Art By Tali Landsman

4 days before our adventure cycling in China, my random thoughts: We already loaded the packed bikes into our car. Our personal packing is almost done.... After a busy morning, I spent the rest of the day yesterday in the studio, working, packing, painting, and as the day gave way to early evening, I continued painting while sipping wine... I tell myself that the open bottle of wine, will not be any good after our return in two months... but I am not fooling anyone.... I know better...I am nervous... Dinner was a mishmash of everything we have in the freezer and the fridge... we are trying not to leave any food in the fridge, that will surely rot.  We are down to basically nothing,...... Just a few lemons,  two red beets, a bit of garlic and left over soup. Yesterday night, Instead of watching the royal wedding....I watched a GREAT Documentary movie called "180° South."  Rent it and watch it, if you like outdoors adventures....it is inspiring.  The film follows adventurer Jef...

I read a post by a Facebook friend, who complained about the traffic cameras in her city. She said that she stopped in a forbidden zone for just a moment, to give a gift of a free printer to a friend who needed it, and now she got a ticket. She concluded by asking "Where is the Karma? You do good for another, and you get punished...." The truth is.....  That there is no justice in the Universe. I am NOT saying this with a fatalistic tone....  There is no justice, because there is NO JUDGE...  The concept of the biblical God who judges people, condemn them to heaven or hell, is simply NOT true. The only judge you will ever encounter, is YOU OWN conscious....  And believe me, your inner judge is MUCH harsher than you can  imagine...  You condemn yourself to hell almost daily.... While heaven is right here in front of you... Yet hidden behind a veil of illusions and ungraspable by you.... Of course there are earthly judges and punishments in each country on earth, which is aimed...

6 days before our adventure travel in China, my random thoughts: The mind never stops thinking. We may not always be aware of the thoughts and ideas that runs through our minds, but it does not mean that the mind does not continues to 'marinate' in its own juices and ideas. The thoughts that the mind holds, are habits of thinking that we developed, combined with constant affirmations of ideas that creates our realities. We may not be aware of our own mind's thinking habits, and not be aware that the thoughts we hold, may not be supporting our highest good... I will give you an example of what I mean. We all know how popular songs, have a way of lodging themselves in our minds, and staying there for awhile.... The song may carry a negative or a very limiting message, or even be really stupid, but still, we are not able to dislodge it from our mind... Yesterday night I saw a terrible movie, which we selected because it won major awards in the UK. In it, people were fighting c...

7 days before our adventure cycling in China, my random thoughts: In a remote fishing village in China, on the edge of the China Sea, there is a small house made of wood and bamboo. In the kitchen, a mother is teaching her daughter, how to make dumplings. She is putting her heart into the task, for she knows that children learn better about life, while believing that they are just hearing a story.... Or while they are busy doing something else... This is why the ancient Masters always spoke in parables....  When you speak the Truth in simple and direct words, people do not care to listen... This is why you have to weave the truth into stories.... Like a fine fishing net... She knows that one day, her daughter will grow up to be a mother herself....... And maybe she can recreate this exact scene...and teach her own daughter how to make dumplings..... And how to understand some secrets to life and living..... "Jiaozi (dumplings) dates back to ancient times," she tells the girl....

The concepts of Good and Evil, originated from the use of judgements, created in the mind's of people. The belief in the relative world of duality, gave rise to many other erroneous beliefs...And assumptions. But the biggest mistake that I wish to address here is.... The belief that opposite forces, like Good and Evil, have EQUAL powers. My contention, is that they do NOT have equal powers... LOVE, is the primary force in the Universe. And the quality of God, as a creator, is the impulse to create, to nurtures and to LOVE..... Love endlessly.... Love unconditionally......and love eternally.... What is ALL ENCOMPASSING, can have NO opposites. The LIGHT, LOVE or if you prefer to call it God, is all encompassing... It is ONLY in the belief and ideas in the minds of men, that the concept of duality and equal forces, exists. So how did we get it so wrong? When did we start believing that good and evil have equal powers? That the Creative, God, Loving, Principle is not omnipotent and Omn...

8 days before our cycling adventure in China, my random thoughts: Through the miracle of Facebook, it came to my attention that a FB friend, would be visiting Beijing with her partner, at about the same time that we plan to be there. She offered to meet, which if we can coordinate, will be wondeful.... And she asked if I have any recommendations of places to visit in the city. I know that Beijing can offer you ANY kind of experience you can imagine.... From the most touristy traps, to the most unique and authentic experiences........ So here is my cynical (but TRUE).... guide to Beijing: When you get off your plane, after your long international flight, if it is suppose to be daylight, but you do not see any remnants of the sun.... Get used to it! The sun in ALL of the cities of China, is shining very dimly behind an apocalyptic cloud of yellow and grey smog. You really have to see it, to believe it..... It is like no other place on earth....and it is a living testimony to the intentio...

