Health Meditation: Body, Mind and Soul (Bali)

Sunrise at Baturiti, Bali

What? Are you sure? What will you do? Those are the responses I often received every time I said I wanted to attend “12 day silent meditation” (known as Usada II). Silent means no talk, no phone, no text message, no writing, no body language to communicate. On course we can ask questions to our guru or instructors.

Beautiful cloud at sunrise @Baturiti Bali

Last year, in June 2011, I attended a basic program of “7 day health meditation” (known as Usada I) at the same meditation center. Yes, it is also silent meditation. Prior to that, I had also attended the same basic program in 2006 and 2008. My body and mind are addicted to it. Basic program is not enough. I need stronger dose.

Anyway, I have made up my mind to do this. Then I arrived in Bali on 10th April.

View of the soccer field behind the current Baturiti Center

Bali

Landing in “Ngurah Rai International Airport” Denpasar-Bali is always exciting. The Island of God. Pulau Dewata. That is the other name of Bali. We can see the ocean and white strong waves from the plane before touching down the runway.



Bunyi bising pesawat dan roda pesawat ketika dikeluarkan dari badan pesawat, bunyi bergemuruh ketika roda pesawat menyentuh landasan pacu seakan beradu dengan suara deburan ombak.

When the noise is slowing down getting closer to the terminal building, excitement grows.

Sunset at Seminyak, Bali

Walking inside the terminal building and waiting for luggage, accompanied by Balinese Gamelan music is really quite something. Especially Balinese Gamelan, a form of Indonesian classical music, is louder, swifter and more aggressive than Gamelan music from other area such as Java. Good vibration of Bali.

The future center - Forest Island in Peneng, Baturiti

Baturiti is situated in Tabanan Regency (± 30 km from the airport). It is around two hours driving from Sanur, the headquarter of Bali Usaha Health Meditation Center.

Temperature is around 26-28 degree Celcius. Fresh weather. In the evening, or if it rains and is windy, I felt the temperature dropped. Somehow I felt always cold in Baturiti, perhaps it was my body did its own detoxification as side effect of meditation, LoL.

The future center - Forest Island in Peneng, Baturiti

Anyway, the bottom line is; I love Bali. I like Baturiti. I love other areas in Bali… Nusa Dua, sunsets in Seminyak – Jimbaran – Dreamland – Uluwatu – and Canggu (I felt like being in Australia in Echo Beach Canggu), sunrise in Sanur and beautiful rice fields in Ubud. Still so many other areas I have not explored. One day I want to visit Lovina to see the dolphins and the beautiful Padang Padang beach.

The Meditation

All of participants have attended the basic program. Everyone feels close. It is surprising to know that more than 50% participants have attended this program more than once. One has attended it more than perhaps ten times.

The future center - Forest Island Center in Peneng, Baturiti

A few years ago, I attended the regular class of 12 sessions to learn theories and meditation techniques of this program. I hardly practiced it at home. Theories and techniques were gone.

However, thanks to those theories, a week prior to my arrival in Bali, I opened my notes...

Meditation room at current Baturiti Center

Four characters: wind, fire, water and earth... Our physical body (badan kasar) is made of those characters. When I inhale, I feel the abdomen moves up and down, it is the wind. I can feel the warmth in my body, the easiest part to feel the warmth under my armpit, it is the fire.  I can feel my skins attached to the bones and muscles, that is the water.  The earth has six components: strong vs soft/tender, rough vs smooth, heavy vs light.

That's my strength going to this program. Even though 70% of other theories I haven't read, I was fully ready to go. Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be... I believe that going to this program, I have to let go of everything perhaps as if I were going to go to Umrah or Hajj. Let go of everything. Ikhlas.

Meditation room at current Baturiti Center

Daily activities; the bell rang at 4.00 am local time (3.00 am in Jakarta/Ho Chi Minh City). Morning meditation started at 4.30 to 6.00 am. We meditated eight times per day, it is one hour each. In between, we had breaks for meals, shower, afternoon nap and listened to theories about health, etc.

During the 12 days 11 nights program, we practiced the basic meditation technique, learned to feel our physical body (badan kasar), and three other bodies; meridian body (badan meridian), chakra body (badan chakra) and mind body (badan mental). We listened to lectures, discussed about health - life - death and asked questions (yes, we can i.e. "talk" to ask questions to guru/instructor).

Anicca (berubah), semua yang berkondisi berubah.

