Space of Healing

It's indisputable that Lumière does something special to its residents. Even the dogs--who arrived angry, frightened, and ill--quickly grew into healthy, happy pups.

The latest case and point is Palani, who arrived with high blood pressure and deep anxiety on October 6. He changed his diet and habits and turned to the forest. He helped clear the path, prune the cashews, rake the leaves, and do whatever else needed doing. He read Paulo Coehlo and Grimm's Fairy Tales. He stayed home alone and listened to nature. He relaxed. And within one week, he's been healed.


It's official: The doctor says his BP's back to normal, and he seems a whole lot happier.

What he doesn't yet know is that Lumière can be like Hotel California: He may be physically ready to leave, but we have no plans to let him check out...

;)

In the Moonshine

We were late for dinner. (Surprise.)

Speeding around the sandy bends of the forest path, we suddenly stopped. We couldn’t just leave what lay there alone.

Little green eyes stared at us full of fright. A plastic cup stood beside them, half-filled with dirty water. A kitten sat abandoned and confused.

Was she left, or found? We wondered. But the lack of answered didn’t alter our actions; without hesitation I hopped off the bike and coaxed her to me. She came quickly. I climbed back on, and we returned to the house. It was obvious we were going to adopt the mangy, scarred, starving cat. It’s apparently what we do.

The idea was to have two dogs and a cat. We nursed Gopal back to life. Saedi/Rani is recovering nicely. And now we have…Moonshine?

Gopal’s Girl

She was terrified. Beaten. Bullied. A skinny little pup in the middle of Edaianchavadi, surviving only by the gracious generosity of Lorraine, who visited daily to feed her. Lorraine was the only person trusted.

Gopal was a mangy, wormy, injured puppy and grew into a fine dog. Why would we want to take home anything else?

So suddenly, with the help of Lorraine and a pet van, we had a new dog on the outskirts of Lumiere. The trouble is, as soon as Lorraine left, the dog found herself a thorned fortress under a fallen cashew tree and refused to leave. As much as we wanted her, she didn’t quiet trust us.

It took some coaxing—and another visit from Lorraine—but the dog made it to the house, where we fed and loved her for an hour or so. In the quiet of the forest, while our backs were turned, she disappeared.

Another dog gone. Another failed attempt.

But the next night… I wondered out to get a bottle of water. Gopal greeted me at the door, as usual. But there were two beady dog eyes glowing from under the table… the lady dog returned! My heart went soft; how nice to see her.

She was fed again, played with Gopal, but by morning, had once again disappeared.

The day grew hotter. We weeded and weeded the garden. And as I squatted tugging at plants, I was suddenly attacked by warm kisses and golden-brown fur. Gopal was busy; She was back.

And since then she’s stayed. The two dogs run around like crazed puppies, playing and panting and loving life. The world is so much better when you share it. Two-by-two they herd cows (kind of), bark at intruders (sometimes), and otherwise fulfil the duties of farm dogs (like looking super cute).

Now she only needs a name… Cleo(patra)? Rani? Saedi?

Oil bath

  Sunday it is, on the land we decided to give ourselves the pleasure of soaking ourselves in sesame oil.

  Muthu, our dear friend, being a local and having the knowing-ness of the traditions of the land, he commenced with Catherine as the first victim. J

  We are to face the rising sun.  He sprinkled oil on the floor at her feet and poured plenty of oil on the crown of her head – aaah feeling, no? – there he went tapping with his palm all over her head stronger and stronger.. brains shaking’, swirling and moving all over!

  Then moving to the neck, arms, legs and back and to finish we poured oil into her ears. All along she kept purring, sighing and moaning; these are signs of the benefits of an oil bath – you relax, surrender, nourish your skin and hair, give each other company, cooling the body, feeling of softness, tranquillity and plenty of laughter!

  This is part of a whole procedure.  The next step is to remove the oil from the body that has not soaked with “shikakai” (natural powder) – wow does it work on the skin!

  Now what? Oh, yeah, we tend to do this in the morning so that we can have a great meal as it stirs your appetit.aah.all relaxed with a great meal cooked by our Muthu’s mom – we are eager to join them in the village to return and take a power nap!

Boys & their hens

These Auroville boys are truly something special.

I sit and watch as Martanda and Muthu rattle of incredible knowledge about the trees, the shrubs, the animals. They tell us what to eat and drink for whatever ailments or improvements we’re seeking. They explain how to help things grow and to make the Land live better. And they are so goddam good with the animals.



The two mamma chickens pecked each other so much we had to separate them and tend to their wounds. Watching Martanda and Muthu gently hold the hens, wipe their faces, clean their wounds, and love them softly… This place nurtures such an incredible connection amongst living souls it’s amazing. There’s so much to learn.

