 20 Aug 2007 @ 15:23, by Nulah Sassoon
Dawn workout on Mount Khgale overlooking the Kalahari
Taking the Lobatse road south of the capital, take a right turn at the local school painted turquoise blue and follow the track towards the mountain until reaching an open space in the bush and scrub overlooking a dried river bed.
Follow the path to the north of the Satellite tracking station, towards the south of the mountain. When almost reaching the central part of the southern massif, watch out for path turning right towards the foothill of the mountain. This slowly climbs steeper and steeper. When almost at uppermost plateau level, there is an open outcropping of piled boulders forming a cool ledge with foliage overhangs and a small cave (see Poem Jungle in the City) with an Eastern view point over the dam and hills on the other side. After resting, continue towards the summit and cross the open flat rock surface with its small pools of clear water. This could be one ideal spot for a yoga work out, or continue on to the actual geological summit to view the North facing Kalahari desert aspect for a suitable peaceful spot, remembering in the Southern hemisphere the Sun, is in the North, and the sunrise on the righthand side.
This session of yoga will form the testing ground and trial location for the future siting of an eventual a built platform. A Platform of Peace. A place to practice Peace Exercises within Constant time frames for maximum benefit to both place and participants.
The session starts with a laying of mats and removal of stones or dead wood to create a solid surface. While seated quietly in Padmasana it is nice to just take in the view of brilliant morning sun rising over the distant hills of the Limpopo river valley area and the Kalahari itself towards the West. Some large birds may suddenly show themselves to reinstate their claim on what is essentially their territory, but with offerings of assurances with peaceful intentions they will be pacified and resume normal life patterns.
Some Salutes to the Sun, to remind oneself of the limbs, some twists, some rests before going into Lotus proper for however long for acquirement of total quietude. The bird song will become particularly vocal and colourful at this point, often indicating a sure guide to actualisation of the realm of Peace. The breeze will be rustling the leaves and a snake may even swish past, in a flash, as part of its investigation of the scene. All should merely be observed and passed on thoughtfully. Other sounds may waft up the mountain sides from distant villages, a herdsman calling his sheep and goats, a drum banging, a baboon barking and leaping about playfully.
Whilst slowly regaining real time consciousness so to speak it will be like returning to another world from where one had been, but with a deeper awareness, akin to the deeper ocean seas. A sense of both being very much there but also simultaneously far away, one could suppose this is breadth of vision in a truer sense. When making such an effort, it is the beginning of a critical mass point of shifting modalities; others may be just a little moved through association or proximity to gain greater thoughtfulness about their business and life, to make the right choices and help others.
By this time we back down at the foothills of the mountain making our way through the now hot sun back towards the truck by the dried up river bed. It could be surrounded by a herd of wandering cattle moving their way slowly through the scrub looking for leafy morsels of fodder, this can be difficult when it rains but 3 months of the year. The truck doors and seats will be burning hot from the sun, the doors have to be opened on both sides to create a through draft before settling behind the wheel and driving back to town.
NSR early 2007
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