Images as Stories
I generally travel with only a 26 liter backpack on my back and while I travel slowly, preferring to dig deeply, I can cover a lot of territory on a single adventure away from my loved ones. I have no room for souvenirs. Yet I want to share the wonders I have seen, especially with my grandchildren who have not seen much of the world yet. I decided on my most recent trip through India and Southeast Asia that I would, with the help of AI, create an image that presented the essence of a place that I would most like to share and then have these pictures framed when I returned, including a brief explanatory inscription on the back. These are my first five. I plan to add to them.
India has a rich panoply of gods and it was hard choosing just one. The very air in Varanasi vibrates with the presence of Shiva. Krishna appeared to me in Varkala and his presence is strong enough in Dwarka that the evening services by the sea seem to conjure his joyful spirit. People crisscross India on pilgrimages to special temples to worship their most beloved gods. Lord Murugan, the son of Shiva and Parvati and brother to Ganesha is especially revered in Tamil Nadu, India. He is seen as a teacher and a warrior. He represents energy, courage and purity. His followers wish to be like him. His steed is a peacock. The peacock is a grand and elegant creature. Legends of the peacock illustrate conquering the ego, transforming desire toward a spiritual purpose and radiating beauty in the service of virtue.
In Vietnam, it is common to have a shrine in the home where the kitchen god is worshipped. He watches over the household and at the end of the year, rides a golden carp into the celestial heavens to deliver his report on the conduct of the family. Vietnam has a fascinating belief system which has integrated the customs and beliefs of many different people who have lived there over the past 6,000 years. It is a layered cosmology, adapting beliefs to their culture as they fit. For a deeper understanding of how religions can evolve and how beautifully the present beliefs in Vietnam serve the psyches of the people there, please read the blog post Peace and Liminality in Vietnam.
I had wanted to see the lion dance my entire life and was delighted to find myself in Taipei, Taiwan at the beginning of the lunar new year, where the dance is performed to clear the air of the old year and usher in fortuitous energies for the new year. One of those energies is in the spirit of the god of wealth, Cashein, top center. The temples are crowded with throngs of worshippers on New Year's Day. Each day of the holiday season is of a different import, and the third day of the new year is when Cashein is said to return from the heavens with boatloads of gold coins. Many make it a special point to worship him at temples dedicated primarily to him. I visited a beautiful and sacred one on a hilltop overlooking Taipei. For more about the lion dance and for pictures and stories of other temples and rituals, please read my post on Tapei. http://www.tinydancer.org/2026/02/taipei.html
The naga serpent rises from the water as both guardian and threshold being, moving between worlds of land, water and spirit. In Thailand and indeed in other parts of Southeast Asia, nagas protect sacred places. They can often be found symbolically as part of Buddhist temples. A famous legend has it that during a flood, a naga serpent wrapped himself as a cushion to elevate Buddha from the rising waters and spread its head as a canopy to shield Buddha from the downpour. Statues to this effect abound. The energy of the naga is ancient, watchful and alive just beneath the water's surface. When I sat meditating in the intense heat and humidity on my deck of the house where I was staying in Thailand, a house on stilts over the ocean, it seemed at moments that the serpent was rising from the rolling waves. For a visual of this, so that you can see what I saw and understand this, please read my post Enchanting Thailand. http://www.tinydancer.org/2026/04/enchanting-thailand.html
In Cambodia, the land is a living presence. Time folds into stillness. I went there to see the ruins at Angkor Wat, to feel the intelligence and beauty of a once mighty, but then fallen, and now lost civilization. And to meditate on the banks of the Kampot River as there is much to absolve there. Cambodia has known its horrors, horrors that should not be possible in contemporary times and yet are, and America has played its part in Cambodia. You won't find recorded evidence, but the emotions retained there are undeniable. I kayaked and prayed, paddled and prayed, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with the land and water spirits. Cambodians are a gentle, forgiving people and I left withy deep-seated admiration and a sense of tranquility. I was there as their new year was about to begin and a new guardian angel was taking the helm, ushering in a gentler ambience. For more, please read this post.