We are silly to think we actually have any control over this divine anarchy; we like to pretend that we’re protecting the forest but it’s absurd. We are playthings of the Land, learning and growing per Her wish, not ours. We can hardly help steer the course according to our dreams; instead, I think, everything we do is part of Her plan. And she has found characters here that embrace Her teachings and connect in a magical way to Her creatures, and the rest of us are eager to play along.

We may have the might to eat the chickens, but they run the show. They have our hearts. We are tools to help their lives, and they know we’d never hurt them.

It’s a humbling and heartening thought.

Fire & the Watchman

The Old Man was on holidays, and I was too busy to walk the Land daily. But this week he returned, and I found time. And this morning, we both discovered something tragic.

In the back corner of the forest, someone must have been roasting cashews and—woosh!—fire spread. The ground is charred black. The trees are dead. Their leaves are crispy golden brown.

I came to the kitchen and asked Muthu what to do. “What can you do?” he said. I sighed and consoled myself that fires are purging and breed better life.

The Old Man came back to the kitchen and almost cried. He cursed the fools that did this. He swore and sulked. He got angry with himself for being out, and angrier with the world for punishing the Land like this.

That’s what I realized that as much as I love Lumière, it’s the Tata's everything.

The Old Man is a remarkably spiritual person too. We returned from the Nadi readers without ever informing him that that’s where we were going, and he not only told us where we went, he guessed at our fortune. He recently did a puja for a woman who was infertile and now she’s three months pregnant. He’s often whisked away to work in the temples of villages near and far. He is something special.

When realizing his power, Muthu asked him why he works on the Land instead of in the temples—or at least why he doesn’t take Sundays off. “Because they [those responsible for Lumière] appreciate me, and they need me. And the Land needs me. So I stay, and I work.”

No wonder the fire broke his heart. Part of his baby’s hurting, and he wasn’t around to protect it.

Book 2 - The ringing cedars of Russia

After rising rapidly to the top of national best-seller lists, first-time author Vladimir Megré has some explaining to do.

Just who is this extraordinary woman Anastasia? How did Megré become her messenger… and her lover? Anastasia's visions in Book 1 are already becoming reality and readers are demanding to know more. What else did she tell him? Here in his second book, Megré reveals some of the answers… and raises a lot more questions.

Prepare to plunge deeply into Anastasia's wild and brilliant world as the author embarks on an adventure through the vast expanses of space, time and spirit—from the paradise-like glade in the Siberian forest, to the rough urban depths of Russia's capital city; from the ancient mysteries of our forebears, to a vision of humanity's radiant future.

Along the way you'll get a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how Anastasia and the Ringing Cedars Series came to be published.

“Way back in ancient times people living on the Earth
had the capacity to use wisdom and intelligence far surpassing
the abilities of modern Man. People at the time of the Earth's
pristine origins enjoyed ready access to all the information in
the entire database of the Universe.”— Anastasia

Daily Activities

People from the States keep asking me what life is like these days.

The thing is, running a forest is a lot of work. Period.

Twenty acres is a lot of land. Period.

And there are animals to protect! Just this morning the villagers brought their dogs to collect cashews and—as they do almost every morning—the dogs chased the chickens. For the third time since June, one of the dogs succeeded in catching a poor bird, and I had to come with a stick to free the cock.

Plus, our Gop__ needs a lot of loving (which I’m more than happy to give) and company (which I spend simultaneous writing about watsu and/or complementary currencies). He’s just a puppy, after all…

And the cows come several times a day to eat the young trees and blooming flowers, and the house/kitchen/storeroom always offer improvement projects, and the workers—my God, the workers.

Everyday they try to teach me Tamil. However, the lessons include me repeating what they say without any clue what it means. We laugh a lot. Then they ask me serious things in Tamil and look at me with expectant eyes. I suddenly have to make a thoughtful decision based on a frantic stream of grunts and hollers which meant absolutely nothing to my ears. Sometimes we play charades, but I’ve always been bad at that game.

They look to me more and more for direction. I point and explain what needs to be done around the house. But in the forest? I clearly have no idea, and even if I did, the Old Man would have no idea what I’m saying.

Thus, after working on watsu and economics, between fighting village dogs and chasing cows, while tending to Lumière’s puppy and employees, I’m now researching Tropical … Forests and practicing Tamil online.

So, my fellow Americans, my only answer to you is: I’m keeping busy.

~ c.e.michel

The Vet

It’s good to be humbled. I find I am wrong more frequently these days, and that’s fine. I’m sure I’m learning something besides humility.

