precisely at the correct moment.
One of the aspects of Russian life I am enjoying is seeing how many people I can get to smile throughout my day. Tyically, Russians are not very smilely or from an outside appearance happy individuals. I am very sure many of them are very inspired and happy within, but their outside presence is often cold and uninviting. So I like to smile at them to see if a smile will be returned. Its a fun game while going way down in the deep deep metro station...
Anyways, so I am learning some basic Russian, some of which is returning to me from my travels in Ukraine, and I am realizing the essential nature to learning the basics, as when you don't know any, most Russians just start speaking more loudly at you, thinking that a louder tone will strike some sort of part of your brain to understand what they are saying..
So its a continual journey and I am having fun along the way. It's "White Nights" festival time up here in St. Petersburg, so there is always something doing on...
Thats it for now, I am going to go have some yummie Borshe and cabbage salad, my new Russian Babuscka made for me, in the home I am staying.
blessing and love to all of you.

A dollar and a half difference

So one of the most fascinating aspects to observe while travelingI in a culture is the treatment of foreigners. Now certainly, it makes perfectly good sense for foreigners to be charged more when they are staying in seperate resorts, living in hotels and just in general it's a bit custmary for outsiders to be charged more especially when negotiating.
However, what I feel makes a strong difference between a more third world economy and a modern day, often westernized world is same/same prices across the board... And now the example is this....
Currently, I am writing this from a bus heading from hurghada to suez canal. When in Luxor, I got a bus ticket only to hurghada, but with a change in plans, I decided it was time to just keep moving through the night towards Sinai again.
Upon arriving in Luxor, the very unfriendly, loud and incessant bus money man informed me it was time to get off. I let him know "suez," so he was aware in my change...
He gave me the annoyed look, as though I had somehow made this change just to make him mad...

"How much" and he replied with 50 pounds! I knew immediately that this was higher than it was supposed to be, so I said 35 pounds, which would have been accurate based on the original 75 pound price I was quoted in Luxor for both legs of the trip.
So, he began to get upset and throw around his crazy eqyptian temper, talking to everyone around him either complaining or speaking loudly just for fun :)
One of these individuals was my friend timpy, who spoke English rather well. He informed me that for locals it was 40 and for foreigners it was 50.
Now, this was not a museum...
This was not a hotel....
This was not even a falafal sandwich....
This was one man right next to me, on the same bus, breathing the same air, listening to the same bad Arabic music,
one of us paying 10 pounds more simply because of our nationality...
So I walked outside with the irrate money man, we negotiated some more, he decided to include the entire bus station community in our conversation...
I did some yelling... He did some yelling, and even the corrupt police decided to poke their head into the situation...
I explained my situation to him and he just concluded what the bus man was indicating, that I was supposed to pay more...
At the end of the day I knew I would be paying the ten pounds more, breaking my wallet and loosing a whooping $1.75...!!!
For me the amount of money obviously did not mean anything, but this example proved to me the vast difference in economy and structure that is deeply engrained into a vast majority of the Egyptians I have experienced..
...try to weasle every foreigner for each pound I can get....
Now, I did not say everyone, as I have met some very sincere Egyptians, but this is simply a generalized observation into their states of being in the world...
Now I recognize equally the many times I have weasled people with money, or probably not negotiated properly, and I equally own that aspect of my own inner self, so this observation is not in judgement, but nearly in concious observation..
However, this observation is simply that, a local experiental outlook at some of the trade and commerce down here in Egypt.
I recognize it's part of the culture, so I have great enjoyment in the negotiation, even when it's for only a 1.75...
For no matter what the value of money in any deal, the true values of our human spirit and culture will always shine on through...

Location:Hurghada, Egypt

the Animal attacks...

you get off the train, the smell of hot body odor is in the air,

its been a few days since you had a REAL shower, with hot water and GOOD water pressure,

As you round the corner, you seem them,

their eyes are bright

Money envelops their brain

One goal is upon their mind

Sell

Muuuney

and it begins...

Tax.."

Where u go"

Where u frm?

good deal here...

The incessant haggling that any tourist receives is enough to set your brain in spins. For those of you who travel, I need not say more, but for those who have never had this experience, its certainly not one you will ever forget...

So I will share a brief story from just yesterday here in Luxor...

For information, Luxor is EXTREMELY hot right now, around 40 Celcius

With a full day in the heat, rediscovering ancient Egyptian history, any person can get extremely hot, tired and annoyed by the end of the day.

On this particular day, this was exactly my condition.I was riding the bike I rented back to the ferry to cross back over to the East Bank from the West Bank. The west Bank has the valley of the Quenns and the Valley of the Kings, both incredible tombs from kings and rulers ofthousands of years ago...

Upon approaching to the ferry, I see what looks to be a great photo, with the Nile, in the background covering over by the temples of Luxor..

And as I approach, I see what any tourist learns to turn their head to, a few young Egyptian men approaching from a few directions, inquiring and attacking my position and determining how much in this moment that may be able to make from me.

They size me up..

Determine around my age andexperience and begin to run prices through their head..

(in general, every price I get for buying ANYTHING i cut in 1/5 to 1/3 depending on the product.)

