Printed in the Conscious Creation Journal
August 1998, Issue 1
Traveling as Your Total Self – Bali and Hong Kong – 1 of 2
by Lisa Wallach
I was offered a trip to Europe, all expenses paid, for me and my friend Natalia. This was a trip that I had refused to go on for almost six months. Once Natalia was invited I chose to reconsider the offer. We had been due to travel the 2nd or 3rd week in November, but my friend M. (benefactor of vacation) had to delay for two weeks for business reasons. Second, Natalia was (and is) having a challenge acquiring her Re-Entry Permit, the passport for Green Card holders. So, it was decided that we would wait until she straightened out her paperwork since it would be unfair to go without her after her having been promised.
The same time that I reconsidered taking the trip to Europe, my friend J. was planning to spend a month in Indonesia; specifically Bali. We began to talk and create a reality in which we would meet up in Bali after my trip to Europe. Now, I’d been promised two days in Monte Carlo with unlimited funds to gamble with and I am convinced that I will win; at the time I hoped that I would win enough money to go explore the world for a few weeks, then I would’ve been able to meet J. and then perhaps travel elsewhere. It was such fun pretending that we would be able to meet in Bali. It made two months of otherwise dull time go by without an iota of boredom.
After a little play with this game I began to realize that it could in fact happen. That it would be a complete challenge for me to create a reality in which I was able to go to Bali. It became a game for me to play with my higher self. I promised to listen to my inner voice the whole way through. Even if I didn’t like what I heard. I figured with free will, even if I don’t like what I hear, I have the power to change it.
My inner voice said that I was going to go to Bali and Europe. I was also hoping to go to Hong Kong. Well, J. left for his month in Bali and during his lengthening absence it became quite clear that there was no way for me to go on to Bali after Europe. So, after a quick re-creation I adapted my plan. Why couldn’t I go to Bali BEFORE Europe! Now I had less than one week to create Bali, renew my passport, and pay for the entire trip. I had no money. Seriously. Still inside myself the voice said, “You are going to Bali. What are you worried about?” I listened and still I stressed a bit. I kept on reminding myself that reality is only an illusion. It’s just one big dream. So why not dream big? Why not create a different reality? Why not apply the magical approach to life?
By now, my friend Natalia was completely convinced that this “stuff” works. I can’t tell you all the little and big events that happened along the way but suffice it to say they were numerous. I became a travel agent with my PC, spending hours researching and trying to find the cheapest way to get myself there. If anyone wants to know about discount airfares give me a call. I created a flight for under $1000 dollars, and I was ready to book it when my computer crashed. I had to have my Uncle wipe the hard drive. All the sites I bookmarked and my research for Bali were gone.
Still, I was calm, kinda. This flight I’d created was on Korean Airlines, with a stopover in Seoul. When my computer went back online I had lost my reservation and there were no more seats available. I stayed up for about 48 hours between work and computer hunting. I couldn’t sleep for more than 2-4 hours. I found another flight for a little bit over a grand. It was on Cathay Pacific Airlines and it had a stopover (or so I thought) in Hong Kong. I figured that was pretty cool because my friend M. (Europe) resides in Hong Kong when he isn’t travelling. I wondered for a moment if he would even be in Hong Kong to possibly meet me at the airport in-between planes. I then realized that I wouldn’t be going to HK unless he WAS in fact going to be there. The way the events have been unfolding I KNEW he’d be there.
In those last five days, things got really weird:
(1) My computer crash and hard disk wipe,
(2) An idiot hit my car and took off – crunch,
(3) My favorite candle/aromatherapy, porcelain crescent moon crashed down off the coffee table.
What is that they say about bad things and threes?
But other things happened as well. One friend let me use her Visa for the ticket. One co-worker offered to work an extra shift to provide me with money for my accommodations. One customer came in on the day before I left to tip me ridiculously for spending money. Again threes, but this time good things!
