Review of 2016 at Jiwa Damai

Time seems to speed up and the intensity increase. So many different activities are taking and took place at Jiwa Damai and the Lagu Damai Foundation.

The garden, aside from going us our wonderful virgin coconut oil is now providing for our health the powerful Moringa leaves, dried and filled in capsules. The mushroom production is growing slowly and we held the first organic market in our village. 

We invited the whole village in the village meeting hall to share with us a health day, providing nourishment for body and mind in the prevention of diabetes and high blood pressure. Power point combined with healthy foods were welcome by old and young. During this year, three intensive long term Yoga teacher training were hosted by our team and all organic nutrition provided from our permaculture gardens were transmuted into wonderful, much reclaimed vegetarian dishes by our cheerful kitchen fairies. A  certification training (Permaculture through the Heart) was offered as well.

The sacred painting class with our local priest was another means of going into a deep meditative state while working.

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Aside from hosting guests and retreats, the first small building will be erected at Awan Damai (peace of clouds) in the mountains at Gunung Sari. It will be simple, built partially with bottles and natural materials and provide the basis for our next adventure, the Earthship. Situated on a wonderful site, overlooking the sea from high above, sunrises from the east to the sunsets in the West. The access is only possible by motorbike. The land is of immense beauty and more land is available for sharing with like minded.

Margret, our founder, a transpersonal psychologist is offering now the HeartSelf-Intelligence meditation online on our website. Please sign up to unfold the qualities of the heart and learn how to love yourself on a deep level and live well in these turbulent times.

High officials visit Jiwa Damai

Jiwa Damai received high officials. We were honored with the visit of the head of the Badung regency police chief. He came with 20 of his staff to visit us, appreciate the work we are doing as well as walking through our gardens and watching our foundation video: Lagu Damai Bali Foundation. 

Since it was the month of Ramadan, the all day fasting, we invited the chief and his stuff to break their fast in the evening with a buffet at Jiwa Damai. Our kitchen fairies provided a wonderful healthy buffet for all. 

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Living with gratitude and apprecition

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Margret Rueffler, our founder and caretaker of Jiwa Damai agro-permaculture and retreat center and the Lagu Damai Bali Foundation, discovered the art of permaculture 9 years ago. A transpersonal psychologist and therapist as well as an acupuncturist, it seemed a very organic move to expand from learning to love one’s Self, to uncover the deep love for the earth as a living being.

Permaculture is a wonderful way to ground this deep love for the earth through a hands on approach, coming from the heart, touching the soil, plants and aligning with nature. It offers an intelligent approach to live the values of gratitude, apprecition on a daily basis. Its intelligent design incorporates the expansion from the personal growth to the landscape, buildings, communities as well.

Finding like minded who share and wish to deepen the inner knowledge in combination with a healthier style of living, the food becoming again true nutrition, a gift from the earth in its natural abundance. Letting the earth and nature experience our deep love by treating them with respect and care. If you wish to know more about the work of Dr. Margret Rueffler, please see Lagu Damai Foundation projects and her website www.pppi.net. 

Nata and the scholarship from Lagu Damai Bali

Nata I Ketut is smiling. He is always smiling but he was smiling even more when we told him about an interview for the Jiwa Damai blog. “We want people to meet you”, we told him! His eyes were big and full of light. “Ya?, he said. But which people?”.“Friends of Jiwa Damai who are reading our newsletter, our blog, our Facebook page”, we replied. He was not really sure why we were asking him all these questions but he wanted to help. The way he always does around Jiwa Damai. Nata received a scholarship from Lagu Damai Bali foundation in order to pursue his interest in studying law at Universitas Warmadewa. He is also coming for two hours a week at Jiwa Damai to learn about permaculture and to help our gardener and volunteers.

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The discussion was a mix of English and Bahasa Indonesia. We started by asking him about his studies.

“I am studying civil law at Universitas Warmadewa in Bali. I started three years ago and I still have three years to go. I am really interested in the land law because I want to help the poor people of the village to organize better the community.

My dream was to study law and Lagu Damai Bali helped me to pursue it. It is a challenge (he really used the Indonesian word tantangan) but I think I can help other people by learning it and this motivates me”.

