Once you’ve been to Bali and you begin to talk with others about it
you will no doubt be surprised at how many people have been to this small island on the other side of the world of all places. But there is a reason for this: the ‘island of the Gods’, or Bali, is a magical place where sprits naturally open and soar, so there is a calling. No doubt you have heard of Bali, because it seems everyone has even when they can’t recall when they heard of Bali. It is almost as if it is just a given- Bali is an amazing, beautiful and spiritual place to visit. A must on spiritual bucket lists.

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Bali spirituality is Everywhere in The Island of The Gods

Pool at Tirta Empul Temple

What was it like to stand up to my waist in a pool as I dunked my head in the spout of divine water, washing everything that was weighing  me down?

Standing in the water at the Tirta Empul Temple was initially a bit cold, but only for a minute. There are several spouts flowing water into the first of two pools. Initially I instructed the group I was leading to open and allow the water to wash all their karma, or the energies they no longer preferred away. At the first couple of spouts I noticed this experience at my body’s level: my focus couldn’t help but be on the water, on holding my breath as I put my head under the stream drenching my whole body. At first I noticed the pressure hitting my head and then my shoulders. This isn’t a small spout, like on a shower head; it’s a fist-sized spout, so the water could almost double as a massage, especially on my back and shoulders.

Wash it All Away!

Then things start to shift and changed. My focus, as with everyone in my group, begins to leave physicality. I stop noticing my body and the water. I am focusing on the deep feeling, truly the energetic sensation, of those things that I have been carrying on my energetic body: on my shoulders a weight of concern; on my head are the many thoughts about ‘how to’, ‘when to’, ‘what’s best to’; somewhere else I notice the way I’ve been seeing my life. I have known but not known how I’ve been feeling about my life and suddenly something has loosened with the water and I’m aware of what I no longer preferring in my life. It feels a bit heavy. I have been trying too hard in my life, even though I teach others to allow. My allowing has increased every step of the way and today is gifting me an even larger step. I see the subtle ways I’m trying– because I want things to improve and I too want to become the next version of Who I truly am. But now all of a sudden I’m seeing into another dimension, a dimension of my inner world. I’ve lost site of the physicality around me, partially due to the fact that I am not seeing with my water-filled eyes and partially just due to the transformational energy of this temple, of Bali. Bali spirituality is a a way of life here.

In this inter-dimensional place of me I find that I have no judgment, so I don’t have to battle any part of myself. Instead I just choose to let this sacred water wash this away. I focus here and allow the rapid flow to quickly take this too. I do the same at the next spout, focusing on a different aspect of myself to clear this trying from and then one more time clearing another aspect at the following spout.

I am still not here and not there. It feels great, and thinking back it’s like the Twilight Zone that I used to watch as a kid, only metaphysical because I’m just in the place that doesn’t exist in my everyday life, this place that is magical. I am feeling lighter and I can sense, or deeply feel, that this trying has washed away. I am at ease and open; I am feeling more connected to something larger in me which gives me a faint whisper that I am bigger than the trying or any related worries; I’m so much bigger.

Bali Trees

Before the next spout I stop, taking a minute to look around at the physical world I have temporarily left behind. I see these huge, amazing trees. Another whisper says yes, you are at least as large and far-reaching as these trees. Trees in Bali are beautiful and soulful. They are easily a hundred feet high and wide, their branches ever-reaching. I sigh, because it’s hard to take so much love, so much energy and joy in all at once.

I turn to face the water spout again and just continue to cleanse, asking that what needs to be cleansed is. A little something here and there jumps up to my surface of awareness. I allow these to also be washed away.

I reach the last two spouts in the first pool and I sense that there is an energetic shift. These spouts are a bit different and they are about asking for what I prefer, about focusing on Who I want to be in my life and What I want to experience.

I let an advanced student behind me know so that he can tell the next person. Then I focus on my desires. My desire to feel bigger, expanded and more loving in my life; my desire to be the best mother I can be; my desire to continue to grow my marriage; my desire to be the best spiritual life coach I can be.

Can I describe what happens at this spout? It’s not easy talking about things that seem to come from another realm, things that have no limits and seem to touch everything with their magic. Especially when trying to relate it to something as seemingly simple as water coming from a spout. I guess this is why some of the greatest gifts in life come in the smallest packages.

All I can say is that in these last two spouts, one for asking and the other for receiving, things feel different in me. I visit a place in myself or in the spout where my dreams are possible and where there is no separation between myself and them. I just am the person with these, as we all truly are.

