Money, Material and Full Moon Howling

I had a very successful shopping experience today!
Now, shopping is something that I've tried to avoid as a valuable cultural experience here, since it is ALL.ABOUT. CONSUMING. However, I realized today that interacting with the shopkeepers is actually a really accessible way to interact with Indian culture.
Many of the shopkeepers here are from Northern India, specifically Kashmir. Since talking to many of them, I want to come back and go to Kashmir!
First of all, the name- doesn't it just sound beautiful? ;)
It is in the mountains, with many lakes and rivers, and it is known for its outdoor adventuring.
Yep, sign me up.
And what is more, the shopkeepers I have intermittently been interacting with over the past weeks are really open and friendly. They remember me, and greet me whenever I ride by. (The main shopping village is on the way to the beach.) Some of them really invest time in building relationship, which is a refreshing breath of an experience in contrast to the stifling pressure of many Indian sopping experiences. ("You buy NOW!")
At the apex of this realization here is this one man, who I bought something from the other week. His shop is called "The Same But Different". When I was in there, I didn't have enough money to purchase the item. He said, "Oh no, you don't worry about it; you give me the money when you have it. Just enjoy this garment, enjoy the afternoon, and give many blessings." Well this just about startled me to death! Can you imagine going to Nordstrom's during Christmastime, having a long chat with the salesperson (who offers you a chai), picking out a beautiful garment with their undivided attention's help, and then them saying, "oh yes, take it, and come back to pay some other time."
Wow. This was a different experience.
We are SO based on MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, it is like it has its own entity, own energy and force, that sweeps us up and carries us along with it, guiding us around by the throats.
We are slaves to money.
Generally speaking.
Of course, this isn't how it has to be, and there are many different mentalities to help alleviate this devastating economic view, but- it is sadly true that the basis of our entire economy is run on money, and direct exchange. This does not leave any room for work exchange, or any other type of arrangement. It is solely for the individual gain!
Now how isolating is that? It just develops this energy of separate smallness, and creates a dominant paradigm of selfish work ethic.
Anyway, that is just a little rant- and the experience of sifting through the waves of colorful fabrics here is actually quite a nice sensual experience. All the garments smell of incense and the stories of the hand-made places they are from around the country of India.
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Also, last night was the full moon. Henry, Richie and I went to the top of a 200 foot watertower to watch the moon rise, and picnic with some people from Sadhana forest. Then we rode our bikes down to the beach, despite many peoples' various warnings, and dove into the moonlit water!! It was SO cleansing, celebratory, rejuvenating, relinquishing, childlike, and adventurous. (Neil, you would have loved it!!)
So that was great- It is always nice to HOWL AT THE FULL MOON!
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Forests Growing People

Oh my god. Tonight I fell in love!

...With Sadhana Forest.

I have been hearing about this place more than any other since I have been here. Laina, my High School friend, returned to Auroville just to live in Sadhana. April, my new fire-hooping friend, is living there. Karen sas said it is like a new, mini-Auroville. And all this prepared me only vaguely for the experience of contact I was to have with this place!

Every little detail of Sadhana speaks of love, community, creativity, spark. There are little gardens in the shapes of hearts and moons; huge intricate dreamcatchers in every building. And the buildings themselves--- oh wow. They are all straw huts of different sizes, simple to inhabit but sturdily and intricately built. They are so homey and earth-connected to be in. Sitting in the biggest community-center hut, with dozens of conscious conversations going on around, was like being in a native community- at the same time ancient, and fresh with the innovation of sustainable work.

Perhaps I should interject in this excited ramble a bit about what Sadhana does. Sadhana Forest was started seven years ago by an Iranian couple. They began it as a community based firstly on reforestation. This remains to be Sadhana’s main project. Five days after the community was started, a volunteer showed up, asking if there was anything he could do to help. Since that day, the community has not gone without volunteers. Now, there are over 100 volunteers. That is actually how Sadhana runs. They run on a “gift-economy” model, which means they don’t depend on direct-monetary trade. They describe their system as more of a triangle- they give their work, others (like friends and supporters) give money to them, and they give this money to the local workers and suppliers that they need materials from. So the volunteers work daily to run the community, in all aspects – from the actual reforestation, to the Healing Hut (with ayurveda, massage, reiki, and everything volunteers bring), to cleaning the (many) composting toilets! (Our tour guide actually started the tour off with the toilets, saying that our poop would be a great contribution to them, since they use human waste to feed the forest. “So please,” he urged us, “if you contribute anything to us, contribute your poop!”) :)

I could go on about Sadhana. I love it. I hope these few pictures I include will be worth more words than I can write here to describe the place- but one key thing in the experience was the movie.

Every Friday, Sadhana opens up to visitors for a tour, a movie and a vegan dinner (they are all vegan). Today, there were around 100 visitors! (We all crammed sweatily onto rickety buses from Auroville, which is about 20 mintues away.) The movie they played tonight was called “What About Me?” I highly recommend it to anyone who jives with Eckhart Tolle, Michael Franti, Ram Das, Deepak Chopra, or any spiritual/new age social ideas. It was incredible, and so full that I need to watch it again to break it down! Essentially, the message was: we so easily get into thinking about ourselves, and identifying with different roles. This ego-consciousness leads to suffering. We need to stop identifying with our pain, and let ourselves be more than that. One speaker said, "worrying is just praying for what you don't want." ...Hey, I should stop doing that! 

So the kicker for all of this is: Sadhana started a second project just a year ago, and they really need people to be a part of helping it to grow. And it is located in Haiti. …Did I mention that I am hoping to do an central/south America trip in the next year?...

We shall see what happens! But I was so inspired by the sustainable community of Sadhana, I know that I will be plunging my journeys into being part of this kind of work.