Anicca (impermanence), everything that has conditions change.

Vegetarian Food

After having been away from Indonesia, I miss Indonesian food. Furthermore, I like vegetarian food, so being a vegan for 12 days is not an issue. Our daily meals started with fruit at 6 am, breakfast at 7am, lunch at 12 noon and afternoon snack at 5 pm. No dinner.

Healthy vegetarian food with brown rice

Healthy vegetarian food consists of brown rice and a variety of local Indonesian and Balinese vegetarian dishes. Among the yummy dishes were such as sayur asam (vegetables cooked in tamarind-based soup), sayur bayam (spinach soup), sayur daun singkong (cassava leaves cooked with coconut milk), vegetarian soto (soto is soup, it is a traditional soup mainly composed of broth, meat and vegetables), tahu (tofu), tempe (traditional soy product through fermentation), urap (cooked vegetables salad dish mixed with seasoned and spiced grated coconut for dressing), etc. Side dishes were lalapan (raw/fresh vegetable), sambal bongkot (chili made from Torch Ginger/Ginger Flower), sambal bawang goreng (chili and fried shallot) and kerupuk (crackers).

Jello

A simple agar-agar (jello) cooked with coconut milk is one of my favorites. It reminds me of home cooking snack during my childhood.

A complete set of Bubur Baturiti

I always look forward to having the special dish served on the last evening. It was a special day - Day 11 - after we broke the silence; we were served with a local dish called Bubur Baturiti (Baturiti porridge). It is brown rice porridge from the area of Baturiti. Together with the porridge, there is cooked noodle, urap, kecipir (winged bean), tempe and kacang merah (red beans). Of course we do not miss the sambal (chili) and kerupuk (crackers).

Graduation Day

The afternoon of Day 11 was our graduation day. We broke the silence.

Everyone was happy and so was I. It was not so much because I had been silent for 11 days. It was more like completing a spiritual journey and arriving at a finish line where my body, mind, heart and soul wanted to be.

Friends' happy faces in beautiful sunrise background

In the last two days (Day 11 and Day 12), we spread cinta kasih (love) every time we finished the meditation. The love is spread to everyone; ourselves, families, friends, neutral people and even to those who have problems with us. Personally, this part is most emotional part for me. I say it is emotional detox.

Yang jauh ataupun yang dekat, yang masih hidup ataupun yang sudah meninggal, yang muda ataupun yang tua, dimanapun mereka berada, jika mereka hadir dipikiran kita, sebarkan cinta kasih, semoga semua hidup berbahagia. -- Silih berganti, wajah orang-orang yang saya sayangi hadir di pikiran saya… Genap hampir dua tahun lalu, Papa pergi… Semoga Papa hidup berbahagia… Teman SMA saya Ina (Evita Triana), meninggalkan kami semua sahabat-sahabatnya pada 12 April 2012, ketika saya masih dalam keadaan ‘tapa’ (silent) dan tak ada teman yang tahu bagaimana menghubungi (HP mati). Maafkan saya... Semoga Ina hidup berbahagia…

Selamat jalan Ina... Thanks to Pitut & Indah for
accompanying me to visit Ina's last home. #Hugs.

Those who are far or near to us, those who still live or have passed away, those who are young or old, wherever they are, if they come to our mind, spread the love, may all beings be happy. -- Faces of loved ones come to my mind.… Exactly two years ago, my Dad went to heaven. May you be happy, Dad. My high school friend Ina (Evita Triana), passed away on 12 April 2012, when I was in silent and none of my friends knew how to contact me (HP was off). Please forgive me, my friend. May Ina be happy.

Big thanks to:

Bapak Merta Ada, health meditation teacher and holistic intuitive healer, of Bali Usada Health Meditation. My gratitude to you for your lessons not only about meditation, but also about life, and how to appreciate being at the present.

Thanks Pak Merta Ada!

Bapak Sueca and Bapak Suardika, meditation instructors, of Bali Usada Health Meditation for their guidance and patience answering to my questions.

All of the participants of Usada II (April 2012). Whether you realize it or not, everyone contributed to everyone’s graduation-:). We supported each other by being silent during 11 days and spreading love among each other during meditation. After we broke the silence, we laughed together and kept on talking and talking... We are keeping in touch just like a big family…

Graduation Day at Forest Island Center

Semoga semua hidup berbahagia.

May all beings be happy.

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