“
One would assume that travelers to Bali, the heaven on earth, would cry for joy. But in reality, every traveler is grieving some loss or another.
”
”
Merlin Franco (Saint Richard Parker)
“
My dearest life, I know you are not mine forever; but do love me even if it’s for this moment. After that I shall vanish into the forest where you cast me, I won’t ask anyone for anything again. Give me something that can last me till I die.
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
David Attenborough has said that Bali is the most beautiful place in the world, but he must have been there longer than we were, and seen different bits, because most of what we saw in the couple of days we were there sorting out our travel arrangements was awful. It was just the tourist area, i.e., that part of Bali which has been made almost exactly the same as everywhere else in the world for the sake of people who have come all this way to see Bali.
”
”
Douglas Adams (Last Chance to See)
“
It is a traveler’s fallacy that one should shop for clothing while abroad. Those white linen tunics, so elegant in Greece, emerge from the suitcase as mere hippie rags; the beautiful striped shirts of Rome are confined to the closet; and the delicate hand batiks of Bali are first cruise wear, then curtains, then signs of impending madness.
”
”
Andrew Sean Greer (Less)
“
Don't talk about heaven if you've never been to Bali.
”
”
Toba Beta (Master of Stupidity)
“
Bhuta ia, dewa ia. (Bali expression meaning Man is a demon, man is a god.)
”
”
Elizabeth Gilbert
“
And like tea dissolving in hot water, the sun dissolved in the sky… creating a velvet horizon, announcing for the stars’ night dance with the moon, the awaited joy for the wounded souls. -- From Bali – The Rebirth
”
”
Abeer Allan
“
Hawaii. Nieuw-Zeeland. Machu Picchu. Tokio. Bali.
”
”
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2))
“
Religious ceremonies are of paramount importance in Bali ( an island, don't forget, with seven unpredictable volcanoes on it-you would pray, too).
”
”
Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
“
Ko ko, bet kvailių visur yra daugiau, negu reikia. Kiekviena tauta jų turi ir sau, ir eksportui pakankamai, lygiai kaip kiekviena tauta turi nuosavus latrus ir šventuosius." ― Balys Sruoga, Dievų miškas
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
Unquestionably, the number of fools is always greater than necessary. Every nation has enough for itself and enough for export.
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
The pain of dwelling on the wrongs done to us by other people far exceeds the little bit of pleasure we derive from condemning others for their guilt.
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
Vieną laišką jis man konfiskuoja už tai, kad jame buvo parašyta: „Baisiai nuobodus biznis už surūdijusių vielų sėdėti...”
- Kaip tu drįsti rašyti, kad už surūdijusių vielų sėdi? Ar nieko kita nematai lageryje? ar nematai, berželiai auga?
Vėl jis man sako: - Lauk! - Ir aš einu lauk.
Laišką perrašiau. Rašau: mūsų spygliuotų įelektrintų vielų tvora spindi žaižaruoja kaip sidabrinė, smulkiu cukrumi apibarstyta. Už tvoros matyti trys berželiai, du kelmai ir vienas grybas.
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
...orang Bali mempunjai kepertjajaan... kalau gunung Agung meletus ini berarti bahwa rakjat telah melakukan maksiat.
”
”
Sukarno (Bung Karno: Penyambung Lidah Rakyat Indonesia)
“
Why go to Tahiti or Bali? Only sad, defeated people do that.
”
”
Anaïs Nin (A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953)
“
Viena, kas gera šioje aplinkoje, - kad visiškai išnyksta mirties baimė. Mirtis čionai gresia kiekviename žingsnyje. Čionai taip žmogus apsipranta su mirties perspektyva, kad ji darosi šiokiadienė šiukšlė. Mirtis nustoja savo kilnaus tragizmo elemento. Ji nustoja čionai ir savo lyrizmo.
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
Ci sono cose che si perdono e non tornano indietro; non si possono riavere mai più, se non nella carta carbone della memoria. Ci sono cose a cui sembra impossibile rassegnarsi ma a cui rassegnarsi è inevitabile. Lo scorrere dei giorni leviga il dolore ma non lo consuma: quello che il tempo si porta via è andato, e poi si resta con un qualcosa di freddo e duro, un souvenir che non si perde mai. Un piccolo bassotto di porcellana delle White Mountains. Una marionetta del teatro delle ombre di Bali. E guarda: un calzascarpe d'avorio di un hotel a quattro stelle di Zurigo. E qua, come un sasso che porto ovunque, c'è un pezzetto di cuore altrui che ho conservato da un vecchio viaggio.
”
”
Peter Cameron (The Weekend)
“
Your imagination and some masturbation is a much better alternative to finding out what kind of person a bit of casual sex transforms you into.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
You need a break every once in a while to enjoy the everyday and you need the everyday to enjoy the break you take every once in a while.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Five devils are approaching. Five black hearts are wanting. It is five who cry a dark and lonely song, calling for their queen. Lion, shark, dragon, wolf and...shadow.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
A Singapore Airlines cargo flight had to make an emergency landing in Bali due to a smoke sensor being triggered from the dung and farts of the 2,186 sheep aboard the plane.
”
”
Charles Klotz (1,077 Fun Facts: To Leave You In Disbelief)
“
Meanwhile I chain-smoked Bali cigarettes, looking at the window at the highway and thinking about the disaster that was my life.
