WOW!!!!!This photo I took last saturday night during the Vivid Sydney Festival was voted one of the most interesting photos of last week worldwide and made it to the main page of Flickr Explore!!!!!!!
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Sunday 22 May 2011
Judgement Day!
It can't be Judgement Day, I still don't know if House ends up with Cuddy! And what about Bones and Booth! I say the writers of these series should keep these things into account! Judgement Day is on next week? Ok, Jack Bauer finds the bomb, Chris is the new American Idol and Maggie Simpson finally starts to speak!!!
Don't you think that it's ironic that on such an important day like "Judgement Day" everyone is logged into their favourite social network page and blogging or twitting or facebooking about what time the actual rapture will begin? And for those of us living in Australia.... didn't you see the banners on the motorways saying that judgment day was the 21st of May, yesterday and today it's the 22nd and we're still here and yes, unfortunately our mortgage is also still here? But in Australia we are 14 hours ahead of the US so for us judgment day is actually on the 22nd.... How inconvenient! Even for the end of the world we have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up!!! Well, it's 9.30 AM AEST so we should be kabooming in 30 minutes I wonder if I have time to make myself breakfast after I fed the cats.
BTW none of my European friends seem to know about it, does it mean that the end of the world will come for them? Or did they simply miss out on the latest predictions of whomever it was that brought this all up?
Is it all going to end up like the famous episode of the Simpsons where Homer predicted the end of the world convincing everyone to follow him only to find out he made the calculations wrong?
All I know is, I'll just wait for another 30 minutes before putting on the laundry, after all, why bother?
And how are we supposed to face Judgement day? Will they give us time to get changed? I'm wearing my slacks now, maybe I should put on jeans and boots, will it be cold? Cause we're certainly prepared for that! Canada Goose jackets, gloves, siberian hats, you name it! On the other hand if it's hot we might be in a pickle, oh well, we'll just grab our swimsuits at the last moment.
How will they call us? In alphabetical order? Or by amount of sins? That would be cool!
And if Judgement Day really comes, can you imagine all those people who laughed about it?
I wouldn't want to miss the look on their face, so I might just glance at a mirror from time to time...
5 minutes to go now, and I'm starting to get bored, if Judgement Day comes to Australia it's going to be sunny with a chance of rain in the early afternoon. It can't rain we've got the Swanies match!
And tonight the first episode of "Cloudstreet", can I IQ it and watch it from the beyond?
2 minutes now, should I switch on the radio just to make sure I won't miss it? Maybe I should wake Steve! My cats seem to be ok, chasing the water hose, they say that animals can feel these things long before humans can.
1 minute to go.
Ok, now it's officially 10 AM, are we safe? All right I'll put the laundry on then...
Don't you think that it's ironic that on such an important day like "Judgement Day" everyone is logged into their favourite social network page and blogging or twitting or facebooking about what time the actual rapture will begin? And for those of us living in Australia.... didn't you see the banners on the motorways saying that judgment day was the 21st of May, yesterday and today it's the 22nd and we're still here and yes, unfortunately our mortgage is also still here? But in Australia we are 14 hours ahead of the US so for us judgment day is actually on the 22nd.... How inconvenient! Even for the end of the world we have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up!!! Well, it's 9.30 AM AEST so we should be kabooming in 30 minutes I wonder if I have time to make myself breakfast after I fed the cats.
BTW none of my European friends seem to know about it, does it mean that the end of the world will come for them? Or did they simply miss out on the latest predictions of whomever it was that brought this all up?
Is it all going to end up like the famous episode of the Simpsons where Homer predicted the end of the world convincing everyone to follow him only to find out he made the calculations wrong?
All I know is, I'll just wait for another 30 minutes before putting on the laundry, after all, why bother?
And how are we supposed to face Judgement day? Will they give us time to get changed? I'm wearing my slacks now, maybe I should put on jeans and boots, will it be cold? Cause we're certainly prepared for that! Canada Goose jackets, gloves, siberian hats, you name it! On the other hand if it's hot we might be in a pickle, oh well, we'll just grab our swimsuits at the last moment.
How will they call us? In alphabetical order? Or by amount of sins? That would be cool!
And if Judgement Day really comes, can you imagine all those people who laughed about it?
I wouldn't want to miss the look on their face, so I might just glance at a mirror from time to time...
