NIMBOLI - START OF MONSOON TIME

The brick makers have stopped production due to the monsoon, and the air is very clear, and it is very quiet here. The grounds at FM are green and lush especially compared to the dry rice paddy fields all around us. The locals have built up the dikes which keep the paddy fields intact to hold the water. There has been such a pregnant waiting here for monsoon time - - the trees, the grass, the flowers, the animals, the people - - everything was on the edge of almost monsoon. We are blessed at FM having so much water available - - so much greenery surrounding us. We are witnessing a lot of activity of planting the rice fields and vegetable fields now that the rains have arrived.
The monsoon season was already underway in Thailand, and we were blessed by frequent rains and cooler temperatures. We bought boots. Jenatta found some very pretty deep-sky blue ones and i had to settled for puke green - - size thirteen feet are not considered to be amenable to fashion , but hey, dry mudless feet in monsoon time really counts i’m told and there are also all the critters which come out during water time. Speaking of critters, a crab just showed up in the pond at FM and i’m told that many appear out of the ground during the rains. A tasty boon to crab meat lovers and a good reason to buy boots ahead of time.
Prior to monsoon, the cows roamed freely in the surrounding land helping to clear the fields of all rice stubble and weeds. They mowed the ground quite clean, and our green little plot was very inviting to them. Every day it was a contest to see if we could keep the cows from eating the shrubs and papaya , and coco trees and flowers. We lost of few of our shrubs and trees, mostly banana trees.
The curtains and the plastic skirt over the vertical support members have been removed from the dome and put in storage. We will soon plant more vegetables for clean organic food.
Here are a few of our new project ideas:
Dome: install a metal sloped roof beginning at the bottom of the dome and projecting out over the circular walkway to provide shade, weatherproofing to the dome and walkway, and add some more privacy, since when meditating in the dome you feel a bit like “served up on a platter for all to see” - - not that our attention is susceptible to distraction (ha ha), but a degree of some openness and privacy would be more comfortable. Vines like Bougainvillea could climb up the support to create even more beauty and privacy.
Inside Meditation Room: we have made an indoor meditation room downstairs for those times when meditating in the dome is not feasible. This room is air conditioned and is a cool place to converse with people about HL and to meditate. We have recordings of Mark’s talks and meditations available to play on a sound system. This room is painted in high quality paints as a backdrop for our photos of our beloved Gurus, Babas, and Goddesses. The God wall is a rich, silky, true gold with a beautiful luster on which is hung the Guru Lineage Photos and friends of Lineage. Opposite this wall is the Goddess wall, painted in a gorgeous raspberry magenta, and which has a big White Tara Thanka and will have pictures of adra kali, Durga, Quan Yin, Shakti, Bhirwandi, and others. The inbetween wall, of deep royal blue hue, will show our photos of Shiva­-Shakti Union, Krishna –Radha, and other exemplary complementary couples. We have purchased some nice materials to use for pillows and padding. This room already has quite a Presence.
The Front Porch: The front porch and the garden area under the trees is the natural area for relaxing out of doors and social meetings with visitors. The porch is exposed every morning to direct sunlight and winds up being hot and uncomfortable. We envision an awning system which will keep the sun and rain off of the porch. Also, some long narrow tables skirting the edge of the porch allowing one to sit for tea or meals and be focused on the beauty of the landscape and the mountain.
The roof: we have sealed the parapets of the building with a flexible UV resistant roofing paint to prevent the leaks that have occurred there.
Employment for locals: we got some possible great ideas for local handicrafts in Thailand, and will explore this further and let you know more about this as it develops.
The atmosphere at Nimboli is very clear and clean and powerful, and we are looking forward to the plantings we can do, during monsoon and the further establishment of retreat type scheduling and implementing some of the creative ideas we got in T-land - - more on that later.