9 days before our adventure cycling in China, my random thought: It is a windy and rainy morning here in the Hokianga. Which is OK with me.... I can use a day in the studio, painting. Yesterday we were invited to an Easter dinner at a fellow artist's home. It was such a wonderful gathering, filled with lovely people, good food and good wine. It felt so heart warming to spend time and to share a meal, with kind and interesting souls.... Many years ago, when I moved to Manhatten to live with my sister, I experienced the same feelings. On the holidays, my sister used to invite people to her house, to celebrate together. Most were friends and neigbhors, who did not have family around them, since they lived far away from their families and original homes. Yesterday night, felt the same.....friends and neighbors gathered together to celebrate and to share good time, under the warm hospitality and generous spirits of Monika and John. You always hear interesting stories when you get togeth...

I wish I could remember the name of that mushroom restaurant in Beijing.... It had a tiny ad in an art magazine, that we picked in the alternative art area of Beijing... All it said was that they serve the most exotic mushrooms in the world. We were sitting in another part of town, so we stopped a taxi and showed him the tiny ad. He put on his reading glasses, and nodded his head saying "Ha, ha!" (affirming that he knows where it is) The entrance was a bit shabby. A big fat sculpture of the Buddha, sat on a table by the stairs that led us to a second floor. We entered into a huge ballroom, that was filled with people and large communal tables, as if a wedding was celebrated... For a moment, I thought that we entered the wrong place....  This place did not look or feel like a restaurant at all....  Except that in the middle of the ballroom, was the LARGEST buffet filled with the most interesting and diverse array of mushrooms, I have ever seen... I concluded that we must be in...

11 days before our cycling adventure in China, my random thoughts: Yesterday night I saw a movie called "The Drummer". In it, a young son of a gangster in modern Hong Kong, flee the town because he sleeps with another gangster's woman, and insults him. For his protection, he hides in another town by the mountains. In the mountains he encounters a group of mindful drummers, living a simple life of mindfulness and awareness. The boy asks to join them, but despite being a good drummer, he is not ready to drum with their group.... As his personality has not yet been conquered... And he is filled with arrogance and impatience.... He is also not filled with mindfulness.... And his movements are jerky and clumsy.... He is NOT moving through life with humility, awareness and POISE, but instead he is too filled with passion and urges.... (I will not give more details of the movie, as not to spoil it for those who want to watch it.) When it was time to shut the lights and go to sl...

12 days before our cycling adventure in China, my random thoughts:     On the Ancient Silk Road Exotic goods, were carried between East and the West, But more than goods, Loaded Caravans, carried new IDEAS And in its natural way, Life, wove itself around the region...   A desert is not always barren, It can be a fertile ground For many stories and love affairs Between tender people and colorful cultures... Broken shards of stories I can pick up...   Passing whispers tell me, Of the glowing desert.... Slow Caravans filled with the best of life's illusions... Goods to tempt beautiful long haired women, And hungry kings who yearns for ever more...   Soft fabrics have their own whisper. They call for lovers to lay their naked bodies... They beg to be felt... to enhance lovers sensual joy...   Oh human yearnings..... They start in the mind and go downwards... To the heart, The stomach, The hard penis or throbbing wet vulva... The feet that itch to travel...   I can see lovers saying the...

13 days before our cycling adventure in China, my random thoughts: I am learning to speak Chinese, in preparations for our upcoming trip... Oh, who am I kidding.......... I cannot even pronounce anything beyond counting to ten, saying "Thank You" and "Hello/ Good day". To be able to speak a little bit....... (so I can ask where is the toilet,)....... and a few more useful phrases, I installed on my iPad a program called: "Chinese Speak Pad." It has some common and very useful phrases, and when you click on a phrase, it will speak those sentences in Chinese. The program, was written by a Chinese person who is not fluent in English, because there are sentences which make no sense in English like: "Please, I was stolen". (I guess it means to convey the fact that somebody robed you....) It also has some terms of politeness and how to order in a "restaulant" (no misspelling here, they actually wrote: "Terms to use in a restaulant...

