Explosives and children

As i sit on the banks of the river this morning I hear some birds sing, a fish jump and the soft purr the river makes as she flows over some rocks near the opposite bank. The river no longer sounds "OM". Here in Rishikesh, at least at this section of the river, there are few rocks, little white water. Not like further up in the mountains, where I was before, where the river ROARED with fierceness, crashing over boulders and chanting the sound of the universe.
No, this morning is peaceful. The water has receded since the monsoon season and left banks of soft velvety grey sand that warms in the sun and slopes down at the perfect angle making a very comfortable seat for meditation. Nature's livingroom.
Yesterday I finished my Reiki level two. It was very good, very...powerful. Not only did we learn more healing techniques but also one to remove mental blockages, for ourselves and others. Good tools.
Some of you may have been wondering about the swastika symbol that has been appearing in some of my photos. I thought this might come up. The swastika is actually a very, very ancient symbol, way before the Nazis and way before Charles Manson. I am still looking into it but according to one source I asked, the Hindu swastika symbol is actually backwards. It's arms turn the opposite way from the Nazi swastika and it symbolizes the sun.
Today I think I may get my hair cut somewhere. Some "beauty parlor" . haha
Life is pretty uneventful. You know, just petting cows and watching people and dodging monkeys.
I hope everyone is getting geared up for halloween. I love Halloween. We are getting geared up for "Diwali" here, the festival of light. Christmas lights go up everywhere. Light displays of all kinds.... and explosives. No festival is complete without explosives. Huge loud ones. Hardly can they be considered fireworks in my opinion. The little boys take a special pleasure in sneaking behind you or some little old lady and sparking one up to see if they can't scare the pants off you. Then they themselves explode in peels of laughter. They haven't got me yet. Luckily, so far, i have remained cooler than a cucumber, unruffled, much to their apparent disappointment. I HAVE jumped sky high before at the sound of a very near bang, but i have been in my house, or in my reiki teacher's house or in a cafe or somewhere off the street and out of public view. Those little buggers.
Well, I suppose I shall sign off. Love to everyone.