Bird's eye view ..... Sunrise Ride over Luxor

The day's magic took on wings with an early morning hot air balloon ride over Luxor ....... up at 4:30 to catch the sunrise, as we lifted off ..... magical moment! Colleen, Atalya and I in one picture, Robert, Christian, Maria and I in another ..... Rushawn must have ducked down in the basket :) Lovely Maria at the top ....
Upon our arrival in Luxor, Christian introduced a form of yogic breathing for our first meditation session together .... I was thrilled that we were allowed to lie down, pillows, blankets and all ..... I have never cared much for sitting meditations ..... it was a highly effective breathing technique, resulting in a transformative session for all of us. Our bond as a group solidified or rather, it flowed, much like the River Nile. It was beautiful ....

Nile River Cruising ..... Luxor to Aswan

The River Nile flows with many hues of blue as we cruise to sunet .... there has been a major clean-up in the 30 years since Brian and I were here! The tourist, agriculture and fishing industries, all rely on the Nile .... so all is good on this ancient river that played so large a part of my early religious education and stoked my imagination so ....... we cruised for four days, stopping at various temples and tombs along the way ........ started in Luxor, Aswan and flew on to Abu Simbel. My favourite part remains the scenery, nature, interacting with the local folks ...... a constant on my travels ......... I imagine this is a rather strange thing to admit at this juncture, but I am really not that into temples and tombs, fascinating as they may be given their age :) ....... built by slaves for the rather egotistical kings, pharaohs, queens of their time ........ and what is that with the compulsive obsession with the afterlife???!! Guess karma were not in the spotlight at the time ...... so diligent about taking all their worldly goods with them and then some!! Fascinating as were all the thousands of artifacts, furniture, jewelry etc. found in Tutankhamen's tomb, and proudly & well displayed at the Cairo Museum, I found my mind waundering, wondering how many slaves died building all this ..... guess it is obvious to anyone, that I am not much of a fan of royalty, ancient or otherwise! :) In fairness, I did marvel at all the ingenuity nonetheless .......just grown a bit weary of all that hoarding that humans are so capable of and apparently have been throughout history ....... royalty, and the latest ...... the Wall Street gang et al. How can anyone, with any semblance of conscience, grab, with such greedy gusto, as many of our earthly goods as possible, leaving so little for the rest of the world?? How could one even venture a reflective glance into a mirror and not feel some form of shame and guilt?! History has always held a certain fascination for me ...... we learn so much from it ..... there is no doubt in my mind that this area possibly is one of the early cradles of civilization ..... but oh my .......... that single-minded preoccupation with the afterlife ....... but then again, the history I am currently exploring was thousands of years ago :) . We are an evolutionary species after all :) ....

hmmmm ...... wonder what will be said of the average preoccupations of our times in five or ten thousand years??? ..... will it be said ........"look at those backward people .... still consumed with old paradigms ........ even though in possession of thousands of years of historical knowledge on the futility of war, they war on! ..... worshipping the gods of materialism/consumerism ....... hating rather than loving, taking rather than sharing ...... 8% of the world's population today uses 85% of all the resources available on this planet ...... We are most certainly a part of that 8% ............ It was so in these lands, thousands of years ago ......... possibly then, less than 1% of the population using all resources .... the royalty!! ...... we have improved marginally :) As I stop to reflect ....... in all the countries I have journeyed to these past several months ....... most have little in the way of material goods, yet their lives flow forward ..... they love, live, laugh, grow families, enjoy times with friends .......... pray, work, play, share ... oh my yes ....... share ......... the poorer the people, the more likely they are to share ..... amazing ..... Sadly, I know too many in my world who only feel the "lack of" in their lives .... my take on all that ........ we are plugging up the holes of not enough love in our lives, the sad break-down of marriages where the family can often disintegrate totally, some left in the dust, floundering and lost for that lifetime ...... for far too many, that is a reality ........ and of course, the sadly deteriorating spiritual lives .... aaah, the list goes on ......... way too much "stuff" is subsequently used, trying to fill the empty gaps & valleys of the soul ...... In every so-called third world country I have traveled to, it is the norm for extended families to get together daily and absolutely weekly for dinners together ..... it seems to be the glue that keeps their lives just a little bit brighter and happier on every level. They are connected to something real and strong .......... not the newest gadgets, fashions, cars, excessive clothing, posh hairdos, sports (there is no extra money is most families for anything but basic survival!) ........ and oh my, yes, that time-consuming preoccupation in North America .... the quest to find the "fountain of youth" be it via an injection of botox, the latest youth enhancing face cream, antioxidant, or worse yet, altering body shapes with surgery ("if I just look a certain way, maybe someone will really love me!!") ...... goodness ..... all that nonsense that our so-called advanced world indulges in!!! .......... when sitting down with our families at home over a steaming bowl of stew or pho, stirred and stewed with love, is what truly feeds the hunger within and without. Ironic for me, that the importance of family keeps being reinforced, as I journey on, so far from the comforts of my own family and home who I love so dearly. Of course I did not need to leave to know what is truly important in life, but still, it is interesting to see it reinforced in every culture I travel to. Sunday dinner at our home has always been a family affair ...... an institution really for many years :) !!! ....... and I only hope Sarah is keeping those fires burning in my sabbatical year. Next year, Brian and I welcome our first grandchild into the family fold ...... Sarah & Rob's co-creation with God .... Love ...... it is what ignites and fuels the creation of this Leppanen/Webb/Overmann, Cullen/McMechan/Hawkes/Gauss/White/Boucher/family tapestry that is without beginning or end.