We also asked him about his work at Jiwa Damai.

“I like the way we are taking care of the plants at Jiwa Damai. I am still learning a lot about permaculture. I like the green of the leaves, the green of the trees, the green of the garden, it makes me happy.

In Bahasa Indonesia we say: “menanam banyak tanaman membuat keindahan didalam diri saya” which means, “creating a green space brings beauty inside my soul”.

At Jiwa Damai we are taking care both of our land, of our garden, of our plants and of our people and we do this whole-heartedly and we get all this love back. Come and feel it for yourself!

This month we are celebrating 13 years of activity through the heart at Lagu Damai Bali Foundation. Have you seen our video?

13 Years of Activity at Lagu Damai

We are happy to let you know that this month Lagu Damai Foundation is celebrating 13 years of social-educational activities in Indonesia. The Lagu Damai Foundation which in Indonesian means “Song of Peace” has been involved in community projects ranging from sponsoring local youth, environment education and internships to permaculture trainings. In order to celebrate, we have prepared a video which recounts the story of our work through the heart.

“At the base of our programs is the Heart energy and that means all our programs are based on the Heart, Empowerment, leading to Self-esteem”, founder and long term volunteer Dr. Margret Rueffler.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr8vu6UqtK8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Internship at Jiwa Damai: Living the difference

Internships at Jiwa Damaiare a special experience. Our interns are invited to really live the difference. The focus is a personal growth process offering people an in-depth learning on several levels: personal inner growth, conceiving, designing and implementing their own project, cross cultural interaction with a very different Hindu culture, as well as with our international interns form all around the world. In addition to the personalized support, we offer daily morning yoga classes and evening Heart meditation.

Each intern designs his/her individual project with supervision and based on the aforementioned in-depth learning. The internship can cover a wide range of topics. See more about topics, application procedure and more details here.

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We talked to Marie Thimm our intern from Germany about her experience. It was not really an interview but more of a discussion about her project and about how she lived the difference at Jiwa Damai.

Why Jiwa Damai?

I wanted to make a change; I wanted a shift in my work path. Jiwa Damai attracted me because of its variety: a place to do an internship, a permaculture farm, a retreat, the Lagu Damai Foundation and also the work of Dr. Margret Rueffler– the peace psychology. I wanted to experience it and see how they were all working together, how they are inter-connected.

I was also very much interested in foundations because I didn’t want to work in money making oriented companies but in places that take care of the surrounding: be it the nature, the community or the planet, in general.

The location had no impact in my choice, but it was a nice side effect

It was already dark when I arrived at Jiwa Damai but from the very first moment it felt like being in an oasis. When one comes from Denpasar, with all that terrible traffic Jiwa Damai unfolds like a peaceful and beautiful oasis.

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A process of connecting with the inner most self

My internship consisted of a personal project. What we developed was a process through which I could really differentiate all the skills I have into the ones relevant for my future work by applying the Heart-Self Intelligence method. At the same time, I defined my values and I put them into an application letter so that gained a different power and energy.

It was really interesting for me because I discovered that some skills that I thought were important were not really relevant for my future path. However, new ones came up. It was a process of connecting with the inner most self and from there working towards finding a new path in life.

I also learned about self-awareness. I learned what it is needed for my self/ for my project in the moment and thus to enjoy the things that I am doing instead of just finishing them. I learned to transform the “I have” into “I want to” or “I would love to”.

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The perfect environment for the process to take place

I really appreciated the structure of the day and what opportunities the intern has besides the personal project: yoga classes in the morning, meditation in the evening and three delicious Balinese meals with vegetables from the garden in between.

During a normal internship you are not working on your own project or on your personal growth. The special thing about Jiwa Damai internship is that you can choose on what you would like to work. Could be permaculture projects in the garden or a personal life shift/career shift. And you still have the daily supervision and support.

Moreover, I could chose where to do my work, for instance next to a pool or in a hammock. I had the opportunity to take a break whenever I needed and go in the garden and feel the earth under my hands. I didn’t have to stick to office ours.All these aspects set the perfect environment for the process to take place.

