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daughters of india
February 2008 
Journey to India
Barbara Raisbeck
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you my beautiful zaadz friends, for your support, encouragement, comments, and e-mails. Despite the laxity in my posting, your support truly inspires me in my work. The paucity of posts is largely due to readying for my trip to India for which I leave on January 8. Once in India, I will post as I am able, but there may be long breaks in between. My primary blog is at http://barbararaisbeck.blogspot.com/.
This will be my fifth journey to India, and the second one in which I am going to work on the project of femicide. When I first embarked on this project, my ultimate goal was to gather survivor stories. Sadly, they are few and far between. While meeting with the director of a women’s shelter in Delhi last year, she informed me that those women who had escaped death were wanting to move on with their lives, not dwell on the past. I was unable to speak with any of them, though she was wiling to give me over 1000 case files of women who had been killed in dowry disputes.
My goal continues to be collecting stories from women who have triumphed, giving them a voice and a platform so that they may lead the way in liberation for The Daughters of India. I look forward to sharing them with you.
Blessings for a peaceful and auspicious New Year.
In Love & Light,
Barbara ;)
Access: Public
I will miss you, but your work is very Important!
It's very sad that there aren't many survivors…unfortunately, they're good at what they do. There are also the acid-attacks perpetrated…horribly disfiguring the women. Sigh. Alot goes on there amidst all the Spirituality.
I pray that you shed some Light and Love in the minds and hearts of the people…dare I say…the Men. =)
All My Love Goes With You…
OH!!! OMG, I love, love, love that song on your MySpace…it's hauntingly Beautiful!!! Thanks!
And blessings to you on your amazing journey as well. We'll be here whenever you return, and thank you, so much, for the work you're doing in the world. It's an honor just to bear witness.
i will miss you too my dear friend, but we will still be connected through time and space. i strive to be a part of the solution with caring and reaching out, and the rest is up to the universe. i will definitely freely spread love to all those i encounter on my path.
thank you for your love; i'm giving in back and feeling it flow between us in a continual circle of light.
all my love!
barbara
re the music track on myspace - it's by the Midival Punditz from India - i'm crazy about their sound!
Siona, i am grateful for your blessings and for your presence in my life. Thank you for being here, for being a friend.
in honor and love to you!
barbara
Hello Barbara, I just visited Zaadz after a very long time. Your story about your dalit friend was very touching but more depressing. It was depressing that some women and men from remote countries have to come to a place like India to comfort the wounds that were first caused and then left to fester by other Indians. It is sickening.
By the way, I only recently got to read Rohinton Mistry's A fine Balance. I thought it would be some sort of tear jerker (It was even in the Oprah Book club selection), but it deserves the praise it gets. In the book, the darkness, the injustices are so realistic and so many that at times it all starts to sound like a dark comedy, only that it is not!
I used to keep track of the events of most South Asian countries. But it seems like all these countries seem to run from disaster to disaster of their own making. What is more disturbing is that there are no foreign enemies that are causing all this suffering. But these are self inflicted wounds, as in the case of your friend. Pakistan is another darkness, so is Bagladesh, Sri Lanka just ignored peace deal brokekered by Norweigean government (Norwegians have to come here to make peace!) and has restarted a genicidal war. Madness.
I write all this not just to give you some info (you may already know all this anyway) but to express my own anxiety. I wish all the hatred in the world could end in a single day. All people have to do is: before going to sleep at night, make a resolve that when they wake up next morning, they will hate no more and respect other people's dignity.
Well, hope I did not flood you with words. You are doing your own bit and I applause you. You are awesome. Best wishes for this another journey into the 'heart of darkness', carrying the candle of hope and healing. I wish you good luck. Just do not forget to take care of yourself too.
emberglow - thank you for your words and encouragement. i too wish for peace, at every opportunity i can - birthday candles, lone stars, dandelion faeries. the line from the john lennon song comes to mind …”you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one, i hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be as one.” thanks for joining the 'peace train'. i have a vision that one day planetary peace will happen, and i just want to do my part to make it so.
please do stay in touch my friend!
in love&light,
barbara
thank you for Knowing that everybody matters. namo dear Barbara. love,love, big love…tess
“I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.”