(did I leave anyone out ..... quite late for me and mistakes are inevitable when I type on the blog :)) ..... Musing and thinking outloud here ..... just had a fellow move away from me here in the business center, giving me a puzzled look as he left .... I have a tendency to whisper my words sometimes as I type :) ..... Sarah, Tim and Brian will laugh at that one :) ......

Temples, Tombs and Timetravelers

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple ... various

Dandara Temple ... various

Surrounded by hieroglyphics .... Rushawn and Colleen

Christian playing around with the reflected light

Luxor Temple at Night and my little Egyptian friend :)

Wael giving us the run down on Luxor Temple

Lovely Atalya .... would match her up with another free spirit, my great nephew Andrew, if she lived in Calgary :)

What a group!!! ...... Eclectica to spare!!

I greeted a rather travel weary group on the evening of the 1st .... but wow, what a group ..... the names alone take one on a tongue twister of a ride ....... ethnic backgrounds include Cuba, East India, Ethiopia, Ojibway Native, Filipino, (not sure what Rushawn's background is but he is half black) and oh yes, Finnish :) ........ most surprising was that 60% of us are Canadian!!! A first!! ..... in all the years I have attended retreats and conferences outside of Canada, I am often a token Canadian or one of a handful ..... We have Rushawn, his daughter Atalya, girlfriend Colleen all from Winnipeg, Malti and Abera from Vancouver and me! Christian our American conference facilitator from Miami, Maria .... Orlando, Robert .... New Jersey, Naz ... New York and Anita ... Ohio ..... a range of professions from healers to composers to our youngest, Atalya, a grade five student!! ..... should make for an interesting few weeks :) ......... The pictures are various scenes from Karnak and Luxor temples, local kids I chatted with in front of the Cairo Museum, Cairo's Amro Ebn El Aas mosque, the oldest in Africa, establised by the first Muslim leader in Africa, who was, of course, Amro Ebn El Aas! .... women had to cover up with cloaks handed out at front door prior to entering the mosque, hence the kkk fashion statement. Bottom pictures ..... Mohammed Fayed's mother's home where we were treated to a feast and tea in their living room. Mohammed is our local guide and host who spends half the year in Cairo, the other half in Virginia .... one of the most organized people I have ever met .... he rivals our own Sarah in that department .... hard to believe he is only 25 ...... Mohammed's father passed away when he was 17, leaving him to run the family travel business with his mother .... surely a fast track to maturity! Mohammed and his mom Ratibah are sitting in the middle on bottom photo. This comprises my family for the next few weeks as I journey forward ..... oh yes, and we have Wael, our local Egyptologist, joining us as well ..... a jovial, highly educated and knowledgeable dude ..... great sense of humor .... fun to have around .... Massalamah

BEST NEWS EVER!!!

I think I can finally announce something so beautiful that it has been hard to keep a lid on it! Sarah asked me not to mention anything until December 11th ..... it is the 12th here in Cairo, but still the 11th in Calgary!! I am imagining sitting down to my native drum, which sits in our family room in Calgary ..... here comes my drum roll .............. Sarah and Rob will become parents in mid July 2011!!! ...... making Brian and I grandparents and Tim an uncle!!! This is just so awesome, I am STILL almost speechless and I have known for a month!!! As you may all recall, when I first started my journey May 19th, I said there was a tiny window of time for me to take this trip before the grandchildren start arriving ....... I cannot fathom being away from our first grandchild in that beautiful first year (or any year for that matter :)!!!!) ..... so there you go, subconsciously, I must have known something :) .... Sadly, I will miss most of Sarah's pregnancy, but thankfully will get back in time for the last few months of it. It is a beautiful time for Sarah and Rob and the adventure of a lifetime awaits them in July. To welcome a new life into our family is a gift from God ....... now, if I could just get Sarah to somehow post a picture of herself on this blog (with Rob and Dexter beaming nearby) ...... little rounded tummy and all ..... is this possible for you to do Sarah??? ..... you know all my codes to get into my blog, so give it a whirl :) My love to everyone, Grandmother in waiting, Seija xo

Back in the Middle East .... Al Hamdu I-illah!