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A genuine exchange of knowledge with people from all over the world

I studied international business communication and I am very interested in cross-cultural issues and would love to work with people from all over the world in the future.

Here you have the opportunity to meet people with different cultural backgrounds who are like-minded, who want to make a difference. The daily discussions with Margret and the volunteers create a genuine exchange of knowledge. One can also get in touch with local people and learn about the local challenges and how to deal with them.

The little light spots

At JiwaDamai I learned that it is important to create places in the world as Margret says “little light spots” everywhere, just living the difference or living a life connected to nature again. I also discover the beauty of welcoming people who are working in their own way for a sustainable and healthy future.

The little light spots are an inspiring example for people because they reveal that we can live in harmony with nature again by building and creating eco friendly homes and communities, not relying on governmental systems.

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Bali:the place for adventures

Bali is such a beautiful spot on Earth. The people are always friendly. They are happy if you talk to them, even if it is only a few words in English. The nature is amazing: rice fields, mountains and beaches. And there is also place for little adventures such as riding the motorbike or climbing a volcano to see the sunrise from the top of the mountain or snorkeling to see an underwater temple. It is hard to believe that it is only one island of the thousands that exist in Indonesia.

Future: we make a difference already

I will definitely use the Heart Self Intelligence for future steps along my path.

Before I already used to rely on my feelings rather than my mind but really to trust in the wisdom of the heart brings a new perspective. The entire process gave me self-confidence that there are other people who are out there having the same goal or the same interest.

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Jiwa Damai was a nice booster to following the dreams that really fit me. It would be difficult to change entire systems such as the governments, food supply, the world economy, but we can create spots of light. We can focus on a positive approach towards a sustainable and healthy world. We make a difference already by finding new ways of living in harmony with nature, by focusing on the true needs of people, by listening more to the wisdom of our heart.

Find out more about the internship at Jiwa Damai in Bali here.

Neil Willmann, PDC Teacher

Less than one month to go until the February Permaculture Through the Heart Design Course begins! Here, at Jiwa Damai we are getting very excited. Our international team of specialists is waiting for you!

Although we are very eager to know you, let’s first introduce our facilitators: Neil Willmann, Daruma ecofarm founder in Thailand; Margret Rueffler, founder of Jiwa Damai permaculture center Bali and Lagu Damai foundation and Johanes Wibowo, head of Green School Bali gardens. Find more about the structure of the course here.

In this blog post we will talk about Neil Willmann but follow us. Soon we will come back with information about our other facilitators.

Permaculture Design Course

Neil Willmann is originally from Chicago. Neil’s academic studies include a degree in oceanography from the university of Hawaii where he worked on recirculating, marine aquaculture systems.  Later, he returned to his hometown to complete another degree in physics.  Physics, particularly thermodynamics, serves as much of the foundation for ecology in general and even specifically the origins of much of permaculture design theory.

Neil has traveled, lived and worked in many parts of the world and recently (2007) settled down in Thailand, about an hour outside of Bangkok. He currently teaches physics, energy studies, and engineering design methodology at Asian University of Science and Technology where he also conducts research in ecological system engineering using engineering mathematics to validate eco-agrology methods (such as organic farming).

Additionally, Neil is the executive manager of Daruma Eco-Farm and co-founder of the Mosaic School, the first full-time primary school based on permaculture principles offering an alternative, holistic ecological conscious education. Daruma, under Neil’s direction, has hosted numerous permaculture courses, natural and earth building courses, Thai massage courses, and more.  Neil has led and instructed many students in permaculture including many credited undergraduate and graduate study programs with universities in the USA, Canada, France, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

Neil is passionate about life-long learning.  “The only true ‘expert' in ecological engineering design is Nature.  Because of this, permaculture design promises a creative, lifelong learning capacity that will always be rewarding.”  As for teaching permaculture, Neil says, “When it comes to teaching subjects like permaculture, ‘rewarding’ doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling of giving the gift of a more complete understanding of a complex subject such as ecology, and a foundation of design methodology that allows others to confidently go forward and effect meaningful change in the world.”