Kalipara Rock Puja, Neyyar Dam, Kerala, India

Last night, the Saturday 26th, we were taken on a special trip. 'We' in this case are the ashramites staying at the Sivananda Ashram, Neyyar Dam, Kerala, which is a natural beauty spot and a haven away from anything urban. It lies on the edge of a dam surrounded by mountain peaks and a national wildlife sanctuary. They said it was 'just a walk up a hill' for a Puja. It turned out to be more like a hard core hike, that proved unforgettable. We gathered at the ashram gate did a four-step meditation walk, chanting 'Om' internally each four steps. We'd been specially invited to witness this Kali Puja and respect was due to the goddess and the holy rock. The youngish Canadian Swami lead around 100 people in a silent walk down leafy country lanes, at sun down so the trees and bushes were full of mosquitoes, the sound of cicadas and whooping birds, the smell of wood fires, frangipani scent wafted across from open wooden houses where locals lived. An enormous variety of trees grew everywhere, including banana, coconut palms and rubber trees - long grasses by the edge of the pathways reached out as though to touch us. As we passed through the Dam area, locals were curious and said 'hello'. No one replied as we had vowed silence. Why were all these foreigners walking silently to Kalipara Rock? No answer- so the mystery deepened.

We were warned to bring torches as it soon got dark and the path was rocky and perilous. We had to take our shoes off on the upper rock because it was sacred, but no one expected the steepness of the climb with some treacherous rock face to clamber up. Parts of it were so sheer it could freak out the unwary. To look down was fatal. Intention alone impelled us upwards against the odds. No one fell or broke an ankle. We scaled the rock face without incident, although it involved some serious barefoot grip, not to mention rock climbing skills. All were sweating as they reached the top to regain breath.Going barefoot was nasty as the tiny rocks ripped into the soles of my feet and seemed to lodge there. Each step was tentative and painful, only easing off on the smoother rock surfaces.

On the top of the rock itself the puja had already begun. A ceremonial fire was kept alive in a small reed hut fed continuously by the Kali devotee. Everyone watched eager to know what was happening- he just fed the fire with offerings. Fellow ashramite, La La, didn’t come because he had been before, perhaps he knew how difficult the climb would be? Frederick said he suffers a little from vertigo and he found he was only able to get to the top because it was so dark, he just could not see how dangerous it was.

The Kali Puja devotees wore only clean white dhotis wrapped around their loins. A group of women huddled together watched eagerly. The men burned food offerings in a small woven hut where a candle in front of the sacred fire. Drummers beat out a primal rhythm interspersed monotonous bell ringing. The place wafted with incense and wood smoke. It inspired reverence and high expectancy. Then at the peak moment, the principle devotee removed the fire from the fire, and three others blew into conch shells, a bellowing primal sounds echoing across the dark hills, sounding just as it did centuries ago. It was energetically potent. The rock itself has a legend about a famous guru who favoured it as the counter balance the Himalayas of north India. The little bowl where a pool of water formed is said to be where this guru meditated and his lotus pose left an impression.



The top of the rock was small to cope with so many people at once. Luckily, it was too dark to see how sheer the cliff face was on one side. Also it was lucky no one broke their ankle or got lost in the dense undergrowth surrounding the rock. The human chain of people could be spotted by pinpoints of light between trees. Torches helping others see their way and avoid falling dark made it a communal experience. We were not alone under that night sky was rich with stars and so it was like plugging back into the socket of nature's energy. People who live cocooned in cities can really appreciate. Just to be there on Kalipara Hill was a privilege, and to be invited personally from the ashram an honour. The view of the surrounding hill tops and valleys apparently is magnificent and some camp out there so they can witness dawn where the light changes would reveal this wonderful location in its glory.

It was a personal thrill to be part of the Kali Puja, and more than repaid the effort of the dangerous climb. I noted how the music can hypnotise people quickly, the sound of repetitive drumming, smoke and bell ringing, all part of the 'dream time'. We all bathed in the sacred smoke, and anointed our foreheads with flower pods and felt special.

