Roller Coaster Week

I have been debating for a day or so now about whether or not to write this….but I guess  it is probably best so that you do not get the unrealistic view that the trip has been all nibbana(peace).

This week has been a roller coaster both in terms of emotions and just the ease of moving in the world. I am into my fifth week of treatment and the cumulative effect is starting to be noticeable. The treatments in the morning are making me more tired and I really feel the need to relax on the bed for a couple of hours. I do get a nice boost from lunch and feel like myself in the afternoon and then at 4:00pm I go for the shiro basti that I described last time. The shiro basti has been a mixed bag. Today (Sunday) I had my last of seven and I would say only three or four of them were really successful. I guess my head is just not the right shape! I had a number leaks which causes an abbreviated session and one time the whole thing slipped down and we had Yak oil everywhere, not pretty. I also had a bout with the diarrhea this week, probably due to fruit that I bought in the local store.They recommend here at the clinic to wash and peel fruit that you buy….I washed but did not peel. On Thursday night I had some kind of a bug bite me on the tush which now seems to have swollen and it is hard to sit down, which I have been doing a lot of given all of the resting required! The doctor has given me some herbs to work into a paste called “black medicine”. I hope it works its magic quickly 🙂

And then to top it all off the cell phone company has rejected my application for a sim card, turned off my phone, and asked that I come to the local store to work it out. There are a half-dozen or so places close-by that will recharge a phone with more minutes. However I am told the actual store is 6 or 7 clicks (km) and given the unusual hours the stores keep, the probability is high that it will take a couple of trips to find the store open.

The good news is that when I start getting worked up over something I am now better able to catch myself early in the process, step back, reevaluate, and calm down. Of course, it would be better to never get into that state in the first place, but I am making progress!  One of the books I have been reading, UNFear by Karlin Sloan, talks about sometimes just needing a place to vent our frustrations. It suggests an exercise where you find a partner that will just listen and at times say, “anything else” until there is nothing else to say…..well, I think I have said enough. Thank you for listening.