One of the Sami regions of the dead, where the deceased, called saivoolmak, lead happy lives in the saivo world with their families and ancestors; they build tents, hunt, fish, and in every way act as they did on earth. In Norway the saivo world was thought to exist in the mountains, whereas in Finland it was usually believed to be under special double-bottomed lakes connected by a small hole. The saivo localities were regarded as sacred and as sources of power that could be used by the shaman, or noiade. (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Moved to Scandinavia seven years ago. Yet no one really knew why I chose such a harsh environment: different climate, non-continental (I mean Europe by continent) traditions, different language and culture. One thing I’m pretty sure about though -  that it was a the biggest change in my life.

I became a little bit like a coniferous tree. Seems to be difficult to stretch the roots deep into the soil since it’s damn hard granite. And it’s not advisable to have huge canopy with sensitive leaves and thin skin. Comes the Big Bad Winter Wind  with salty raindrops.

Am I masochist? In a way, yes, I am. Although it is no secret, I have learnt an enormously important thing here in the North: spirituality.

I have been working more and more since 2005, when I took refuge in the Triple Gem (Buddhism), and now I’m getting closer to shamanism.

There are several facette of a diamond. Here it is one of them, Ailo Gaup, Sami shaman, as I saw him the other day. (His homesite: Sjamansonen.)

Ailo Gaup, 2010, by Judit Szeles