a loving touch for nepal

Many of us might remember the devastating news in late April, when the forces of nature shook the Earth, and Nepal, home of the worlds greatest mountains, felt the impact of a force 8 earthquake. Thousands died. Many more were injured and many homes of the capital city and ancient Kingdom of Kathmandu were brought to the ground. That was the first earthquake. May 10 there was a great aftershock in the Himalayas, further destroying the nation.

Ruined rooftops in Baktipur, Kathmandu

Suffice to say 2015 was a challenging year for Nepal. The Earthquake and the destruction of many people's homes and national monuments was one thing. Mourning the loss of loved ones deeply, was another. But adding to the very unsettling Earthquake has been the loss of jobs, a long monsoon season, political upheaval and the current fuel crisis - stemming from the Indian blockade of the border - which has taken many vehicles off the road, stopped children getting to school, and inhibited food and gas resources.

I had planned a trip to Nepal with a group of yogis in May, however the expedition was soon cancelled, and when my Dad said to me, 'remember the deal Jess - I go before you,' I cancelled my flights, hoping to come and visit when the time was appropriate.

Teaching the team 'marma points' for Ayurvedic Face Massage

Six months later I was invited to volunteer at Vajvarahi clinic, run by a Tibetan Buddhist foundation in a small remote suburb of Kathmandu. So I recently made my way back to Nepal, dedicating time to nourishing the inner worlds of the Nepali people after a challenging time for the country.
Life is hard here in Nepal, especially at the moment, in the wake of the earthquake and in the clutch of a 3 month border blockade without signs of abating. As the weather turns colder and colder I wonder how many will get through the winter ahead. Many patients I treat have lost their homes and are living in tin huts with no blankets, having lost all their possessions. Many patients too have symptoms that manifested themselves at the same time as the earthquake, no doubt due to the fear, anxiety and trauma it caused. For me the greatest positive to take from the experience has got to be the people. With so many problems a-foot and times so hard, and with some in so much pain, everyone still has a smile on their face. The Nepali people are the most friendly and warm hearted I have ever met, with such resilience and humility.

The local monks

The clinic is a simple small concrete building next to a gompa, home to many young monks. It was here I met with four other international volunteers; acupuncturists, herbalists and massage therapists, working side by side in a treatment room. Each morning we would wake up for morning yoga on the rooftop to watch the sun rise over the foggy city, share breakfast and chai, and begin a long day treating local patients.

Jack Weaver treating a patient

'My time at the clinic came to an end last week, so throughout the week I was saying goodbye to the patients that I had been treating for over a 3 month period. The whole experience has been invaluable to me. Patients only have to pay 15 rupees per treatment (the equivalent of 80 pence) this means they return again and again and aren't put off by the cost of a treatment as in the West. We therefore see some patients as much as 2 times (sometimes 3 depending on the severity of their condition) a week. "Seeing patients on such a regular basis has really allowed me to experience which treatment strategies and point combinations are most effective for particular situations," explained my friend Jack Weaver, acupuncturist at the clinic. As a volunteer I was offering Ayurvedic Massage Therapy along with Yoga to the patients. I was so amazed by how much of a difference it made to them. It humbled me to be reminded of how nourishing human touch can be, how restorative and healing it is to really move and ease some of those knots and tensions that the body can hold on to. Seeing the lovely Nepali faces after a gentle relaxing massage really touched my heart.

Practicing yoga at the mountain nunnery

One of the highlights of my time volunteering was our visit to Nagi Gomba, the nunnery, which was an adventure. The nunnery is tucked in the hillside of the mountains that tower over Kathmandu. It's a beautifully magical place, basked in sun and prayer flags while surrounded by pristine jungle. It's got an amazing energy as it hovers above the smog- ridden capsule of the Kathmandu valley. After our bones had been rattled around for a couple of hours, the jeep dropped us there and Annie Sonam (the nun in charge) greeted us as we organised our schedule over the coming week. Every morning we welcomed the sun with the nuns in yoga classes and dynamic meditation. Coming from yoga, it brought me such deep appreciation to share some gentle yoga movements and breathing exercises with these peaceful and happy ladies. While we couldn't speak the same language we seemed to connect on a level of understanding that had us all in a fun flow together. After the morning yoga class we opened a small clinic to treat the nuns with acupuncture and massage therapy.


The whole experience of volunteering with Vajravarahi Clinic was one of the most heart warming I have ever had. It reminded me that even in the most challenging times of our human experience, in the depths of grief, loss and pain, we can find ourselves again, and that there is a ray of grace found in the little things - the kind gestures and acts of thoughtfulness - that take us out of ourselves in support of one another. The ancient scriptures of the East speak much of the microcosm of a person's inner world; how from this place we can heal and emanate the wholeness of our being to the macrocosm of our planet. One thing we all can do is nourish our inner worlds, create balance, and calibrate our internal systems so that perhaps, when we reach out beyond our own little worlds and the limiting conditions of upbringing, and when we remove the warm cosy coat of culture, we might connect to another and speak in a language of the heart to those around us, inspiring balance, nourishment and ultimately healing and wholeness for us all.