14 days before our adventure cycling in China, my random thoughts: Yes, it is important to see everyone in the light.... And to love all as equals.... But...... if I were your mother, I would tell you to be mindful of the company you select to spend most of your time with. The company you spend most of your time with, have the capacity to influence your thoughts and beliefs, unless you are VERY mindful and very vigilant and very watchful of the garden of your mind, and what ideas go in there.... I came upon, a similar quote from a Chinese philosopher named Hasun Tzu: "A gentleman, must take great care, in choosing the community he decides to live in. He must keep good company and select men of breedings, as his companions, as a way to ward off mean behavior, and needing to deal with evil, and instead spend his time advancing towards what is fair and what is good." I think this quote offers a very wise advice. I also think that we as people, lost the sense to see what is truly...

Tali Landsman Today I am staying late in bed. We had some friends over from Haruru Falls in the Bays Of Islands, for dinner last night, and since we live so remotely, they stayed over to sleep. Like us, they are world travelers, and we exchanged ideas about places to visit, and things to see, as well as laughed like crazy, about mishaps, about running from revolutions that happen while you visit, the media, and much more... We laughed about the fact that most people, think that you have to be wealthy to travel... Every world traveler, knows very well that ALL you need is the spirit of adventure....and flexibility, a relax attitude and willingness to make things happen.... There are still charming B&B for as little as $5 a night, and whole fresh and yummy meals for 0.75 cents to eat....depending on where you go and what kinds of experiences you want to have.... I am not denying that if you want to fly to Paris, and stay in the best hotels and eat the best food, it will cost you.... ...

I have said it very often, that we create our own reality by the beliefs and ideas that we hold. One of the best ways to create your reality CONSCIOUSLY, (instead of subconsciously,) is to keep examining the beliefs that you hold. Dig deeper than the surface. It takes a bit of honesty, since no one likes to admit that they hold any limiting ideas. Sit down with yourself and be brave... Realize that only your own ego, prevents you from moving ahead... "You are VERY WORTHY and you deserve ALL good things!" Saying to yourself and claiming that you are very worthy, is NOT a statement of arrogance. It does not mean that by understanding, internalizing and claiming your worthiness, that you are MORE worthy than anyone else. ALL of us are VERY worthy. You are just as worthy as the president, the most successful athlete or movie star, or anyone else. You are Very Worthy! All good things can and will come to you, not based on how hard you try, but on believing in your inherent worthi...

This morning outside my window, the weather has gone insane...... it is sunny, yet rainy and windy and warm and cold.... It feels like the day has not yet settled its mind on what to be... Luckily.........we went cycling yesterday. The misty weather gave way to a beautiful sunny and warm day, and after fiddling with our cycling speedometers, (it will be best to buy a cycling GPS), we hit the open road.... Aha... The pleasure of cycling on the road.... Cycling is a very SLOW and very MINDFUL process. When you are driving in a car, you zip by the landscape and you are only aware of what catches your eye....and maybe also things like rain, the light condition, or the general scenery... When you are cycling at a normal speed, (not while you are going fast down hills,) you are truly INSIDE the landscape....... You become aware of every wild rose bush, every scent, and every fruiting tree...... every bird.... As well as all the discarded bits of trash by the road... Cycling as a method of to...

One of the thing that traveling taught me, is how to enjoy our world, and the people in it. I believe that by nature, all people are kind, and only when feeling nervous, rushed, threatened or provoked, do they resort to bad behavior. Even if you catch somebody on a bad day, if you do not take it personally, but instead stay with your own inner joy, and smile at him, or engage him in something useful, his own innate good nature, will surface soon enough. During extended travel, you get plenty of opportunities to let others shine. It is easier to see while traveling in less developing countries... But the principles are still the same. People invited us to see their homes, their temples, their rituals. When you point your camera, people will run to bring out their new born baby, all bundled up in fabric from head to toe.... Kids will bring out their beloved piglet pet, or their favorite brother.... I also have to admit that I love being a tourist. I never try to blend in.... I like to se...

18 days before our cycling adventure in China, my random thoughts: I have never seen a UFO. But there was a time in my childhood, when there was nothing I wanted MORE, than to see a UFO. I used to look at the night sky when there were no clouds, and look for shooting stars, and hoped to see a light zipping sideways in the sky, which would have been all that I needed as 'proof,' that UFO's were real... I desperately wanted to be taken away...to see other solar systems and life on other stars.... I thought about the subject very often, but never saw anything.......until one night, In which I had a vivid dream. In my dream, a space craft, landed in the field next to my home, in a spectacle of bright lights, and out of the craft came..... A regular Boy. He was a little older than I was, but not by much. He sat with me and asked me why am I so sad.... And why am I so longing to be taken away by a space craft?... I said that I do not get along with my parent.... But the biggest ...