Our Tao Wedding Album

January 7^th, 2012

Last night Jim and I had our Tao wedding ceremony. I was very hesitant to go through with this since I take marriage so seriously and the Tao…not so much. As soon as I got fitted for my wedding costume I started to change my attitude. First, because I was realizing how much expense and effort Master Chia, Vue, and all of his staff were putting into the event and second, because I love to dress up! Okay, dressing up might have come first, but anyway…..;-)

 

Jim gets fitted for the wedding

The outfits were a mix of traditions between China and India. These dressings are used in the region where China and India share a border. It was pretty much a whole lot of fabric that was wrapped around me and some ornamental jewelry. It was the details that gave me the ‘wow factor’. The intricate patterns on the fabric were woven with gold thread. The accessories were covered in tiny ‘gemstones’ that would catch the light in a very impressive manner.

Chloe gets ready with some assistance.

Staff members at Master Chia's house enjoy helping Chloe get ready.

The ceremony hall was decorated with several floral arrangements. Some were small while others were very large. Some were so big that the vases that housed them were as tall as Chloe.

The aisle view of the wedding hall

 

The room itself was the shape of an octagon. In the center of the room was a carpet with the Pa-kua on it. (For more information about the Pa-kua visit: http://www.pakua.org/symbol/symbol.htm) Chairs were set up along all the walls so we were in the center surrounded by our guests.

When it was time to start the ceremony, Jim and I made our way from the entrance down a small aisle lined with flower arrangements. We took our places on the Pa-kua carpet and Chloe sat on the carpet too.

Jim, Myself and Chloe sit during the ceremony.

 

Jim and I each lit four candles to total eight…one on each side of the Pa-kua. Then Jim lit a candle inside a specially shaped vase. After he lit the candle, I placed a bowl of water over the flame in the vase. After a few minutes the fire and water make steam.

Jim & I light candles around the Pa-kua.

A closer look as I light the candles.

 

Master Chia spoke a lot about being united in the Tao. He invited all the guests to stand and surround us more closely. The guests then the guests walked together in circles around us while chanting and ‘sending’ us their warm blessings.  I could actually, physically feel this part. Their energy pulsed and I could FEEL it. Afterwards, Jim told me he felt the pulsing energy as well.

Energy pulses around us as guests pray for our best life together.

For the finale, Master Chia preformed a sword demonstration around the Pa-kua to seal our marriage.

A sword demonstration by Master Chia.

 

At last! We were married! Again. J

Me, Asher, Jim & Chloe pose after the ceremony.

After the ceremony, there was a big feast in the dining hall. We also had music and even a wedding cake!

When we retired to our room there was a huge heart on our bed made out of rose petals.

It’s amazing that we are lucky enough to have someone who would do all of this for us!

Master Chia and Tao Garden have given us a lot of very precious memories.

After some very early morning good-byes, we are off to Bali.

My butt is HUGE is Asia!

January 4^th, 2012

Yesterday was a VERY BUSY day!

First, we went to the elephant camp. Right away, we hopped on some elephants and went for a ride. It was a good thing we were able to get right on. Otherwise, I’m not sure Chloe would have gone for it. But, there were no lines so we were on in the blink of an eye and Chloe was very relaxed. Throughout the entire ride she kept saying “This is so fun!” and “That’s a nice elephant!”

After the ride we watched the show. The elephants kicked soccer balls INTO nets! They played harmonicas, danced and did other tricks.

My favorite part was when they painted. The elephant in front of our section of the audience was doing so well that we decided that we wanted to buy the painting. Master Chia went to ask them about it and before the elephant was even finished he made them an offer. They accepted and before the paint even dried there were disappointed audience members. They wanted the painting too. But, it was ours! Some of these elephants can paint better than me!!!!

Original Elephant Artwork!

We got to feed and play with the elephants after the show. I loved this part but Chloe had some serious reservations. She would not give bananas or money directly to the elephants. Instead, she would set the items on the ground in front of them. At least she tried to be a good sport. She showed interest and she did not cry once!

 

Next stop was Tiger Kingdom. You buy tickets for the size tiger you want to pet. The options were smallest, small, medium and “Big”. You could also pay extra to get a photographer to capture your experience. Master Chia, Vue and their kids as well as Jim, Myself and our kids all went into the “smallest” tiger cage. The cage itself was not small at all…but the little kittens inside were not too big. They were sooooo cute!!!! The kids got to pet them and lay down and cuddle them and hold their paws! We adults could not resist a turn with the cubs and we got the photographer to catch all the cuddly photo-ops. I’m so glad we did! The pictures are incredible!

Asher plays with a baby tiger

Master Chia and Vue’s nephew Max also went with us for the adventure. Even though he is a small 10 year old, he was very brave and went with the men to pose with the “Big” tiger!

After the tigers it was time for the crocodile farm. At this point, Asher had decided that he had enough fun. So, I waited in the van with my baby boy as he napped while everyone else went to see the crocs. I didn’t mind. I wasn’t really interested in the crocodile show anyway. When the rest of our group joined Asher and I in the van they told me that Chloe sat on the back of a crocodile!!! Um, they are lucky I was in the van!!!