”
”
Roberto Bolaño (Last Evenings on Earth)
“
অধিকারলাভের যে মর্যাদা আছে, সেই মর্যাদা রক্ষা করিতে হইলে অধিকারপ্রয়োগকে সংযত করিতে হয়। যতটা পাওয়া যায় ততটা লইয়া টানাটানি করা কাঙালকেই শোভা পায় — ভোগকে খর্ব করিলেই সম্পদের যথার্থ গৌরব।
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
There's no need to blame fate or destiny for a stupid decision.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
I guess my biggest problem is that I find it easier to relapse than to carry through.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Don't just hope, dear. Plan and do. Only reserve hope for the things you cannot control.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
It’s like starlight and the primordial place between the stars. It’s heavy and sweet like a summer storm. It makes my whole body tingle.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Rabid Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #2))
“
Pirmoj eilėj aš gerbiu skaitytoją, o mano kritikai iš manęs reikalauja, kad aš skaitytoją durnium laikyčiau.
”
”
Balys Sruoga
“
I guess having one hundred and four condoms full of heroin in your guts and the thought of a firing squad in your head make will make most things seem insignificant.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
A gut full of heroin and the looming possibility of bunking in an overcrowded cell in Kerobokan to await my death makes you feel a bit sorry for some of the things you've done.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
My job had been to get the package from point A to point B and what happened after that did not need to concern me. I was just the mule.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Your choices can only be limited by your mind.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Childbirth is to women what war is to men.
”
”
E.P. Bali (The Warrior Priestess (The Warrior Midwife, #2))
“
Mountains don't move do they?'
'Not unless they encounter faith,'(...)
”
”
Nilanjan P. Choudhury (Bali and the Ocean of Milk)
“
She wondered, would their relationship gradually turn into something more? ... Time would tell!
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
Do you remember that old song? 'She wore an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini...
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
Žiūrėk, kokį bičiulį sutinki, — pasišneki, pasitrokšti, — visiškai ne kvailo berno esama. Bet kai pasitaiko versti jo meilės laiškus, — suk jį devyni, koks jis asilas!
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
Watu Wengi Hawaamini kile Wanachopaswa kuamini bali kile Wanachotaka Kuamini.
”
”
Baraka Michael
“
Dał ci Bóg nikczemną postać, jeśli się ludzie nie będą ciebie bali, to się będą z ciebie śmieli.
”
”
Henryk Sienkiewicz (Potop (Trylogia, #2))
“
In Bali, even mundane things are reminders of the sacred.
”
”
Joan Borysenko (Inner Peace for Busy People: 52 Simple Strategies for Transforming Life)
“
It is a traveler’s fallacy that one should shop for clothing while abroad. Those white linen tunics, so elegant in Greece, emerge from the suitcase as mere hippie rags; the beautiful striped shirts of Rome are confined to the closet; and the delicate hand batiks of Bali are first cruise wear, then curtains, then signs of impending madness. And then there is Paris.
”
”
Andrew Sean Greer (Less (Arthur Less, #1))
“
For when destruction comes to the world of “history” and the Apocalypse of the Fellahin returns once more as so many times before, people will still stare with the same eyes from the caves of Mexico as well as from the caves of Bali, where it all began and where Adam was suckled and taught to know. These were my growing thoughts as I drove the car into the hot, sunbaked town of Gregoria.
”
”
Jack Kerouac (On the Road)
“
It is easy to drown yourself effortlessly into that which is truly profound and do no realise its true worth. And since the restless illusion which brings no pleasure even if you drain it to the dregs lead us by the nose and makes us dance a merry dance to its tune and we take it to be the lost desirable thing
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
In the distance, people were living lives, having fun, learning, making money, fighting and walking around and falling in and out of love. People were being born, growing up, dropping dead. Trevor was probably spending his Christmas vacation with some woman in Hawaii or Bali or Tulum. He was probably fingering her at that very moment, telling her he loved her. He might actually be happy. I shut the window and lowered all the blinds.
”
”
Ottessa Moshfegh (My Year of Rest and Relaxation)
“
Kokį moralinį, kokį istorinį pateisinimą būtų galima sugalvoti tiesiem, kurie kitus tokia lengva širdimi siunčia į koncentracijos lagerius? Jokios politinės, jokios religinės, jokios pasaulėžiūrinės idėjos jų niekuomet nepateisins! Jie savo žmogiškąją menkystą galėtų atpirkti tiktai tuomet, jei patys savo dienas baigtų tose pačiose sąlygose, į kurias kitus tremia, besivadovaudami pamišėliškomis idėjinėmis fikcijomis! Kitaip amžių prakeikimas slėgs ne tik jų atmintį, slėgs ir jų palikuonių palikuonis!
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
When you are walking down the road in Bali and your pass a stranger, the very first question he or she will ask you is, "Where are you going?" The second question is, "Where are you coming from?" To a Westerner, this can seem like a rather invasive inquiry from a perfect stranger, but they're just trying to get an orientation on you, trying to insert you into the grid for the purposes of security and comfort. If you tell them that you don't know where you're going, or that you're just wandering about randomly, you might instigate a bit of distress in the heart of your new Balinese friend. It's far better to pick some kind of specific direction -- anywhere -- just so everybody feels better.
