Balinese Mystic Jero Ayu

Last month, I met twice with Jero Ayu. She is a young mystic, who is reported to be highly respected by Bali’s Hindu clerical establishment. For a prodigy to take the island’s ancient religious order by storm is no small task.

Ayu endured a tragic childhood and gained her extraordinary ability to channel and memorize ancients texts mysteriously after falling ill and sinking into a coma. When she returned to consciousness, she claimed she was able to "communicate with spirits." She apparaently went on to passed tests of knowledge, religious scholarship and spiritual wisdom--all after only a week of training-- a monumental achievement that normally takes priests-in-training 10 years to complete.

According to one source, after Ayu experienced her near death episode that sent her into a coma for days, she gained an uncanny ability to recite ancient mantras and sacred texts by heart, as well as an incredible knack for speaking the Chinese language fluently—she was reported to have been a poor Balinese native prior to these events, who had never left the island let alone be exposed to other languages.

It was said that Ayo had activated the incarnation of a spiritual master when she almost died, and took on the essence of "Kuan Yin," a Buddhist figure of compassion. Her subsequent feats of healing and mastery of the ancient texts and rites made waves, and elevated her personal shrine into a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and Buddhists alike. She now receives visitors from all over Asia.

During my brief visit with her, which included a Full Moon ceremony, I watched her as she channeled different energies, and conducted healings and offered blessings for those who came to her.

Balinese Hinduism is a special blend of two indigenous spiritual traditions from India—Hinduism and Buddhism. Indonesia recognizes 5 official world religions—Islam, Hinduism, Catholicism, Christianity, and Buddhism. On Bali, one of Indonesia’s smallest islands and popular tourist destinations, ceremony and spirituality are a big part of life. It seems that at every corner, there is a shrine, temple, sacred carving, or an offering being shared with the Spirits. Bali is also known for its prolific mysticism, popularized by Laurence Blair's "Ring of Fire" and Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love."

When I arrived at Ayu's temple residence after a breathtaking motorcycle ride through the Balinese countryside, I could tell that there was something special and ancient about the energy in her compound. It made me pause, smile, and breathe deeply in acknowledgement. Others were waiting to be blessed by Ayu when I got there, including priests who were much older and more established. I sat at a balee close to the mouth of her shrine next to an older man who was a credentialed priest. He had arrived especially for her. We talked about his reasons for visiting against the backdrop of a 12-second pre-recorded Chinese mantra, which looped over and over. The words of the mantra paid homage to Kuan Yin and after a while created a hypnotic atmosphere.

Before I was given the go ahead to enter the shrine area for prayer, blessing, and meditation, Ayu personally approached me and gave me a warm welcome. Her handshake was gentle and tender. I thought I sensed an electrical charge go into my body when we made physical contact. She definitely had a strong presence.

I noticed that Ayu’s shrine was adorned with the color red, with many Chinese decorations—it was a totally different environment than any other Balinese holy site I had encountered, but her traditional clothing along with the dress of her visitors clearly suggested that she and her guests were all Balinese Hindus.

I thought at first that the unfamiliar décor and Chinese recording might have been a special way to celebrate the Chinese New Year. When I finally got a closer look, I realized that this was the normal view of the shrine. I must have witnessed a half-dozen images of Kuan Yin posted all around the area of worship. There were also other shrine elements that drew from Buddhism, Daoism, and Hindu mythology, as well as flowers, incense, and holy water containers.

My guide and friend, who was one of her followers, explained to me that Ayu united three energies—those of: Kuan Yin, Shiva (who is said to be present in Bali’s Mount Agung), and a well known Balinese water goddess. Three different forces and energies united in one. When I visited her again at night, I finally witnessed her channel Kuan Yin.  Later that same evening she also took on what came across to me as a more irreverent male energy-- a spirit who appeared to represent wealth or commerce— With her eyes still closed, Ayu proceeded to light a cigarette and down two shots of liquor and take on an entirely different persona.

Whenever she would slip into her alternative identities, the crowd around her would huddle together, all eager to receive a nugget of wisdom or advice from the visiting energy she was reportedly channeling.

We proceeded to make an offering, receive a blessing, meditate, light incense, and pray. Afterwards, I received a personal blessing and message from Ayu and was sent away with a smile, a meal, and an invitation to return any time.

I saw that Ayu’s youthfulness kept an atmosphere of lightness and friendship among her visitors. Although I could not understand a word she said, she did not set herself apart from the rest the way some priests do and often joked and made her visitors feel at ease with humor and cheerful banter. Occasionally, Ayu would sit behind other meditators and place her hands at either side of their spine in what looked like an energy transfer.

I believe that Ayu may have undergone one of those radical shamanic experiences or awakenings that cracked her open and initiated her as a human bridge to the spirit world. She emerged from her traumatic episode with a knowing and a power that allowed her to introduce a unique combination of elements to an ancient culture. Her status among the priests allowed her to safely advance and share her shapeshift experiences with her people-- a rare occurance. While winning over the religious establishment with her wisdom, was a stunning enough feat all on its own, fortunately for her, the institutions of worship from her society opted to support and integrate her powers, and open up space for her unique mystical gifts to thrive. As a result, she now provides an alternative for worshippers on the island, seemingly without threatening her peers or the current order. But who really knows if there are those who feel threatened?

