Last week, I was blessed with a visit from Ida Resi Alit, the High Priestess of Bali for a water ceremony.
Ida is a Balinese priestess who, as a teenager, emerged from a near-death experience channeling mudras and speaking several ancient languages - none of which she'd had any prior experience with. This extraordinary woman then went on to be named High Priestess of Bali on her twenty-first birthday. To date, she is the youngest woman to hold the post, with her predecessors averaging 60-70 sun spins before being so honored. Ida is also the first woman in over a hundred years to become a high priestess.
Ida Resi is a symbol of revolutionary change for Balinese women, as she continues to shatter the cultural restrictions women have had for centuries. She does so with grace, and a special kind of love that touches the hearts of everyone she connects with.
Personally, I have been deeply moved by Ida's faith, as well as the trust she places in her intuitive knowing of what, where and how to move through life. She is in a tune and connected with her destiny.
As part of her priestess duties Ida conducts water ceremonies called Melukat.
“I never tell people water purification can do one thing or the other. It’s just a blessing” she says. “When we take a shower, we clean the body. When we do water purification, we clean the mind, the soul, the emotional body. I can’t talk about it like a product. I can’t give any guarantee. As for the result, it depends on you.”
For our ceremony, we set up an altar on the deck where we could see and feel mama ocean. She performed a series of Melukat rituals and blessings upon Nymue and I. While there are no words to describe the experience of her blessing, and I am still in the process of integrating the gifts she bestowed upon us, I can say that Ida helped me string together some valuable pieces of my own personal journey, allowing me to move forward with more clarity and context. The more we pray, the clearer the channel with the divine becomes. The smoother it all gets.