5 minutes to go now, and I'm starting to get bored, if Judgement Day comes to Australia it's going to be sunny with a chance of rain in the early afternoon. It can't rain we've got the Swanies match!
And tonight the first episode of "Cloudstreet", can I IQ it and watch it from the beyond?
2 minutes now, should I switch on the radio just to make sure I won't miss it? Maybe I should wake Steve! My cats seem to be ok, chasing the water hose, they say that animals can feel these things long before humans can.
1 minute to go.
Ok, now it's officially 10 AM, are we safe? All right I'll put the laundry on then...
Wednesday 18 May 2011
of winning and losing....
This photo that I took during our ice-camping night in Jougla, Antarctica, is one of my favourite photos.
I literally froze my legs and chest to take it. We were ice-camping in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, Jougla, in front of Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula. We were blessed by luck, since only a few hundred people can camp in Antarctica, for one the permits are issued by the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) to a very few tour operators and they are never exceeding a group of a dozen people per trip, but even if you eventually manage to be in that lucky group, it's not guaranteed that you are going to make it, since ultimately it all depends on the weather. Our first attempt was not successful, even though it wasn't snowing, the wind was way too fierce and the zodiacs couldn't even make it to the shores. Our second attempt didn't look too good at first, but with our surprise we were called by the camping master and prepped to go. We were exhausted, just after dinner, warm and cosy thanks to the nice meal, and some of us had had a few drinks too much and if I have to be honest I was less than thrilled about the prospect of spending what was to be the coldest night of my life on the Blue Continent. But then I thought, if you don't go you'll always regret this. Ok, then, we boarded the zodiacs with our sleeping bags, a bit frisky, excited in the end and a bit nervous, after all if the insurance for that activity costs more that the insurance to climb Mt Everest there must be a reason.....
I remember one very funny american guy in our zodiac was waving goodbye to his girlfriend (who wisely decided to stay behind) and then he turned to us and said with a very nervous grin, "here I am, waving goodbye to my future ex-girlfriend...".
We landed on what could only be described as, well, a mountain of snow, and I turned to our camping master thinking that he was probably joking, you've got to be joking right? who could possibly camp in there? there's not even a square foot not completely inundated by snow, what are we supposed to do, pitch our tents on a floating ground? nope, no joke, that was were we pitched our tents, after stamping the ground to make it flat for what felt like hours, but it was good since that certainly warmed us up. When our tents were ready we were told by the camp master to do whatever we wanted to do, no supervision, provided obviously that we respected the IAATO rules that we all knew by heart.
Steve and I started hiking around a rock formation just behind our tent and I saw this group of penguins chatting happily and you know, being cute and cuddly.
I thought that instead of wandering about it would have been a good idea to just crouch and wait and see. It was the first time that I was observing the penguins without taking 3000 shots with my camera. I just felt like connecting with them in their own environment and forgetting for a moment that I even had a camera with me. After a while they came close to me and since by then I was lying down on the ice, they kept me company, looking at me with curious stares, not frightened at all, not annoyed or bothered by my presence, but rather comfortable. I like to think that we actually connected, even though I know nothing about penguins and I could be totally out of the line. When I couldn't stand the cold anymore I also realised that it was past midnight and that the light was a fantastic shade of pink. I got out of my trance and reached for the camera. I took a few shots, and this one is one of them, my favourite :)
We obviously couldn't sleep, it was waaaaaay too cold, and the penguins are not exactly silent creatures, but it was memorable, something we will always remember!!!
I literally froze my legs and chest to take it. We were ice-camping in one of the most beautiful spots in the world, Jougla, in front of Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula. We were blessed by luck, since only a few hundred people can camp in Antarctica, for one the permits are issued by the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) to a very few tour operators and they are never exceeding a group of a dozen people per trip, but even if you eventually manage to be in that lucky group, it's not guaranteed that you are going to make it, since ultimately it all depends on the weather. Our first attempt was not successful, even though it wasn't snowing, the wind was way too fierce and the zodiacs couldn't even make it to the shores. Our second attempt didn't look too good at first, but with our surprise we were called by the camping master and prepped to go. We were exhausted, just after dinner, warm and cosy thanks to the nice meal, and some of us had had a few drinks too much and if I have to be honest I was less than thrilled about the prospect of spending what was to be the coldest night of my life on the Blue Continent. But then I thought, if you don't go you'll always regret this. Ok, then, we boarded the zodiacs with our sleeping bags, a bit frisky, excited in the end and a bit nervous, after all if the insurance for that activity costs more that the insurance to climb Mt Everest there must be a reason.....
