thePlace

            I visited the Tree with the lion spirit in it. Before the paved road, there used to be a dirt track through the area in the northwestern border of the Place.  In an island of spirits and gods, villages swear that there are spirits around this tree and scare witless of it.  Ruli saw it a few times from a far - a lion in the tree.  I believe her.  Being a Reiki master and a healer, she has that special gift. 

            The Tree belongs to a neighbor that doesn’t dare to sell the land – in case the spirit puts a curse on him for selling it.  Not sure how old or what kind it is.  I plan to put the octagonal meditation hall next to it because of the open green view of the valley below and the sea beyond.  I have always liked the Tree, know that it is in the background watching but never pay much attention to it until now.    

            ‘Singaraja’ means the lion king in Bahasa, although it is implausible to find lions in Indonesia, I thought it’s quite appropriate to have the lion spirit ruling the area. It’s a good fortune to have the king dwells next to the Place.

            Majestically perched on the ridge of the hill, it is magnificent. Its rugged skin warp and twist, things grow in them, insects mate around it. I sniffed the left-over heat musk on its skin, slightly sweet.  A lonesome house stood far away in the next green canyon below, no birds, no sounds; I wondered why there were no offerings on the ground…. I stood there for a long time, looking at it absorbedly, listening to the silence – can’t find anything that resembles a lion.

            The sun is setting, lit up as if a spotlight played on it, the Tree danced in the cool breeze.  I felt its qi for a while, stroked the big trunk, said my hello and thanked the spirit for being there.