Chloe gets on the croc!

 

After such an exciting day it was time to go home, have dinner and get to bed!

Today, Jim and I spent our first day alone together. Funny really, since this IS our honeymoon.

I got to choose the activity so naturally, we went shopping and had ice cream. The kids stayed behind at Tao Garden with Master Chia’s housekeepers/Nannies. Jim and I visited the market a Starbucks and the mall.

It had been a long time since my last Starbucks!

 

I was able to get some clothes at the mall. At home, I am pretty steady large top and medium to large bottom. Here in Thailand, I range from XL to XXXL in pretty much everything! And they don’t carry shoes large enough to fit me in ANY of the stores we went to. This issue did not phase me. I’m a shopper! So, I shopped! And I had a blast!!!

Posing with a friendly shopkeeper!

Happy New Year & Bloody Oxygen!

December 30, 2011

A nice young girl from Tao Garden met us at the airport in Chiang Mai. Her name was Pern and she loves kids. Good thing too! Because we just so happened to bring a couple of them with us.

She and the driver loaded all of our luggage into the Tao Garden van and we drove to the wellness resort.

The owner is Mantek Chia. Since he is a master instructor in the Tao he is often referred to as Master Chia.  We are guests in his home during this visit. His house rests on the “back side” of the resort property.  When Master Chia and his girlfriend Vue visit Oregon, we host them so Master Chia wanted to reciprocate.

Tao Garden has grown so much since I was here four years ago. There’s new buildings, a new pool and plenty of guests to use it all. As we were driving to the resort I noticed that the city of Chiang Mai has also grown a lot. There’s a new freeway, shopping malls (huge ones) and of course, they were all busy with tons of people.

The staff at Tao Garden has helped make our stay so far extremely pleasant. Pern has made it her personal mission to make sure things go smoothly for us. She took the kids during some mealtimes so that Jim and I could eat….gasp!...while sitting down! She watched them while Jim and I had our consultations at the health center. The staff at Master Chia’s house has been doing our laundry every single day. There were fresh flowers in our room. They deliver fresh fruit to our room every morning.

Even if we weren’t guests of the owner, Tao Garden is still a great place to visit. It’s clean, quiet and the meals are included. Most of the food in the dining hall is grown organically here on the property. They don’t use msg in anything and you always have the option to drink alkaline water with your meals.

The health center takes a natural, holistic approach to keeping people well. In western medicine, when you get your blood drawn, it sits in a vile and gets shipped off somewhere for examination. Or it might at least sit in the office for a while until someone “qualified” has a moment to “look” at it. At Tao Garden, they prick your finger and smear a tiny drop of blood onto a slide. Then they put the slide under the microscope right then and there! The blood is still alive when they look at it so they can actually study its “behavior”. In the U.S. clinical workers are investigating your dead cells.

After your live blood analysis, urinalysis and vitals, you’re given a treatment plan. This plan might be to resolve issues or it could be maintenance. That’s the basic exam but they also have tools to analyze what’s going on inside your brain as well other more intense options.

Tao Garden has a physical therapist, a spa, doctors, colon hydrotherapy, classes on Tai Chi as well as other “Tao” subjects. They host cooking classes and various workshops. Did I mention you can get dental work done here?

The property is full of walkways, gardens, water features and art. It really is a relaxing place to be.

Master Chia’s own children came today and they got along very well with Chloe and Asher but especially Chloe. Asher spends most of his time riding in the Ergo attached to me so it makes playtime with other children a little less frequent. Mantek (Jr.) is four and Ming Ming is seven. Ming has been Chloe’s sidekick all day. We went shopping and the girls got matching fairy wing and wand sets. They were so cute “fluttering” around between the shops together.

Before this visit, I had a hard time appreciating and connecting with Master Chia (and even Vue) but today has helped me with that. Seeing someone interact with their children can tell you a lot about them.

I have been learning about Master Chia fighting the “burning movement” in his area. (For more information on deforestation visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_Indonesia )  He donates to local charities and he is very generous with his employees. Most impressive of all, I got to see him as a doting dad. He loves his children very much! I honestly didn’t know that before. Now, I have no doubt.

Since Jim and I started dating, he has tried to pretty much force the Tao on me. Because of his tactics, I have had a hard time getting to know some of the people who have helped Jim with his practice. Time….as well as this particular trip to Tao Garden, have helped me give these people a “fair shake”. I’m so happy we came!

 

January 2^nd, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

To celebrate New Year’s Eve, Tao Garden had a party in the dining hall. There were traditional Thai dancers performing and there were items on the buffet that were not usually available in the dining hall. Roast duck is one example. Oh!  And Chocolate cake!