A dear friend took me and the dog to the free vet for village dogs. What an incredible service! Walking through its beautiful gate, visitors find themselves in an open puppy playground with battered dogs full of life and hope. A three-legged beagle mix greeted us with protective barks and gentle kisses. Several mutts followed curiously in our wake. Others suffering from mange or broken limbs or whatever else were herded into the back field, where they can run and tussle and play. I was immediately relieved, and brought our street dog to the table.

“Ah, he’s not so bad,” the vet said.

I looked at the fly-infested, limping, bleeding dog and responded, “You must see a lot of suffering.”

She examined his wounds, weighed him, gave him a shot for worms, played with his feet and teeth and unmentionables. Here are the conclusions:

• He’s six to nine months old.
• He’ll be a big dog, judging by the size of his paws. Some German Shepard mix.
• He has mange and needs to be washed with special soap.
• He needs follow up worm pills.
• He needs to eat more. A lot more. He’s malnourished—probably because of the worms.
• He limps because he’s weak; as soon as the mange and worms go, he’ll be better.
• He’s already attached to us.

“Now,” she said, “the first step to healing is a name. What are you calling him?”

We each blurted out three different words.

“And that, I fear, will be your problem.”

Ok, ok... Gop__ it is?

~ c.e.michel

The Dog

We're still settling on a name, but Gopta and Gopal are coming out on top… even though he’s not living up to his name as defender/protector or cow herder. In fact, as I spend time with him, I realize more and more how difficult this is going to be.

Here's why:

1. I'm not his person. Dogs pick their person; we, also, are drawn to certain dogs. I was not drawn to Gopta nor him to me; we were united by extraneous circumstances and now must learn to like each other. We’re getting there. Slowly.


2. He's old. I don't care what Raja said: This is not a puppy—it's a small-sized dog. His balls have dropped and he's stubborn. I'm not training a puppy; I'm teaching an old dog new tricks. Or trying to, at least.


3. He's scared. Of everything. Including the chickens. (And eating… Every time I feed him he nibbles, jumps away, timidly returns, eats some more, and continues as such until the bowl is empty.)


4. He doesn't bark. How can you noiselessly defend a house?


5. He won't chase the cows. Unless, of course, you count him chasing me as I chase the cows.
   

But I have faith if not patience. This poor pup had a hard life and survived something traumatic. In time, I hope, he’ll come around…

In the meantime, we’ll shower him with love and affection, heal and feed him, and try try try to make him the Defender of Lumière and Protector of Plants!

~ c.e.michel

Ask & You Shall Receive

In the middle of the night Monica turned to me. “Catherine,” she whispered, “do you hear that?”

I listened to the sounds of the land. “Hear what?”

“That creepy noise that’s definitely not a cow.”

Yup. Yup, I heard it. And there was nothing me, Monica, or an injured old watchman that my grandfather could beat up could do about it. (In all fairness, my grandfather’s in remarkable health for 80.)

“We really, really need a dog,” I said.

“A big dog,” she replied.


Hours earlier, across Auroville…

Raja had just finished dinner with his family when his eldest brother marched in. “I need some leftover food.”

“You don’t have enough?” his mother asked, full of concern.

“It’s not for me; it’s for this damn dog that won’t get out from under my porch.”

“Dog?” Raja’s ears perked up.

So his brother told the story: A few days ago he—a mere puppy—was chased by bigger village dogs, and now he’s broken and bleeding in the sand near Brother’s house and refuses to move.

“Lumière will take him.”

So suddenly we have a guard dog in need of serious mending… and a name.

Any suggestions?!

~ c.e.michel

working with the Source

  Tamara, the healer; playing with the Source, invited people interested to meet her this evening to teach how to connect with the Source, here in Lumière..

  beautiful, to see manifest what you concieve, more then just babies ;) , happening and manifesting for real in reality!

  there were, 10 "students", from all walks of life, open to learn more of the Source. (shivers) beautiful to watch each one and the group dynamics happening..great energy!

  no space exactly to accomodate so many people, we were all piled in the kitchen space :) 

  chickens sleeping in the trees..

  

  

Healing

  Having Tamara and William here is great.

  They came to Auroville for a few days intending to continue their discovery of india; they actually are still here - they are liking it very much.

  We are all staying in the Space of Light (capsule); it is too stuffy in the house. Hot it is these days..

  "..healing Vasantha (amma) and the old man (watchman) is making my stay more worthwile and visiting temples has become secondary..a change of plan and very grateful for this experience" - Tamara.

  Am loving the healing feeling..just what i envision Lumière to be.  A place to play, discover and connect with nature, self-discovery and connect with the outside world.

  The windmill is being healed too ;) hopefully by day after tomorrow it will be pumping water again..we close to dry!

  mmmm, smell of cashew all over, hair dressed with the cashew flowers and fingernails stuffed with cashew juices :)