14.10.2012

What`s your offering?



As I wrote earlier; in Bali you will soon get familiar with canang saris -  the little offerings which are put out every morning for the spirits, both good and bad, which pervade everything in Bali.

The good spirits are looked after with offerings placed on shrines and temple stands,
 but its`s far more likely to see the canang sari on the streets for the bad spirits.

In these modern days the busy housewife may not have the time to create her own offerings. So today you can even buy them in supermarkets like everything else.
A properly made canang sari has to have a porosan, a continer with betel leaves, areca nut and lime which represent the Hindu trinity of creator (Brahma), preserver (Vishnu) and destroyer (Shiva). Without a porosan it’s just a decoration, not a real canang sari.

I spent my last week in Bali being quite ill and very weak. I stayed at beautiful Desa Seni where I had my own altar for the offerings at my porch.
What a blessing!
Every morning I had my own canang sari waiting for me.
It was a sweet reminder to enjoy a piece of quiet and also spend a moment being grateful for my experience and embrace the fact that I was ill.

I will continue to make space for more offerings in my life.
I will make my yogapractice an tremendous offering.
I will explore how I can make my life more like an offering.
Honour my life.


canang sari