A usual day that turned unusual!
Yesterday, I was walking in High Street Kensington. I was introduced to that posh part of London this last Eid, since some of my posh friends came to London with their posh friends and I tagged along. They not only knew all the rich, expensive places in London, but they insisted to hang out there! Which I must admit was great fun for the week they spent here, because with all honestly, if they stayed more, I would have gone bankrupt! However the disappointing bit was that they missed on the other great bits of London, Waterloo Bridge, the walk from there to London Bridge, the whole Victoria, Buckingham walk, Greenwich Village, Shoreditch…etc…etc… where real people hang out and live their lives.
I will wander a bit here, and am being so unfocused… but I just thought of a The Map of Love by Ahdaf Suief. Where she said in the words of an English lady who was in Egypt at the beginning of the century, that the English came to Cairo and mixed only with the Egyptians who worked for them, and she said imagine someone going to France and mix only with the maids and servants. Since they never mixed with the other, the real , everyday Egyptians, they never knew what they were missing on. Now to connect that to what I was saying earlier. My friends fell in the same trap, They wanted to be in certain areas, with certain people… not realizing that they were missing on the real , human, everyday London.
Back to my story, I was walking there, when an older gentleman stopped me to ask me about something. I did not know, I smiled politely and started to move on. But he stopped me again, and started telling me right there about me, about my life! I was completely taken aback, but of course my curiosity won over and I ended up spending a while standing there talking to him and asking him questions!
This man was a Buddhist monk; he told me that I have a lot of positive energy, and he told me that somehow when I smiled, he felt that we connected. He started explaining that we all have hallows of energy around us. This energy has 7 energy points in our bodies. One at the head called the Crown Chakra, which controls consciousness, the second one is on the forehead and is called the third eye and it is the chakra of time and awareness of light. The third one is the Throat Chakra and is communication and growth. The fourth one is the heart Chakra which is for higher emotions, love , compassion…etc The fifth one is the near the intestines and is responsible to transform the base to higher emotions. The sixth one is near the ovaries or testicles and it is related to the base emotions or sexuality, and the last one, is between the area between the gentiles and the anus and is called the root or survival instinct. It was all very fascinating, very enlightening and very shocking.
He started telling me about people in my life, by describing them, and telling me about how I felt about them, and how they affected my life…he stold me about some of the things that i am really good at. He told me that i am curious and that love learning and knowledge… and when I asked him how he knew, he said that energy travels. And we do take some of the energy of some of the people with us. We finally came to the conclusion that my third eye and my survival instincts are under active. This is probably true! Since I barely started to learn how to trust my instinct, and I did allow myself to take a lot of crap from people, till I reached a point of die or survive! Of course death means can mean a lot of things. The point is, I never trusted my instincts to tell me run, I just hang around till the very last possible minute! Of course the cynical me was thinking he is a liar and doing this for the money… the fact that i was reading about body language the day before and how we can tell a lot about people through reading their body language, and how fortune tellers know a lot because they read the body language… so I tried to offer him some money. He was very upset! damn!
This could be a load of bullocks! But at some level, I think we are not only material energy… our bodies, the money we own, the house we live in, the cars we drive… we have other parts to us, the mental energy and spiritual energy… our ability to love, to give, to empathize with others. In proof, happiness is completely independent from money and materialistic matters. In fact a lot of rich people lead empty, lonely and wretched loves….and a lot of poor people are miserable sods. But also a lot of rich people are happy and lot of poor people are happy as well…. Why? maybe because they do have a healthy balance of all the right chakras? Or in other words the body the brain and the soul….
I think this could be my new toy… learning more about all this. I really am a nerd!
Anyway, it is very beaky outside; the sky is grey and overcast. I am still in bed, the first thing I did when I opened my eyes was to look into all this Buddhist philosophy…. One last note… my dream for a long time has been to spend time with Buddhist monks, learning from them… this was something that started when I saw a movie called the Razor’s Edge with my dad when I was very young. The book was given to me later in my life by F. who had no notion how he awakened a very old desire in me by giving me that book. The other movie that got me to think about this is called Beyond Rangoon. I saw it with my friend R. when I was in tenth grade. I truly loved R. and it brings me so much sadness that she is not part of my life today.
… it is raining now.
Mariam, you certainly did have an unusual day!
I have never been to England, although some of my distant ancestors called it home. My mother and sister went there for a little trip and my sister stayed several months for a graduate school program. Lucky them! I think that your perspective on exploring the “ordinary” places in the city is much the same as what I would enjoy if I were there. Posh places are so absolutely artificial, there is no real life happening in them, as far as I am concerned! Still, I am happy for you that you enjoyed a week of decadence.
