Goa - Ahhhhhhhhhh!

I absolutely loved my time in Goa. It was so relaxing and wonderful. It’s rare in my life that I do nothing. In Goa, I walk to the beach and back every day. In between I sit on a chase lounge (they call it a bed) and I order fresh lime soda with salt (an Indian specialty). Then I eat tasty treats along with salad. Goa is the only place outside of the Osho Ashram where a Westerner can eat salad.

The water in the Arabian Sea is as warm as a bathtub with small waves. The weather is perfect every single day.

Most people have heard of the scene in Goa; the trance party and drug scene. But I go to Goa for R & R.

I stayed with my dear friends Sirus and Shantana. Their new inn has a pool and is rigged up with a cottage, a dorm and four bamboo huts. I took one of the huts. Loved being in nature.

On Osho’s birthday December 11th and a couple more times we did Kundalini Meditation in their new meditation hall. One time I even did whirling. I had a wonderful time.
Leaving Goa, I felt so happy…I felt rested, loved, taken care of and inspired to return home to create new projects.

A best seller book campaign with the second printing of my book Sex & Happiness. New guests and new shows on Tantra Cafe. A Teacher Training Program for Butterfly Workshops - lots of new stuff. Oh, a second book! And new territories for Butterfly Tantra starting with Phoenix/Scottsdale!

I love the New Year!

Unbreak My Heart

Funny, when we first arrived in India this time for the tour, we all heard the song Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton. I don’t particularly care for this song because I feels it implies the ability to heal comes from outside me, like someone should fix me in a certain way. And when people seemed to keep singing it throughout the tour I was not so happy about it. But especially when I kept singing it, when the tune stuck with me like white on rice, I was dismayed. “Unbeak my heart. Say you love me again.”

And so funny is life with quick lessons.

While in the Osho Ashram in Pune, I created a new course for couples. I like it fine. I am happy to have been so inspired by the Nadabrahma Meditation.
And most of all, I am happy to have ended this Heart of India Tour on a high note. I will not do it again. It is retired and so be it.

A couple days ago while on the Deluxe AC Sleeper bus to Goa, I had the most amazing realization. I was pleasantly surprised that the bus was totally new and clean. Plus they supplied, clean linens – pillows, sheets and blankets. And the compartment that contained Krishna and me was large enough for both of us to sleep and to keep our valuables. We slept soundly. Listen, if we wanted we could have joined the “mile low club,” but we did not. We did have enough comfort and privacy, but I did not want to. Possibly because we were both coughing from Pune pollution. But it’s good to note for the next time.

I cannot get over what difference a year or two makes in India. If you are interested to see what my first sleeper bus to Goa experience was like, please go back in the archives of this blog to laugh your ass off at the hysterical time I had then, one of my biggest lessons. It would appear here in January 2006.

So, now we are in Morjim, the most beautiful and quiet part of Goa, settled in to our “luxury” hut along with the frogs and the mosquitoes and the lovely white netting to keep us safe. We eat on the beach and lie on big lounges called “beds” and swim for hours in the Arabian Sea. The connection with my sannayasin friends, Sirus and Shantana is as strong as ever. The love between us can be felt so strongly, it’s tangible.

We celebrated Osho’s birthday with a group of people invited over to my friend’s brand new meditation and music center. We did Kundalini Meditation, listened to an Osho discourse on immortality as fate would have it and then after dinner, we were showered with live sitar, Persian strings and tabla music. Wow, paradise!

So, all this to say that on the bus, I awoke to the “a ha” that this trip has re-reminded me of how much I love India. And the result…my heart has become unbroken. So, this constant signing of a song I don’t even care for has awakened me to the fact that last year my heart was broken on the tour and for weeks after by the people’s reactions to India and me, by their sheer resistance to India and circumstances that probably could not have been avoided. Actually, the circumstances were perfect for whatever those exact people needed to get including me, but certainly not all who attended that tour have even begun to get the lesson as yet. It was a huge lesson for me in surrender and Latihan for which I am grateful and still feel the reverberations in every aspect of my life. You can read about this too in the blog January 2008.

And so returning to India this year against the back drop of the last tour, I have unbroken my heart. “…say you love me again.” I love me again and I love India again. I love me in India again. Such a gift!

