Elizabeth Gilbert - the writer's official website


	10 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EAT, PRAY, LOVE
FAQ about Eat, Pray, Love THOUGHTS on WRITING	1) WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY? 2) WERE YOU EVER WORRIED THAT TAKING A YEAR OFF TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD WAS A SELFISH ACT? 3) HOW COULD YOU AFFORD TO TRAVEL THE WAY YOU DID? 4) IS IT SAFE FOR WOMEN TO TRAVEL ALONE? 5) HOW CAN I POSSIBLY GO ON A JOURNEY LIKE YOURS, GIVEN THAT I HAVE A BUSY LIFE OF MARRIAGE, KIDS AND WORK RESPONSIBILITIES? 6) I WANT TO GO TO ITALY – WHERE CAN I GET THAT PIZZA YOU DESCRIBED? 7) I WANT TO GO TO INDIA -- HOW CAN I STUDY IN THE ASHRAM YOU DISCUSS? 8) I WANT TO GO TO BALI. HOW CAN I MEET WAYAN THE HEALER AND KETUT THE MEDICINE MAN? 9) WHAT WAS IT LIKE RETURNING TO REALITY AFTER ALL YOUR TRAVELS? 10) LASTLY (and the most frequently asked question of all time) ARE YOU AND FELIPE STILL TOGETHER?
	1) WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY? How well it worked. I found exactly what I was looking for during that year of traveling. In fact, I found more than I’d dared to hope for. Looking back on it now, though, I think that this amazing result was sort of inevitable. I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” – a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you.” Or so I’ve come to believe. I can’t help but believe it, given my experience. Back to the top
	2) WERE YOU EVER WORRIED THAT TAKING A YEAR OFF TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD WAS A SELFISH ACT? What is it about the American obsession with productivity and responsibility that makes it so difficult for us to allow ourselves a little time to solve the puzzle of our own lives, before it’s too late? That said, yes – I did worry a great deal about selfishness. But after three years of despair and depression, I had come to believe that living my life in a state of constant misery was actually a pretty selfish act. Who would be served by a lifetime of my sorrow? How would that enrich the world? Going off for a year and creating a journey to pull myself back together, to rediscover joy, to face down my failings and rebuild my existence, was not only an important thing for my life, but ultimately for the lives of everyone around me. And it’s not just my family and friends who are better off now that I am happy; it’s everyone I encounter. Because the reality is that we human beings are constantly leaking our dispositions upon each other. When I was in such a dark state, everyone I passed on the street had to walk through the shadow of my darkness, whether they knew me or not. I remember once, during my divorce, crying uncontrollably on the subway in New York City. When I look back on that crying young woman, I feel great compassion for what she was going through. But I can also feel pity now, in retrospect, for those poor, weary New York commuters, who had to sit there after their own long days at work, watching this sobbing stranger. I didn’t want to be that person anymore. Saving my own life (through therapy, medication, prayer and – most of all -- travel) was something I did for my own benefit, yes, but I can’t help but think that it was ultimately also a little bit of a community service. Back to the top
	3) HOW *COULD YOU AFFORD TO TRAVEL THE WAY YOU DID?* This year-long journey was paid for entirely by the book advance for “Eat, Pray, Love”, which was a huge blessing. But I got that advance because this was my fourth book, and so I’d earned my way up over the years to that level of trust from my publisher. That said, though – when I was younger, I did a whole lot of traveling around this world before anyone ever paid me to do it. For many years, I traveled on the salary of a waitress or a bartender. I would work every shift for six months, then take my savings and go away to a new place, then come home and start working again. I was able to do this because traveling was such an important force in my life (rivaled only by writing) and I willingly gave up certain comforts (nice clothes, a steady job) to save money for plane tickets. Also, I should point out that while I was traveling for “Eat, Pray, Love,” I met hordes of people of all ages and backgrounds and nationalities (families, even!) who were doing incredible journeys – and not one of them had a generous book advance. (Or, at least, nobody would admit to it.) Of course it’s true that not everyone who wants to see the world will be able to. People are held in place by all sorts of forces – by commitments to work, by the needs of their families, by ill health, by poverty. Yet many, many more people could travel than do. When it becomes important enough, doors can open in mighty ways. (For more on this topic, please see: www.wherethehellisMatt.com). Back to the top