-Ranier Maria Rilke
Stay in light, as you join others who seek to bring light into the shadows of a great nation.
Bless you, Barbara.
Just a note to give thanks to you all for all for your loving support, which is especially comforting after the last few days of ongoing struggle with the airlines that has me grounded in eugene. it's a long story that is still unresolved, and one that i may write more on soon. suffice to say, it's all been very frustrating, and a lesson in infinite patience. and the realization that there must be some divine intervention at work…
Much love!
Barbara
Tess - thank you for your wondrous and ongoing support and friendship. it nourishes me to the marrow! i'm so happy for you in my life!
much love!
Barbara
Meenakshi - i will stay in the light, yes, and in that help to illuminate a great nation of beautiful people!
blessings!
barbara
Are you there yet? Are you there yet? Are you there yet? LOL =)
So sorry to hear about the delays! (I have a friend who would say..”You're there because someone there needs you to touch their life.”) Hmm…worth a thought, hey?
Hope you get off the ground soon…
Love and Blessings to you!
Namaskar Barbarajee, Dhanyavaad Arielajee to let me introduce about this great soul.
You are heading forward to India for a noble cause - wish you all the best on the beahalf of all those great souls who devoted their lifes in making this world a wonderful, loving, peaceful and greener world.
Until before Ariela's introducing of you did not let ne know that you have devoted yourself in changing the lives of Indian women gripped under cruel - selfish man dominated hands. Wish you very best of luck, Happy n joyous journey, and a wonderful pleasing and magical time in India.
tuam swagatam devobhoomi - you are most welcome on land of sages n hermits.
sadev ananda n gyanjyoti virajya !
Namaste
Ariela - thanks for your message and lovely sentiment. i'm ok with still being here (the present moment is all there is) it's only the circumstances of the situation that have proved quite stressful. i am sure it is all for a divine purpose; which i'm staying open to…
loving hugs!
barbara
Namaskar Owais –
How sweet and loving of Ariela to clear a glowing path for the work that i am doing. She is an amazing soul who've i recently had the good fortune to befriend.
It is for my love of india and my love of life that i feel compelled to do this work. No one is free until all are free. I want to do whatever small thing i can to help unbind and liberate us from oppression. Thanks for understanding.
in love&light!
Barbara
Yes arielajee is wonderful, very gregarious, great soul, approaching toward oneness her goal which remarkably wonderful idea she posses. she is just very lovingness and compassionate girl until now by mine perceive. Dhanyavaad.
Namaste
“No one is free until we All are free.”
Amen and Awomen to that, Barbara!
I believe in this and in you.
L iving
O ne
V ibrational
E nergy
=)
As Owais says, you're a wonderful soul, loving, compassionate and yes, gregarious! thank you for believing in me, and for your commitment to LOVE - living one vibrational energy. YES!
Barbara,
You've been held back for some purpose. Who knows what that is but tell us all when you find out :-)
Blessings
Raf
Aww, shucks, guys! LOL =)
What can I say…I AM the change I wish to see in the world! Hahhahaa ;-)
You both resonate deeply with me…and so we connect =)
Smooches!
Namaskar Arielajee - this is infact your gratefulness, sweetness and lovingness that you try to establish connectedness with every fellow beings for this alone I bow humbly to the wonderful divine that dwell in you.
It is great of you that you resonate us in your Mahan ( great ) atma ( divine ). You know arielajee to commune with Universe we need to connect ourself around every living processes within Earth and that commune with universe is enlightenment - this is what I think and so you follow this - as if you have link with my thoughts maybe.
I so bow to the divine that dwell inside Barbarajee who endeavour herself and toil just to improve the conditions of sufferers - indeed it is your gratefulness and wisdom Barbarajee, I am so excited on being at this site meeting so many great atmas here. wow it is all fun n interesting. Dhanyavaad both of you for your lovingness n kindness.
Sadev sukhi, anandamevya and prema samridhi virajya on both of you.
sadar parnam all of you !
Raf - well, i can think of a few reasons why i am still here. if nothing else, i guess a part of me was not ready to be there. ;)
Yes ariela - this resonation is a sweet one. i am grateful for it. and you!
Owais - i will endeavor to help and serve in whatever way that i can. it's the highest, purest form of Love!