1ST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH LECTURE SERIES:
THE STRANGE ABOHO: A Journey Through Tibet - 03 September

As Astro keeps reminding us, "In the end, it's the journey, not the destination that matters". For Roland Takeshi, his journey was a spiritual and physical ride on horse back, truck and bus, to Lhasa, Tibet. Having completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering in London, and inspired by reading Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet, Roland felt compelled to make this journey in spite of being a novice horseman and with blatant disregard for the danger associated with entering and traversing a country whose borders were closed.

Photo: Roland Takeshi

Roland planned his trip to coincide with harvest time, when food would be plentiful and the weather less challenging. He also carried a taped message of introduction from the Dalai Lama and a letter written by a Tibetan monk. These facilitated his accommodation at monasteries, and also resulted in being elevated to Pilgrim status and offered comparatively considerable sums of money for his journey. Dressed in traditional yak skin coats and hat as an aboho, (Tibetan for country bumpkin) Roland made an emotional farewell to his brother and began his quest by attending local yak races in search of two suitable horses. He was befriended by a Buddhist monk who helped him make purchases and prepare for the trip. Navigating a largely uncharted country was an anticipated challenge and Roland had spent many hours at the Royal Geographical Society in London, studying old maps produced by spies over last century. He also accessed current US Air Force maps, although these were not detailed enough for ground travel and resulted in him getting lost for three days. Roland traveled almost 500 kilometers with his horses across rolling grasslands. Sometimes it was a solitary experience, at other times he was accompanied by other horsemen. He stayed with nomads, in Buddhist monasteries and small villages, and ate the traditional barley and yak butter mash, inspired by the simple, devout, arduous and, by our standards, impoverished lives of these friendly people. Unfortunately, one of the horses became ill and Roland was forced to sell her. In his dealings to purchase a replacement, the police were tipped off and he was arrested. He was devastated that he would not reach his destination, riding triumphantly like an ancient conqueror into Lhasa. After some negotiation and threats of re-arrest, Roland finally arrived in Lhasa, having spent eight unsuccessful days by the side of the road hitchhiking and four days traveling in the back of a truck. Roland learnt a number of important life lessons from his journey, including being mentally prepared for his plans to be disrupted, and to relax and live in the moment. He also identified with the deep spirituality of the Tibetan people and their belief in fate, to which he attributes the overwhelming drive to undertake his journey. We all enjoyed his very professional presentation and I am sure many felt inspired to take up Roland's challenge, "Whatever it is, someone will always go ahead and do it, so it may as well be me!" - Roslyn Woods

ATTENTION EXPLORERS & POTENTIAL EXPLORERS - 08 September
Fourteen lovely ladies all in a state of high excitement arrived at my apartment on Monday morning 8th September. Not quite the same as the miserable Monday mornings I remember at home when I had a paid job!

It was the first meeting of the new Explorers season and we had a mixture of old members and, I am more than pleased to say, eight new members all raring to go.

Our numbers now amount to sixteen members with room for another four members to complete the group. The air was buzzing as everyone chatted about new possibilities of where we could venture to.

The Explorers Group has a meeting every second Monday in the month where each member takes it in turn to lead a tour to an unusual place or somewhere off the beaten track, somewhere different from the norm, or maybe something we already know about but with a different aspect to it.

Our next tour is on 13^th October led by Bridget Tesch to where, who knows? But you will be able to read about it in the November MCG magazine. One thing is for sure, we will all have a good time!

If you are interested in joining the Explorers, just contact me and I will happily tell you all about it.
- Susan Thomas, Convenor

YOGA — An Introduction to the Many Levels of Being - 12 September Parul Mehta, a Singaporean who has been teaching yoga for two years here in Kuala Lumpur, is a gentle, soft-spoken 40-something who exudes tranquillity and inner peace. She is perhaps the best advertisement for the benefits of yoga.

Her first analogy struck a chord with many of us: Yoga aims to make us perfectly still and centred, like a top, which although spinning at an incredible speed appears motionless. Yoga brings into perfect equilibrium the Mind, Body and Breath. She says moving into stillness helps us experience the truth of who we are.

As Parul talked us through some simple relaxation and meditative exercises, the atmosphere changed from a busy, buzzy gathering of "spinning" women to a roomful of attentive, focused individuals keen to learn something new.

Many of us have a vague idea of the 5000 year-old Indian practice of yoga. Yoga is a path to enlightenment, which comes from a Sanskrit word 'Yuj' meaning to join or unite the mind, body and consciousness.

What most of us didn't realise however is that there are several paths of yoga, each resonating with a certain personality type:

• Bhakti Yoga - yoga of devotion, devotion to god, appeals to the more emotional personality
• Karma Yoga - yoga of action and selfless service to humanity, appeals to the more active personality
• Jnana Yoga - yoga of wisdom and knowledge, appeals to the more intellectual personality
• Raja Yoga - the Royal Path, which takes one from the physical to the spiritual.
  This is the path associated with the modern interpretation of Yoga.

