Brasil Diaries: Rewind to Boa Merte

So sorry, I just realized that I failed to upload my post about Boa Merte. There were serious internet problems in the hotel yesterday and so I typed everything out, with the intention of uploading today. After reviewing my thoughts, I have decided to just start fresh, so here we go....

Boa Merte is a three-day (that we know of) festival that takes place in August from the 13th-15th. The Sisterhood of Boa Merte are responsible for holding this festival which literally translates into "the festival of the good death". It commemorates those ancestors brought over to Brasil from Africa as slaves and the end of their suffering either by dying en route, during enslavement in Brasil, or surviving until the abolishment of slavery in 1888. Some of the key elements include the rituals that are conducted by the sisterhood which are not always public, a procession to the river that re-enacts the assumption of a Virgin Maryesque figure and specific details on clothing, food and jewelry. The ceremonies are amazingly syncretic with the marriage of Catholic and African religious practices and aesthetics. There is nothing I can write here that will replace seeing it for yourself, so go to Brasil and see it for yourself. Side Note: NOTHING beats dancing in the rain to a samba percussion band!

I will say that there is a heightened sense of duty and purpose. People gather from all over the world if for nothing else, than to be a part of this special time. I felt completely at home and all of the "coincidences" of the day were no more than examples of the synchronicity that can occur when spirit is given its full space to exist. The children were especially fascinating as they participated, dressed in ritual clothing. I think that what I loved most was the continuity. Every face I looked at, reminded me of a family member or friend. Language, ethnicity and "race", were not strong enough to divide us. We were one people on a mission.

Living in America where these types of practices are vilified, creates a schism that is sometimes hard to get over. It's like one is forced to live a double life. Much like who you are "at work" versus "at home", people's spiritual practices and selves are often fragmented. Brasil does not force that separation and I think that is why it has been so underwhelming in terms of what I expected. I am not different here. I am actually quite normal. No staring, no bindi questions, no comments or romanticizing, it and I-- just are. The ancestors roam free here and show up as they please. The little girl in the picture to the left, agreed to be photographed by me in a separate photo. When I drew closer to show her the photo, she just kept staring at me. She wouldn't leave my side, so I asked if we could taeke a picture together. She leaned into me as I kneeled down and a friedn snapped the photo. When I looked at the picture I didn't see the same little girl, but my sister Sofi who transitioned in 2001. All day long, I felt her presence. The picture, for me, was final proof that Sofi was there and had just as much fun as I did.

Tchau

Brasil Diaries: Oshun said....

I woke up this morning feeling VERY heavy. Brasil is supercharged with truth sayer energy and some underlying fears have started to come up and out. The big one.....MONEY. I am sitting in another hemisphere and all I can think about is my wallet. As a goddess, I can manifest things as I need. However, it takes a great deal of honesty and faith. I find that lately, it's harder for me to exist on the earth-plane from a material standpoint. There are always shortfalls when it comes to my financial situation, but in the end everything always works itself out. I know this and believe in it, because I live it, but this morning it was pressing on me hard. I am not sure what triggered these feelings, but I decided to deal with them openly and honestly.

Our hotel is situated on the coast , so I decided to visit the ocean and commune with Oshun, who is the goddess of large bodies of water in Yoruba religion. In Brasil the orishas, play a heavy role in the fabric of Brasilian culture and society. You see symbols of them everywhere and it is not treated as a "thing" to be separate from everyday life, but a necessary part of everyday life that is revered and respected. That being said, it only made sense to go to the water and have a conversation with Mama Oshun. As a fire sign, I find water to be helpful, especially when my fire is out of control. Depending on the tide, one can go out into what is essentially the ocean bed. I found this beautiful spot not too far from the hotel where there was this amazing rock formation that built up into what I assume was once a high point for viewing ships at sea. Sitting at the top of this formation, I could see pretty far out and it had the added benefit of feeling very throne like. I sat for a while just thinking, because I find it difficult at times, to speak to spirit out loud. At one point all at once there were these strong breezes and crashing waves that all seem to say, "I'm here and I'm listening." With that I began to speak of my fears, my uneasiness, my desires and my dreams. I gave thanks, asked for advice and sat still in a repeating cycles.

In the midst of my moment on the rocks, Oshun spoke to me and she said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. You have to have faith and just learn to be. Enjoy the slow time and the distance from all that you know. You have much to do when you return, so use this time wisely. Don't take things so seriously." I had to smile at such simple advice, because the truth of the matter is that I do need this break Brasil has afforded me and no matter what awaits me when I return, I am up for the challenge.

The Orishas act as agents and in the larger scheme, at least from my perspective, are "pieces" of the divine energy that is in us all. They are those that choose to stay in spirit form and work on our behalf in the spirit-plane. They must receive offerings when their help is requested and this is often presented in all manner of ritual related to many indigenous religions, including Yoruba. At that moment, I didn't have much to offer. I had already decided to fast when I woke up, so I offered that up as I submitted my "petition". I figured sun up to sundown for three days was a small price to pay in return for the lightness I felt afterwards.

For me fasting is a straight forward way to ease challenging paths and according to my mother, a means of offering to God. I plan to repeat the ritual tomorrow and Wednesday just to re-affirm my faith in Spirit and myself. I have to say, I spent the rest of the day a lot lighter. I finally found a machine that would take my card and the fasting worked out nicely, despite the slight headache I now have. I took the picture to the left at the end of the day while my travel mates dined at this beautiful restaurant in Pellehurino. I took a few self-portraits, but this one is my favorite because a beautiful thought crossed my mind as I snapped the picture. When I look at it, I see a different me, the one longing to just be.


