{"id":13794,"date":"2011-01-27T10:41:20","date_gmt":"2011-01-27T15:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794"},"modified":"2016-01-04T10:49:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T15:49:00","slug":"getting-unstuck-in-bali-with-ketut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794","title":{"rendered":"Getting Unstuck in Bali With Ketut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

I have been to Bali a few times since I moved to Hong Kong in late 2008.\u00a0 Never before, though, did it occur to me to seek out Ketut Liyer the medicine man\/palm reader from the memoir Eat Pray Love<\/a> who, because of author Elizabeth Gilbert’s dependence upon him for spiritual guidance, gained fame and a cult-like following.\u00a0 Many people don’t know that he was pretty well-known as a spiritual healer in Bali before the popular book and film.<\/p>\n

Why did I seek out Ketut this time?\u00a0\u00a0 My husband and I came to Bali (and Ubud<\/a> to be more specific) to detox and revive our bodies and minds.\u00a0 Ubud means purification in Balinese.\u00a0 On a personal level, I desperately wanted to get away from big city life and routines in order to get unstuck – in writing, for my relationships and in caring for my diabetes.\u00a0 I needed inward time to re-prioritize what I believed to be most important to achieve goals.\u00a0 Lately, it has been a struggle for me to find order and clarity in daily life.\u00a0 Included in my frustration was a feeling of burn-out and increasing tiredness related to blood sugar testing, infusion set pump changing and maintaining exercise for optimum control.\u00a0 In my 36th year with diabetes, I have begun to feel tired and worn-out.\u00a0 I guess you could say I have been feeling wearily out-of-control.<\/p>\n

Funny enough, this goes against the grain of thinking here in Bali where there are no shoulds<\/em> or shouldn’ts<\/em> and doing nothing is actually seen as an activity.\u00a0 My idea was to find my center in a place where time is kept by the rooster’s crowing at dawn and late afternoon thunder signals the day’s end.\u00a0 Beauty is harmony here, and sadness the worst kind of sickness.\u00a0\u00a0 Our driver to Ketut\u2019s home assumed my need to see the palm reader was because I sought a cure for an illness or a problem, and even suggested I bathe in the Ubud holy waters for healing.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0denied that I had any problems, telling him that my desire to visit Ketut was only a curiosity.\u00a0 Nothing more.<\/p>\n

When we arrived we saw that a handsome commercial sign had been posted in front of the entrance, signaling Ketut’s celebrity status.\u00a0 We walked along a small path and Ketut’s brother gave me a\u00a0 ticket.\u00a0 “You are number seven.”\u00a0 The wait was long, but relaxed.\u00a0 I read for a bit then walked around the village keeping an eye on my watch.\u00a0 Ketut spent anywhere from 15- 20 minutes per person.\u00a0 Four women from Jakarta, 2 college students from Northern Europe and a couple fom Japan were all ahead of me.\u00a0\u00a0 About 50 people a day come to seek guidance from Ketut, who is 96-years-old.\u00a0 I began to see how the daily crush of visitors was somewhat of a burden for the old man as more people arrived through the archway.\u00a0 When it was my turn, he greeted me and immediately began telling me about his ill health and his kidney stones which “required many expensive operations and I have to pee a lot, you see.”\u00a0 He excused himself for the bathroom while I waited alone on the straw mat.\u00a0 He returned smiling and thanking me, grabbed my hands, and told me he would look at my ears, back and palms to see what is “inside my life.”\u00a0 He asked me my name and when I told him my name, Elizabeth, he laughed and asked “Eleezabeth Gilbert?”\u00a0 Turning from his sitting position, he grabbed a hardback book worn and dirty, and showed me what Ms. Gilbert had written,<\/p>\n

“To Ketut, my teacher and friend”<\/em><\/p>\n

“That’s very nice Ketut.”\u00a0 I told him, wondering where this was going.<\/p>\n

“I need you to read from her book because I not understand it all – you read it for me?\u00a0 Start here where it says medicine man…”<\/p>\n

“The medicine man, as it turned out, was a small, merry-eyed, russet colored old guy with a mostly toothless mouth,”<\/em> and there he stopped me.<\/p>\n

“As it turned out – what is that meaning?”\u00a0 Ketut looked at me very seriously.<\/p>\n

“Hmmm, well here she means expectations.\u00a0 Before she met you she thought you would be someone else, perhaps.\u00a0 Something different than a very old, merry guy.”<\/p>\n

He looked at me with disappointment.\u00a0 “It is true I am very old and toothless.\u00a0 I am ugly. What is this word russet?”<\/p>\n

