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The accidental Ayurvedic.

2/15/2015

8 Comments

 
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My last few days in Sri Lanka, my computer broke. While that might not be tragic for most tourists headed back stateside soon, I’m actually living and traveling in Asia for the next six months or so, and work from my laptop every day. In fact, I had just invested in a brand new machine before I left the U.S. only a few months ago, which set me back a pretty penny. But since I work remotely blogging for clients, it was a necessary expense. But there in Sri Lanka, in the mountains of Kandy, the cultural and geographic epicenter of the nation, my new laptop went black. It wouldn’t start up again, even after I tried everything and managed to get Apple support on the phone, who suggested I just conveniently walk it into my nearest Apple store (which was in Hong Kong, 1,000 miles away).

Since the laptop is my only way to work and earn a humble living, I was understandably freaked out. But in the past when I’ve had technical difficulties, my fear about the situation frothed into a panic, where I was literally sick with anxiety.

But this time I was strangely resigned to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to fix my laptop, couldn't work, I’d get fired by all my clients, go broke, and resort to living under a bridge where I'd sing hobo songs and eat fried grasshoppers every night.


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Powerless to do anything about it, I figured I might as well enjoy my last day in Sri Lanka. So I grabbed a tuk tuk to take me to the local botanical gardens. On the way, he stopped at an Ayurvedic Medicine Center. Now his motive was just to get me in there to buy something so he’d get a commission, but either way I learned a lot and thought I’d share my experiences with you.

Villa Herbarium was neatly laid out in the shade of a grove of palm trees, a healing garden and natural medicine center for just about every ailment you could imagine. The center’s guide walked me from station to station, pointing out the plants and explaining their healing properties. He pulled a few leaves off of some plants and crushed them up in his hands for me to smell.


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To be honest, I was mildly skeptical, and focused on getting through the tour without being rude so I could be on my way to the botanical gardens. But then he offered to give me a demonstration. He brought out a small jar that contained a lotion the color and consistency of crushed garlic. He claimed it was a natural hair remover, which was completely safe and totally free of any chemicals. The main ingredient was ginger mixed with a few plants. 

So he spread some on my arm and instructed me to leave it there and let it dry for 5 minutes. We continued the tour with the lotion on my arm, and after a while he grabbed a water bottle and a rag and cleaned it off my arm. To my amazement, there was a patch of completely hairless skin. It didn’t burn – it didn’t even tingle – and there was no redness or irritation at all. I was pretty impressed, and listened intently to the rest of his tour.

Side note: Damn I have some monkey-ass Ben Stiller arms.


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At the end of the half hour tour, he brought me to the ‘pharmacy”, which was a bungalow in the middle of their jungle grounds that had all of the Ayurvedic herbs, plants, spices, oils, and balms for sale. I didn’t buy anything, much to their dismay, but it wasn’t out of skepticism – I just didn’t have room in my one backpack to carry around jars for six months. But he did give me a basic menu of their different natural medicines, with recipes for how to make them.

Here are some of the high points, with the main ingredient listed:

Citronella oil.
A natural herbal insect repellent.
Sandalwood oil and aloe creams.
Cures wrinkles, dry skin, acne, eczema, dermatitis, and rejuvenates and smooths the skin.


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Cinnamon oil.
Treats tooth pain, ear pain, and bad breath.

King coconut oil.
Promotes growth and health of hair. (Many women use it to help their hair grow long. I asked him if it would cure baldness and he said yes and showed me that he used it himself to grow hair. Then again, he had a patchy half-head of hair, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing considering where he started or a bad thing!)

Herbal balm.
Natural analgesic against aches and pains, sinus problems, cough, and cold.

Siddartha oil (red oil).
Serves rheumatism, lumbago, arthritis, gout, and joint and muscle pains.

Sihini Slim Drops.
Made of lime extract but also bees honey, pineapple extract. A glass of water with a few drops before breakfast and in 30-60 days you’ll lose a lot of weight naturally, especially around the belly.