Toward the end of the party they had everybody write a wish down on a sticky note. Then the staff lit several paper lanterns and the guests stuck all their wishes to them. The lanterns were much larger than I expected. They are made of heavy tissue paper. After everyone ‘stuck’ their wishes to the laterns they were realeased, one by one, into the night sky. They float very high and there’s a point where you could easily confuse a lantern for a star. It was so beautiful. Imagine! That for one night, you could add stars into your sky!

 

After the lanterns were all released there was dancing. The kids (Chloe, Asher, Mantek, Ming ming and a few other visiting children) all went wild dancing and popping balloons. It was a pretty eventful night for the little ones so we went to bed shortly after the last balloon popped.

 

The treatments at Tao Garden are ‘alternative’ to say the least. First, you stop by the wellness clinic to give blood and some urine. You must ‘fast’ the evening before you do this. They like the samples first thing in the morning. It takes just a tint drop of blood and they put it on a slide immediately while you are sitting right there watching. No mystery labs here! They want to see your blood cells while they are still alive. They took a few images of our (mine and Jim’s) blood cells. Armed with the results from our blood and urine analysis (they also take height, weight and vitals) we were ready for our consultations.

Jim’s cells looked good. They saw a little bit of plaque and his cholesterol was a little bit high (which we expected) but overall, he looked very healthy.

My blood, however, had issues. It was so stuck together that they couldn’t even see if there was any plaque or other issues. They said I need more water and that I need to improve my circulation.

This is the part where I really feel like I have been let down by Western medicine. First of all, I’m pretty sure my doctor has NEVER examined the BEHAVIOR of my blood. When Western doctors want blood they take a vile, not a tiny drop. Had a Western doctor examined me that day, I’m pretty sure they would have told me that I’m perfectly fine and I’m just tired all the time because I have two young kids. Ugh….I digress….let me tell you why, exactly I felt betrayed by Western medicine at that very moment…

I told my doctor (who I adore by the way) that I thought I had poor circulation. She said “why do you think that?” I said “I’m tired all the time, by limbs go numb slightly more often than I think is normal….and I just have this gut feeling that I need to improve my circulation.” Without any further examination she tells me not to worry. My circulation is fine. Why? Because I am too young for any circulation issues. Huh…..well that’s the answer then is it? I just think it’s funny that without mentioning anything about circulation to Tao Garden…..that’s what they find. Even though I am young. The exact thing I asked my doctor about.

In Western medicine, I think we focus on treating ailments of people who are already sick. Here at Tao Garden, they look for any root problems that could lead to illness and help you find natural solutions before they actually turn into illness. That is real preventative medicine.

The treatment plan they gave me at Tao Garden may sound a little freaky to some people but I am here to tell you, it only lasted a few days….and I am just fine.

The first thing I did is called ‘blood ozone’. Have you ever donated plasma? Well, if you have, you know that they take your blood out, remove the plasma and then give you your (now plasma-free) blood back. Well, for the blood ozone treatment, they remove some of your blood (MUCH less than the plasma people take) then they add a mixture of 95% O2 and 5% O3 to the bag with your blood in it. They mix it all up in the bag….and give it all back to you. The blood mixed with the gas is much lighter in color because it is oxygenated. The whole process, including the 10 minutes of rest, took about a half an hour.

My next treatment was Chi Nei Tsang. This is an abdominal massage. I have had them before. One was at Tao Garden a few years ago. This massage is especially helpful for women. Women have a tendency to carry stress in their abdomen. If you ever had stomach problems at a stressful time in your life, you know what I am talking about. When I get Chi Nei Tsang at Tao Garden I feel a tremendous emotional release. I walk out of the room smiling, with a new set of eyes.

Most good things come at a price. Chi Nei Tsang can be life changing but it can also be an extremely painful process. The first time I ever had Chi Nei Tsang, I cried….no…I blubbered and whimpered and bawled. But I let them finish the massage and I’m so glad I did! It changed my life!

This time around, Chi Nei Tsang was much easier than the first time, but it still wasn’t easy. And again, I felt great afterwards.

Other than emotional tension, Chi Nei Tsang can help get your bowels moving and it releases A LOT of toxins. You must drink plenty of water after Chi Nei Tsang so you can flush the released toxins out rather than re-absorbing them.

I also spent a half hour in an infrared sauna. This was supposed to be very beneficial to my circulation. I have to be honest. I didn’t really like this one. I can barely sit in a hot tub so I figured I had no business being in a sauna. But, what the heck! I tried it!

Finally, I got a couple colonics. I have had colon hydrotherapy before and I highly recommend it. I won’t go into detail about this one for obvious reasons. I do think that Tao Garden has much better follow up than other places. As soon as you are done, there is a tray waiting for you with broth, papaya, herbs, and water. When I get a colonic in Portland, all that’s waiting is the bill.

I had my blood re-checked this morning. It’s only been two and a half days and my blood looks completely different.

I hope that people, in general, start taking a more proactive approach to their health. I wish we had a Tao Garden in Portland but even if we did, it wouldn’t be the same because half the treatments would be illegal. My humble opinion…it’s illegal because it’s preventative medicine that works and doesn’t use expensive drugs.