I remember one very funny american guy in our zodiac was waving goodbye to his girlfriend (who wisely decided to stay behind) and then he turned to us and said with a very nervous grin, "here I am, waving goodbye to my future ex-girlfriend...".
We landed on what could only be described as, well, a mountain of snow, and I turned to our camping master thinking that he was probably joking, you've got to be joking right? who could possibly camp in there? there's not even a square foot not completely inundated by snow, what are we supposed to do, pitch our tents on a floating ground? nope, no joke, that was were we pitched our tents, after stamping the ground to make it flat for what felt like hours, but it was good since that certainly warmed us up. When our tents were ready we were told by the camp master to do whatever we wanted to do, no supervision, provided obviously that we respected the IAATO rules that we all knew by heart.
Steve and I started hiking around a rock formation just behind our tent and I saw this group of penguins chatting happily and you know, being cute and cuddly.
I thought that instead of wandering about it would have been a good idea to just crouch and wait and see. It was the first time that I was observing the penguins without taking 3000 shots with my camera. I just felt like connecting with them in their own environment and forgetting for a moment that I even had a camera with me. After a while they came close to me and since by then I was lying down on the ice, they kept me company, looking at me with curious stares, not frightened at all, not annoyed or bothered by my presence, but rather comfortable. I like to think that we actually connected, even though I know nothing about penguins and I could be totally out of the line. When I couldn't stand the cold anymore I also realised that it was past midnight and that the light was a fantastic shade of pink. I got out of my trance and reached for the camera. I took a few shots, and this one is one of them, my favourite :)
Monday 16 May 2011
Saturday 14 May 2011
4 weeks baby 4 weeks!!!
...and we're panicking...
I knew that having so much time would have been deleterious!
When I'm planning a trip well ahead of its departure date I don't do much cause I always think I've got plenty of time and now, well, 4 weeks from now we'll be in sweltering Kathmandu and of course I'm starting to panic cause there's still so many things to prepare.
Ok, deep breaths and focus, it's not so bad.
We did have a few set backs with the plane tickets, all solved now, and another few unexpected technical problems with our electric equipment (apparently nothing works above 4000 m, a part from your camera, which is cruel, cause you cannot store the photos you're taking and you'll be forced to be very critical in how many shots you take... which is something I'm definitely not), but a part from that everything is proceeding according to plan... that is IF we get the travel permits which is always a bit of a mystery for Tibet.
Still I feel as if something was missing. Maybe it's because we still don't have the Diamox, or because we still don't know how to safely store the photos and videos we're going to take (and now there will be even more photos since I bought Steve as an early b'day present a nice DSLR), or because we haven't made a list of things to pack yet, or cause we don't know how to get info on what we're going to visit, since the Lonely Planet guide is not allowed over there. Or maybe I just feel like this cause I stuffed up the seafood risotto I was supposed to serve later for lunch.... no more seafood, it's got to be pumpkin instead!
Anyway 4 weeks is not exactly tomorrow and we have so many nice things to look forward to here in Sydney: the most beautiful festival of the year "Vivid Sydney" will start on May 27th and go on until the middle of June and I can't wait to rush down to the Opera House at night to take photos of the fantastic lights and colours they're going to shine on it.
And then there's the running, the 6 kms we try to run every other day to keep fit for Everest Base Camp, although I had to slow down last week due to my ever present back and neck ache.
And let's face it, trying to figure out things like "jeez I'm going to take thousands of photos, where am I going to save them if I can't use my HD?" is kind of fun!! And forcing yourself to tear off the pages of the LP guide you will need, cause you cannot take the whole lot, albeit so naughty, it's the kind of naughty that makes you go "hi hi hi, I'm tearing pages off the Lonely Planet guide and I don't even feel guilty about it!!" I always wanted to do that! And I know that out there there's someone else going "oh yeah, me too!", especially if you're going on a 6 months trip around the world, ending up visiting a dozen countries... are you really supposed to be packing all those heavy and bulky books? How about another pair of underwear instead?
I know, I know, guidebooks are sacred for travellers, I'm just mightily upset at LP for being so "fair and square" that their guides are not allowed in Tibet. Ok, let's go back to memorise a few facts..... so that at least we will know the difference between a chorten and a gyel!