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Green oil.
I think this is made from green chili plants, and is effective in treating migraines, sinitus, and head congestion. He said it was particularly effective in curing hangovers, because a few drops of this oil massaged into the head and your whole head will start to clear.

Kamayogi.
This herb is used to cure erectile dysfunction, impotence, and promotes sexual energy. “You drink this you have happy wife!”

Ashokaristaya tonic.
Cures menstruation disorder and promotes feminine health.
Needra.
Helps cure insomnia and sleep disorders.


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There were also herbs, oils, and tonics to help with snoring, diabetes, dental health, allergies, bronchitis and coughs, blood disease and flow, cholesterol, cardiac disease, and nervous disorders.

It’s important to remember that these aren’t some gimmicky miracle snake-oil cures; natural healing using what’s around us in nature has been going on as long as there were human beings until the industrial age when western medicine tried to replace it all with chemicals and synthetic drugs with terrible side effects.

In fact, Ayurvedic Medicine is one of the oldest and most revered medical systems in the world, dating back at least 3,000 years in India. This eastern medical practice doesn’t promote use of natural herbs, plants, spices, and minerals indiscriminately or exclusively, but as recommended by well trained and educated Ayurvedic doctors. They also use special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, and other treatments to promote total wellness of body, mind, and soul.


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I, for one, am going to start looking into natural remedies and treatments for minor health issues more and more. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to grow a thick, full head of hair? I know for sure that their natural medicine works removing it!

After departing the Villa Herbarium, I visited the botanical gardens for a few hours. It felt so good to walk among all of the trees and beautiful flowers, taking deep, meditative breaths and blurring the lines between myself and the natural spirit of the world around me. I even forgot about my broken laptop long enough to fully relax. Actually, I felt eternal gratitude that it broke because that's what freed me and led me to that space and time of fully being connected with nature. And just in case I did get fired and lost all my money, I scoped out a nice bush I could sleep behind in the gardens.

But do you want to hear something wild? I took the train from Kandy to Colombo, the main city, later that day, and then took an early morning flight to Phnom Penh, all without the use of my laptop. I landed in Phnom Penh late and got a good night sleep, and in the morning I was about to head out to a computer repair center when I tried to turn on the laptop one more time. It came to life, and works perfectly once again.

Norm   :-)

Enjoy these photos from the day, and email me if you want a copy of that menu of natural medicine recipes I took with me. 


8 Comments

Taj Mahal: the greatest love story ever built.

2/2/2015

1 Comment

 
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There are many great architectural marvels in this world: the Sistine Chapel, the Burj Dubai, the Pyramids of Egypt, and the Great Wall of China, but none that stand as a living monument to two peoples’ love more than the Taj Mahal. The iconic marble temple complex in Agra, India doesn’t just have a love story intertwined in its creation myth, the Taj Mahal is a love story.

 The story starts in the year 1592 with the birth of Prince Khurram, the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. Price Khurram was born to a life of royalty and unsurpassed privlidege, his name changed to Shah Jahan in accordance to custom because he was the rightful heir to the throne after his father. 

When he was 14 years old, Shah Jahan was walking with his entourage in the Meena Bizarre and witnessed a girl selling silk and glass beads. She was the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever seen and it was love at first sight. The girl was named Arjumand Banu, a Muslim Persian princess that was a year older than him. Upon meeting her, Shah Jahan immediately ran back to his father, the emperor, and declared his undying love and that he wanted to marry her. The love was mutual and the wedding was set and the young couple wed in 1612. 

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They lived in blissful happiness and love and in 1628, Shah Jahan was crowned the new Emperor and accordance to the custom, Arjumand Banu was give the title of Mumtaz Mahal, or “Jewel of the Palace.” Although Shah Jahan had several wives (this isn’t the most feminist love story), Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite and the one he truly loved with all his heart. They had many children over the years, until in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died giving birth to their 14th at age 40. While she was on her deathbed, Shah Jahan professed his undying love and devotion to her, and promised to never remarry once she was gone. He told her before her last breath that he would build the most beautiful monument the world has ever seen over her grave.