And the ticket – it was Tuesday when I ordered the ticket and it was to be Federal Expressed to me before ten A.M. Wednesday so I could go renew my passport later that afternoon. It never came. The following day was Thanksgiving and I was afraid that the passport office would be closed on Friday. Once again I recreated. I called Federal Express and found out that THEY had made an error on my address. A big one. The address was correct on the delivery slip but somehow they entered it into the computer incorrectly. I told them to hold my package. I would pick it up. Next I phoned the passport office – they were open on Friday and I rescheduled for that day. I was leaving on Saturday.
Now, about my best friends handled my creating – these few people have known me for ten-plus years. They all thought I was NUTS. They even went as far as to accuse me of chasing this guy J. around the world. J. and I are great friends; however we’re not in love with each other, we are simply enjoying knowing each other and having a helluva a lot of fun in the process. One friend even made me cry. It didn’t matter how much I insisted that I was playing a game and creating my own reality, no matter how I tried to get the point across that if I THINK in this reality creation way I need to practice bringing these thoughts into physical reality.
This was all the next step for me, but by CONSCIOUSLY CREATING what I want. It wasn’t about J. even if he prompted it. I knew this. And so I went ahead with my plans, deciding that J. and I would meet in Ubud, the cultural and artistic center in Bali. He’s an artist and sculptor. I wanted to learn Balinese dancing, write, and open myself up creatively to whatever form of art I chose. Painting is high on the priority list for me. And my friend Jen has an ex-boyfriend, Arun, who lives in Jakarta. Arun said that it would be no problem for J. to leave a message of his whereabouts with Arun and for me to do the same. This way we would be able to find each other in Bali.
With this all set I was ready to leave on my adventure. Oh yeah, I had left a post on a Bali mailing list asking for an inexpensive but clean accommodation in Bali. No one answered it for weeks. When the computer crashed I lost the URL and I couldn’t find it again. When I retrieved my email after the crash some guy had left me all the information for a place called Agung Cottages where I could stay at an inexpensive rate. Now, I was ready.
I finally made it to JFK International Airport. As I was going through the scanning machines a man behind me grabbed his suitcase as I was picking mine up. My suitcase and I were knocked down to the ground and thought that he was rude. When we checked in for the flight he was behind me and then at the next counter. Then I went outside for a few last cigarettes before the 28-hour flight and there he was again. So we began talking and I found out he was from Israel and we began speaking Hebrew. He was traveling to Hong Kong for his discount toy distribution company. So he was really an okay guy. Now, remember this guy because he re-enters the saga on the return flight.
On the flight to Vancouver/Hong Kong I met a very nice woman named Lina. We began talking about travel and cheap flights etc. Remember that I am now a travel agent from all my experiences. She was talking to me for awhile after I had mentioned that I wondered how much I could make as a travel agent, part time. She said, “Don’t be a travel agent. Be a tour guide.” She reaches into her bag and hands me a business card. It turns out that she is the President of a major Travel Company and she has offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Canada, and China. She told me to call her this week and we’d set up a meeting – this was great because I really want to see the world and it would be nice to get paid for it! Lina debarked in Vancouver. I began to think that this wasn’t something that I had to do but I had thought about it (briefly) and poof it manifested into physical reality. So, I became very pleased with myself and decided that I was “collecting options”.
Entry for November 29, 1997
Reality created and others yet to unfold…It only took less than two months to manifest… It happened but not the way I thought it would. I’m so pleased that I left out details; it has definitely been more exciting and surprising this way…
What I learned these past few weeks:
There are ALWAYS options—even if something seems like a dead end you can ALWAYS find another way if you search for it. It isn’t over unless you believe it is.
There are no PROBLEMS only CHALLENGES within the self. I have replaced the former with the latter.
Release your dreams into the universe—If you hold on too tightly you delay their freedom!
My thoughts have altered into another pattern in which I seek to remove my self-imposed limitations. I’m ALLOWED to have FUN!
Consciously Creating Reality is amazing and I’ve only just begun!
There are always options. Collect them; you need not make a decision.