Special thanks to Candice Quartermain of Circular Economy and Jeffrey Harlan of The Dream Flag Project and family, for their kind and generous support for this project.

a poet that know's it

Journeys of the feet & heart. by Jessica Brookes | Make Your Own Book

According to one of the most inspiring artists, Pablo Picasso; 'The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.' 

Gosh darn god made me a romantic English poet. I admittedly make myself cringe sometimes with some of the cheesey poetry I find myself writing. Here's a gift to share that I dedicate to family and friends from around the world.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have had some amazing opportunities in life, that I know many do not have; to see the world and be inspired by some of the most breath-taking places and experiences has been a very beautiful experience despite the challenges I've had to face.

I hope at least these words and pictures offer something of value as a little tribute to the souls that touch the heart encountered while traveling the world.

save the world with design & politics

“I believe that utopia is actually possible - but we’re led by the least noble, the least dignified,
the least tasteful, the dumbest, and the most political”

I wonder if man has lost his way, been poorly conditioned and programmed stepping too far in to the lands of fear, greed and destruction from what was abundance, love and care. Its sad how this thinking has created a world where even the human species can envisage its own demise and the separation between people is a catalyst for violence and pain.

"I really do believe that the world can be saved through design, and everything needs to actually be architected," proclaimed Kanye West to Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, a statement that has since garnered widespread criticism from the world design community. But ah bless, he stood on a table and everything. While Oxfam's Design for Change had to swallow their pride by allowing a celebrity to endorse their vision, there's so much truth embedded in this.

Ask yourself what could you DO for change?

As someone with a strong kinship with dearly beloved Polar Bears and ever being reminded of the devastating affects that Global Warming is having on the world, especially the Arctic, I hope that people will wake up in time to do whatever it is within their power to address this issue. That people with power will step up and commit their lives to something greater than themselves.

According to the influential AVAAZ online campaign community, we can stop this eventual decline of our planet, if we act fast and all together to step out of this extinction nightmare. We can pull off one of the most inspiring futures for our children and grandchildren; A clean, green future in balance with the earth that gave birth to us.

"There's 24 months until the Paris Summit, the meeting that world leaders have decided will determine the fate of our efforts to fight climate change. It might seem like a long time - it's not. We have 24 months to get the right leaders in power, get them to that meeting, give them a plan, and hold them accountable. And it's us vs. the oil companies, and fatalism. We can win, we must, but we need to blast out of the starting gate with pledges of just a few dollars/euros/pounds per week until the summit - we'll only process the donations if we hit our goal. For the world we dream of, let's make it happen."

According to Avaaz Scientist Julienne Stroeve has studied Arctic ice for decades. Every summer she travels north to measure how much ice has melted. She knows that climate change is melting the ice fast, but a recent trip surprised even her. Vast areas of Arctic ice have disappeared, beyond our worst expectations.

Fatalism on climate change is not just futile, it's also incompetent. The hour is late, but it is still absolutely within our power to stop this catastrophe, simply by shifting our economies from oil and coal to other sources of power. And doing so will bring the world together like never before, in a deep commitment and cooperation to protect our planetary home. It's a beautiful possibility, and the kind of future Avaaz was born to create. Facing this challenge will take heart, and hope, and also all the smarts we have.

Here's their game plan: 

1. Go Political: Elect Climate Leaders - 3 crucial countries have elections in the next year. Avaz wants to make sure the right people win, and with the right mandate. Avaaz is one of the only major global advocacy organisations that can be political. And since this fight will be won or lost politically, it could be at some points just us vs. the oil companies to decide who our politicians listen to.
2. Make Hollande a Hero - French President Francois Hollande will chair the Paris summit - a powerful position. The community will try every tactic and channel - his personal friends and family, his political constituency, his policy advisors - to make him the hero we need him to be to make the summit a success. Smart move.
3. Take it to the Next Level - The scale of this crisis demands action that goes beyond regular campaigning. It's time for powerful, direct, non-violent action, to capture imagination, convey moral urgency, and inspire people to act. Think Occupy. 

4. Out the Spoilers - Billionaires like the Koch brothers and their oil companies are the major spoilers in climate change - funding junk science to confuse us and spending millions on misleading PR, while buying politicians wholesale. With investigative journalism and more, we need to expose and counter their horrifically irresponsible actions.
5. Define the Deal - Even in the face of planetary catastrophe, 195 governments in a room can be just incompetent. We need to invest in top quality policy advice to develop ingenious strategies, mechanisms, and careful compromises so that when the summit arrives, a critical mass of leaders are already bought in to a large part of the deal, and no one can claim that good solutions don't exist.

If you wish to contribute to Avaaz's pretty impressive "Change the Game" plan and save polar bears much to my inner child's delight - please pledge your support here. 

Personally, I find this a great incentive to focus my energy on a children's book I've been working on (most my life) titled "Snowflake the Last Lost Polar Bear" in the hope that perhaps it might also encourage parents and children to care more for the environment and consider the impact their choices and actions are having on the rest of the world.