I knew that having so much time would have been deleterious!
When I'm planning a trip well ahead of its departure date I don't do much cause I always think I've got plenty of time and now, well, 4 weeks from now we'll be in sweltering Kathmandu and of course I'm starting to panic cause there's still so many things to prepare.
Ok, deep breaths and focus, it's not so bad.
We did have a few set backs with the plane tickets, all solved now, and another few unexpected technical problems with our electric equipment (apparently nothing works above 4000 m, a part from your camera, which is cruel, cause you cannot store the photos you're taking and you'll be forced to be very critical in how many shots you take... which is something I'm definitely not), but a part from that everything is proceeding according to plan... that is IF we get the travel permits which is always a bit of a mystery for Tibet.
Still I feel as if something was missing. Maybe it's because we still don't have the Diamox, or because we still don't know how to safely store the photos and videos we're going to take (and now there will be even more photos since I bought Steve as an early b'day present a nice DSLR), or because we haven't made a list of things to pack yet, or cause we don't know how to get info on what we're going to visit, since the Lonely Planet guide is not allowed over there. Or maybe I just feel like this cause I stuffed up the seafood risotto I was supposed to serve later for lunch.... no more seafood, it's got to be pumpkin instead!
Anyway 4 weeks is not exactly tomorrow and we have so many nice things to look forward to here in Sydney: the most beautiful festival of the year "Vivid Sydney" will start on May 27th and go on until the middle of June and I can't wait to rush down to the Opera House at night to take photos of the fantastic lights and colours they're going to shine on it.
And then there's the running, the 6 kms we try to run every other day to keep fit for Everest Base Camp, although I had to slow down last week due to my ever present back and neck ache.
And let's face it, trying to figure out things like "jeez I'm going to take thousands of photos, where am I going to save them if I can't use my HD?" is kind of fun!! And forcing yourself to tear off the pages of the LP guide you will need, cause you cannot take the whole lot, albeit so naughty, it's the kind of naughty that makes you go "hi hi hi, I'm tearing pages off the Lonely Planet guide and I don't even feel guilty about it!!" I always wanted to do that! And I know that out there there's someone else going "oh yeah, me too!", especially if you're going on a 6 months trip around the world, ending up visiting a dozen countries... are you really supposed to be packing all those heavy and bulky books? How about another pair of underwear instead?
I know, I know, guidebooks are sacred for travellers, I'm just mightily upset at LP for being so "fair and square" that their guides are not allowed in Tibet. Ok, let's go back to memorise a few facts..... so that at least we will know the difference between a chorten and a gyel!
Saturday 7 May 2011
Watching "A year in Tibet"
It's finally arrived, it took a whole month, but we can finally watch it.
It's the doco directed by Sun Shuyun about her year spent in Tibet following the lives of a few characters between Gyantse and a small village half an hour drive from there.
Steve and I had some obstacles to overcome this week concerning the reservations of all the flights.
Apparently now airline companies before issuing your tickets charge you twice the amount of money for your purchase and if they do not receive confirmation from your bank institution they stop the booking and do not proceed any further until you've accrued the money they request.
In a few words if your flight costs 1000 USD, in order to book it you have to accrue money for 2000 USD from your bank account. You will not be charged twice but the 1000 additional dollars will be on hold in your account until the airline will give the permission to release them.
This normally happens within a few hours from the purchase of the tickets and the confirmation from the bank so many people here do not even see it, but if you do not have enough money to accrue then your ticket will not be issued.
Not all airline companies do that and not all travel agents do that, but ironically enough it happened to us twice in one week.
I will not debate whether this is legal or not, there seems to be SO many illegal things going on these days that it's appalling some companies have still not succumbed from legal sues, but right or wrong... they do it!
And we're talking major airline companies too!
Anyway, once we solved this "small" problem, we were exhausted and we just decided to sit in front of the tv and start watching the doco.
The first episode is about the visit of the Panchen Lama to the monastery in Gyantse and all the preparations that took place before that.
The last visit happened almost 20 years earlier and the monks were very excited about it!
So many small details that have so much importance in the official protocol about such an important visit, and it's so interesting to watch the monks thinking about overcoming obstacles of any kind. There's not enough fabric for the drapings, the monastery hasn't been properly cleaned in 20 years, there's 50 stray dogs roaming freely in the precint, there's not enough monks to precede the procession...
