I guessed it was around 9.30 pm. I had just refilled my glass with another dose of gin and tonic, then stood there near the pop-up bar for a while, examining the room while adjusting the green snake around my neck. In front of me, Gods and Goddesses–as well as Devils of all kinds–were dancing happily and conversing loudly, as if that evening Heaven and Hell opened up their gates for each other. That was when I noticed a guy standing alone, fifteen steps away, with a wooden fan. He didn’t seem like a God or a Devil. So I walked into his direction to find out. Turned out, he was a God slash Devil in disguise.

I wasn’t high. I didn’t imagine this thing.

This was exactly how I met Len Branson, in a costume party in Nusa Dua, Bali, during an event called Awesomeness Fest (I know, the name of the event may sounds a little bit odd and peculiar to you, but bear with me for a while on this one, and I’ll write more about Awesomeness Fest in a few days!). That evening, I simply walked up to Len and smiled. “Hey, we haven’t met!” I shouted to beat the thumping music at the background, and introduced myself. This was something I wouldn’t do two years ago. Walk up to a stranger and introduced myself would give me the creeps. I could have done it, but I would have chosen not to. I realized how much I’ve changed since then.

During my conversations with Len, I found out that he had produced a spiritual-experiment documentary called Superwise ME!, where 9 ‘gurus’ from various backgrounds and 9 ‘witnesses’ spent 9 days in a monastery in Andalusia, Spain, in an attempt to answer 9 important questions in life. “Watch it and let me know what you think,” said Len. “I really want to hear your opinion about it.”

I watched the documentary this morning, on my dining table, with a cup of white tea. My eyes welled up with tears at various scenes. It was such a profound way to begin my Sunday. The documentary Superwise ME! posted some questions I should have asked myself more often; questions I wish to discuss more openly with my closest friends when we spend our time together, lazying in a coffee shop:

1. Who am I and what is God?
2. How do I deal with illness and mortality?
3. How do I get rid of my fear and handle the negativity in me and around me?
4. How do I know what I really want?
5. How do I become happy and stay in balance?
6. How do I love myself and others?
7. How do I forgive myself and others?
8. How do I let go and release?
9. How do I get in touch with my inner wisdom?

What if we already know all the answers to these questions, because we are all superwise? 🙂 I can’t remember the last time I asked you to do something for me, but this time, I am asking you to please, take your time to watch this documentary and spread it around to those you think would benefit from watching it*. I believe it will evoke something that has lain dormant inside of you for quite some time. Let’s go back to the times when we were young, when we were still questioning things while enjoying life’s simple pleasures.

*)I know for some of you (especially if you’re in Indonesia), watching this movie in YouTube sounds like a nightmare, considering the Internet connection and all. If you’re in Jakarta and are interested to watch this movie together with a bunch of friends, probably we can arrange a movie night 🙂

And don’t forget to also check out Superwise Telesummit if you’re craving for more (sign up from that link), where you can listen in to a bunch of great speakers online, for free! Each speaker in this event has traveled the road to self-discovery, been where you are, and have lovingly agreed to join together in creating ripples of awareness, giving you a look, into the world of possibility. This free virtual event is featuring one speaker each day, who will share their own personal experience, tips, tools and techniques that you can begin applying immediately, as you step into your own personal power and discover what has been within you all along.

Hi, busy-bees! I know I haven’t been writing here as frequently as I intended to. To be honest, there are still some posts lining up at the back of my mind, including some from my recent trips to India, Flores, and Yogyakarta. However, there’s an exciting news that I’d like to share with you. Last month, together with my lovely girl Nadia, I launched Sunday & Sunflowers.

Capturing moments has always been a dream of Nadia and me: either through pictures, movies, poetic scripts, writings, or music. Sunday & Sunflowers does exactly that. We were happy and excited to work together with some amazing clients; both individual and corporate clients, even before our official launch took place!

The stories on how we ended up doing this can be read here, but today, I am going to share “The Ballerina”–the latest photo shoot that we’ve done for Fany Nasution, a talented dancer. I think the shots and the script from “The Ballerina” perfectly describes how Nadia and I had decided to follow our dreams and be where we are right now.

Listen to the tunes of your heart–no matter how faint they are, and follow the path that lights up your each and every step with joy and gratitude. Move with the flow of life instead of going against it. Be at a certain moment of silence and feel the world shines through you. Absorb that feeling of having the brightest star inside, as for one to be a star, one must have the courage to shine. [Photo + make-up by Sunday/Nadia and script by Sunflowers/Hanny]

Hello, busy-bees! The weather in my hometown has been crazy lately. It’s raining all day, and even when the rain stops, the sky remains cloudy. Down with a terrible flu for 3 days now, this afternoon I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and head to the kitchen instead. I’d like to make something simple and warm: like this home-made ginger tea.

Ingredients:

• 2 fresh gingers, grated (or you can use more if you’d like it stronger)
• 2 teaspoons of green tea (you can replace this with other kinds of tea like jasmine, or if you’re lazy, a teabag will do)
• 4 cups of boiling water

Put your grated gingers and green tea into the teapot, and then pour the boiling water. Leave it for a while, then pour it into a cup. Add a tablespoon of honey or sugar if you’d like to have a trace of sweetness there. You can also add a slice of lemon to enrich the taste (I like to have it with honey only). It’s a very simple recipe and extremely easy to make, but it gives you such a lovely extra warmth on rainy days.