Now with this particular approach, there was nothing extraordinary about it, but for me it was the first time I felt like prey...

now in psychoanalytical viewpoint, this now gives me an opportunity to look at times in my life when I have felt this way before, analyze the situation, apply some compassionate self-forgiveness and in turn have gratitude...

blah

blah

blah

blaf

in this situation, I just simply felt like prey, they sized me up and came in for the attack...

And as any prey typically does when they feel the aggressor coming in, is they in turn fight back...

now you may wonder...oh boy, Aaron has lost it, he took out all his frustrations upon these Egyptians and now sits in a cell writing from his computer....

Well sorry to say if that was the case, I would nothave that luxury...

but it does remind me of an Egyptian story I will share another time...

So in this particular situation, I simply lashed out, which for those of you who know me well, is not a typical reaction.

And the faces upon these young men as I simply yelled in return at them was perfectly priceless

I do feel they had never quite had a response of my nature and within just about a minute or two, smiles returned, they realized that had been overly aggressive and I equally reactive...

So, at the end of the day, I learn about my temperment, the effects of the heat upon it, and I take my 1 pound ferry ride and not the 20 pound one they were trying to sell to me...

This was a great experience for me and them as I realized it is time to get out of the heat, get back to the oceanside and up into the mountains of Russia...

Egypt has been amazing, I still have Mt. Sinai to tackle before my return to Tel Aviv, and the beginnings of my Russian Adventures...

more fun for another day...

and a pictures you may enjoy whenyou simply let the light in...

Haggling to the top...

As I awaken into the beauty of my surroundings, I find the gentle persuasive touch of these Egyptians all around me
Many are fighting for a few pounds
Many are smiling from within
The softness of their spirit
Fully alivens me to feel their sweet embrace.
For in the values of their others,
They have yearned for another way,
But the true beauty of their land
Is simply a stone throw away,
For when I stop to take a listen
And breath to feel their beat
The honking of their horns
Is just their way of taking to the streets
For I wait for those gentle moments,
When the haggling has drifted alee,
And the calmness of their embrace
Makes me want to crawl within their sheets,
But the prayers of their fathers
Lead them quickly to see
That the best occupation
Is simply there waiting to see
For they search and find their reason
Like everyone else of this world
And soon learn that the best is already here within their own two feet!

I spent the day yesterday poking through the remains and pure brilliance of engineering known as the pyramids. Josh and I stayed off the beaten path and headed directly for the red and bent pyramids of dashure. For those of you about to explore the pyramids, the tourist haggling spot is Giza and the others are barren and deserted.
We haggled and negotiated with a couple of "tourist police" and soon found ourselves climbing to the top of the third largest pyramid in eqypt, the Bent pyramid. The guards told us to keep queit about it, but the story is super sweet. After countless negotiation we won over their wallets for roughly 9 dollars a piece.
For me, it's not always about the expense but the pure joy of negotiating for the price, as both parties have fun and amusement!
The guards were happy and we climbed our pyramid.

After dashure, we found a ride with a Spanish banker, who had hired a private taxi and was willing to drive us to Sakkara.
Sakkara was a funeral complex filled with many old tombs and also the step pyramid.
The tombs were exquisite with 4 thousand year old hieroglyphics covering the walls.
After two pyramid complexes, we called it a day, and took our ride back into Cairo.
We walked along the Nile, taking a short break to enjoy a Egyptian Sakara beer along the way.
The gardens along the river were beautiful , but not thoroughly enjoyed by many as they were strangely cut off from easy access from both the tourists and locals... Some aspects of this country I have tremendous difficulty understanding, but more for another blog.
I travel now to Alexandria, to explore an ancient sea port town... My favorite!


- Posted with love using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Maadi, eqypt

Chaotic Cairo

Today was my first experience in Cairo and certainly a day I will
remember. The streets are filled with a natural symphony of honking
horns, pedestrians dodging flying taxis and mopeds and the sounds of
the dozens of mosques in the background. We started our day sorting
through the downtown Egyptian museum, a place with stones and
artifacts up to 4 thousand years old!
For those of you traveling into Cairo, I do not think a museum guide
is necessary as it is easy to navigate your way through and still get
a strong feeling for it's history. Even within the halls of the museum
we were getting haggled by Egyptian guides for their "good rate."
After being overwhelmed by the museum, we ventured to the streets,
where the real Cairo is truly felt.
We met a local student who took us to the back alley falafel store
where we got 14 half pita/baba-ganoush/falafel sandwiches for a
whopping 15 pound. (a little less than 3 us dollars. These are the
places I love as it's the true food of the locals at their prices and
it's so much better than any touristy restaurant!



Following our incredible lunch we took to the streets of markets and
bazaars!
The city continued to amaze me with very friendly Arabic individuals
who after a short eye stare always came forward with a smile.
A few women even tried to set us up with their daughters by saying
" u go with her!"
We politely smiled and answered "la chokrun" meaning no thank you.
The offer was friendly, half sincere, but my heart still is fond for
the non Arabic women. Even though, with their full shawls, the
Egyptian women do have quite a style with their clothes, when often I
can only see their eyes...

So tomorrow our adventures head to the pyramids of Giza, one of the
true architectural marvels of the world...
A blessed day to each of you who enjoy reading through my travels!