Almost Forgot Major Experience

On the way to the Taj Mahal, while visiting Fatehpur Shikri, the ancient home of Akbar, renowned ruler of India, we stopped to go inside the shrine of the Sufi master who was his trusted adviser. I did not go inside because I have been there many times. So I waited outside with our guides.

Suddenly I was called to join a group of Sufi chanters who were sitting outside the temple. When I explained to them that I had no money to offer since I had left all my things on our bus, they insisted I join in anyway. So I sat down and began to chant with them.

Soon, as each of our group exited this temple after tying sacred strings onto the carved windows and making their wishes, they joined me for sitting and chanting.

Pretty soon, there was a big crowd all around us all joining in. It was another really high point in our experience.

I will post the photo as soon as I have one.

Khajuraho - the Jewel in the Crown of India

Well, after the riot of color on our senses in the Varanasi silk factory, and a visit to Saranuth, the place where Buddha made his first enlightened speech, we shoved off for Khajuraho. Many were under the weather and facing health challenges, but as always happens, when we reach that country town of Khajuraho with the clean air and traffic free tree-lined roads, people sighed with relief.

Just as lovely as always, Khajuraho greeted us with her majestic Kama Sutra temples and calmed us. We dropped into the deepest of our sensations. People visited many of the temple groupings and roamed freely. The temples are so spectacular, what's not to like?

For me, the highlight was re-visiting the little traditional village and especially the school. The principal has made many new changes to the building structure that my groups continue to fund. I saw four new classrooms started, a far cry from the original state of two outdoor sit-on-the-ground rooms when we originally visited three years ago, the year we filmed Tantric Tourists.

When we arrived, the children were all in one big room reciting poetry and singing songs. They were thrilled to see us and performed for us with splendor. Then we had our chance to perform for them. Deborah, Maggie and I sang the old Donovan tune "Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion." We had Krishna, Obie, Ray and Alexandra singing back-up. It was completely fun and the children applauded for us with glee.

Then we walked to the temple nearest the village with a group of children following us as always happens. We performed a lovely puja s sun set over the Khajuraho mountains. What a lovely way to our tour together.

First Subscriber! Another Dream Comes True!

While I have been here in India, other things have been going on in my world. Thanks to the internet, people can order my book Sex & Happiness, my CD Shamanic Release & Latihan. They can register for upcoming Tantra courses or Leadership, Integrity & Service. Teleseminars and web streaming courses can be conducted for Butterfly Workshops where people can participate even while I am away.

And these things have happened over the last few days and continue as I write. Michele Wortman is preparing to do a streaming video course this coming Thursday evening for people who want to learn How to Assist at Butterfly Workshops. And participants can tune in and experience it live from anywhere in the world!

Ain't technology amazing?

Well, the thing that really moved me during this time is that one of my former students from Philly, Elaine Miles, wrote an email telling me how much she has been enjoying Tantra Cafe, my radio show. She stated that she enjoys it so much, she wants to contribute $10 a month towards it's production costs starting with this month.

Now, let me tell you that this is yet another dream of mine coming to fruition. I was recently planning to offer some kind of incentive to students and other supporters to have them send a monthly contribution ongoingly, something small that makes it affordable, yet helps me to keep certain ongoing production costs from being prohibitive. What a valuable contribution she's making! And hopefully, she's starting a new trend within the Butterfly Workshops Community!

In the Shadows of Mumbai Terrorism

From the moment people arrived in Varanasi (formerly known as Benares), they went for it. Even when we received the news that Mumbai was under attack by terrorists, there wasn't one chicken in the bunch. Everything just proceeded as planned. Nobody expressed the urge to turn back or leave India. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, they lived the experience more fully.

An example of this is people demanding to go to the crematoriums where bodies are burned on the ghats of the Ganges. Usually my groups want to see these burning ghats, but from a far. This group got out of the boat and walked right up to the borders of the crematoriums and stood there for quite a long while just observing the bodies burning, not a squeamish stomach to be found in this group. While there, we even got to observe one body being wrapped in white being prepared to go onto the fires.

But of all the surprises I experienced with this group, I could not have prepared myself for the shock of Maggie diving off the boat into the Ganga followed by Ray, Brian, Krishna and Stephen! Oh I think my mouth fell down to the bottom of the boat! Stunning it was, simply stunning.