“Um, brown, dark in color like coffee.”\u00a0 I wasn’t sure if this activity was a device Ketut was using with some deeper intention but I continued to read and interpret.\u00a0 In doing so, I slowly began to realize I was giving him English lessons.\u00a0 Cunning.\u00a0 I closed the book when I finished and asked “Now what?”\u00a0 He laughed, took my palms, called me “preeety” a hundred times, told me I was like a “quinn” (queen),\u00a0 that my lips were like sugar (could he tell?), and how the double lines (wrinkles) on my brow meant that I was smart.\u00a0 Sometimes “too smart.”<\/p>\n

“You know the difference between hate and love – what’s right, what’s not, when so many do not.”<\/p>\n

I wanted to believe Ketut was a visionary and at the same time reject him as a benevolent fraud.\u00a0 The truth is, he is neither.\u00a0 Ketut just said the things that came to his mind, and that wasn’t hard to do as he was suffering a bit from senility.\u00a0 He was surprised I only had one child, marked me as inpatient and too quick – “don’t drive so fast – please”\u00a0 and told me that I had nearly married another man before I met my husband.\u00a0\u00a0 That was all true.\u00a0 How had I given it away?<\/p>\n

I never told him I was sick and he never mentioned it.\u00a0 He told me I was strong and so young – I guess 46 might be youthful to him.\u00a0 I wasn’t disappointed or surprised that he had not said anything about the pump hanging between my breasts (obvious and visible) or that he had failed to recognize the childhood illness in the palm of my hand or at the back of my neck.<\/p>\n

It was a worthwhile visit, but I didn’t realize this for a couple of hours.\u00a0 I think Ketut wanted me to understand that he appeared old, ill and ugly… but what was the truth?\u00a0 Underneath his self-deprecation and praise for me,\u00a0 I wonder now if there was a little Balinese psychotherapy going on with the intention of helping me see things more clearly.\u00a0 I walked away understanding how I sometimes blame diabetes when I feel weak and incapable.\u00a0\u00a0 I admit I use my condition as an excuse for not being able<\/em> in the widest sense of the word.\u00a0 I get angry and upset with lack of control, and those emotions are what get in the way. I feel sick and worn, and I allow myself to feel like that.\u00a0 Diabetes becomes a barrier because of my negative feelings and outlook.<\/p>\n

Sometimes diabetes really\u00a0 is a barrier, but I work diligently through the frustrations of every day to ensure that I am maintaining adequate blood sugars for a long healthy life.\u00a0 It’s not easy, but worth all the effort.\u00a0 It is in fact a very positive aspect of my personality, of my life.\u00a0 According to Ketut I am a beautiful queen with a rich life, and a family.\u00a0 I have harmony.\u00a0 “You will live to be 100-years-old.”\u00a0\u00a0 This is what Kutet saw.\u00a0 It’s time I believe it, too.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to believe Ketut was a visionary and at the same time reject him as a benevolent fraud. The truth is, he is neither…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":13829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1431],"tags":[1033],"yoast_head":"\nIn Bali With Ketut Liyer and Type 1 Diabetes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ketut Liyer the medicine man\/palm reader from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, didn't know that I have childhood diabetes. He didn't notice the insulin pump\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Snouffer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794\",\"name\":\"In Bali With Ketut Liyer and Type 1 Diabetes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-27T15:41:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-04T15:49:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/033e42f2fba6746b860871c41d575b7d\"},\"description\":\"Ketut Liyer the medicine man\/palm reader from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, didn't know that I have childhood diabetes. He didn't notice the insulin pump\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":349},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Getting Unstuck in Bali With Ketut\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/033e42f2fba6746b860871c41d575b7d\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Snouffer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/243d876032108541f95f56369fe6bc30?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/243d876032108541f95f56369fe6bc30?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Snouffer\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth Snouffer is editor of IDFs Diabetes Voice and author of www.diabetes.24-7.com. She has lived with type 1 diabetes for nearly four decades and currently lives in Singapore.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=68\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In Bali With Ketut Liyer and Type 1 Diabetes","description":"Ketut Liyer the medicine man\/palm reader from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, didn't know that I have childhood diabetes. He didn't notice the insulin pump","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Snouffer","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794","name":"In Bali With Ketut Liyer and Type 1 Diabetes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg","datePublished":"2011-01-27T15:41:20+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-04T15:49:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/033e42f2fba6746b860871c41d575b7d"},"description":"Ketut Liyer the medicine man\/palm reader from Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love, didn't know that I have childhood diabetes. He didn't notice the insulin pump","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/Elizabeth-and-Katut.jpg","width":600,"height":349},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=13794#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Getting Unstuck in Bali With Ketut"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/033e42f2fba6746b860871c41d575b7d","name":"Elizabeth Snouffer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/243d876032108541f95f56369fe6bc30?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/243d876032108541f95f56369fe6bc30?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Snouffer"},"description":"Elizabeth Snouffer is editor of IDFs Diabetes Voice and author of www.diabetes.24-7.com. She has lived with type 1 diabetes for nearly four decades and currently lives in Singapore.","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=68"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}