Kali is a serious goddess, not for the faint of heart. She is goddess of cyclical time and destruction and grants release from the binding emotions of anger, greed and lust. She is often depicted with a garland of skulls around her neck, dead hands around her waist, the sword of knowledge in hand, chopping of heads (the ego) her foot on the chest of Shiva, sticking out her tongue at the god's unusual behaviour. She is known to love sucking the blood of demons, and can get carried away doing this. Shiva, her husband, threw himself under her feet in order to stop her raging madness against evil. The effect is like the calm after the storm. Doing Kali Puja aids one in fighting off enemies and freeing one from the chains of karma. It is a religious cleansing act done on this day to celebrate the power of Kalipara which means 'rock of Kali'. Thus, she 'rocks'.


The ‘cultish’ aspect of being with a group from an ashram didn’t escape me, but I was open to the experience of reconnecting to nature and an ancient rite as practised by Hindus for thousands of years. It was a high point - literal and metaphoric- of my trip to Kerala, a peak experience that is etched in my psyche.   

© Kieron Devlin, 2011

www.kierondevlin.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/KDjupiter

https://twitter.com/KDJupiter

Good Walking Mad Morning Free E Booklet

So it's finally arrived - Free E-Day. Here's my little offering, Good Walking, Mad Morning, a meandering verbal meditation on the joys of walking coupled with reflections on the fast-changing scenery of inner London.

In the City people are the landscape.

Complete with my own photos.

it's available by clicking this link to the Scribd Site.

Happy reading.

Top Ten Songs that had an Impact on my Life

Recently I was asked to do a Desert Island Discs choice, to select the top ten songs that moved me, songs that had an impact on my life. I've often thought how true the line by Noel Coward is 'extraordinary how potent cheap music is.' Its power is so underestimated. The paradox is that cheap doesn't do it justice; it is more like vast inner riches with all the associations the songs bring up. The limit was ten - Ten!!!! It was criminal. So many gems to be discarded from the parade.

Wracking my brains was easy but selecting was extremely hard. I ended up with a continually reshuffled list of nearly 30 songs vital to significant moments in my life. It bugged me for days, yet I kept remembering more and more songs that had a powerful impact on me. So it's wonderful for jogging the memory. Who could ever forget The Verve's haunting anthem Bitter Sweet Symphony back in 1997? I can't, no doubt along with thousands of others whose lives it touched. Yet, I could not include it. I tended to wallow back in the Seventies when I was in my teens. I cut my teeth on the early part of the decade when life without music was unthinkable.

So here's my list... It may not suit most people, taste is subjective after all. They are roughly in chronological order, rather than in order of merit.I vote for them all equally but don't be surprised if I retain the right to change my mind.

• Dolphins: Tim Buckley

• Quicksand: David Bowie

• Boredom: The Buzzcocks

• Light of the Magical Moon: Marc Bolan

• Perfect Day: Lou Reed

• Corpus Christi Carol: Jeff Buckley

• To The Birds: Suede

• Let Down: Radiohead

• The Guests: (Leonard Cohen) Anthony and the Johnsons

• Adam’s Lullaby: Natacha Atlas/Jocelyn Pook

Enjoy listening.I recommend doing it as an exercise in what is important to you. Send your lists so I can listen too. Choose songs that are great landmarks that mark stages in your life. We probably churned through lots of difficult experiences and were helped by these songs in countless subtle yet profound ways that have now been coded into our DNA and will go with us to the grave. It definitely gets you reflecting hard on which ones not just affected you but really seared deep. Music has a transforming power, which allows us to overcome the love of power and enter a shared world of emotions.

As Aldous Huxley said: After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.

Is Hypnosis an Altered State?

Latest News on the nature of Hypnosis: Is it an Altered State?

If you are one of the few still wondering if hypnosis is safe and effective, here is a fascinating article. It helps dispel the media-generated myths that have grown around hypnotic trance. It says clearly that hypnosis could be a hitherto unrecognised different state of consciousness, or just a variation on normal waking consciousness. Whichever it is, one thing is sure: our beliefs and expectations colour the outcome yet it is still a state of mind accessible to everyone to be utilized for change. It is elusive to precise scientific definition. Yet, in this state, we can hold two opposing ideas in our minds at the same time; we can enjoy the benefits of a deep slow-cycle brain waves called ‘THETA’ , and far from being a zombie, you are fully aware of the powerful change it can bring about. Let’s hope the research continues…Read the full article at: Hypnos.co.uk

Free E-Download Day Brochure

Thanks to Dan Holloway from songs from the other side of the wall for providing this. The Free E Day is the online festival of independent music, literature, and art. The first free e-brochure for the event is now available. You can download it for free at the Free E-Download Day website.

