I’m on my way from Jo’burg to my home on the KZN south coast once again and made a stop-over at the top of the Drakensberg. Lovely place this – the Caterpillar and Catfish B & B and restaurant – a bit of a secret tucked away at the top of Olifiershoek Pass. I was so impressed with the meal I had here quite some time ago that I have been coming back again and again on my own and with guests from Germany including my daughter and her boyfriend they were here last. Situated right on the pass road just before you descend, they have a brilliant 5-star cook. Not once have I been disappointed.
Why am I writing this to you…?
Well, talking to a number of students this past week in JHB, I mentioned that I could actually teach most of what I teach with food instead of sexual energy! Tantra uses all the senses to bring you into the moment and away from the mind. I tell my students, next meal take your time and eat in silence, savouring every portion of food you place in your mouth. Don’t mix the different items on your plate, take them separately, and enjoy every moment of tasting each portion. What a difference that makes to your eating experience and what a difference to your level of satisfaction and contentment after such a meal. Of course we use our meals as communicative spaces in time, when families get together and we talk about our day. There is nothing against that. It is very important. But as an exercise try it and see what it does for you.
Of course a really wonderful, tasty meal helps too although the meekest piece of food will taste abundantly better is eaten in silence with closed eyes allowing it to melt on the tongue. So why am I telling you about my stop over? Well I don’t mind doing a bit of advertising for the Caterpillar & Catfish if it encourages you to take Olifiershoek Pass next time on your way to the coast from Gauteng. If you do, do stop here for lunch or an overnight stay in order to experience one of their outstanding meals. I savoured my trout and rice this evening after lazing in a huge bath feeling the sensation of hot water on my skin. Beforehand, I had stood outside in awe of the round full moon shining through rocking branches of the huge ancient trees on the crest of the Northern Berg. I felt the cool night breeze caressing my skin and as I did so, I sank into a moment of absolute bliss. It all tasted so wonderful! The more we use our senses to come into the depth of now, the closer we get to submerging into bliss.
If you feel uncomfortable doing this with your sexual sense, how about trying it with what you eat?
It did me good. I enjoyed connecting with who I really am through my sense of taste, smell, and sight. I smelt the freshness of the Drakensberg air as it brushed past my nostrils; I heard the leaves of those majestic trees rustling to the tender touch of wind, the odd cricket chirping and it felt as if I could hear the night itself. It was then that I had that moment of hearing me.
We need times like this. Time to stop, rest and simply be.
Namaste
Leandra