The third question a Balinese will almost certainly ask you is, "Are you married?" Again, it's a positioning and orienting inquiry. It's necessary for them to know this, to make sure that you are completely in order in your life. They really want you to say yes. it's such a relief to them when you say yes. If you're single, it's better not to say so directly. And I really recommend that you not mention your divorce at all, if you happen to have had one. It just makes the Balinese so worried. The only thing your solitude proves to them is your perilous dislocation from the grid. If you are a single woman traveling through Bali and somebody asks you, "Are you married?" the best possible answer is: "Not yet." This is a polite way of saying, "No," while indicating your optimistic intentions to get that taken care of just as soon as you can.
Even if you are eighty years old, or a lesbian, or a strident feminist, or a nun, or an eighty-year-old strident feminist lesbian nun who has never been married and never intends to get married, the politest possible answer is still: "Not yet.
”
”
Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)
“
We need to reform our funeral industry, introducing new practices
that aren't so profit-oriented, and that do more to include the family.
But we cannot begin to reform—or even question!-our death systems
when we act like little Jean de Brébeufs, falsely convinced we have it
right while all these "other people" are disrespectful and barbarous.
This dismissive attitude can be found in places you'd never expect.
Lonely Planet, the largest guidebook publisher in the world, included the idyllic Trunyan cemetery in their book on visiting Bali. In Trunyan, the villagers weave bamboo cages for their dead to decompose in, and then stack the skulls and bones out in the lush
green landscape. Lonely Planet, instead of explaining the meaning behind these ancient customs, advised wise travelers to "skip the ghoulish spectacle.
”
”
Caitlin Doughty (From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death)
“
She knocked at the door, expecting a friendly greeting because of the atmosphere of this house, but, instead, the door opened just a crack and dark eyes stared at her for a moment. Then the door gradually opened and an elderly woman grabbed
Amelia's hand and yanked her inside.
"Hurry! Get inside!
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
A trance healer in Bali, an eagle woman, asked me, 'What is freedom, madam?' She had a chained eagle, her ally in healing, and it broke my heart, those huge, folded wings. So I asked her why the eagle couldn't fly free, why it was chained. And then her eagle eyes dug into mine, and she asked, 'What is freedom, madam?
”
”
Alma Luz Villanueva (Song of the Golden Scorpion)
“
There’s so much to do in Bali that you may feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to packing. On a recent trip, I hiked a volcano, went island hopping and snorkelling, went to yoga and breathwork classes, got massages, visited waterfalls, dined at upscale restaurants, spent an afternoon at a beach club, wandered through rice paddies and visited temples.
”
”
Anastasia Pash (Travel With Style: Master the Art of Stylish and Functional Travel Capsules)
“
of course. I had a reputation for being brutal, but even I had no intention of torturing the humans for no actual reason. I mean, give me a reason, and then sure.
”
”
E.P. Bali (The Warrior Midwife (The Warrior Midwife #1))
“
To find another of your soul group, something ordained by the Wild Goddess and the stars themselves, is perhaps the most beautiful and sacred thing we have in this mad life.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
Savage is the only one wearing his red 'Dangerous: do not approach' lanyard, and he wears it like a trophy.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
A little unhinged, but there is no psychosis behind that face of celestial beauty.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
And Goddess, I understand playing the 'ignore it and it'll go away' game all too well.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
Well, I'm going to make them regret the fuck out of everything they've done and assumed about me.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
Linda Heavner Gerald received a silver medal for Fiction from FAPA (Florida Authors and Publishers Association)
”
”
Linda Heavner Gerald (Confessions of an Assassin)
“
In limbo is an indecisive manhalf dead half alive
Half on earth half in sky, neither can he run nor fly
”
”
Jagdish Bali (The Spark is Within You)
“
Hardship is the best ship to board
”
”
Jagdish Bali (The Spark is Within You)
“
My biggest problem is that my flight is to depart from Denpasar International Airport in Indonesia, where the penalty for drug trafficking is death by firing squad.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
By three in the afternoon, after one Bintang too many, I was absolutely smashed and feared that trying to stand may end badly.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
All you young Aussies just want to fuck and get fucked up, no?
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
In my defence, I did like my ex until she cheated on me. I just thought the feeling was love.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Besides the pain in my gut, why shouldn't I laugh? I've almost escaped death in a foreign country.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
By the first mouthful I knew that I was going to get drunk that night. The drink tasted too good not to.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
When does relaxing turn into living? How can you call it relaxing when that is all you are doing?
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
I don't make people smoke pot or meth, snort coke, put pills or tabs in their mouths or shoot themselves up with heroin. I just transport the stuff.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
She's happy to be home but being home means that it's an end to her adventure and escape.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
The day, like all good days, passed far too quickly.
”
”
S.A. Tawks (Mule)
“
Saraya,” he whispered, his forehead against mine. “I was made to worship you.
”
”
E.P. Bali
“
The literature of the new age seeks not to narrate a sequence of events, but to reveal the secrets of the heart.
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
Iswear that rage was the Goddess’ gift to women.
”
”
E.P. Bali (The Warrior Midwife (The Warrior Midwife #1))
“
...he feared that the flame of a prayer lamp that illuminated the home could also set the house on fire.
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
Good morning, Amelia" greeted Rick as he walked into the room the next morning. "I'm starved. For some reason, I woke up craving strawberries.
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
Žmogaus psichika „pagal liniją“ niekuomet nesiformuoja, kol ji tebėra žmogaus psichika! Rašytojas rašo taip, kaip jis jaučia, kaip jis mato pasaulį, — kiekvienas kitaip, savaip, — kaip ir visi menininkai kūrėjai. O paskui jam sako: ne taip, ne pagal liniją! Tavo tokiam personažui reikia viena koja prikirpti, nosis — pridurti. Prasideda rašytojui Golgotos kančios.