This day is a celebration of all that's free on the internet.

You will also find a link to the Bookbuzzr for the event - the Bookbuzzr is an incredible widget that not only allows you to read the brochure on line in a super-whizzy format, but also enables you to embed it in your social media pages. Any of you who want to share the brochure in this way, that would be fantastic! You can use the Bookbuzzr widget for better ways to read it. Click "read now" to read in full screen and note that there is a zoom feature if you're having problems with the smaller print.

It includes my Writing as Healing Workshop info. That's on November 25th. Naturally as I'm taking part in this festival, there will be a free download from me of a story called 'Good Walking Mad Morning'. So look out for that.

Writing As Healing Workshop

Writing as Healing Workshop

Wednesday November 25^th , 6.30-8.30pm,The Feelgood Centre

Ever feel you have something unsaid still locked inside? Then this workshop might be for you. Learn How Writing really can heal your life. Journaling is often overlooked in our busy lives. With a sensitive approach, truthful writing can be used a therapeutic tool to uncover long buried feelings to gain insight, and thus regain power. Writing your way to health is simple, easy and even good fun.

This workshop invites you to explore the true value of how writing unravels problems, first by getting them on to the page. Deeper feelings can come through images and metaphors which should be valued as messages from the unconscious. Writing out your problems on a piece of paper can clear many long-standing issues.

Kieron’s approach to writing is a unique synthesis of ideas about how writing releases emotions, thus clearing the way for self growth. It is based on a variety of methods developed by pioneers in the field such as Julia Cameron, James Pennebaker, Kathleen Adams, and Tristine Rainer. The added bonus is that he also uses techniques from developments in EFT, neuroscience, guided visualisation, lucid dreaming, energy psychology and personal development as aids to discovery.

During the session you will be shown how to:

· become centred and focussed

· visualise through imagery

· write freely without censoring yourself

· release blocked emotions

· clarify long standing or unresolved issues

· be more in contact with your dreams

It is not a standard Creative Writing class but could lead to more confidence to write stories and poetry. Confidentiality and personal boundaries are respected. The workshop is most useful for people who have recently been through a difficult transition, a major illness, relationship break down, or other traumatic experiences. But, since writing can also be a fun activity, it is really open to anyone who feels they have a story they have not yet voiced where writing as the best medium to reveal it.

Kieron is a practising writer of fiction and non fiction. He has taught Creative Writing and has done extensive research into the healing power of writing. He is also a qualified Hypnotherapist and Lightning Process Practitioner.

www.kierondevlin.com info@kierondevlin.com

Tel: 07896 483746

The Feelgood Centre, 34-5, Chiswell Street, London, EC1.

Hypnosis for Finding the Creative Spark

It is often not so easy to find the inner creative self, the part of us that has truckloads of ideas and a pool of answers and solutions. Daily life tends to act as a smokescreen, filtering out the best we are able to think. There are so many distractions to deal with each day that it takes our energy and we forget to breathe and function on a deeper level.

All it takes is some uninterrupted time alone in a quiet place and we can regain that mode of being again. In just a few minutes we can reengage with it, reconnect. Start by slowing down, relaxing, and then listening, watching what is front of you, and the world around you becomes highly sensitized.

These videos are short samplers of what is possible to achieve with just a very light trance. Watch carefully as you can see thoughtful reflections from poet..

Rumi

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?

Gerald Jampolsky

A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed restrictions

And
Stanley Arnold

Every problem contains within it the seeds of its own solution.


Watch it till the end, preferably with head phones. I hope people find it calming and useful and that it generates the creative spark you need.

It might be an idea to make sure you won't be interrupted for six to ten minutes and perhaps to write down a question that is currently on your mind before you start. Just to see if the answer will come up. Chances are it will.

Here it is on Daily Motion and You Tube Hypnosis for Creative Change.

Have some relaxing fun with it.
Thank you.