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Change Your Life / Live Your Dream
 CROSSING OVER
I moved out of the USA at the end of November 2007. It wasn’t easy. But I believe in following the dream. A dream of peace and silence. Of rejuvenation. Of simplicity and beauty. It is as if my being, my soul, my essence were deeply thirsty for that which appeared so difficult to reach in the USA. The feeling that time is eternal. That there are no “to do” lists, no “orange alerts”, no dire warnings of impending doom. Just the contemplation of the ocean, the right to remain undisturbed. And more.
So what now? Who is Margot Anand? Teacher? Speaker? Expert? Maybe, but for now… just a Sunday painter...
LANDING IN HELL
Arriving in Bali alone, and moving into this–very empty–new house, wasn’t in the least bit romantic. I was aggravated, I almost turned around. But there was no going back…
Imagine moving into a place where you don’t know the language, nor where to buy things, nor who will help you, nor how you will get to the store, nor even where is the store? And when you do, your vendors don’t understand what you want, and often don’t know how to add things on your invoice and tell you what’s the total. How wonderful it was to have so many opportunities (ahem) to practice remaining patient”(ahem) and polite (ahem).
It took me weeks of hell and, in some cases, just losing it. In the end, I found a dynamite driver with a cool car, a “house mom” for cleaning, cooking and shopping, and the beginnings of a more relaxed lifestyle.
Now I even have a residency visa and a bank account. Of course, I can’t understand a word of the Indonesian bank statements and get absolutely no compassion from their side. “Learn Indonesian” they all say, smiling…and they’re right. So far, it’s Chinese to me, but hey…as long as the money comes and goes so moves chi and life goes on!
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THE REWARD
So far, I’ve passed the tests… and there were many. Making land deals in a foreign language with laws so unlike ours (there is no “official” ownership, for one, but pay still you must.) It requires radical trust; waiting for large sums of money wired from afar, money that mysteriously didn’t arrive; negotiating contracts to have an 82 meter long retaining wall built by 60 workers supervised by a contractor… sixty beds, sixty meals twice a day, enough toilets, and water to drink for three months on my land. Ahem… what about the “infrastructure”? All to protect the coastline from erosion by a very dynamic ocean.
And creating partnerships with people I hardly know while getting others to “protect me” and “look over my shoulder”. Yes, you can get sunk in Bali, very fast. With the wrong deals, the wrong partners. The cheating game here is a great sport, for some people anyway. And they’re really good at it. They target the “walking wallets( i.e., foreigners. Me. One policeman, for instance, sold the same piece of land three times to three different unsuspecting “walking wallets” and collected three times on their “dreams!”
I didn’t really know what I was doing. I had never done this before. But I listened to my heart. I trusted my angels, my intuition, my inner fire. And it worked. You can tell a man’s heart when you look in his eyes. I was guided to the best possible Balinese partners. Every project, so far, has worked beyond my wildest dreams. I am indebted to Em.S., my friend and mentor, who, many years ago, introduced me and initiated me to the beauty and love of Bali.
THE BEGINNER’S PARADISE
In March 2007 I was in Bali, celebrating “Niyepe”, the Balinese new year. During a silent retreat by the sea, I was walking along the coast. I sat down to meditate. And I heard a small sweet voice, whispering: “This is where I want to live… this is home.”
What? That’s impossible! I had been a nomad all my life. There was nothing more scary to me than the idea of “settling down.” Nothing more frightening, unconceivable. Hence, my next growing edge.
I came back the next day. Again the voice repeated: “This is it!”
But how could I ever acquire such a land? Here was the last remaining wild beach front land, on the north east coast of Bali, within reasonable distance from Ubud, the artistic capital.
It was completely beyond my means. And nonetheless the voice said to settle here. Suddenly my traveling partner (Hari.) appeared, looking for me. I told him the vision, the voice, the regret… He looked at me and said “Why not? I’ll buy half with you!” Now the dream was becoming a possibility. What a sweetheart!
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Buying this land in Bali got us involved in the most improbable “circus” we ever experienced. The negotiations were hilarious. If it hadn’t been for Hari’s soothing, reassuring presence, I would have gone hysterical and dropped the ball. But it was meant to be.