And as a side note, Stephen, being British and after all these years of Tantra, knew he had to give up his stuckness, sent his knickers (underwear) floating down the Ganga to boot!

The Ganges River, or Ganga, as it is called here in India is a pilgrimage place. Hindus come from all over the world to purify themselves from all worldly sins by dipping themselves or swimming in the water. But a group of Westerners purifying themselves in the Ganga? No way! For the years I have come to the Ganga before, nobody would ever have wanted to put their pinky toe in. So, I believe I will always carry this memory of the big-heartedness of this group! Just amazing!

Overnight Train to Varanasi - a hit!

People loved being in the train overnight from Agra to Varanasi. This year, Amit and I organized the train entrance much better than ever so there were no mix-ups as to where the luggage was going and who was sleeping in what compartment. It also helped that we were grouped together in two different groups, yet nobody was isolated like I have been for the last two tours.

I thought I would make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches once we got settled in, but your know what? Everybody went right to sleep!

And in the morning when we were being picked up at the train station, they all commented on how well they slept. Brian, one of the participants, said it was probably his best night's sleep since arriving in India. Go figure.

I really must say I am so proud about how these people are embracing the experience of India.

Halfway Through the Tour

Well, Jaipur was just okay. I think if I return and do this same tour, I will eliminate this part. Even though I am fascinated with this city and it's history, my groups don't seem to be except for the Kali Temple inside the Amber Fort. I think we could find another Kali Temple somewhere to satisfy the need to commune with Kali. I will look into it. Even the elephant ride doesn't seem to be a highlight for people, so hey, why fight it?

Agra was another story altogether. People loved the Taj Mahal. They wanted to stay there longer although I find this city to be wretched. Just goes to show that different people see things differently.

There has been a noticeable lack of complaining on the part of the group this year. Instead, there's been an open and energetic experience of embracing everything, even some Delhi Belly and some constipation. People are feeling the food to be excellent and have mostly liked the accommodations. Maybe you don't know this, but on my tours people play musical rooms quite like musical chairs so that nobody gets stuck with anyone that may be disagreeable. This strategy also prevents clicks from forming. This keeps everything fresh. Every time we stop at another city, people change roommates. So far so great this time around - a very agreeable bunch.

I'm having the thought that I may have prepared this group for this trip better than I did the last. I based a lot of my pre-trip communications on the feedback from last year. I must admit that one thing that still sticks in my craw about the tour last year is that I think people still haven't taken full responsibility for their share in creating some of the difficulties. As spiritual beings, I believe we are responsible for everything that happens and everything that doesn't happen in our lives. And even though I know a few of the tourists from the past adhere to this paradigm, they have not demonstrated fully getting it at least to me. I may still have some completing to do on a deeper level with a few folks.


One of the great blessings for me on this trip is to have Deborah Anapol along. We are bonding nicely with each other and I am quite happy about it after knowing of each other for so long. There's a lot we have to share and lots of time to do it in.

Surprise Surprise - What a Tour this Year!

I held my breath on the morning of November 20th until I saw the beautiful big bus that arrived to get us. I had already set my sights on the best Tantra Tour ever.

While I did not particularly like the Delhi Hotel we stayed at, Hotel Blessings (not such a blessing), I had high intentions for the rest of the tour and I was not disappointed in the least.

On board the bus, we introduced ourselves, did some Tantric Charging and Transmutation breaths and even got in some Emotional Release. We arrived in Pushkar in time for some early evening gentle yoga with Krishna in the garden of our hotel. The following morning we climbed Savitri mountain and did some Shakti-Shiva Mudras in addition to the White Crane Series. Many of you who have done the Ongoing Sex & Heart Series will remember these I hope. Lovely scenery was the setting for an invigorating time.

The best thing that happened in Pushkar was what did not happen. Usually, the Hindu priests there corner my group members one by one and coerce them into doing puja at the lake. This year we hired one priest for all of the group and he did a great job for all. This was a much better plan. Of course, when the ceremony was over, he asked people for double what we had agreed to was the price and I had to speak to him and our guide about it, but for the most part I was satisfied with the outcome. People really love the puja ceremony performed there.

Then we set out for Jaipur.