They say Bali is the island of the Gods and surely I have tasted why they say so. Temples like this, centers of Bali spirituality are all over this amazing island.  It seems that Bali has windows and doors to the realm of the Gods which we can go through and return from, changing our lives forever. If you want a truly spiritual experience to add to your bucket list, visit Bali and experience Bali spirituality first hand.

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Kristopher & Kalyn Raphael lead Sacred Journeys all over the world and are authors and co-founders of The Golden Flow™ System. They have been spiritual life coaches for over ten years helping empower people to live their best lives.

Join K2, as they are known, on their next journey to Bali in May 2011. Experience Bali spirituality for yourself.

Top 5 Unique Experience in Bali: Staying in a Bali Villa

Bali Villa

A Bali Villa is rather unique. It’s not just a small village, but it contains Balinese-styled homes which are probably like nothing you’ve seen before. After all, there are few places in the world where the weather is always fabulous, even when it rains, so there are few places where the homes, traditionally, don’t have walls! Bali travel is one the most important things you can do for yourself in this lifetime.

Staying in a Bali villa gives you this amazing experience that you don’t want to miss out on. Although people walking by going to their villa may look into your living room and this can be a bit uncomfortable initially, this is one of the gifts that Bali has to offer.  Bali offers an “open door” policy in everything, not just the homes. Bali homes offer privacy at the front gate to the villa, but otherwise only bedrooms and bathrooms tend to be private. This affords visitors the opportunity to be visited by a butterfly, a chirping gecko, a mosquito, incense smoke or a friendly face at any time.

It also means that a fresh air and energy are constantly coming your way in Bali. The fresh breeze and the warmth of the day carry an air like no other; tranquility and calm permeate this flow. This serenity will south your soul, touching you deeply by letting you know that life is wonderful, that the universe will always provide for you and that joy can be a part of your every-day experience.

Once you adjust out of your habitual expectation for walls, you find that the open homes in Bali are refreshing. You are likely to decide that a Bali hotel would feel limiting and confining. You may even become quickly addicted to the deep breaths of fresh air, the sights of your garden and the beautiful blue skies that your picture window-less windows offer.

Staying in a Bali Villa is one of the many ways in which Bali provides unique experiences to touch your soul.

One of the many wonderful aspects of Bali is Balinese Food

One of the most enjoyable elements of Bali travel is the food. When sitting down for a meal in Bali, you are often greeted by a pyramid cone of rice, beautifully presented with vibrant colors of fresh vegetables and skewers of chicken with peanut sauce presented on beautifully carved wood plates or banana leaves. When dining in Cities like Ubud, you will the restaurants often have few walls and when seated in the back you are greeted by stunning views of rice paddies. As rice is now harvested every three months in Indonesia, while eating a delicious meal it is not uncommon to see farmers and Balinese women working the fields, planting seedlings in the mud, or harvesting the mature rice by beating the grains loose.

Bali Spirituality

I want to share my experience in Bali with you because it turned my world around. There were so many things that impressed upon me and upon my soul, I almost don’t know where to start. So, I’ll start with something simple – the feminine energy of Bali spirituality.

Living in the US and knowing Mexico well, I am accustomed to masculine energy or male-dominated societies. These are societies which are more doing and accomplishment-oriented. These are also societies in which being a male automatically provides some advantages. They are very different, however, than the feminine energy prevalent in Bali spirituality and society.

I had never imagined that I would ever find a place with feminine energy, nor could I have imagined what this would be like- until I experienced Bali spirituality. One of the many gifts I received from Bali was experiencing the feminine. By this I mean that life in Bali comes from more feminine-based principals such as emotionality and creativity. The people in Bali are more being-oriented and feeling-oriented than we tend to be. A feminine, nurturing aspect of theirs is that they value positive experiences and their religion greatly and dedicate their energies thus. For example, in Bali spirituality, which people actually live, three times a day an offering is placed at the home’s or businesses’ mini-temple or alter, and in several other key positions. The offering is a bamboo leaf basket with flowers, incense and a little food. It was interesting to witness the prepared offering being set out. Often I thought I saw the person making the offering praying and invoking energy as they placed the offering. I truly can’t imagine people in the US taking five minutes to relax three times a day and pray, since we always seem to be running short on time and to us our religion or spirituality aren’t given such dedication.