Oshun said to relax. Who am I to argue?

Brasil Diaries: Seat Numbers, Connections and the Goddess with the screw face...

This is me on the train to JFK. I have to go back in order to tell this story. This is before the countdown post (below). Even with all the spontaneous crying that happened before I got on the plane, a Goddess was feeling pretty good. Me and my travel mates boarded our plane to Sao Paulo, excited for the journey to begin. Well, humans have a way of taking the pep out of anyone's step and I am only writing about this because I promised myself I would.

We flew TAM Airlines from JFK. I usually love traveling non-American airlines, because the customer service always seems better and the amenities in coach always seem so much more interesting. Well, not to soon after we got on the plane there was a problem. One of my travel mate's seat had been taken by a man who decided to sit with his family even though he was assigned elsewhere. It took about 20 minutes of round robin discussion to assess the situation only to have no one do ANYTHING about it. My travel mate ended up having to fend for herself and basically getting her own seat wherever she could find one. The flight attendants passed out water and mints.

We finally settled in, but didn't leave for almost two hours, during which I was knocked out. The night before and "crack of dawn" tripping up to New York had finally gotten to me. I awoke to dinner service and decided to watch a movie. That's one of the things I love about international travel. It's a great way to catch up on my, "would never pay to see this nonsense" movie watching. It was a good idea until, it became very clear that I, as an American, or English speaker was not the airline's target audience. Each customer had their own entertainment unit, which had three language options: English, Spanish and Portuguese. They had French and English subtitles for the safety video, but guess what? When I tried to watch ANYTHING that they had been programmed for the flight (movies, tv shows, cartoons), there were only two languages options: Portuguese and Spanish. Now I am not normally irritated by such things, but I couldn't understand how they could show nothing but American-made films, have the Portuguese and Spanish-dubbed versions, but not the original English versions. It took me about 30 minutes and confirmation from the flight attendant to realize that my console wasn't broken. After my moment of "What the hell?" and a smirk at the irony of it all, I decided I could do without watching "Made of Honor" or "What Happens in Vegas" and went back to sleep.

When we finally landed, I was ready to get off the plane! It was way too cold, extremely noisy and I had been bumped so many times I had to sleep on a slant, which resulted in a serious neck cramp. I figured, well at least the 10-hour leg was over, which was the bulk of the traveling. We just had to get through customs, re-check our bags and board our connecting flight to Salvador. STOP! Do not proceed forward, instead run through this maze like Algernon, just to be able to pass through the "Nothing to Declare" line. BUT WAIT! Now you have to recheck your bags by sitting in another enormous maze-like line where no one cares that your flight is boarding or that you don't speak Portuguese. "You missed your flight to Salvador, there is another one at 10:35 am."

This is what I looked like when I finally boarded our connecting flight to Salvador. Yes, I am a little puffy. Notice the lips and the eyes, I am a finger snap away from going off. To top it off they served ham and cheese sandwiches on the plane. I don't eat ham, so I was puffy, hungry and dehydrated. I curled up and went to sleep, disgusted and just breathing in my geranium essential oil which really helped to take the edge off. I just kept telling myself, "we are almost there, just take deep breaths and everything will be fine."

---

Two hours later...
This was the view from the plane as we descended into Salvador. I was completely mesmerized by the beauty of this image. It was a sign that everything would be fine because we had finally made it! So, I just smiled, thanked God for our safe arrival and buckled in to brave baggage claim. We are all now safely and cleanly in the hotel (pics will be up tomorrow) after having traveled for over 30 hours. Bahia is beautiful. I told a friend that from the sky it looks like Morocco, but on the ground, it reminds me of Nigeria.



These were the lovely ladies that greeted us as we walked into baggage claim. I got all fluttery in the heart chakra. Tomorrow is Boa Morte, which commemorates the Africans brought to Brasil as slaves. I am especially excited about what that trip which is two hours up a mountain side, will entail.

Our travel guide who picked us up from the airport, assumed that I had been to Bahia before. He said I "looked" like I knew the area. In a way I suspect he's right. I told him it was my first time to Brasil, but I should have probably said that it was the first time in this lifetime.

Stay tuned...

Brasil Diaries: Countdown to Takeoff

I will be in Bahia from August 14th -22nd. I have decided to actually keep a running diary of things that are happening. This first post was actually written on Wednesday, August 13th around 7pm. I was unable to send it via mobile uploading, but have published it here censor free.

The trip to Brasil, is now upon me and I am filled with a mixture of apprehension, joy, fear and disbelief. I believe that we have the power to manifest our destiny by simply stating and believing things to be. I manifested this trip and as I sit at the gate, waiting for boarding to begin, I am really shocked at my reality.

The night before was spent with good people and amazing conversation. It was just the send off I wanted and some needed. It lasted into the wee hours of the morning and it is all I can think about while I work thru all of these feelings. The messages for me have been about becoming more emotional. I have been working to understand what that means, while all along trying to wade the shaky waters that that type of openness brings in me. I am love and it is reflected in all of the people in my life. Old and new, people have expressed genuine happiness for me and it makes leaving harder, but coming back so much richer.

As the tears of pent-up emotion stream down my face, I finally understand that message. So, I am going to Brasil carried by my abilities to manifest a destiny that has always been mine to claim.

Obrigada...