Date: Tue Mar 12, 2002
Subject: Shivaratri this Wed Mar 13

Hi folks,

I have just discovered at the last minute that tomorrow (Wednesday) will be Shivaratri - "Shiva's night," one of the major Hindu festivals of the year, especially in my new home-town of Varanasi. It's certainly a fun time to be in Varanasi, the city of Shiva - there are a few different concerts featuring great musicians and most of the city's population take some bhang (cannabis drink) as prasad (blessed offerings) from Shiva. There is an incredibly festive atmosphere with everyone running around in a very cheerful mood. This contrasts with Holi (also coming soon on March 28) where a lot of people drink alcohol and there can be quite an aggressive vibe along with all the fun of a city-wide coloured-water-bomb war.

So happy Shivaratri and may you take Shiva's blessing on this special day!

As this message is going around the world and I haven't written any personal news for a while, I'll just update you on where I'm at lately:

I'm now preparing to head off to Osaka on April 9, less than a month away now. I've been living without a permanent home, selling all my possessions and releasing all attachments. Up until last week I was spending quite a lot of time in the beautiful Byron Shire, about 3 hours drive south of Brisbane, going to the beach every day and retiring to the hills and forest for the evening, without a care in the world except to decide where I should sleep that night. I've been jamming with some really good musicians and sometimes staying in the Rainbow Temple, an open community space in the hills of Rosebank where the main activities are music, cooking, yoga and meditation.

That was all up until last week, when on a rainy Saturday evening my car skated off the Pacific Highway at 90kph. Despite the fact the my car was damaged too much to be worth fixing, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed as I was completely uninjured. So now I'm spending my time in Brisbane, riding around on my bike and trying to finish off all my affairs, selling everything I own except for some clothes and some tabla for the big trip to Japan.

Friends in Japan - I'm looking forward to seeing you all, especially those of you in and around Osaka. Right now I'm not entirely sure whether I'll be based in or outside Osaka but I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

Love to all and Happy Shivaratri
Shen
Aum Mani Padme Hum