”
”
Balys Sruoga
“
The 50-minute flights go from Hanapepe Valley to Mana Waiapuna, also known as “Jurassic Park Falls,” then on to some of Kauai’s most beautiful sites: the Bali Hai Cliffs; the pristine blue waters of Hanalei Bay and the Princeville Resort area (see p. 943); Olokele Canyon; and Waimea Canyon, the dramatically, ruggedly beautiful “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” (see p. 947).
”
”
Patricia Schultz (1,000 Places to See in the United States & Canada Before You Die)
“
If Kumar had his way they would leave for Fiji every year just before Thanksgiving and not return until the New Year rang in and the decorations came down. They would swim with the fishes and lie on the beach eating papaya. On the years they were tired of Fiji they would go to Bali or Sydney or any sunny, sandy place whose name contained an equal number of consonants and vowels.
”
”
Ann Patchett (Commonwealth)
“
Die Götter haben Menschen nicht gemacht, damit sie arbeiten, bis sie vor Müdigkeit umfallen, sondern damit sie sich des Lebens freuen und dass sie Zeit haben, Feste auszurichten und genügend zu rasten.
”
”
Vicki Baum (A Tale from Bali)
“
The two sides of me were fighting and I was starting to think my humanity was on the losing side. The darkness was too familiar, too alluring, too powerful. And stuck in a prison, power was something I badly wanted.
”
”
E.P. Bali (The Warrior Priestess (The Warrior Midwife, #2))
“
Some people think that the mating bonds we share with other animalia were created in the stars at the dawn of creation. That our souls have followed each other in groups since then, pining until we meet up each lifetime.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
What are the chances of two Adelaide men, both involved in marijuana supply, meeting by chance on a plane to Bali just two weeks after Schapelle Corby's arrest? Then, after returning together during her trail, what are the chances of them also randomly bumping into the Corbys and being fast-tracked into their inner-circle to such a degree that they were given special access to Schapelle in jail just days out from her verdict hearing, when she was feeling at her most vulnerable?
”
”
Eamonn Duff (Sins of the Father: The Untold Story Behind Schapelle Corby's Ill-fated Drug Run)
“
The man I am cannot see it because he will not allow himself more pain. But he did not fall in his final hour and neither will you. Command me. I am your general of war. Let me lead us into blood and fire and then we will make love on the ashes of our enemies.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
Every now and then, their mutual passion would show signs of fading; without the firm support of the world of everyday duty, it was difficult to keep up this fervour. Unless love is rooted in purposeful activity, its delights are neither fulfilling nor lasting.
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
Very rarely do such curriculums get written down at this period; to find such great Sanskrit erudition such a long way from India is astonishing. Far from being on the periphery of the Indic literary world, Cambodia seems to have been a remarkably sophisticated centre of poetry, theatre and epigraphy, and one of the principal centres of the assiduous study and deployment of perfect Sanskrit grammar at a time when that sacred language was the universal medium of learning all the way from the mountains of Afghanistan to the distant shores of Bali.
”
”
William Dalrymple (The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World)
“
Now, Raquel, you’ve told us that your beast leans a little more toward anima sometimes?” Raquel shrugs. “Yeah.” “So you don’t mind us calling you anima?” Raquel nods. “D-doesn’t matter which one.” “Good to know,” Theresa says, looking meaningfully around at us to make sure we got that.
”
”
E.P. Bali (Her Feral Beasts (Her Vicious Beasts, #1))
“
Rajalakshmi would send for Bihari and express her grief. Bihari would tell her, ‘Ma, when the worm weaves a cocoon there is not much to fear, but when it breaks out and flies away, it is hard to make it return. Who would have thought he would break free of his bond with you in such a manner?
”
”
Rabindranath Tagore (Chokher Bali)
“
Bali High is not a real island, you know. It's imaginary."
When Amelia saw him smiling at her, she quickly defended herself. "Don't make fun of me. To me, it's real. Besides, that movie has a message that really makes sense.
Such as? he encouraged.
"Well, it teaches us how wrong it is to be prejudiced and that we should accept each other no matter the differences. It also talks about the importance of having a dream. Dreams are important to everyone. "When she saw his brow crease in confusion, she sang,
"'You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
The Bird of Paradise, it seemed, had beckoned us on and led us in, to stand here in this place high in the land of volcanoes. It was here in Bali, after returning from the Toraja Star Children, that I first recognized what they meant by us all being born half of heaven and half of earth. And after the mounted warsports of Sumba it was in Balinese ritual that I saw with new eyes the battle for balance between light and darkness. And after Borneo, returning to the sacred Banyan tree and its simian custodians, I had felt that all great trees, what’s left of them, do indeed link heaven and earth in a single forest of life.
”
”
Lawrence Blair (Ring of Fire: An Indonesia Odyssey)
“
Someone else is looking for him?"
"That's right, two men." Mrs. Brody softly laughed and said "They look just like those men in that alien movie. Dressed in black suits and sunglasses. They don't have much of a sense of humor though. When they came to my door, I asked them if they were seeking aliens and I assured them I wasn't one. They didn't laugh at my joke.