Thirty years have passed since last I heard a "sabah el kheir" in the morning ........... how quickly the basic greetings came back .... I suppose I was immersed in the Arabic culture of Kuwait for over five years back in the seventies :) ..... Much as I am happy to reacquaint myself with the ME once again, leaving Vietnam was hard ..... I had grown to love the country, culture and it's people. Almost three months of working and traveling there changed me for the better like no other country has ever done. I seem to have acquired a calm gentleness which surprises me daily .... I can sit for hours and just breathe in the atmosphere, wherever I am. I needed a few days to get into the rhythm of the more aggressive style of interacting that is typical of the average Egyptian :) No insult intended to the Egyptians .... but they do have a different way of expressing themselves and hmmmm ........ a woman on her own ........ well, needless to say, even at this ripe age, I have had a few issues to address immediately and continue to do so whenever I venture out of my hotel ..... oh, but I do love the Arabic/Egyptian manner of greeting friends ..... ie kissing both cheeks .... sweet! I think the word is out that there are many spiritual seekers checking out Egypt ..... every taxi driver seems to have a cousin, friend, auntie, uncle, brother etc. who has a business in chakra healing, specially formulated perfume and body oils, Egyptian energy healing, or special meditation time they can arrange in the desert or inside the pyramids, sunrise to sunset! Yes, must admit, in all ways, it does feel good to be back in the Middle East ..... despite Cairo's population boom (I put aside my normal aversion to big cities) ........ 5 million back in the 70's to close to 20 million today, little has changed and the friendliness is contagious ..... overall, they are a good lot ..... I feel quite comfortable here as I await the group of ten arriving from New York in a few days. We are all here with Prophets Conference and will be exploring the ancient temples of Egypt together ........ from Cairo to the Southern temples of Abu Simbel ....... the temples sit above Lake Nasser, a huge reservoir/man made lake, created in the 1960's when the Nile River High Dam was built in Aswan. This lake now provides electricity and irrigation for all of Egypt! It also happens to house all the endangered crocodiles in Egypt! Apparently, since the dam was built, they no longer live in the Nile River ..... good to know in case I feel like a swim in the river during our four day cruise!! I checked into Mena Oberoi House, which almost appears to sit at the base of the pyramids ..... well, as close to the base of them as one is likely to get in Cairo ..... this is a historical old hotel dating back to the late 1800's . ....... I love that there are so many artifacts, furniture, light fixtures and artwork dating back to it's beginnings ....... makes for an enjoyable walk to breakfast every morning as I check them out! I notice there are dozens of tanks, with even more dozens of army/police lining the streets around the Oberoi .... my guide advises there is a civic election of some kind the following day, (I wasn't aware voting happened in Egypt .... ) and in case of demonstrations, police are usually called in for control ..... nothing to worry about he says, but strange for me ..... I and my bag went through heavy duty scanning before being allowed into the lobby of the hotel .... oh well, undoubtedly times have changed in the Middle East. Apparently, one of the voting stations is across from the hotel ..... oh good, I think to myself! :) Breakfast proves to be a feast ..... starting with a freshly squeezed juice which varies daily from kiwi one morning, to mango, to watermelon to green melon and occasionally orange juice!! ...... followed by a bowl of pomegranate seeds sprinkled on fresh melon, mango, apple, orange fruit platter, followed further by tahini with just about anything ..... I have discovered it tastes awesome with eggs, bread, cucumbers slices, tomotoes, potatoes ..... any fish dish, oh my, yes, anything!!! The tahini is augmented with baba ghanoush/matabal and hummus during the lunch and dinner feasts! Yes, I most certainly love my Arabic/Lebanese/Egyptian food!! ......... I shall surely roll out of this country .... the airline clerks may ask to weigh me instead of my luggage!!! Hoping the food in India is less to my liking (not particularly meaning to follow Elizabeth Gilbert's lead while there, but still ...... yikes, need to find a cuisine I don't like!!) ......... Massalamah :)