Hari lives in the USA. So I was left in charge of this 1.5 acre rice plantation by the sea.
Then I was taken to an “undiscovered” white sand beach 10 minutes over the hill from the land. No tourists there, just fishermen…. And gentle turquoise waters. And then there is the soap and chocolate factory! Close by, amidst the coconut trees there is an American calling himself “The Mystic Monk”. Charlie (who doesn’t look like a monk to me!) is sexy, quiet, and his head is fashionably shaven. He built himself a modest two storey bamboo house. On the ground floor is a factory for scented soaps, made of local natural ingredients (lava, coconut, orange, lemon). They look like Baskin Robbins ice cream, and they’re packaged in spiritually and sensually pleasing boxes with yin yang signs and mystical quotes on them. In the next room: Charlie and his “Balinese Virgins” (as the joke goes), are grinding, melting, and cooking chocolate in large vats. The Choco comes from locally grown cocoa beans. Until recently they were exported, to Switzerland of all places, because of their high quality and great taste. Now the smart locals are producing the most scrumptious chocolate, better even than Swiss Chocolate… right next door to me! I’m afraid I’m getting addicted.
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CRAFTING A POWER PLACE
Every time I come here, to my new “home-land”, I give thanks for my good fortune.
Recently, I started studying Feng Shui. I calculated my “gua” or “lucky” number (“3”), explored the favorable and unfavorable directions and went to the land to check the disposition of the Bhagwa, the elements, the houses, etc. Everything is in its perfect place. What a pleasant surprise!
To the South, the front of the (future) house: the ocean. The yin of the Water, balances the yang of the fire (south) and the dynamic waves coming my way (yang).
To the North: Mount Agung, Bali’s sacred volcano, towering over the palm trees, far enough to give a sense of “safety” (the mountain = Yin), and strong enough to give a sense of presence, grounding and strength (volcano and fire = Yang).
To the East: a majestic chain of bluish, misty, mountains that look like the reclining, curvaceous, body of a woman (Yin). Upon closer look, however, one can see, in those curves, the folds of a dragon’s body. And lower, just in front, another smaller mountain, the head of the dragon (Yang)… the strength of the dragon, the protector of the East in Feng shui.
To the West: a sexy coastline prolonging the bay in front of me. In the distance, Sumatran buildings with thatched, roofs raised at the end, look over the rice fields, the palm trees, and the beach. Here is the abode of the reclining tiger, guardian of the West in Fen Shui.
My soul settles and rests amidst this soothing harmony, which communicates a sense of vitality and protection!
There is prana in the air, and absolutely no pollution. I built the first road to this land. Here, a quality of silence I’ve never encountered elsewhere highlights the changing moods of the waves. Languorous at times, fiercely piercing and crashing through at others, they prevent the mind from taking over, as they constantly wash away the thoughts and bring you closer to home.
Can you imagine settling on a virgin rice plantation, where nobody ever has lived before? My heart fills with reverence and gratitude! All those locals who joyfully help me, knowing, as they put it, that “I will be a “good steward” for this land, while they get jobs that help their families to feel grounded, while they help me to weave the dream. I had forgotten how sincere, happy, unguarded, and funny, people can be! Above all they trust in the power of the guardian spirits of the land, to which they regularly propitiate.
Yes, we had to have a ceremony with the village priest, to “bring the rice god, who protected the rice crops of this field, back to the main village temple.” Then the priest made offerings, sang, and asked the local spirits for permission to build on this virgin land. This was followed by a two-hour “Margot protection ceremony” and offerings at sunset.
Since then, everything has worked like a breeze.
Such has been my enthusiasm, lately, that, another dear friend (JFG) from Paris, decided to buy the land to my left, so he could be “my neighbor in paradise.” He has not set foot in Bali yet.
How interesting: to my left is one dear friend, and to my right, another. According to Feng Shui, my lucky number is “3”!!!
When the house is built, I hope many friends will come to visit!
In the meantime, I write these thoughts because I wanted to tell you that it is possible to move away from perpetual “orange alert.” It is possible to trust in your dream and let existence help you to “make it happen” beyond the anti-ecstatic conspiracy.
Live your dream now! Follow your bliss now!
May it be so…
Much Love & Many Blessings,
Margot
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