”
”
Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
“
Kas teisybė - tai teisybė: tokį dokumentą pasirašyti niekas neversdavo: nori rašykis, nori - ne. Pasirašiusius paleisdavo iš lagerio, o nepasirašantį palikdavo lageryje apsidūmoti, kol jis nutars pasirašyti. Antras pasiūlymas pasirašyti labai retai teateidavo. Pasilikęs apsidūmoti taip smarkiai dūmodavo, kad jis su savo dūmojimu pro krematorijaus kaminą išlėkdavo...
”
”
Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
“
The alienating effects of wealth and modernity on the human experience start virtually at birth and never let up. Infants in hunter-gatherer societies are carried by their mothers as much as 90 percent of the time, which roughly corresponds to carrying rates among other primates. One can get an idea of how important this kind of touch is to primates from an infamous experiment conducted in the 1950s by a primatologist and psychologist named Harry Harlow. Baby rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers and presented with the choice of two kinds of surrogates: a cuddly mother made out of terry cloth or an uninviting mother made out of wire mesh. The wire mesh mother, however, had a nipple that dispensed warm milk. The babies took their nourishment as quickly as possible and then rushed back to cling to the terry cloth mother, which had enough softness to provide the illusion of affection. Clearly, touch and closeness are vital to the health of baby primates—including humans. In America during the 1970s, mothers maintained skin-to-skin contact with babies as little as 16 percent of the time, which is a level that traditional societies would probably consider a form of child abuse. Also unthinkable would be the modern practice of making young children sleep by themselves. In two American studies of middle-class families during the 1980s, 85 percent of young children slept alone in their own room—a figure that rose to 95 percent among families considered “well educated.” Northern European societies, including America, are the only ones in history to make very young children sleep alone in such numbers. The isolation is thought to make many children bond intensely with stuffed animals for reassurance. Only in Northern European societies do children go through the well-known developmental stage of bonding with stuffed animals; elsewhere, children get their sense of safety from the adults sleeping near them. The point of making children sleep alone, according to Western psychologists, is to make them “self-soothing,” but that clearly runs contrary to our evolution. Humans are primates—we share 98 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees—and primates almost never leave infants unattended, because they would be extremely vulnerable to predators. Infants seem to know this instinctively, so being left alone in a dark room is terrifying to them. Compare the self-soothing approach to that of a traditional Mayan community in Guatemala: “Infants and children simply fall asleep when sleepy, do not wear specific sleep clothes or use traditional transitional objects, room share and cosleep with parents or siblings, and nurse on demand during the night.” Another study notes about Bali: “Babies are encouraged to acquire quickly the capacity to sleep under any circumstances, including situations of high stimulation, musical performances, and other noisy observances which reflect their more complete integration into adult social activities.
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Sebastian Junger (Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging)
“
I saw the power this respect holds in traditional cultures on our family sabbatical to Thailand and Bali. My daughter Caroline studied Balinese dance for two months with a wonderful teacher, and he proposed to stage a farewell recital for her at his school, which is also his home. When we arrived, they set up the stage, got the music ready, and then started to dress Caroline. They took a very long time dressing a six-year-old whose average attention span is about five minutes. First they draped her in a silk sarong, with a beautiful chain around her waist. Then they wrapped embroidered silk fifteen times around her chest. They put on gold armbands and bracelets. They arranged her hair and put golden flowers in it. They put on more makeup than a six-year-old could dream of. Meanwhile, I sat there getting impatient, the proud father eager to take pictures. It was getting dark. “When are they going to finish dressing her and get on with the recital?” Thirty minutes, forty-five minutes. Finally the teacher’s wife came out and took off her own golden necklace and put it around my daughter’s neck. Caroline was thrilled. When I let go of my impatience, I realized what a wonderful thing was happening. In Bali, whether a dancer is six or twenty-six, she is equally honored and respected. She is an artist who performs not for the audience but for the gods. The level of respect that Caroline was given as an artist allowed her to dance beautifully. Imagine how you would feel if you were given that respect as a child. We need to learn respect for ourselves, for one another, to value our children through valuing their bodies, their feelings, their minds. Children may be limited in what they can do, but their spirit isn’t limited.
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Jack Kornfield (Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are)
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Life is short and that seems to be on people’s minds quite a lot these days. We have entered the era of the bucket list. No longer is it sufficient to tell anyone who wants to listen, or even cares, that you are thinking about a fancy five-star holiday. No, every proposed trip is now qualified as ‘It’s on my bucket list.’ Really? If you want to go on safari, see the Northern Lights, surf off the Maldives, or whatever, save up, drop into the travel agent or book online. We don’t care. Why should I feel inadequate about preferring a week in Blackpool to a week in Bali? And as for ‘experiences’, bungee-jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, swimming with sharks, are you off your head? That is a guaranteed bucket list, a ‘death wish’ list. Show your videos to someone who cares. Does anyone? If you want to do something useful, look after people, even those you don’t know, listen to them: you may be very interesting but others are too in their own way – and, above all, be kind.
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Marie Cassidy (Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist)
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I just want to understand why you haven't fallen in love."
Amelia was pensive for a moment and then said "When I fall in love, I want to feel as if I'm floating on clouds. As if there is not a care in the world. I want to be deliriously happy and tell everyone about it just like in South Pacific."
"South Pacific?" he asked with an uplifted brow.
She nodded as she softly sang,
"'If you'll excuse an expression I use,
I'm in love, I'm in love,
I'm in love, I'm in love,
I'm in love with a wonderful guy!
