I caught up with my mate Putu yesterday. He is funny, handsome, fun to be with, and speaks very good English. We talked about ideas and dreams and plans for my retreats. His philosophies and life view give me much food for thought, and he seems to really understand me.
We agreed on preparing a tour where we take ladies to see a Balian, a local healer famous here in Indonesia. Putu and I went to visit an old Balian friend of ours in Peliatan, Jero.
It’s always nice visiting her because even the whole family seems pleased to see me. Even if my Bahasa is not good enough, I know that Putu will translate well.
Over cups of delicious coffee, we discussed my ladies’ visits to this place so I can share with my clients how healing is done the traditional Indonesian way.
After a while, a patient came to visit Jero. She was a young Balinese girl who had a bad headache. Jero put toothpaste (her cure for a lot of things) on the girl’s head while massaging her head. The girl looked very sick and she was even running a temperature. Jero said a black magic spell was cast on her…
Then Jero saw another patient. This time, a man who was having troubles with another person at work. Apparently, he wanted to put a black magic spell on someone!
Jero blessed his rings; most men here wear rings elaborately decorated with stones believed to bring magic and protection.
I watched with amazement as Jero worked her powers on this man. Putu helped by asking the man to choose a piece of wood from a jar, which looked like a strand of hair. Jero put this in her mouth, then spat it on the floor, and after a few moments, the piece of wood moved! There were around ten people here watching this happen and we were all amazed.
Sometimends there is no logical explanation for the things that happen in Bali that Western minds can accept. And I thought about this as we headed back home on our bikes.
It was a very interesting day filled with magic and excitement—one of the reasons why I love this la.
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