It is a bit early to start a resume of the year, but with Flora's return to Germany the year does feel like it is coming to a close. Starting early in the year, I have had four professional tantric practitioners from Europe visiting and working with me. Each one travelled to all my venues, saw students either individually or in 4-handed sessions with me. I know that the students who benefited from this were enthralled, emotionally and/or spiritually touched, were deeply moved, while I found myself to be on a deep journey of self-exploration, stretching, sharing and learning. When Flora and I said good bye, it was like coming out of months of an intensive "magical mystery tour" to an even deeper understanding of what Tantra is and how it transforms and uplifts one to higher levels of clarity and knowing, to higher levels of awareness. The gratefulness I feel towards Nidhana, Lisa, Nils and Flora for their trust in my plans, for their sharing with me, for they way they each embraced the people they worked with, for their giving from the heart. There is no other way I could have experienced this all - and all this in one year!
Some time ago I wrote something about the best teaching being when the teacher is also a learner, and the best learning is when the learner is also a teacher. It was giving and taking, teaching and learning, personal and professional sharing all the way.
What comes out of this for my practice here in South Africa? More clarity about where I want to go, about what I want to do and about how to do it, and even more clarity about what Tantra is and what it is not. And inspiration to continue this path professionally as well as in my life.
It has been an extraordinary year for me. I worked with more women than before during this last year, with more couples and at some stage I think I should add up just how many people I and my guests have had the privilege of touching in one way or another.
There will be some good positive changes in 2010. In fact - these have started already! As it always is with things that are right, these changes came easily, just flowing into my life. What a difference to my experiences towards the end of 2008! Obviously and thank goodness, I learnt the lessons from all the difficulties I encountered last year!
So here is the news.......
CAPE TOWN
The lovely little house I was renting in Harfield Village, Claremont is now mine! When I was looking for a new place to work from on the last day of my Cape Town visit in October 2008, and for the first time ever, I went onto the Gumtree website to see what was on offer, this little house came up. One phone call, a viewing before my flight the next day and it was settled - this is where I wanted to work from. BUT, the landlord could only offer me a one-year lease because the house had been on the market and not been sold and he would be putting it on the market again at the end of the lease. I thought - oh no! I want something permanent in Cape Town. I have moved around so much already and this could not go on. So, without money readily available and no idea at the time just how I would do it, I asked him to give me an option to buy in the lease, and I set about materialising my plan. I did not realise at the time, just how much this plan would change the way I saw my life!
Eight months later I had the cash, paid for the house and the transfer went through 2 months before my lease expired. My joy is huge - a definitely permanent home for my work in Cape Town, wow! The big change for me however was something else.
I still had one foot in Germany. Many personal possessions were still in the house in Hamburg that I jointly owned with my husband bringing up our daughter. Somewhere deep inside me, there had been this fear of letting go of the idea that I may return to my "old" life of being a wife and mother (granted to a now grown up daughter) and all the family attachments I had over there. When I began speaking to my husband and daughter about releasing my part ownership of our house in which we had lived in for so long, I had no idea of the fears I would encounter when they agreed. It was a series of deep "downs" and very high "up's" until finally all was signed and my money came through. It was a deep letting go of a very important past and while it was hard, the release I now feel is equally great. All I have to do now is go back to my old home, collect the personal possessions I still want - I will do this during 2010 - and this past is truly past. Amazing, is it not...? For me it is.
So with some heart break, with many discussions and a lot of pondering if this was in fact the right thing to do, this little house in Harfield Village - all who have been there have endorsed how lovely it is - is now my Cape Town home. And the home of future fellow practioners either visiting or growing out of the work in South Africa. More about that later.
JOHANNESBURG
I have been extremely happy in my flat in Auckland Park in Johannesburg. One thing I always wanted was a balcony, a patio or a small garden. At times I thought of finding a garden cottage and once did take a look at a place I found on Gumtree. But with no time to intensively look for a new venue, it simply remained a message in my heart sent out to Existence. Then one day, friends mentioned that the garden cottage of family member would become free as she was relocating to Cape Town. I had a look at it in October and am moving there at the end of November. Suddenly I had let go of a space that I had worked from for over 3 years. One more trip to do some work in the old flat and pack up at the end of this month and move into the new venue and from about 8th December I will be working from my new space in Linden/Greenside.
It is a lovely garden cottage, the lounge looking onto a blanket of green, a little patio, a pool that I can use and a space to work from that will have many advantages over the "old" flat. One thing that really pleases me is that the working room will be able to take the futon and the massage table, leaving the lounge free to be my living space. The bathroom is larger, light and quite lovely and what is more, although it is en-suite, it is also accessible from the lounge - making having visitors in Johannesburg much easier. The cottage is private, has secure parking. and will probably be quite cold in winter, being on the ground floor as opposed to being on the first floor. However the cold can be over come....and I have surplus furniture at my home in KZN that will fit in there perfectly. It is also a more residential area where I can go for walks and generally I think this cottage will become a real home from home for when I am in Johannesburg.
MASSAGE SESSIONS
After the many 4-handed massages given during with the visiting practitioners, this is going to become a general feature of the work in 2010. I had a vision about how this massage should develop and it has. We all found that it went even deeper and in a different way to the individual massage on the massage table and the futon and felt that it had to be incorporated as a permanent offer on the massage menu. I will be writing about this and posting info about it on the DATES, RATES & BOOKING INFO page just as soon as I can. Of course, I need practitioners to assist me with this - although the Goddess Durga (the Hindu Goddess who rides a lion and whose stories inspire me) has many arms, I only have two! So I need practitioners and without revealing too much now, this will emerge early in 2010 when I will write more!
Another addition will be that I will be adding 2-hour full body sessions. I have found that many students do not have the time for the 3-hour sessions and while the shorter follow-up lingam massage is an option, not many students have made use of this. So in addition to the 3-hour sessions, there will be 2-hour full body sessions available from early 2010.
RETREATS
The weekend retreats which I facilitated together with Nils will be a main focus for me next year. They were so successful, so enjoyable that there has to be more taking place in 2010 - and there will be.
VISITING PRACTITIONERS
They will be back. I am not sure who and when exactly yet, but there are plans on all sides to realise this during the next year. I'll post information as soon as plans are clear.
All in all, I am happy with all these developments. More than happy. Very happy. Over joyed. And excited. I look forward to 2010. I really look forward to what the next year is going to bring.
Sending you, my students, all my love. And a huge thank you, once again, for your trust, your faith in my work, for your support and the inspiration you all are to me and my life. Without you all, this all could not be. With you all, it is my reality, my life and what a life it is!
Namaste
Leandra
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