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Linda Weaver Clarke (The Bali Mystery (Amelia Moore Detective Series #1))
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Valdžia nebeapsikęsdama 1944 metais į tuos vežimus ėmė kinkyti arklius. Iš viso tą vasarą del nežinomų priežasčių, - ar tik ne del rasinių nusikaltimų? - į koncentracijos lagerį buvo patekę arkliai. Buvo jie, vargšai, pristatyti prie pačių sunkiųjų darbų. Jie turėjo net rąstus tampyti, tokius pat, kokius aš pereitą vasarą tampiau. Tiktai arkliai pasirodė esą sunkiau sukalbami negu žmonės. Rąstus šiaip taip dar jie tempė, bet vežimus su siuntiniais vežioti jie griežtai atsisakė: stojo piestu, lipo į vežimus, maigė siuntinius. Atrodo, šitoks arklių elgesys buvo piktos priešo propagandos vaisius, - šitaip elgtis suagitavo juos kaliniai, patys vežimus prieš tai tempę.
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Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
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Tai kas, kad daugelis iš tos komandos narių perdien išmiršta - barakuose, pakelėj, ,,darbo" metu!
...
Miršta žmonės karo laukuose baisiose kančiose. Bet tenai - visi lygūs. Ten - sužeistam pagalba teikiama. Ten sužeistą net priešas pagerbia. Ten - turi ginklą, Gali gintis. Ten tavo mirtis ir kančios šiokios tokios prasmės turi: dėl kurios nors idėjos kariaujama, dėl tėvynės, dėl laisvės...
O čia - niekur nieko! Jokios prasmės! Niekas tau jokios pagalbos neteiks. Niekas tavęs neatjaus, nepaguos, į mirties paslaptį pakeleivingos meilės žodžiu nepalydės.
Seniau, bent kituose kraštuose, kariamajam bent paskutinį norą patenkindavo - duodavo pavalgyti, dūmą nuryti, laišką parašyti, kokią mauškę išmesti... o čia - paspiria koja ir viskas,
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Balys Sruoga (Dievų miškas)
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Jkt 20/12/2012
Bulan ini bulan desember,spt juga desember thn2 sebelumnya pada bulan ini umat kristiani mempunyai hari besar semacam tradisi tahunan yaitu yg di sebut "Natal" atau Natale (italia) atau Christmas,dan sebagai penganut kirstiani sejak lahir saya selalu menikmati bulan2 desember spt ini tiap tiap tahunnya,saya selalu menikmatinya didalam hati saya,apalagi saat saya masih kanak kanak dulu,karena natal identik dengan hadiah untuk anak2,desember adalah menjadi bulan yg paling saya tunggu2 karena pada bulan itu akan ada sebuah kado yang menunggu saya pd bulan itu,akan ada gemerlap cahaya lampu pohon dan hiasan hiasan natal lainnya,saya akan memakai baju baru juga saya akan tampil dipanggung gereja memainkan fragmen dan drama natal bersama anak2 lainnya yang juga memakai baju baru yg menambah kesan natal semakin saya tunggu,
Saya lahir di Indonesia saya tinggal di Indonesia saya bersekolah di Indonesia,negara yg mempunyai beragam agama yg mana agama2 itupun mempunyai Hari besar nya masing2,sejak masih kanak2 saya selalu terharu ketika melihat org lain berdoa entah dengan memakai tata cara agama apa mereka berdoa yg jelas saya selalu merasa ada suatu hal yg berbeda dlm hati saya ketika melihat org berdoa itu,saya bersahabat dgn beberapa teman saya orang2 keturunan yg beragama Budha,sy juga punya beberapa sahabat org Bali dan keturunan India yg beragama Hindu,walaupun jumlah mereka tidak sebanyak sahabat2 saya dari kaum Muslim,Muslim adalah mayoritas di negri ini otomatis muslimlah yg hampir 90% dari mereka setiap harinya berinteraksi dengan saya, lebih dalam lagi saya pun mempunyai banyak family sedarah dari kakek saya yg beragama muslim,tidak heran kalau sy pun menikmati hari raya Idul fitri,dan tidak jauh berbeda dengan natal momen Lebaran adalah menjadi hari yg saya tunggu2 juga, karena setiap tahunnya saya akan berkumpul dgn sanak family dan kerabat merasakan ketupat lebaran dan opor ayamnya juga saya bisa meminta maaf dan bersalaman dengan orang yg pernah bertengkar dengan saya dengan ucapan minal aidin walfaidzin,luar biasa hubungan batin saya dengan muslim sepertinya suatu hal yg tidak bisa terpisahkan,tetapi diluar daripada itu semua terjadi dilema dalam hidup saya ketika saya menyaksikan hal2 lain yg "mengusik mesranya hubungan saya dengan muslim,di saat yg sama berita di media masa sebegitu hebatnya memberitakan hal yang menumbuhkan opini2 perpecahan yang semakin hari semakin jauh dari kata "damai" dimana pandangan yg berbeda tentang Tuhan adalah menjadi alasan untuk pendidikan perang! sehingga seolah olah memaksa manusia siaga satu dan siap untuk membenci saat ada kaum yg berbeda dengan mereka,saya muak dengan ini,
Keperdulian saya dgn keharmonisan keduanya Membuat saya tertarik utk "mencari tau tentang isi dari kedua agama ini,dgn hati yg bertanya tanya ada apa sebenarnya yg terjadi di dalamnya?,dengan segala keterbatasan saya bertahun tahun saya mencoba mencari titik temu antara perbedaan dan persamaan antara kristen dan islam,rasa ingin tau saya yg membuat saya sedikit demi sedikit menggali keduanya mulai dari sisi sejarah,segi terminologi,sisi tafsir2 atau doktrin (aqidah) nya,dgn mencari sumber2 yg akurat atau dengan cara bertanya,berdiskusi dll,sy tidak terlalu tau apa tujuan dan visi saya tapi yg jelas saya tertarik untuk mengetahuinya dan kadang saya lelah!saya merasa terlalu jauh memikirkan ini semua,saya merasa agama yg seharusnya memproduksi kedamaian dan cinta thd sesama malah membuat saya pusing dan muak karna saya koq malah pusing memikirkan konflik2 dan benturan2 yg justru disebabkan oleh agama itu sendiri
Seiring berjalannya waktu pemahaman saya terhadap natal dan bulan desember itupun mulai terpisah,saya sudah mempunyai pemahaman sendiri mengenai natal,Desember hanyalah salah satu bulan dari 12 bulan yg ada,tetapi damai natal itu sendiri harus berada dalam sanubari dan jiwa dan roh saya setiap hari, "Selamat Natal Damai Selalu Beserta Kita Semua"
Amien.........