	4) IS IT SAFE FOR WOMEN TO TRAVEL ALONE? Nobody can ever promise anyone else’s safety. But I’ve personally never had any trouble traveling alone. I chalk this up to a great deal of luck, combined with a fair amount of common sense (there are certain neighborhoods – indeed, nations! – that I simply won’t enter). In truth, though, my experience has always been that there are more advantages than disadvantages to being a solo female traveler. Mostly the benefit is that people trust you more. Certain barriers fall faster before the face of a friendly woman than the face of a macho man. People know that I won’t hurt them. They let me hold their babies and they show me their gardens and feed me dinner. The grace-filled moments of union have always far exceeded, in my experience, the occasional moments of unease. Back to the top	*Dario, The Author and Giovanni in Naples*
	5) HOW CAN I POSSIBLY GO ON A JOURNEY LIKE YOURS, GIVEN THAT I HAVE A BUSY LIFE OF MARRIAGE, KIDS AND WORK RESPONSIBILITIES? The last thing I ever want to become is the Poster Child for “Everyone Must Leave Their Husband And Move To India In Order To Find God.” My path is hardly a universal prescription. It was my path – that is all it ever was. I drew up my journey as a personal prescription for solving my life. Transformative journeys come in many forms, though, and often happen without people ever leaving home. Divinity is available everywhere, at all times. People find their way to God during wars, in the middle of traffic jams and in small prison cells. (Though I would submit it's easier for a prisoner to find time to meditate in a jail cell than it is for many of my working-mom friends with young children to create time for contemplation.) The first question you can begin to ask yourself, though, is: “Where can I find a small corner of stillness?” Because that’s where it all begins and ends. God resides in these pockets of silence. So where in your day, where in your home, where in your mind, is there some opportunity for a moment of silence? Or maybe even a few moments, during which you can start asking the questions you need to ask in order to find what you need to learn. Can you find the time to get out of your own way and try to step into your own light? As a dear friend of mine put it: “To change your life, the important thing is not necessarily to travel; the important thing is to SHIFT.” Back to the top
	6) I WANT TO GO TO ITALY – WHERE CAN I GET THAT PIZZA YOU DESCRIBED? Pizzeria da Michele. Order the double mozzarella. If you go to Naples and don’t eat this pizza, please lie to me later and tell me that you did. Back to the top	Sofie at Pizzeria da Michele
	7) I WANT TO GO TO INDIA -- HOW CAN I STUDY IN THE ASHRAM YOU DISCUSS? The Ashram where I studied is too small these days to accept new applicants -- and generally speaking they only have resources for teaching their long-term students. But there are many other wonderful resources out there for beginning meditators. If you're interested in travel to India, the most useful book is called “From Here to Nirvana – the Yoga Journal Guide to Spiritual Travel in India,” which is a comprehensive review of dozens of spiritual outlets across India, written with practicality, humor and honesty. Also keep in mind what my mom told me once when I said, “Someday I’d like to get a boat and sail around the world!” She replied, “Why don’t you start by going sailing for an afternoon, and see if you like it?” Moving to India is a big step. Try a weekend meditation retreat first, just to see if you respond to it. Or begin a meditation practice at home. I would recommend the books of Pema Chodren and Jack Kornfield (who are both Buddhists) as excellent places to begin. Christian meditation is a centuries-old tradition, and there are now some excellent teachers and tapes out there on the topic. Back to the top	*Ashram friends*
		*Richard from Texas* For more on Richard, check out http://www.richardfromtexas.com
		*Sacred Cow & Author*
	8) I WANT TO GO TO BALI. HOW CAN I MEET WAYAN THE HEALER AND KETUT THE MEDICINE MAN? Ketut and Wayan can both be easily found in Ubud – a lovely place, which you should definitely visit if you are in Bali. Wayan’s shop, which is called “Traditional Balinese Healing” is located a few doors up the street from the town post office, diagonally across the street from the Bali Buddha restaurant. Her “vitamin lunch” is still the best meal in Ubud (except for Ebu Oka’s roast suckling pig, but that’s not such a healthy option). Wayan also offers lovely massages and beauty treatments now, and is still a fantastic healer; I would trust her with any illness whatsoever. Ketut Liyer is still right there on his porch, doing his thing. Any local in Ubud can take you to see him; he is well-known and well-respected and always available to read your palm and tell you that you will live to 110. His neighborhood is called “Pengosekan.” His office hours are...well: always. If you need a nice guide in Ubud, contact Mario -- my non-Italian Balinese friend -- at the Ubud Inn. You can email him directly at mariourip@yahoo.com Back to the top	*Wayan & Tutti*