The doco also tells the story of the owner of an hotel in Gyantse and all sorts of problems seem to be happening to him as well. He does not have enough customers, when he finally does there's an obstruction in one of the sewage pipes and he has to call in a plumber...
The other parallel story is the one of an entire family that lives half an hour drive from Gyantse.
In this family the young boy has passed the national test to enter university but the family does not have enough money to pay tuition. It is a great honour to be able to attend university and the percentage of Tibetans actually pursuing their studies is so low that the family decides to put forward a request for a loan. The loan is unfortunately not granted, but the head of the family, a shaman, decides to borrow the money and to solve the problem somehow. They will have to sell part of their harvest that year.
In a different place a doctor sees a pregnant woman who's complaining of pain and headache, it turns out she might loose her baby, it's very serious.
All these people, the monks, the hotel owner, the family, the doctor and the pregnant woman.
They talk directly into the camera and they explain their problems. Serious problems, sometimes even life or death situations.
I'm just shocked at how strong they are. They don't despair, they just get on and hope for the best and in the meanwhile work hard to secure what future they will have.
During the interviews they even laugh, more often than not. It might be because they are camera shy or embarrassed to explain their own problems to strangers.
Or it might just be that they know they have it tough but they also have no alternatives so why waste time in crying on spilled milk when you could be productive instead.
I really think I complain too much sometimes!
It's the doco directed by Sun Shuyun about her year spent in Tibet following the lives of a few characters between Gyantse and a small village half an hour drive from there.
Steve and I had some obstacles to overcome this week concerning the reservations of all the flights.
Apparently now airline companies before issuing your tickets charge you twice the amount of money for your purchase and if they do not receive confirmation from your bank institution they stop the booking and do not proceed any further until you've accrued the money they request.
In a few words if your flight costs 1000 USD, in order to book it you have to accrue money for 2000 USD from your bank account. You will not be charged twice but the 1000 additional dollars will be on hold in your account until the airline will give the permission to release them.
This normally happens within a few hours from the purchase of the tickets and the confirmation from the bank so many people here do not even see it, but if you do not have enough money to accrue then your ticket will not be issued.
Not all airline companies do that and not all travel agents do that, but ironically enough it happened to us twice in one week.
I will not debate whether this is legal or not, there seems to be SO many illegal things going on these days that it's appalling some companies have still not succumbed from legal sues, but right or wrong... they do it!
And we're talking major airline companies too!
Anyway, once we solved this "small" problem, we were exhausted and we just decided to sit in front of the tv and start watching the doco.
The first episode is about the visit of the Panchen Lama to the monastery in Gyantse and all the preparations that took place before that.
The last visit happened almost 20 years earlier and the monks were very excited about it!
So many small details that have so much importance in the official protocol about such an important visit, and it's so interesting to watch the monks thinking about overcoming obstacles of any kind. There's not enough fabric for the drapings, the monastery hasn't been properly cleaned in 20 years, there's 50 stray dogs roaming freely in the precint, there's not enough monks to precede the procession...
The doco also tells the story of the owner of an hotel in Gyantse and all sorts of problems seem to be happening to him as well. He does not have enough customers, when he finally does there's an obstruction in one of the sewage pipes and he has to call in a plumber...
The other parallel story is the one of an entire family that lives half an hour drive from Gyantse.
In this family the young boy has passed the national test to enter university but the family does not have enough money to pay tuition. It is a great honour to be able to attend university and the percentage of Tibetans actually pursuing their studies is so low that the family decides to put forward a request for a loan. The loan is unfortunately not granted, but the head of the family, a shaman, decides to borrow the money and to solve the problem somehow. They will have to sell part of their harvest that year.
In a different place a doctor sees a pregnant woman who's complaining of pain and headache, it turns out she might loose her baby, it's very serious.
All these people, the monks, the hotel owner, the family, the doctor and the pregnant woman.
They talk directly into the camera and they explain their problems. Serious problems, sometimes even life or death situations.
I'm just shocked at how strong they are. They don't despair, they just get on and hope for the best and in the meanwhile work hard to secure what future they will have.
During the interviews they even laugh, more often than not. It might be because they are camera shy or embarrassed to explain their own problems to strangers.
Or it might just be that they know they have it tough but they also have no alternatives so why waste time in crying on spilled milk when you could be productive instead.