Ayu is said to be preparing for a visit to other parts of the world, including Australia and China.

Astrology and Shamanism

It seems to me that while important distinctions remain, there are overlaps linking Astrology and Shamanism; and I believe we can make the connection thanks to this beautifully written article by an international Astrology expert, Paul Six. It could be that ancient astrologers accessed information about the cosmos with the help of shamanic tools in the first place. Moreover, the planets and astrological signs themselves are described as permutations of different “energies” that become more and less available to humans based on different time windows. This is not such a far cry when we think of the changing feel of the seasons, so why should the same thing not apply to days or hours of the day?


If each planet governs unique qualities that can be made available to us, then it is no wonder that we developed mythologies assigning human featured gods to represent each of the planets. A shamanic empowerment exercise would involve making offerings to those gods as a way of invoking or inviting their energies. Finally, Six’s suggestion that a return to our intuitive natures can allow us to access the map of the planets inside us also corresponds with the notion that we are each carrying every point of the human holographic existence within us. This is a classic paraphrase of our inherent power to “shapeshift.”

I have included excerpts from the article below. For more information on Paul Six, visit his website at http://www.paulsix.com/ .

Astrology is as Real as Anything Else by Paul Six
Every concept we have of time is based on celestial operations. Hours, days, months and years are all solely based on the relationship between the Sun, the Moon and the Earth.

Astrology is a body of knowledge that is anchored in time.

It is true that astrology is the study of patterns in the sky. It is not a study, however, that can be understood at face value. It is a symbol system.

Celestial bodies are not causing things to happen here on Earth… The basic premise of astrology is that different energies prevail at different times.

The greatest fallacy about astrology is that it is about the stars…The truth is the only star that plays a role in the astrological story is the Sun that shines upon us.

“…The astrologers of that time,” --Six is referring to the ancients-- “experienced a more constant connection with nature and a more intimate one, as they lived at a much simpler time. They came to understand that their planetary home was connected to an entire cosmic family and that the sky patterns they observed corresponded with the way their lives were patterned—both seemed to vibrate to the same fundamental rhythms. This supported the notion of the universe as an interconnected network of energies that undergoes constant change in an orderly manner.”

Astrology states that any life that emerges in a moment of time is endowed with the qualities of that moment… When a newborn child takes the first breath, the patterns we see in the sky indicate possibilities the growing child can convert into realities in due time.

The birth chart maps out the potential growth of each individual’s consciousness, just as the genetic code communicates the potential growth of the physical body. The chart captures in freeze frame a picture of the sky… An understanding of any chart gives us an indication of what the individual could do; however, as free will is in operation, it cannot predict what any individual will do.

Astrology is not a science nor is it a religion. It is a language. It is not something to believe in; it is a body of knowledge that can be studied, learned and put into practice. The premise of the astrological language is that the universe has a means of communicating with us.

In many cases the scientifically-oriented individual, having abandoned the value of using the right brain in processing information, will do all it can to invalidate the ancient wisdom.

The answer as to how the astrologers came to understand what they did is that it is because of their innocence that the cosmic principles of astrology were revealed to them.

…In this state of innocence, the universe revealed some of its secrets through revelations to these humble folk living in a humble world for they were not driven by the ego-mind; they were not suspicious and skeptical... They were pure of heart and open to the miraculous and they were entrusted with the most precious knowledge about our lives and our destiny that has ever been brought into the light of human understanding.

What Can Astrology Do For You?
Increasing numbers of people are starting to see how much the world is of our own making and that we attract to us what we think, feel, say and do… Once we accept the truth that we co-facilitate our experience of reality with the creative living process, the information we gain from learning about the potentials of our birth chart becomes as useful and productive as anything that exists in the material world.

John Perkins Keynote, D.C. GreenFest

Another upcoming event (October 10/11) is the DC Greenfest at the Convention Center. John Perkins, a fellow Shaman and author of several Shamanism books, will be delivering a keynote address at 2 p.m., on October 10th. His lecture doesn't look like it will deal directly with his shamanic practices; nevertheless, he is a true champion for the environmental cause.

I read Perkins' Shapeshifting book over the Summer and he went over much of what we learned-- the importance of shifting stories, shifting dreams, even the power of shifting form on a molecular level.

His personal transformation story was an inspirational shapeshift on its own: after working as a highlevel corporate operative with all kinds of exposure to crooked practices and access to world leaders, he then chose to turn his back on the world of international finance and reveal its dirty secrets.

His story also touches on one of the apprenticeship's tenets--the absolute necessity of reintroducing the wisdom of primal cultures into the West. He is as convinced as I am that our survival as a species may depend on it.

Go here for more info on John's work.

The Veil

“How deliciously, wonderfully, bizarre and different”! Said the old woman in the red hat as her lunch companions dissolved into the morning mist of the marsh and she became the morning sun.