It seems as if it’s better to allow all of these options into your physical reality then to focus on just one. I feel that the benefits to this approach to physical reality surpass that of others. It permits the Self to experience more excitement and surprise. It is a less limiting approach then to focus one’s energy on receiving only one outcome.”
Entry from November 27-28
About Angels…
I begin meditating and I’m being shown a book. On each page was a picture or drawing of a different country. Each country had a different musical style. As I turned the pages I would see either a picture or musical composition. I was taking great delight in being able to hear the music (fully orchestrated) every time I turned the pages. It was amazing. Gamelans from Indonesia, Sitars from India, Waltz’s from Germany, etc. Then, I began my ascent Out Of Body and I was going up into a tunnel of black universe. Every star that existed surrounded me. All of a sudden I stop and I’m hovering in outer space when I begin to notice light clouds or steam of sorts. I began to wonder what clouds were doing in the cosmos. The clouds began to take shape and I realized, much to my amazement, that I was looking at thousands and thousands of semi-transparent angels! I thought, “Angels? I don’t exactly believe in angels. Look at how graceful their wings are! What a beautiful illusion! Wait, I’m not supposed to be here; this must be where the people who believe in angels go when they die. How lovely!”
I began to move upwards through this tunnel some more when I began to go down an office hallway. I saw through the door – a balding man in a tannish suit got up and began walking to the door. He was about to greet me but then he looked at me and waved his hands and shook his head as if to say, “Oh no, not you.” I was immediately pulled back into my body. I was vibrating and tingling with energy. I kept on saying, “Thank you guys!” As I laughed aloud and cried at the same time.
Tek Airport, Hong Kong
I was sitting in the smoking section of the airport restaurant when a lovely young woman asks if she could sit down at my table. I had my walkman on and I was writing while drinking coffee. I said “sure” and wondered why she chose my table when there were plenty of empty ones. We sat in silence for a few minutes until I took off my walkman and asked her if she was sad or tired. She looked surprised and answered “tired”. I thought, “and sad too.”
Her name was Naomi. She was Japanese and had been living in Hong Kong for almost two years because her husband had a job with a Chinese company. Apparently, the Company prohibits the wives of its employees from any kind of work whatsoever, and so all she does is shop. She had been studying English in college to become a translator or open a business and now she was stuck in China and miserable. I asked if there were any options. (I’m on this option kick as you can tell.) She said “no.” I told her that I refused to believe that. She was wearing Chanel from head-to-toe and I knew money wasn’t an issue. I also knew that her husband loved her deeply.
I began asking her questions about Japan (which she was on her way to go visit for awhile). I asked her if she owned and operated a business in Japan and traveled back and forth (which is what she has been doing every other month anyway) how would the Chinese ever find out. She said they wouldn’t! See an option! She looked at me for a bit and said, “You can see inside of me; can’t you?” I explained that I was psychic. She began laughing and her eyes changed their appearance. She said, “I’ve been thinking the wrong way! How silly!” She knew, she knew it and I suppose she needed a strange American to remind her in an airport.
But now I was delirious. I had slept a good portion of the way to Hong Kong and I had one more flight to Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. I met two Canadian pilots who were going to Kuta (a popular beach town in Bali) on the plane and the three of us wound up drinking wine and Bailey’s on the rocks during the flight. I was feeling REALLY lit by the time we landed in Bali and took a private car to Ubud. The driver played Bob Marley the entire way – this was cool because I had his Legends recording with me as well. The Agung Cottages that had been recommended to me were beautiful – they were in the midst of a garden. They looked like little temples. Double beds, breakfast included, and except for all of the insects I was ready.
The cottages are a Mom&Pop type business – the son, Eckah, is 24 years old and an amazing artist; his paintings and sculptures were all over the place. I was really digging his stuff. The best art I had seen the entire trip.