For the time being, stay healthy!

It started out when I proclaimed my love of owls about 2 years ago. Since then, my friends had been tagging me whenever they came across cute owl pictures or videos, or ended up buying random owl-stuff when they were traveling because they were reminded of me when they spotted one. Today, I realized that my owl collections has grown quite rapidly. It is dominated by lovely accessories like rings, necklaces and bracelets–though I also have owl bedroom lamp, owl clutch, owl coffee-tumbler, owl pen, owl bedroom-slippers, owl lip-balm, owl postcards, owl ceramic paperweight, owl magnets, owl wallpaper, owl bookmark, owl paintings, owl nail buffer, owl shirt, owl scarf… you name it!

I decided to keep these owls inside this beautiful jar and put them next to my bed, so I can have a look at them everyday–as soon as I wake up in the morning and before I go to sleep at night. The lights will make them glow in such a serene way, it makes me feel warm at heart 🙂 These owls always remind me of my friends’ lovely thoughts and kindness–and so, how can I not be grateful every time? Moreover, these owls had traveled from everywhere: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Pakistan, Turkey, US, UK, Brazil… it makes me feel like all the kindness in the world can actually fit nicely inside a small transparent jar!

For my lovely friends who have carried me (and my love of owls) in your thoughts, thank you very much. I am so blessed to have you! :’) The owls will always remind me of you, too! *kisses*

I tried out this recipe from Food.com in an attempt to have a healthy lunch, and it turned out amazingly delicious. Italian-flavored tempe? Seriously? Yes, seriously. Whether you’d like to have it with warm rice or salad, it will turn out just perfect.

Main ingredients:

• 8 ounces of tempe (I used half of the usual package-size sold in the vegetable seller or supermarket)

Marinade ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (being me, I also added 5 rawit chili to the marinade)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I substituted this with oregano)

Directions:

• Cut tempe into cubes
• Marinade the tempe, make sure all pieces are coated, and leave it in the refrigerator for an hour

• In medium low heat, cook the tempe until they caramelized
  

• You can serve it with fresh salad and cheese
  

Happy lunch!

Gloomy January with its dark cloudy skies and constant downpours made me retreated into my comfy bed, entertaining myself with a bunch of blankets, pillows, cups and cups of hot chocolate and a stack of DVDs. These are some of the movies I would put under my movie selection post this month. I’d call it Raining Romance.

1. Two Lovers

After hailing this movie as one of my all-time favorite, I found out later on that it was inspired by Dostoyevsky’s short story White Nights. And I said to myself, oh, no wonder. It’s a lonely story about Leonard, a guy with a suicidal tendency who falls for his neighbor, Michelle. Everything about this movie is lonely. From the gloomy opening act to the photographs Leonard are taking, the scene at the club where Leonard goes out dancing with Michelle and her friends. I love it when Sandra, a daughter of a family friend, comes along to Leonard’s life. I love it when Michelle’s boyfriend, who happens to be someone else’s husband, talks to Leonard at a restaurant. I adore the twists and turns a little bit too much.

2. Restless

I love Gus van Sant. I love reading his interviews. I love books and movies with misfit characters. I guess those are enough reasons for me to love this movie. It’s about a teenage boy, Enoch, who loves going to strangers’ funerals and befriends Hiroshi, a dead Japanese kamikaze pilot from World War II. On one of the funerals, Enoch meets a curious girl, Annabel. Like, seriously, aren’t you going to be intrigued just by knowing these snippets? The movie is visually stunning; and I love every small details of Enoch and Annabel’s lives: the things they do, the things they wear, the things they talk about. And you can read Hiroshi’s love letter here.

3. Bright Star

It’s a beautiful movie and beautiful love story between the poet John Keats and his “girl-next-door” Fanny Brawne. And I love this movie so much because I love letters. Hand-written letters. Hand-written love letters, to be exact. And I am in love with John Keats. And Fanny Brawne’s cat. I am in love with the two of them. I love the recited poems during the movie and the scenes where John and Fanny walked and kissed in the woods. I can relate to Fanny. I can relate to Keats. I want that red sealing wax for my letters. I can’t stop indulging myself to read the selected love letters written by John to Fanny here.

4. Adam

Beth moved in to a new apartment building where she met Adam, her ‘strange‘ neighbor. It is a very grounded yet beautiful movie about loving someone; and whether there are boundaries or limitations in doing so. I love all the small details in the movie: the raccoons, tea, the cleaning of the window, the theatre, those talks about stars and galaxies… and I love Adam, too!

5. Before Sunrise

Jesse and Celine met for the first time on a Eurail train and decided to get off in Vienna and spend one day together. I love the quotes from the movie, the premise of being young and stupid and carefree, the artsy shots around Vienna, the fortune teller, the street poet, the bartender, the cemetery… I’d like to go to Vienna and do my Before Sunrise tour. There’s a sequel to this movie, Before Sunset, but if I have to choose, Before Sunrise is a lot better, and stronger.

6. Like Crazy

Jacob and Anna need to struggle with their long-distance relationship that spans between US and UK. But as it turns out, maybe it’s not really about the long-distance relationship at the first place. Maybe it’s just about the relationship itself. I love the fact that the movie feels real, instead of just plain romantic or pretty. I love the characters’ mean words as they are fighting with each other. I love the silly thoughts Anna has. I love the matter-of-factly way of Jacob. I like it because this is what happens in real life. Sometimes, love sucks.