Talking about the lady who went to Egypt and didn’t experience Egyptian culture makes me think about how most people seem to enjoy living in a small bubble of reality. They tend to avoid anything outside of what they think of as normal. I suppose that I have always been sort of a cultural relativist, interested in other ways of thinking and doing, although I will admit to a few prejudices. For example, I do not find extensive body piercing to be at all attractive. However, when I encountered a book store employee recently with multiple facial piercings, I was able to interact with him politely and not stare in horrified fascination at what he had done to himself. As I walked away, though, I grimaced inwardly! Still, I know that body piercing is a very ancient method of adding adornment and distinction, and many cultures still practice it.
After your talk with this older gentleman, I think that you know a lot more about Buddhism than I do! So, today you are my teacher and I am your student.
I met a person once who said that she could see the auras (halos) that surround people’s bodies. I wish that I could remember what she said about the color of my aura (I think I was a bit drunk at the time 
). I can’t see auras, but I can certainly detect positive energy when I meet someone, or even when I read their words. 
I did not know that there were seven Chakras. Also, I have always thought that Chakras were an aspect of Hindu philosophy. I didn’t know that they were also a part of Buddhist teachings. However, I have no doubt that Hinduism and Buddhism have influenced each other over the centuries. I find the idea of the second Chakra to be very interesting. There is actually a living animal that still possesses a third eye, and although it is covered over by a layer of skin, it is still sensitive to light. It is a lizard-like animal called the Tuatara. It is very ancient and is not related to any other living reptile. Its closest relatives became extinct with the dinosaurs. The Wikipedia article mentions the human pineal gland in association with the second Chakra. Well, I happen to know that in the Tuatara the third eye is connected to this gland. I wonder if the third eye is present at some point during human embryonic development? We all have gills and tails during our embryonic stage, so why not a third eye too? Well, I guess I am quite the nerd also!
Btw, did this older gentleman really discuss the sixth and seventh Chakras with you? Most women that I have ever known would think they were being sexually harrassed! You are quite remarkably tolerant!
This guy does sound rather like a fortune teller, but if he wasn’t interested in money, I suppose that you can conclude that he genuinely believed what he was telling you. I wonder what his motivation was? Perhaps he felt that he owed you a debt for giving him some of your positive energy and he was trying to return the favor by enlightening you.
I agree that money and happiness do not correlate. Still, I think that I could be happier if I had more money. Its not that I want to buy a bunch of stuff for myself (although, I could use a few things
). Rather, I could do more to help some of the people that I care about. For example, one of my best friends has always been rather poor. However, he is a very talented musician. Some years ago, he was struggling to pay his bills by playing his guitar and singing the songs that he composed in various small venues. Back then, I wished that I had the money to pay for some real studio recording time for him! These days, he is still poor, but he works a menial job full time and doesn’t play his guitar much any more. Listening to him singing always made me very happy. Sometimes I wish that I had the money to make a real difference in his life. What makes other people happy? Well, a lot of things, I suppose. Maybe the Chakras help too. It seems to me that learning new things makes you happy. Me too! 
I have not seen the movies “Razor’s Edge” or “Beyond Rangoon”. When I go to the video store to rent a movie, I usually just wander aimlessly until something catches my eye. But, I will look for these two. If you have not seen it, “Seven Years in Tibet” was a pretty good movie that I saw recently.
I hope the sun will shine and chase away your beakiness!
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Hi David, thanks you for your comment…i will write about it today hopefully, once i find the right plugs for my computer… i am in france for the new year… i will go try to find it.. if i don’t get to write before the new year… Happy new year
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Thanks Mariam, and Happy New Year to you too!
I hope you will have fun in France!
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Hi David, My blog will be reduced to one reader and that is you, since Jordanplanet is closing for a while… So Here will i reply to your comment with care
I love London, and I do enjoy the posh side of it as much as i enjoy the other side, but i am thinking about people all over the world, who would choose certain places and not others, just because they are easier or posh, or whatever reason… the thing is that i noticed we can miss on a lot by being choosy, and there is beauty in all the little things and all the different places.
It is funny your use of the world bubble! it is something i always use with these friends! very weird, but like you i also have been a cultural relativist… of course i have prejeduces… but now i can’t think of something out of my head..
