~*...hot springs and the temple of divine light...*~

randnorm tuesday event in black rock city 2005
digital dump!!!
tuesday - monday, 8:00am-9:30am
when your digital camera just has to take a dump...you can't take it to the port-a-potty. so bring it by and we will dump the pix to cd for you! bm04 saw 18gb served! late afternoon hours (if any) will be posted. hosted by: hot wheelz @ catharsis and 6:00

photo by jon ross

randnorm mind grenade

money can't buy happiness, unless you spend it on toys - normurai and dynovac

normdate 4.4.6

mckayla, owen, julia, and i showed up at jonas and frederic's place just after 1pm. our destination was the ainsworth hot springs about 45mins north east of nelson. i had never been, and i'd heard that despite the commercialism of it all, that it was worth the trek.

the clouds captured amongst the kutenai mountains created majikal dragons that loomed above the waters of kootenay lake.


when dragons fly away, the sun is free to scorch the earth with fire.

the hot springs were definitely worth the drive. nestled right on the west shore of kutenai lake, it had three beautiful pools and a 150ft horseshoe cave. it was an excellent way to relax and enjoy the company of friends.



the horseshoe cave was dark, mysterious, natural, and the source of the hot water that feeds the springs. it is also pretty fukkin hot in the caves. it got difficult to breath in there after a while..and the steam wasn't really that ideal for takin pikchaz.



the caves were ideal for singing and chanting. you could hear the echoes of your voice, your chants, bounce off the moist rock walls. their policy of no moaning or chanting in the cave isn't really policed that well ;)



click here to see a 360degree virtual tour of the ainsworth hot springs.

even at the hot springs, the dragons flew above us.


after an sesationally relaxing adventure at the hot springs, we drove to the free ferry across lake kootenay heading for the east shore.




have i mentioned how breathtaking the ferry to the east shore is? even on cloudy daze, the ferry ride is still beautiful.



its kinda hard to not have your head in the clouds when the clouds are right there in your face. crazy dragons they be.



once on the east shore, we made a stop at the yasodhara ashram. owen was telling us about his friend charles from victoria who was living at the yasodhara ashram. sure enough, the first person we saw outside of the main house was charles, and two beautiful goddesses. it was amazing seeing owen and charles reconnect. it was pure. it was real. it was powerful. it would prove to be a theme that radiates from this place.



the yasodhara ashram is a vibrant spiritual community where people of all ages work together to expand their awareness and to live the teachings of yoga. it rests on 120acres of woodland, where the mountains touch the waters of kootenay lake. i cannot think of anywhere more appropriate than the east shore of lake kootenay to create a sacred place like the yasodhara ashram: mountains, woodlands, on the shore of a lake.

charles took us on a tour of the ashram. words cannot describe how unbelievably breathtaking, beautiful, and gorgeous this place is. the force is beyond powerful here. this is the place where jedis train.




the many trees at the ashram have just begun to embrace the spring weather, and will soon bear fruit. the organic garden and fruit orchard will soon be in full bloom.



the beauty of the ashram revealed to me why the east shore has been so overwhelming and powerful each time i come...there is a jedi academy here! but it wasn't until we arrived at the temple that i truly understood how powerful this ashram really is.



the temple of divine light is the holy place where these beautiful beings gather each night for satsang, a sanskrit term that means "to be in the company of the wise."



as i entered the temple, i was overwhelmed by an intesnse feeling of peace, of light, of inner self. i could try to make attempts at describing what it felt like, but it is beyond words. i hadn't felt anything this intense since i stood at the temple of dreams at burning man.



the temple of divine light is a holy place. it draws power and light to it. the views from the many windows of the temple offer the most breathtaking images of nature, of trees, of mountains, of water, of light.



i've got to come up with a different term than breathtaking, eh? mindblowing? wikkid fresh? kick ass? no matter what word i choose to describe this place, it does not come close to being there.

inside the temple we chanted, hearing our voices echo off the walls of the huge dome over our head. i moved, i danced, i flowed, i was one with the force. i can only imagine what it must be like to satsang on a daily basis in the temple of divine light.

my friend anastazia had spent last summer here at the yasodhara ashram. charles enjoyed satsang with her while she was here. it also turns out that there is a beautiful picture of her on the back of the yasodhara information pamphlet. noice one stazie \m/^_^\m/



charles took us down to the beach, just past the prayer room. we marvelled at how gorgeous the east shore is and watched the sun set behind the mountains.


thank you charles for the guided tour of your home. it is beyond majik.

we were pretty hungry, so we headed over to the home of the mou collective which was less than a 5minute drive from the ashram. ali and wanaki were there, and wanaki's mother, riviere. we feasted on delicious food, including pasta and coconut curry *mmmmm*

i love hanging with the mou collective. they constantly shatter what i believe is possible, showing me new and different ways to embrace life.

we watched the animatrix on the projector screen, which was epic.

i was beat, as was everyone else. i didn't make it through the entire movie, and passed out half way through it. what an incredible day in the kootenays. from hot springs, to jedi academy, to the mou collective. the force flows powerfully on the east shore. we are all one. we are all different.

same same but different.

~*...normaste...*~