I really think I complain too much sometimes!
Tuesday 3 May 2011
The Tibetan Book of the Dead - Bardo Thodol
I just heard the news that the father of a dearest friend on mines passed away last night.
I cannot reach her on the phone, I imagine she must be very busy right now, organising the funeral and attending to all the chores that accompany death.
It made me think of my lost beloved ones and the million things I took on myself in those sad days to try and keep my mind from collapsing from the grief.
There always seem to be so many things to take care of when someone dies.
No matter what religion, culture or country, the family can hardly stop for a week, sometimes even more.
I guess it's therapeutic, you feel responsible, as if everyone was looking up at you and you have to keep it together and not let anyone down, so you keep going.
My further readings into Tibetan Buddhism deal with death almost in every page.
Death is seen as the end of one life and the beginning of the Bardo, the "period in-between" lives.
In a few words the Bardo is the period in which someone's consciousness has ceased to belong to one's body and it has not reborn yet.
During the Bardo the family of the deceased are, as said, very busy and one of the most moving chores is the talking to the deceased. The literally whisper to his/her ear.
What do they say? Prayers, mostly, there is a whole text dedicated to this ceremony, what we know as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
This text is conceived to help the consciousness find enlightenment and escape the samsara, the cycle of birth-death-rebirth.
Whispering it into the deceased's ear will lead him through the tests he or she has to pass.
From the moment a person's body is dead, his/her consciousness has 7 days to reach enlightenment.
He is presented with visions that he has to recognise and if he does he will have reached awakening. I'm simplifying with humility a very deep concept that is difficult to understand for a spiritually challenged westerner like myself.
If one does not reach enlightenment at the end of the 7th day, he is presented with another 7 days of visions at the end of which he still has the chance of awakening, and so on for 49 days, 7 times 7.
At the end of this cycle, if enlightenment is still not reached, one's consciousness will reincarnate in another form of life. The family of the deceased will have prayed not only to inspire him to reach awakening but also to wish him a good reincarnation.
I wish I was more familiar with the concept of reincarnation.
Isn't it ironic that many westerners like myself wish to believe in reincarnation to feel less sad about their lost loved ones, when the people who actually believe in reincarnation wish their lost loved ones will awaken to stop the reincarnation cycle!
I cannot reach her on the phone, I imagine she must be very busy right now, organising the funeral and attending to all the chores that accompany death.
It made me think of my lost beloved ones and the million things I took on myself in those sad days to try and keep my mind from collapsing from the grief.
There always seem to be so many things to take care of when someone dies.
No matter what religion, culture or country, the family can hardly stop for a week, sometimes even more.
I guess it's therapeutic, you feel responsible, as if everyone was looking up at you and you have to keep it together and not let anyone down, so you keep going.
My further readings into Tibetan Buddhism deal with death almost in every page.
Death is seen as the end of one life and the beginning of the Bardo, the "period in-between" lives.
In a few words the Bardo is the period in which someone's consciousness has ceased to belong to one's body and it has not reborn yet.
During the Bardo the family of the deceased are, as said, very busy and one of the most moving chores is the talking to the deceased. The literally whisper to his/her ear.
What do they say? Prayers, mostly, there is a whole text dedicated to this ceremony, what we know as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
This text is conceived to help the consciousness find enlightenment and escape the samsara, the cycle of birth-death-rebirth.
Whispering it into the deceased's ear will lead him through the tests he or she has to pass.
From the moment a person's body is dead, his/her consciousness has 7 days to reach enlightenment.
He is presented with visions that he has to recognise and if he does he will have reached awakening. I'm simplifying with humility a very deep concept that is difficult to understand for a spiritually challenged westerner like myself.
If one does not reach enlightenment at the end of the 7th day, he is presented with another 7 days of visions at the end of which he still has the chance of awakening, and so on for 49 days, 7 times 7.
At the end of this cycle, if enlightenment is still not reached, one's consciousness will reincarnate in another form of life. The family of the deceased will have prayed not only to inspire him to reach awakening but also to wish him a good reincarnation.
I wish I was more familiar with the concept of reincarnation.
Isn't it ironic that many westerners like myself wish to believe in reincarnation to feel less sad about their lost loved ones, when the people who actually believe in reincarnation wish their lost loved ones will awaken to stop the reincarnation cycle!
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