I am not sure i know a lot about Budhism, actually now i am vefry interested to know more
but this guy told me something very true… i am very thursty for knowledge, which i suppose is a good thing, but i don’t understand why i am like this 
I am amazed at this animal you named… this is an interesting question if we had a third eye… for me a third eye has always had a different meeaning, something with which you can see through a person…but is uppose i am completely wrong
I am very cynical, so i wondered aout this myself… and so i asked him! he said he feels that connection every now and then, and when he does he tries to use it and explore to the max to understnad why he had that connection… for me it was all fascinating and interesting and fun! but he did not tell me anything i did not know about myself… it still is something i would like to do, to look at someone and know all these things about them.
I have been reading lots of Paul Auster lately and he always write about artists who are really poor… it is nice that you think of your friend… who knows maybe he will find the money that will make a difference for him… hopefully he will.
I have seen seven years in Tibet, I liked it a lot… the movie razpor’s edge is not very good, the book is much better… i would read the book… as for beyond Rangoon… well i still think it was a great movie!
Anyway happy 2007!
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Mariam, it will be my pleasure to continue to be your reader!
But, if Jordanplanet is closing for a while, will you still be able to create new posts during this period?
I really like your words that “there is a beauty in all the little things and all the little places.” Ever since I was a small child, I have always seen details that most people seem not to notice. For example, it is a part of the culture of Ireland that a clover with four leaves (most clover have only three leaves) is very lucky if you can find one. Well, that myth is well established in America, as well, perhaps because there were so many Irish immigrants that came here. Either I have very sharp eyes, or I am extremely lucky because I have always been able to find a four leaved clover in a clover patch just about any time that I looked! Probably, I just have sharp eyes.
One day, when I was about 10 years old, I was at school and I found a four leaved clover in the school yard. I showed it to my teacher and she was amazed. All the other kids saw it and they wanted to find one too! So, for the next hour, dozens of kids were scouring all the patches of clover to look for their own four leaved clover. During that time, I found another one, but no one else did. I think the kids thought I had some sort of magic or something! 
The Tuatara has a literal third eye, but what you describe is more of a metaphorical third eye. I doubt that the original thinkers who laid the foundations of Buddhism ever visited New Zealand to study the Tuatara. So, I suspect that your definition of the third eye is much closer to what they had in mind.
For me, I am not so good at seeing through to a person’s inner self. Sometimes it is easy to quickly assess if someone is good or bad, but more often, it is difficult to get an accurate reading from the first impression that you get from them. Many people seem to think that a first impression is very important, but I personally do not think so. It can take a long time to really know someone, so I try not to judge anyone quickly. Having a third eye would really make things easier! 
Were you in Paris during New Year’s Eve? I saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up on the TV. It looked really spectacular! Happy 2007 to you too!
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Welcome to Sawtona.com
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Interesting..and weird..and normal..but what makes me wonder is this..I live a stone’s throw away from High Street Kensington, never had a bhudist monk stop me and analyse my life! oh well..maybe my positive energy is wasted somewhere else!
cool post.
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lol!
I guess things happen to people who look for them
Well this never happened to me as well, but it was sort of refreshing!ahhh and very enlightening as well.
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by the way Averroes.. it is such a hastle not to accept comments from Anonymous people… because I wanted to leave you a comment and then was simple too lazy to create a Google account! so an advise from a fellow blogger, if you want comments ease the restrictions!
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Well..I like to look the person who talks to me in the eye..anonymity is a pair of dark glasses..don’t like it.
but since you already knocked on my door..the only polite thing to do is invite you back in..you’re in..with your dark glasses
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Your argument fails as i always sign
not everyone likes to wear dark glasses by the way…
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you don’t take off the glasses..you simply push them down a bit…that’s your signiture
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Mariam do you believe in serendipity ?”Beyond Rangoon”about (1995).the book was a favorite one I tried to show others while I had uninhabited self one no was enough ,But lora taught me that talking about her is not meant trying to show off . At that time I read something others did not know about ,and now after years you come up mentioning it .Why now after 12 years ,I am the loser for not wining any attention .
Laura my inner self is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma that was my trip to self assurance . After losing her papers at a political rally that was my past , she is left on her own for a few days, during which time she falls in with students fighting for democracy my present . She and their leader, U Aung Ko, travel through Burma, whilst witnessing many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship, in an attempt to escape to Thailand then to Burma I did meet with San Suu Kyi over a fence ,it has been since she was detained for a total of 11 yrs and 3 months, a serendibity ?or what .
11 years and 81 days
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Correction 3ed line : I tried to show others while I had an inhabited self. One no was enough to put at bay ,But Lora my heroin taught me that talking about her was not meant trying to show off .
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Serendipity is such a nice idea. Of course there are pleasant surprises in a person’s life. I liked beyond Rangoon, i liked how her need to die changed when she was facing death, and all of a sudden she was gripped by a need to survive.
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