Within Raja Yoga there are 8 steps to purify the body and mind by taking you from the physical to the spiritual levels of our being. It is a life's journey, which begins with a code of correct conduct and ends with the ultimate goal of liberation:

• Yamas - our relationship with others
• Niyamas - our relationship with our self
• Asanas - the (more familiar) physical aspect of yoga
• Pranayama - breath control
• Pratyahara - drawing the senses inwards
• Dharana - concentration
• Dhyana - meditation
• Samadhi - self-enlightenment

Parul's talk was particularly enlightening to me because she matched the confusing multitude of Hatha yoga styles to individual personalities. Incidentally, Hatha comes from 'ha' representing the sun and 'tha' the moon, so the physical postures create equilibrium in body and mind by balancing the opposing solar and lunar energies. Now we can tell the difference for instance between the physically challenging Ashtanga yoga, Iyengar "furniture" yoga and Bikram "hot and sweaty" yoga, which is currently so popular with Hollywood stars. With this information we felt better equipped to find a style that suits us.

There was also a very clear and concise discussion of the relationship between the chakras and glands and how certain postures activate certain chakras for better health.

There naturally followed a most animated Q&A discussion on the difference between meditation and concentration, on the value of different diets, on diaphragmatic breathing, on the differences between Yoga and Tai Chi.

Many thanks to Parul and Jackie, who so elegantly demonstrated some of the basic moves. It was a morning well spent in Jnana yoga or the yoga of knowledge, and we all left more enlightened. I, for one, certainly saw the light!
- Gouri Mirpuri

Editor's Note: A good resource on the various aspects of yoga is www.omkriyayoga.com. Also, a great manual for both beginners and experienced yoga practitioners is Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandhaby Swami Satyananda Saraswan (Bihar Yoga Bharati; Bihar, India; 1997).

 

NEWCOMERS COFFEE MORNING - 17 September We've all experienced that feeling of being the "new kid on the block." Whether it was the first day at school, a new neighborhood, new job, or moving house, state or country, so many things are new, different and unfamiliar.

I moved to KL in July this year and so it was with this feeling of being the new kid that I went along to the Malaysian Culture Group's annual Newcomers' Coffee Morning.

However, as soon as I arrived at Renata's house I felt welcomed as the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. As more and more people kept arriving-I think the number exceeded expectations-old friends greeted each other, newcomers were welcomed and absorbed into what soon resembled a lively party-gathering all chatting, where else but in the kitchen! Everyone seemed to enjoy the delicious food as well as the great atmosphere. Thank you Renata for your wonderful hospitality.

Cindy eventually managed to move everyone from the kitchen to the seating area where she introduced us to the MCG team-all the people who volunteer their time to make the many facets of the MCG come together, and explained the history and aims of the MCG.

As I said previously I have only been here a short time. My first encounter with the MCG was through their website where I spent ages reading about upcoming talks and events. I perused the book clubs' reading list, read about the intriguing Explorers club, lingered at the library catalogue, read the newsletter and downloaded a membership application form.

To now see that all this was possible by these few people donating their time and expertise I was well impressed at their talent, and grateful that I have an opportunity to experience some of these fascinating events.

I am looking forward to exploring this new culture I have moved to, seeking out new life and view points, and maybe boldly go where no "Explorer" has gone before! As seemed to be the consensus of several long term members, "It's RM60 well spent!"
- Wendy Edmonds

 

TRADTIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE:
A Holistic Approach to Health - 29 September Thirty members gathered at the luxurious headquarters of the 120-year old company, Eu Yan Sang, to hear herbalist Mr Lee Jok Keng speak about the most important Chinese herbs that his company produces. The company was originally founded in Malaysia by successful tin miners Eu Kong and Eu Tong Sen to help the Chinese tin-miners who had become opium addicts.

Mr Lee proved to be a fascinating speaker and a fount of knowledge. He described the Chinese concept of diseases as a disturbance in the Yin Yang balance-either an excess of something or a deficiency of its reverse. It is important to have enough qi, or energy and vitality, as he said, "The body is a landscape garden where everything is related to everything else."

There are 6 externally generated causes of disease: Wind, Cold, Fire, Damp, Summer Heat And Dryness. There are 7 internally generated causes of disease: Joy, Anger, Anxiety, Worry, Sadness, Fear and Fright. There are 8 independent causes: Faulty Diet, Immoderate Sex, Stressful Lifestyle, Accidents, Parasites, Inherited Tendencies, Learned Habits and Poor Circulation.

Diagnosis is made by Observation of: the Spirit, Complexion, Excretions, Appearance and Tongue. It is also made by Listening, Inquiry and Palpation of the pulse points and the abdomen. Mr Lee then described the various methods of treatment: dietary modification, acupuncture, scraping, moxabustion, cupping, and local application of herbs.

He then described the 3 types of Ginseng: Korean, Chinese and American, each with slightly different properties, as well as the different types of Bird's nests and their properties, Lingzhi mushrooms for longevity, and the Bak Foong Pill for menstrual regulation.

After drinking American ginseng tea and having the opportunity to taste various types of herb combination pills, we were then free to examine at close quarters the range of herbs available, whilst Dr Lee made himself available to answer any questions we might have. Everyone enjoyed an interesting and stimulating morning.
- Suzanne Davey

 

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