The question crossed my mind as to whether the Balinese perhaps had the luxury of time due to money or such, allowing them to be less productive and more nurturing of the soul or their arts. However, I quickly saw that people in Bali don’t have it all, not by far. They are very happy people whose mouths have grown larger, I’m certain, from all the smiling and laughing that they do. They are always pleasant with one another and ask you to “please enjoy” meals and other services. Again, why so happy? Are they making a ton of money with their world-famous batiks, their detailed wood carvings or other intricate art? I found that this isn’t so. On the contrary, I saw that the world economy has affected tourism, a major stream of income, and that most merchants were hungry for a sale, even though their priceless art is affordable before you barter the price down. Success, riches and fame – our usual avenues to happiness- just didn’t apply here. Their joy comes from something else, which I decided comes from the energy in the air that they all breath – the essence of Bali Spirituality.

Yes, the energy. The highly-vibrating energy of Bali feeds the mind, body and soul. There is just something in the air that puts you in a trance, allowing you to relax into an endless flow of well-being. Being in Bali is like being in a fabulous meditation in which you are held, caressed and cared for by your Soul. You know you are in heaven, that all is well and that you will be provided for. The wonderful weather, amazing food and affordable massages reassure you of your royal stature in life. And then, how can you not feel enchanted? This enchantment is part of Bali spirituality.

Of course, an age old question is which came first: the chicken or the egg? Was the energy in Bali like this first, or did the feminine energy of Bali increase and bring out the amazing energy of Bali? Well, once the cycle is started, they feed each other: the feminine, nurturing, creative energy causes the Balinese to be joyful and gracious; the more the Balinese are like this, the more they put out their offerings or partake in a procession down the street leading to temple, activating the amazing energy of Bali and feeding that feminine flow that is so much a part of Bali spirituality.

On this trip all of us ladies couldn’t help but notice and experience more of our femininity and become more of who we truly are, the feminine aspect being an undeniable and powerful part of us. A calm and tranquility permeated the air, allowing us each to travel deeper into ourselves and into our own spiritual connection, whether we were at a Balinese temple or just walking down the street. You owe it to yourself to experience the energy of Bali spirituality first hand.

Bali Travel – The Most Ideal Destination for Spiritual Travels

In case you are exhausted these days from your job or school-related stuff and you need to take a break, going to the beach is certainly an excellent idea. But beaches are generally unclean and noisy at certain times during the year. In addition, the majority of beaches at the moment are too business oriented already. As a result it is more than likely that at some times during the year, they do not give the impression of being very comforting and quiet.

For this reason, an excellent choice for a soothing and satisfying holiday retreat or vacation is a perfectly planned spiritual Bali travel, most likely at a noiseless Asian destination with abundant historical past.

Bali travel, a preferred place for spiritual travels, is an Indonesian island which keeps increasing in worldwide prominence. The island is the most frequented holiday vacation spot in the whole of Indonesia. Bali is often considered the cradle of abundant art, dance, metal craft, music and leather craft. This is the reason why when you have your vacation in Bali, you will not run short of productive and satisfying activities or pursuits.

The island features a number of eco tours, yoga classes, retreat packages, galleries, and other pursuits that nourish the spirit and boost a person’s health and well-being. The thing that truly makes Bali travel the perfect destination for spiritual travels is that in the island, people take their faiths or spiritual beliefs seriously. They have belief in the spirit in all things and they trust that God carries the web that holds each and every breathing thing. There is no reason to question why spiritual rituals and beliefs have been well-preserved in this part of Indonesia for countless years already. Religious activities like meditation, prayers, and yoga were all believed to be a necessity in the enlightening of the thoughts and body. A getaway in Bali is never complete without doing or witnessing all these activities.

In this Indonesian island getaway, you will not have any difficulties when it comes to food provided that your vacation is properly planned. In addition to the spirit detox that you will benefit from all of the indulging and the meditative pursuits, Bali travel is packed also with restos and food establishments which serve fresh natural vegetarian delicacies. Vegetables, herbs, and fruits are also available, almost all of which are cultivated in pollution-free soils by farmers who have great respect for the natural environment and the purification of the spirit. The right food intake is one of the highlights of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love”, a suggested book to read while having your self-retreat.

Shopping is an additional spirit-rejuvenating experience in Bali travel. In the island, shopping is not a pursuit of people who are purely shopaholics and company or business executives. These folks are not locked up in capitalism. Instead, there are a great deal of products which are created from the area’s local materials (eco friendly, for sure) and many crafts-men in Bali provide extraordinary hand crafted merchandise. These works of art are priceless things to bring as gifts to your family and friends.

Bali Alila, a popular hotel located in Ubud, offers an impressive home ambiance which is ideal for the various spiritual retreats that it hosts. At the end of your every soul-enriching day in Bali, what you need is just a quiet and comfortable room where you can sleep well.

You owe it to yourself to consider Bali travel as part of your vacation plans

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