Good luck brought me to Ubud, the town in Bali where Elizabeth Gilbert had found her spirit guru. I had won the Grand Prize for a free trip to the Bali Spirit Festival, a five-day feast of yoga, dance and music that promised on its Web site to change my life.

What did I find and experience in Bali? From Rebecca Pflaum and others that a yogi can change the circumstances of his life in an instant. “It is your birthright to be beautiful, bountiful and blissful,” Pflaum told us.

Music and dance were everywhere. There were powerful moments of healing and transformation – doing 108 sun salutations with hundreds of other yogis and yoginis in an event held to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention in Bali.

As teacher after teacher led us in salutations and music, an energy pulsed around me. I began to feel my heart strings pull tightly on my chest. I had locked on to my heart chakra and a feeling of conscious meditation lifted me inside my body. I saw a green light in my awareness and I dropped down into my child’s pose.

My only thought was to breathe and feel the love around me. Finally, I looked up and smiled a complete smile, knowing I had found true bliss.

Jeff McDonald from AbuDhabi

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About The Author

Jeff McDonald

I am quite shocked, honestly, that I won the Bali Spirit Festival Grand Prize. I have never won anything like this before. This is a great opportunity for me to deepen my yoga practice and set my intentions on a new path. I am currently an English teacher in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, where I am part of a growing yoga community. When the festival is over, I’d like to take this festival experience with me wherever I go. Thank you so much everyone who made this possible. Can't wait to meet you all this week!

5 Responses to Contest Winner Jeff McDonald Reports

  1. [...] Bali Spirit Fest Like this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]

  2. Andrew says:

    Congrats Jeff. Glad you were able to enjoy this trip and that you’ve recovered from the broken rib incurred during your yoga display on my birthday. Peace

  3. Julie says:

    I’m not surprised! Nice work and conratulations. Thanks for sharing. Namaste.

  4. [...] story, which posted in the BSF Blog this week. I have never been the subject of a story before! http://blog.balispiritfestival.com/2012/contest-winner-jeff-mcdonald-reports/ Like this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]

  5. Jeff McDonald says:

    wow very weird that we were in the same place at the same time!

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