Green Tea and Velociraptors

A friend sent me this video below recently, about an event called Nyepi, and it immediately resonated with me. With most of the world in ‘self-isolation’ mode, what better opportunity to we have as a global society to reflect?

Nyepi is a Balinese holiday, a very special day of the Balinese calendar. It is a day where, traditionally, the whole island stops and becomes silent, and all people together stay at home to rest.

If you don’t know how to meditate, now is a perfect chance for you to learn. Most of us can already breathe quite well, close our eyes, and probably sit down, so taking it to the next step should be easy enough.

This is a chance for us to all bring more love, kindness, sharing, and compassion into the world, and joyfully connect again with the things that we value most. What could be more important right now. “It is only in the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Check out the video for details on how everyone, no matter where you are in the world, can join in this amazing day. Here is a Facebook event with more information.

From the video:

What a great opportunity for us as humans to simply enjoy being, and for our earth to take a rest. Wouldn’t it be amazing if not only Bali, but also the whole world for one would just stop for one day?

The current pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 is forcing people around the world into self-quarantine, in order to minimize the spread of the virus. While people in quarantine zones are staying at home, earth has had a chance to heal a little.

This year, Nyepi falls on the 25th of March, starting from 6.00 in the morning.

Why not take this opportunity to set an intention for that day, to not only practice self-quarantine, but also the simple act of BEING.

THE 4 RULES OF NYEPI:

You don’t have to follow all of them if you can’t, but I highly recommend to give it a try for those 24 hours!

1. NO TRAVEL – quite self-evident. Do not leave your house 🙂
2. NO LIGHT OR FIRE – so no electricity, also no cooking. Try to fast if you are healthy to give your digestive system a rest. Turn the lights off and go to bed early. Lit a candle if you are afraid of the dark.
3. NO WORK – restrain yourself from doing work of any kind. Do not pursue, achieve, seek anything. Just be.
4. NO SELF-ENTERTAINMENT – try not to dull your mind with empty entertainment. Turn off your TV and social media, put away your phone for the entire day. It is the perfect time to turn inwards and meditate. There are tons of amazing guided meditations online that you can gather the day before. If this rule is too hard, try some light entertainment like reading, or write.

The Silence ends the day after at 6 AM on March 26th, with the day “Labuh Brata”. On this day, families traditionally come together to ask for forgiveness.

So let us on the 26th of March, when we turn back our phones and come together as a global family, forgive each other for our past mistakes and promise to do better, for humanity and for the earth.