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After her death, Shah Jahan was so heartbroken that he ordered the whole Emperor’s court to mourn with him for two full years. He honored his pledge to her never to marry again (a big deal for an emperor at that time!) and then set out to plan and build the greatest testament to love the world has ever seen, a mausoleum over her grave so shining and ornate and grand that the world would remember her beauty, forever.

It took 22,000 workers and artisans 22 years to build the Taj Mahal, which means “Crown Palace”. (There are claims that after completion, Shah Jahan had the hands cut off of all his craftsmen so they could never build something that beautiful again, though these claims aren’t proven.) The head architect Shah Jahan chose for the job, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, was not actually from India, but a Persian from Iran, so the late queen’s origins would be honored. They used 1,000 elephants to transport the heavy building materials like slabs of marble and stone. When it was done, the total price tag was 32 million Indian rupees, or the equivalent of $1 billion at the time, which would be much more in today’s dollars. 


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They used the finest white marble brought all the way in from the bordering country of Rajasthan. Depending on the time of day and how the sunlight kissed it, the marble of the Taj Mahal changes colors; sometimes rosy pink, milk white, or golden yellow, all representing the many feelings he had for his wife. 28 kinds of the most dazzling precious and semiprecious jewels were used, tens of thousands of stones in all. The brought in turquoise from Tibet, jade from China, crystal, lapis lazuli, amethyst and turquoise from all over the world. These jewels were crafted together into the most intricate flowers and then replicated thousands of times in patterns all over the walls and ceiling of the Taj Mahal. Writings from the Quran were inscribed in golden calligraphy on the arched entrances and walls.

Built on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, the Taj Mahal consisted of a spiraling domed mausoleum. Centered inside was an octagonal marble and jewel-encrusted chamber, which was supposed to be the resting place of Mumtaz Mahal. But her body was actually housed in a sarcophagus far below that very spot, in accordance with Muslim doctrines.

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In total, the Taj Mahal is 240 feet high and surrounded by four smaller domes and four minarets, or Islamic prayer towers. In front, there is a long series of gardens and crystal clear rectangular pools. The entire Taj Mahal complex is guarded by a red sandstone gateway entrance building and a red sandstone mosque, and jawab (“mirror”) or replica building directly across from the mosque.

Once completed, the Taj Mahal was just the first part of Shah Jahan’s tribute to the inextinguishable love for his bride. He planned to build a second grand mausoleum – this one in all black – directly across the river from the Taj Mahal, joined with a connecting bridge like two lovers holding hands, and there he would be buried when he died. 

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But Shah Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, seeing the opportunity to dispose his ailing and heart-stricken father (and perhaps worried that he might spend the whole family fortune on more construction) usurped his father, the Emperor, and took power in 1658. He placed Shah Jahan under house arrest in a tower of the nearby Red Fort of the rest of his days, his only solace that he could see the Taj Mahal out of his one little window. Shah Jahan sat in prison for 8 years until he died in 1666, still in love with the princess he came across in the market so many decades before. His body was placed in a tomb right next to hers in the center of the Taj Mahal, the only thing that is a-symmetrical in the whole structure.

Over the centuries, the Taj Mahal changed hands with each new Emperor, ruler and invader. The British changed the gardens from the roses and daffodils that were originally planted to the Wimbledon-like cool green lawns you see today. During World War II and later during conflicts with the new nation at war, Pakistan, false scaffolding and structures were built around the Taj Mahal to confuse and deter enemy bomber pilots. 


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These days, the Taj Mahal has been named one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.  Each year, ore than 3 million tourists from all around the world come to the Taj Mahal to witness its grandeur and learn about the Emperor who constructed it as a tribute to his one true love. Even 400 years later, it is the greatest love story ever built.

"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones."
-English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold

-Norm  :-)


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    Norm Schriever

    Norm Schriever is a best-selling author, expat, cultural mad scientist, and enemy of the comfort zone. He travels the globe, telling the stories of the people he finds, and hopes to make the world a little bit better place with his words.   

    Norm is a professional blogger, digital marketer for smart brands around the world,  and writes for the Huffington Post, Hotels.com, and others.

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