Eat, Pray, Smile
Eat, Pray, Love
“Ketut Liyer? You mean Ketut Liar?” can be apparently a commonly repeated joke in Bali, although I did meet a couple of Ubud residents who were concerned in which in which healer through Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love was ripping off Western tourists. however competition between healers in Bali (specifically Ubud) can be rife along with reputations are always being tarnished. Healing can be big business. The internet can be full of concerns about healers along with ‘boundaries’ in which are being crossed or in which certain Balians just aren’t genuine.
Yet others were quick to defend him, along with Ketut’s own son announced in which Ketut can receive around one thousand guests for a large ceremony such as Sarasvati Day. You don’t become a real Balian Usada (a Balinese traditional healer) without extensive training along with dedication – in which can be because the idea can be believed in which their god-given powers may decide to abandon the impure along with there are many rules about how to maintain such purity. So was Ketut Liyer genuine? I was lucky to discover a golden nugget at Ubud’s Pondok Pekak Library & Learning Centre – a real-life account of in which Balian Usada, Ketut Liyer. On a dusty shelf was a hand-written document by Samantha Eir Camera-Smith (one of Pondok Pekak’s students), written in 1993, thirteen years before Elizabeth Gilbert’s cult classic was published.
At in which point I should probably explain in which Gilbert’s story was a memoir based on her experiences of recovering through a divorce by experiencing pleasure (eating) in Italy, being devoted (praying) in India along with finding love in Bali where she was on a quest to find a balance between worldly pleasure along with spiritual devotion under the guidance of Ketut Liyer.
The 2010 film of the same name starred Julia Roberts along with James Franco along with the idea was produced by Brad Pitt. Ketut, inside the film, was played by an actor, however in real life Ketut invited Elizabeth to study with him along with she taught him English. Elizabeth was unable to ascertain Ketut’s age, although she did discover in which he was born on “a Thursday.” The medical student Samantha Eir Camera-Smith got somewhat closer, believing in which he was seventy-four at the time of her study – meaning in which he can be ninety-a few years old in which year.
“The mysticism found within the spiritual, magical aspects of Balinese healing has attracted many Westerners to the home of Ketut Liyer,” Samantha continued. A Balian believes in which sickness can be caused by an unbalanced situation along with the first Balian Usada, Budha Kocapi, was bestowed with knowledge by the goddess Sarasvati. These wisdoms were disseminated on lontars (manuscripts made through palm leaves, written in Balinese Sanskrit) along with Sarasvati must be prayed to daily. “If I do not pray to her three times a day, or if I misuse my powers, she will revoke my knowledge of the lontars,” Ketut told Samantha. As the ninth generation of healers, Ketut had an extensive library along with “over fifty different lontars.”
Ketut Liyer Opening a Lontar
Ketut usually performed cleansing ceremonies, palm reading, creating magic paintings along with performing love magic. Believing in which everyone possessed a natural beauty, Ketut explained in which all he did to perform love magic was to turn the energy on, “to ensure the idea becomes visible to additional people.” He even received letters through people who had gotten married because of successful ‘love magic’.
however I am naturally dubious. I’ve seen Eat, Pray, Love along with I’ve read the book, yet still I couldn’t shake off my snobbish pre-conceptions. So I decided to meet him.
inside the waiting room can be a glum tourist through Düsseldorf. She’s been here since eight inside the morning. I try to prise some more information out of her however I can’t. She’s an impenetrable stone along with giving up, I look at the fish pond for a while. Two Korean tourists are glided inside by a tour guide who seems a little too familiar with the scene. Finally, the German lady can be called up for a palm reading along with I’m surprised – I hear laughter. in which skill alone impresses me.
today the idea’s my turn to discover what all the fuss can be about – along with I see the idea immediately – the idea’s his smile. I am flooded with happiness. We sit down for a while along with Ketut can be laughing along with then he shows me his ceremonial bell. Before I know the idea, a mantra can be bursting out of his mouth along with I close my eyes; the idea can be extraordinarily beautiful. I didn’t ask just one question. in which interview was certainly different.
Ketut can be a man who, according to Elizabeth, “has never been off the island of Bali in his life. He has spent very little time, actually, off his porch.” along with you might remember Ketut’s answer when Elizabeth asked if he would likely like to visit her in America, after he resignedly shakes his head, “Don’t have enough teeth to travel on airplane.”
along with Ketut gave me time – his most precious resource. Dentists get paid for their time; doctors get paid for their time too. I do not understand why donating to healers should be a problem. In fact, as Ketut shared his stories, the tour guide who had brought the two Korean girls kept looking at me with rolling hints of ‘come on Ms. Julia Roberts’ along with I felt guilty for taking up everyone’s time. however each time I excused myself, Ketut would likely excitedly say, “Wait a moment,” as he read through one of the fragile lontars. The first spell was about curing someone of cetik (poison) which may give a person homicidal urges – the best cure was burnt cow manure wiped on the feet – although I may not have understood in which correctly. Please don’t try the idea at home.
Even Ketut’s son was sacrificing his time for others as he gently rocked a peaceful baby, whose mother along with father were busy studying along with working. Later, his son explained in which Ketut must cleanse himself every morning by repeating up to 2,000 mantras. He worked hard for his happiness along with maintaining in which ‘balance’. “The energy he exerts working twelve hours a day, treating people still at the age of ninety-a few never ceases to amaze me. The respect I hold for him can be very quickly overriding my initial scepticism,” says Samantha.
I cannot disagree, although I’m not advocating in which thousands of tourists flock to Ubud for some healing. The thing I respected most about Ketut was his dedication; he only expected things through himself, not others. He worked hard to do one of those rare things; to give the earth a smile along with actually know its value.
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Eat, Pray, Smile
Eat, Pray, Smile