Jim here in Dubai, firing up a late night flower smelling post with news just in about news just out.

Last week I shared with you how, having scribed my way around India last month our blog entries were published in the Pune mirror Sunday magazine, issued with the Indian times revealing my OSHO experience. Well we’ve featured again – this time on my brief encounter with H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama aka Tenzin Gyatso:

Just click on these links below that have been added to our blossoming ‘flowers in the media’ section:

Dalai Lama article page 1

Dalai Lama article page 2

Following the Dalai Lama posts here at flowers debates ensued over the topic of reincarnation. See below and ‘previous posts’ if you missed it the first time as comments came in thick, fast & from the heart. Did we put the reincarnation issue to bed or does it need (ahem) resurrecting?

Traffic reached an all time peak here at GSTF with new visitors from India so welcome to you all.

Your comments about the article are both appreciated & valued. Whaddaya say?

Jim here, enjoying smelling the Rhodedendrum meets saffron scent coming from these original tara incense sticks I bought in Dharamshala, India. Accompanying the incense was me questioning if reincarnation actually exists after my close up with H.H the 14th Dalai Lama.

The Discovery, Recognition and Enthronement of Tibetan Lama have always been mystical and strange for most Westerners.

All I ask is for an open mind as I share with you some of the things I heard in Dharamshala.

After the 13th Dalai Lama died (?) various signs were witnessed that indicated the reincarnation would be in north Eastern Tibet in 1936. When the 13th Dalai Lama died his body was placed South while his head kept facing east.

Clouds were said to have formed in auspicious shapes on the North east horizon, snapdragons blossomed where they normally didn’t and star shaped fungi appeared in the North East of the tomb of the 13th Dalai Lama……

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As my time here in Dharamshala, Northern India comes to an end my chances of another glimpse of H.H Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso by birth) might just be possible as he is due to return from New Delhi after a medical check up. The Tibetan monk, 73, will return home to this northern Indian town where I’ve been for the last week and the Tibetan government-in-exile have been since 1959.

He departed here from Gaggal airport on Tuesday (sounds like a goose sanctuary) locals have told me that it is the pressure of the persistent demands for more autonomy for Chinese controlled Tibet.

Pictured here praying that his medical bill is covered by BUPA. I do wonder if he is on BUPA or similar – seriously?

H.H The Dalai Lama conducted his teaching last week in Dharamshala but trips to Germany and Switzerland this month have been cancelled. The health of the 73 year old aging spiritual leader continues to cause concern despite this being passed off as a ‘check up’. At the end of August he underwent treatment for abdominal pains in Leelavati Hospital, Mumbai.

Whilst we wish him a speedy recovery all is not as rosy as it seems with the local Indian perception of how Tibetans are……….

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Any OSHO fans still reading? It was a great experience in Pune, India and I’m fond of the place itself – the real world!

Eight blog posts & 17,000 words later and over 400 comments I’d aired my experience as it happened. A meeting with an editor and a flower smelling photograph later GO! Smell the flowers the OSHO experience made it into the Pune Mirror Sunday Magazine that comes with The Times of India.

Targeted at the young readers of Pune it aims to combine racy content with the sophistication and gravitas of a broadsheet - something worth aiming for to ensure debate, right?

For those who missed the posts and the hundreds of ‘make you think’ inspiring comments that accompanied them just scroll down this flowers blog for a taster and hit on ‘previous posts’ at the bottom left for the rest. Thanks to the article we’ve had some great insights in the OSHOpping post from day 7 at the bottom of this page that are still going on.

Why the Ying-Yang sign you may wonder? More on that but first here are PDF’s of the 3 page article that make their way over to the Flowers in the media section found in the right column of this homepage and right here for those interested:

OSHO 1

OSHO 2

OSHO 3

Splashed over the main Sunday mag in Pune as it makes it’s way to other Times groups…..

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Location: Dharamshala, India amongst the Tibetan settlements and the residence of Noble Laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama since 1959. He is at his temple – I am staying 15 minutes walk away at the Clouds End Villa.

Altitude: Between 1,250 and 3,000 metres.

Attitude: Open minded.

Temperature: Maximum 38 degree C in June; minimum 0 degree C in January.

Annual Rainfall: Varies between 290 and 380cm. Monsoon season is July to September so it’s dry now and great for treking.

Mission : To find Mona Lisa impersonators & to learn more about the Dalia Lama (I’ll refer to him as H.H in the rest of this article as he often is) , China & Tibet. It’s OK – the Tibetan people here encourage a sense of humour My timing here is more luck than judgement as it happens with H.H giving bi-annual teachings and an open mic Q&A session in front of a public audience. I strolled up to his Main Tibetan temple

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Hot off the OSHO trail (((group hug))) from Pune, India I thought I’d get a grip of reality and aim for triple D’s.

Namely Delhi, Dharamshala & back home to Dubai before my rupee travel fund goes overdrawn and I knuckle down to earning a crust again. Armed with season 3 & 4 of the Soprano’s that helped me fathom the goings-on at OSHO I was ready for a change of scene.

Dharmashala, home of the his holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

With only 24 hours in dusty Delhi, the throne of chivalry by successive dynasties with oodles of history I worked through nose to tail traffic where horn blowing is compulsory, I headed off to smell some flowers at……

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Well with so many things on offer here at the OSHO meditation resort and with the vast difference of opinion in comments from my arrival to day 1 (worth a read for those who haven’t yet) I’ve decided to change my flights and stay here for 8 days so I can take this place in and leave with an informed opinion as I write daily installments of how I find this whole experience.

Before I GO! on I need to clarify – our tagline, ‘one journey, many discoveries’ here at GO! Smell the flowers is exactly the aim and I’m living this by experiencing it without any preconceived ideas of what to expect. Any insights gained through your comments and research are also appreciated as I keep the confines of the OSHO retreat in perspective.

First I’d like to share this quote with you:

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