Anyone who has been to Bali will remember the devotional relationship the Balinese have with prayers and offerings.

 

Right now as I write this it is a warm winter Melbourne morning, I am up and working after a meditation, yoga and dance practice. Many Melbourners will have been doing their own morning routines, and many more will be at work.

 

Yet, just a few thousand kilometres away, I know that every Balinese Hindu will be doing their morning offerings before the day commences.

 

The streets of Bali, their cars, homes, the ocean, grand trees, even the burial place of newborns placenta, every single day are given an offering - a basket of flowers, incense and holy water.

 

The streets are literally filled with these tiny blessings.

 

The dedication to offerings and devotion in Bali surpassed anything I have ever known.

 

It's not only the time taken to weave the little baskets, the abundance of food, money and other luxuries given to the Gods, but the fact that the next day they are swept up into a neat rubbish pile, before doing it all over again.

 

One taxi driver told me that no expense is spared when it comes to offerings.

 

When I spoke more to him he told me that in the culture of Balinese Hinduism, they believe there are three essential relationships in life:

 

-The relationship with the God (who comes in many forms, eg. the ocean, grand trees)

-The relationship with other humans

-The relationship with the environment

 

When one of these relationships is out of balance, that is when dis-ease and dis-harmony or even disaster can come.

 

So everyday, they offer to the gods, they tend to their community and they honour nature.

 

This sharing from my driver was somewhat surprising, lately I have been developing a relationship with Celtic wisdom, and it is very much aligned with Balinese Hinduism.

 

Celtic worship centers on the interplay of the divine element with the natural world.

 

Yet, with my homeland Ireland no longer living by Celtic law, the simplicity of these three Balinese relationships gave me a framework for my values.

 

I also add the relationship with ourselves (though I could say that we are a form of God, but that would require a longer, much more esoteric email.)

 

Since returning to Australia, I have felt the loss of the Balinese people, quietly going about their daily devotion.

 

When a vast majority of a country is aligned in a collective belief it does something to the energy.

 

In Bali it felt like the culture of prayer was creating an energetic vortex around the island, which honestly isn't that far fetched when you think about how many people make the journey there every year for the purpose of peace.

 

The absence of ritual and devotion in most colonised lands leaves an absence I can't quite explain, but it does make you realise that the resurgence of christianity, especially among once spiritual people makes sense.

 

It is nice to be among people who care about something more than the egoic self…

 

So I wonder, does this simple framework align for you?

 

If you were to tend to your relationship with god (some form of higher self), community, nature and yourself - would that add value to your life?

 

Or do you have a different list?

 

I'd love to hear your responses in my Dm's on Instragram or replied here.

 

And as a gift, after being called to create one in many of my meditations, I offer you, my community my first: tantric inspired meditation

 

And if you've like to go deeper into yourself I am now taking on one new 1:1 client - book your free discover call here.

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