		*Ketut Liyer*
	Also - on the topic of Bali, I can't say enough wonderful things about Robin Lim, an American-born woman who runs the Bumi Sehat Foundation, based in Ubud. Robin is an extraordinary midwife who has dedicated her life to supporting the mothers and babies of Indonesia. Robin's clinic is the best place on the island for any woman to find access to safe care during pregnancy - and for Balinese Muslim women (a not-always-embraced minority) her clinic is a special haven, where they are sure to always be treated with respect and kindness. Of course, Robin is operating on a shoestring budget, but it's amazing what she can do with so little. She delivers 60 to 70 babies a month (the woman appears to never sleep) as well as offering prenatal care and breast-feeding support. The clinic has been so successful that Robin has expanded her work to Aceh (site of the recent Tsunami disaster, where she arrived at the scene of the tragedy even before the Red Cross got there) and she's looking to open to open a new clinic in Timor (which has the highest infant mortality rate in all of Asia.) If you can, please make a donation, and be as generous with your financial support as you can be. All donations are tax-deductible, and you can be sure your money will be well spent bring gorgeous new babies safely into the world. Robin desperately needs to build a new clinic that will not only provide more beds (she often takes recovering post-natal moms into her own home) but will also be earthquake proof, and ready to support the larger community in case of a natural disaster. Your donation will help enormously. And if you happen to going to Bali, take a look at the WISH LIST on her website, and see if you can pack up an extra suitcase full of gifts for the clinic. Every blanket and every toothbrush helps as much as every dollar. Robin Lim is what we all should strive to be - a great, abundant, generous, warm and tirelessly running faucet of humanity and grace.
	*Group shot on an average day at Bumi Sehat Bali* The 7 small babies were all born within 24 hours of the photo
	9) WHAT WAS IT LIKE RETURNING TO REALITY AFTER ALL YOUR TRAVELS? Returning to America, I desperately wanted to hold onto all that I had learned during my journey. But I also didn’t want to be the jerk who comes home from Bali and says, “Whoa, man…why’s everyone so stressed out?” So I returned to very much a normal life (cell phones, bills, friends and family, obligations), but I do feel that I am changed. There is a small, new, holy part of me which I hold onto and treasure very carefully – cupping it in my hands like a freshly lit match. I try to protect that new part of me as much as possible from the sheering winds of 21st Century America. (Generally, this means avoiding particularly spastic invasions of too much television, consumer debt, competition, over-consumption, success-pressure, greed and other forms of our daily cultural life.) This is not to say that I walk around in constant, perfect bliss, or that I’m not still capable of exploding with rage at minor frustrations, but I do live differently now. I won’t race you to beat that traffic light anymore. These days I slow down when the light turns yellow (I mean this in many ways) instead of speeding through every intersection blindly. The American capitalist machine is a marvel to behold (and I am a grateful beneficiary of it), but the race to always be the fastest, richest, most productive and best can also become a killing addiction. I push against that force with all my might. I don’t always succeed, but I always try. Meditation helps. (When I actually do it, that is. Which is not as often as I should, but what can I say, people? I’ll be working on that till the day I die. That’s why they call it a mediation PRACTICE.) Back to the top	*Author on elephant*
		Gili Meno Island, off Bali
	10) LASTLY (and the most frequently asked question of all time) ARE YOU AND FELIPE STILL TOGETHER? Very much so! We are happily married. Life is wonderful. Thanks for asking..." Back to the top	*A taste of the next book to come --Author in August 2006, in Northern Vietnam, with water buffalo*
All original site contents copyright 2000-2008 LizInk Inc.