Off to the Desert

Snow, snow, snow everywhere, a long, long winter of it, and my only way to escape was to fly to warmer climes. Thus I flew away for a month in Egypt, with friends and children, renting a house in the old hippy Bedouin settlement of Dahab by the sea in the Sinai peninsula (its kind of like the Goa of the Middle East). We rented a house by the Gulf of Aqaba at the Black Prince Disco and hung out in cafes, socialising, while looking out to the coast of Saudi Arabia, snorkelled the amazing Red Sea with its multi coloured fish wonders and coral reefs, horse rode along the beaches, enjoyed the flirtatious attentions of handsome young Egyptian men and went on an adventurous foray into the desert for a few days, sleeping on the sands under the stars with just a blanket.
When we returned, and by then this was the month of March, what should happen but the snows descend from the Heavens yet again and its more of the winter getting trapped in your house experience!!!
Now I am so missing the bright colours and excitement of Egypt...

                      Its me in a desert world

I have a matriarchal DNA and thus a female lineage that goes back to the eastern Mediterranean lands (from the High Caucasus reaching right down and round into the lands of Egypt). This I know from discovering that I carry a rare and very old type of mtDNA. I can imagine my own ancient mothers in this kind of environment. It touched my soul deeply to be there, even brought tears to my eyes... There is a Bedouin tribe in these parts that descends from people who came down from the Caucasus in early Christian times. They live in the area of Mount Sinai close to Dahab. They married with the Bedouin peoples and eventually converted to Islam but always remember their heritage is really from the environs of the Black Sea. Maybe they are my mothers times many mothers people... who knows????

Wine Appreciation

Corbieres wine, you just have to appreciate it, and the ex-pats certainly do. With my camera I have recorded some of the appreciation going on.
Spanish Tatianna holds little Georgie while drinking her wine. English Andy feels inspired to show his tattoo. And, Yorkshire man Jeremy can be seen carrying a bottle of good wine most places he goes, even while shaving in the thermal waters of Rennes les Bains.

Conspiracy Madness Everywhere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SunBcNIxYfQ

There is a rather strange phenomenon overtaking peoples minds in this area and its the accelerating trend for belief in conspiracy theories. I even made this little film (see link) of one of the local ex pats, Ian, summarising what he felt were the important conspiracy theories to date.  To me its akin to following a cult, the new 'Suspicious of everything and anyone in authority' and 'all is never as it appears but is always more sinister' cult. No doubt there are secrets here and there and information misrepresented, after all nothing is perfect, but this is way over the top paranoia and mistrust of everything BUT what the conspiracists are saying.
Peoples brains are deteriorating more and more into that paranoia over each and every conspiracy.
I seem to be one of the rare ones who doesn't pay heed to it all.
All the conversation yesterday at Esperaza market and later on in the place of Rennes les Bains was upon this subject. Ian, seen in the video above, now says that chem trails from overhead airplanes have given him swine flu, and another friend has become so freaked out about these said chem trails that he has admitted himself to a mental hospital.
Yashoda, a friend in England told me how Eckhart Tolle explains that this lack of controlling our own negativity is the prime cause of pollution. Its an interesting concept.
Certainly it is spreading fear in the minds of humanity, and time and energy is wasted on battling mirages.
Its an interesting perspective, that all this negativity may actually be harming our existence on this planet, because conspiracies have been about painting malicious beings outside of oneself and no responsibility is taken for what reactions that may create. People need to honestly look within and find out why they prefer to give so much energy to suspicion and paranoia.
The modern mind has the same susceptibility to rumour mongering that has in other lands led to one community turning on another, and in the past to women being burnt as witches. Such theories are malicious gossip on a grand scale, and come from inability to trust one who is other than self. Recognising ones own imperfections humbly within will stop one needing to project them elsewhere.