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Louis Ray Michael
“
The alienating effects of wealth and modernity on the human experience start virtually at birth and never let up. Infants in hunter-gatherer societies are carried by their mothers as much as 90 percent of the time, which roughly corresponds to carrying rates among other primates. One can get an idea of how important this kind of touch is to primates from an infamous experiment conducted in the 1950s by a primatologist and psychologist named Harry Harlow. Baby rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers and presented with the choice of two kinds of surrogates: a cuddly mother made out of terry cloth or an uninviting mother made out of wire mesh. The wire mesh mother, however, had a nipple that dispensed warm milk. The babies took their nourishment as quickly as possible and then rushed back to cling to the terry cloth mother, which had enough softness to provide the illusion of affection. Clearly, touch and closeness are vital to the health of baby primates—including humans. In America during the 1970s, mothers maintained skin-to-skin contact with babies as little as 16 percent of the time, which is a level that traditional societies would probably consider a form of child abuse. Also unthinkable would be the modern practice of making young children sleep by themselves. In two American studies of middle-class families during the 1980s, 85 percent of young children slept alone in their own room—a figure that rose to 95 percent among families considered “well educated.” Northern European societies, including America, are the only ones in history to make very young children sleep alone in such numbers. The isolation is thought to make many children bond intensely with stuffed animals for reassurance. Only in Northern European societies do children go through the well-known developmental stage of bonding with stuffed animals; elsewhere, children get their sense of safety from the adults sleeping near them. The point of making children sleep alone, according to Western psychologists, is to make them “self-soothing,” but that clearly runs contrary to our evolution. Humans are primates—we share 98 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees—and primates almost never leave infants unattended, because they would be extremely vulnerable to predators. Infants seem to know this instinctively, so being left alone in a dark room is terrifying to them. Compare the self-soothing approach to that of a traditional Mayan community in Guatemala: “Infants and children simply fall asleep when sleepy, do not wear specific sleep clothes or use traditional transitional objects, room share and cosleep with parents or siblings, and nurse on demand during the night.” Another study notes about Bali: “Babies are encouraged to acquire quickly the capacity to sleep under any circumstances, including situations of high stimulation, musical performances, and other noisy observances which reflect their more complete integration into adult social activities
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Sebastian Junger (Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging)
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Variante. Tu sei un autore, non sai ancora quanto grande, colei che amavi ti ha tradito, la vita per te non ha più senso e un giorno, per dimenticare, fai un viaggio sul Titanic e naufraghi nei mari del sud, ti raccoglie (unico superstite) una piroga di indigeni e passi lunghi anni ignorato da tutti, su di un'isola abitata solo da papuasi, con le ragazze che ti cantano canzoni di intenso languore, agitando i seni appena coperti dalla collana di fiori di pua. Cominci ad abituarti, ti chiamano Jim, come fanno coi bianchi, una ragazza dalla pelle ambrata ti si introduce una sera nella capanna e ti dice: "Io tua, io con te." In fondo è bello, la sera, stare sdraiato sulla veranda a guardare la Croce del Sud mentre lei ti accarezza la fronte.
Vivi secondo il ciclo delle albe e dei tramonti, e non sai d'altro. Un giorno arriva una barca a motore con degli olandesi, apprendi che sono passati dieci anni, potresti andare via con loro, ma esiti, preferisci scambiare noci di cocco con derrate, prometti che potresti occuparti della raccolta della canapa, gli indigeni lavorano per te, tu cominci a navigare da isolotto a isolotto, sei diventato per tutti Jim della Canapa. Un avventuriero portoghese rovinato dall'alcool viene a lavorare con te e si redime, tutti parlano ormai di te in quei mari della Sonda, dai consigli al marajà di Brunei per una campagna contro i dajaki del fiume, riesci a riattivare un vecchio cannone dei tempi di Tippo Sahib, caricato a chiodaglia, alleni una squadra di malesi devoti, coi denti anneriti dal betel in uno scontro presso la Barriera Corallina il vecchio Sampan, i denti anneriti dal betel, ti fa scudo col proprio corpo - Sono contento di morire per te, Jim della Canapa. - Vecchio, vecchio Sampan, amico mio.