Eckah took me out to dinner at his friend’s restaurant, Stasi’s. The tables are low to the floor and you sit on these huge cushions. Then we went to Sai 2 Bar on Monkey Forrest Road. There was this guy singing rock songs and playing the guitar. It was so nice – drinking wine and listening to music to which I knew all the lyrics to. He introduced me to his friends who worked there. I’m a bartender and I always like being in a bar – at least I had a place to go now.
I was so antsy that night. Every time a European or American walked by I jumped. I had tried to contact Arun but was unable to. My intuition kept on telling me that I would find J. tomorrow. Stop worrying! So, I listened. I went back to AC’s and crashed. I woke up in the morning, ate breakfast, and went to explore Ubud. Walked everywhere and now I needed some shade and a cold drink. I went to this rooftop restaurant with a lovely view and ordered a drink.
Still, in my mind I was preoccupied with my thoughts of finding J. Again I have a conversation with myself. “Stop worrying. We already told you that you’d find him today. Stop thinking about it! It’s sooner than you think. We promise.” I figured that “they” are always right so my Higher Self must know what I’m doing even if I don’t. I paid the check and began to walk down the stairs to the street. By the time I had almost reached the street the voice in my head said, “Go to the bathroom.” I was hot, I just walked down all these stairs, and I really didn’t need to use the facilities. Once again the voice repeated itself. So, up the stairs I climb, pissed off that I have to use the toilet when I don’t want to. I was thinking that perhaps there was some sort of reason and I should just listen., it was a waste of time (so to speak) and again I begin to proceed down to the street. I begin walking back to the center of town when I look up and – there on the street a couple yards down is J. I screamed his name and we were hugging and grinning from ear-to-ear. We did it! Reality created! Arun flaked out on both of us and still, on the other side of the world we find each other instantly. He had just got to Ubud about 2 hours before. Isn’t this cool!? He hadn’t even checked in to a hotel yet so he got his bags and rented the cottage across from me at Agung’s. We were so giddy. Happiness is the best high!
We went to eat dinner and go see my first Balinese dancing performance. Tickets cost 7,000 Rupiah = $1.75. So we went to Ubud Palace to see Ballet Ramanyana. It was hot and dark, with torches and incense burning everywhere. The place was packed. There are Barong carvings everywhere. The performers dance outside of this temple of sorts. On the sides of the stage area there are Gamelan players dressed in traditional Balinese dress, sarongs and all. It was so beautiful. The music is quite evocative and the movements are similar to Ballet but with a different twist and hardly any jumps. I was mesmerized.
Then we decided to go back to “my” bar and drink. We had a wonderful evening and we drew a sketch together at the table. The waiter, who I had met the day before, was named Karmon and he took good care of us – even supplied us with a bag of wine and a large beer to take with us when the bar closed at 12 P.M.
J. and I were great. We were finishing each others thoughts, sentences, ideas, etc. – all the usual stuff you have when two people connect. We spent the day exploring the town and shopping. At lunch in this beautiful restaurant next to a gorge filled with foliage and flowers J. began sketching some design as he looked over my shoulder at our surroundings. He sketched for about 15-20 minutes and not once did I turn to see what he was looking at. As we got up to go he showed me the design and asked me what it was. I glanced over my shoulder and pointed immediately to a section of leaves, there were thousands of leaves, and I pinned it out in a glance. He bugged out and was shocked that I was able to see it that quickly from the design that he drew. He didn’t draw a literal vision, he drew his interpretation of the leaves as inspiration. I had him freaked out on that for days! We saw another dance performance that night and I was loving it. He said that when I’m watching the dancing I don’t even blink. Honestly, I barely knew he was even watching me, I was so engrossed.
This is the end of Part One of this Two Part article.
©1997, Lisa Wallach. Printed in the August 1998 Issue of the Conscious Creation Journal. (Feel free to duplicate this article for personal use – please include this copyright notice.) http://www.consciouscreation.com
Lisa on Lisa : Artist, Writer, Actress, Seeker, and Reality Creator living in New York City. Thinking: “Live The Dream” & I can’t stand it when people say “Don’t get your hopes up.” What are you supposed to do? Get your hopes down? Idiots…