Ormai sei famoso in tutto l'arcipelago tra Sumatra e Port-au-Prince, tratti con gli inglesi, alla capitaneria del di Darwin sei registrato come Kurtz, e ormai sei Kurtz per tutti - Jim della Canapa per gli indigeni. Ma una sera, mentre la ragazza ti accarezza sulla veranda e la Croce del Sud sfavilla come non mai, ahi quanto, diversa dall'Orsa, tu capisci: vorresti tornare. Solo per poco, per vedere che cosa sia rimasto di te, laggiù.
Prendi la barca a motore, raggiungi Manila, di là un aereo a elica ti porta a Bali. Poi Samoa, Isole dell'Ammiragliato, Singapore, Tananarive, Timbuctu, Aleppo, Samarcanda, Bassora, Malta e sei a casa.
Sono passati diciott'anni, la vita ti ha segnato, il viso è abbronzato dagli alisei, sei più vecchio, forse più bello. Ed ecco che appena arrivato scopri che le librerie ostentano tutti i tuoi libri, in riedizioni critiche, c'è il tuo nome sul frontone della vecchia scuola dove hai imparato a leggere e a scrivere. Sei il Grande Poeta Scomparso, la coscienza della generazione. Fanciulle romantiche si uccidono sulla tua tomba vuota.
E poi incontro te, amore, con tante rughe intorno agli occhi, e il volto ancora bello che si strugge di ricordo, e tenero rimorso. Quasi ti ho sfiorata sul marciapiede, sono là a due passi, e tu mi hai guardato come guardi tutti, cercando un altro oltre la loro ombra. Potrei parlare, cancellare il tempo. Ma a che scopo? Non ho già avuto quello che volevo? Io sono Dio, la stessa solitudine, la stessa vanagloria, la stessa disperazione per non essere una delle mie creature come tutti. Tutti che vivono nella mia luce e io che vivo nello scintillio insopportabile della mia tenebra.
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Umberto Eco (Foucault’s Pendulum)
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What a joy this book is! I love recipe books, but it’s short-lived; I enjoy the pictures for several minutes, read a few pages, and then my eyes glaze over. They are basically books to be used in the kitchen for one recipe at a time.
This book, however, is in a different class altogether and designed to be read in its entirety. It’s in its own sui generis category; it has recipes at the end of most of the twenty-one chapters, but it’s a book to be read from cover to cover, yet it could easily be read chapter by chapter, in any order, as they are all self-contained. Every bite-sized chapter is a flowing narrative from a well-stocked brain encompassing Balinese culture, geography and history, while not losing its main focus: food.
As you would expect from a scholar with a PhD in history from Columbia University, the subject matter has been meticulously researched, not from books and articles and other people’s work, but from actually being on the ground and in the markets and in the kitchens of Balinese families, where the Balinese themselves learn their culinary skills, hands on, passed down orally, manually and practically from generation to generation.
Vivienne Kruger has lived in Bali long enough to get it right. That’s no mean feat, as the subject has not been fully studied before.
Yes, there are so-called Balinese recipe books, most, if I’m not mistaken, written by foreigners, and heavily adapted. The dishes have not, until now, been systematically placed in their proper cultural context, which is extremely important for the Balinese, nor has there been any examination of the numerous varieties of each type of recipe, nor have they been given their true Balinese names.
This groundbreaking book is a pleasure to read, not just for its fascinating content, which I learnt a lot from, but for the exuberance, enthusiasm and originality of the language. There’s not a dull sentence in the book. You just can’t wait to read the next phrase.
There are eye-opening and jaw-dropping passages for the general reader as Kruger describes delicacies from the village of Tengkudak in Tabanan district — grasshoppers, dragonflies, eels and live baby bees — and explains how they are caught and cooked. She does not shy away from controversial subjects, such as eating dog and turtle. Parts of it are not for the faint-hearted, but other parts make you want to go out and join the participants, such as the Nusa Lembongan fishermen, who sail their outriggers at 5.30 a.m.
The author quotes Miguel Covarrubias, the great Mexican observer of the 1930s, who wrote “The Island of Bali.” It has inspired all writers since, including myself and my co-author, Ni Wayan Murni, in our book “Secrets of Bali, Fresh Light on the Morning of the World.” There is, however, no bibliography, which I found strange at first. I can only imagine it’s a reflection of how original the subject matter is; there simply are no other sources.
Throughout the book Kruger mentions Balinese and Indonesian words and sometimes discusses their derivations. It’s a Herculean task. I was intrigued to read that “satay” comes from the Tamil word for flesh ( sathai ) and that South Indians brought satay to Southeast Asia before Indonesia developed its own tradition. The book is full of interesting tidbits like this.
The book contains 47 recipes in all, 11 of which came from Murni’s own restaurant, Murni’s Warung, in Ubud. Mr Dolphin of Warung Dolphin in Lovina also contributed a number of recipes. Kruger adds an introduction to each recipe, with a detailed and usually very personal commentary. I think my favorite, though, is from a village priest (pemangku), I Made Arnila of the Ganesha (Siwa) Temple in Lovina.
water. I am sure most will enjoy this book enormously; I certainly did.”
Review published in The Jakarta Globe, April 17, 2014. Jonathan Copeland is an author and photographer based in Bali.
thejakartaglobe/features/spiritual-journey-culinary-world-bali
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Vivienne Kruger