what type of visa would I need to move to India?

sunspirt

could you elabrorate on how I could contact you? And thank you, for you know sticking up for me before. It is kind of hard to make your voice heard if no one really wants to hear it

dzibead

It's also hard to make your advice heard when the person you're talking to doesn't want to hear it.

You say you want to study the "healing arts" but that's not possible in the U.S. (where "the better good" is also not on offer, so you think). What kind of healing arts? Tibetan medicine? There are, in fact, Tibetan medicine practitioners in the U.S., and also some training programs. I don't know whether you would be qualified to pursue them with only a high school diploma, but you could check it out. Certainly if you hope to study this in Dharamsala, you're going to have to be able at least to read and write Tibetan, if not actually speak it, so that's a consideration before you decide that pursuing the "healing arts" in Dharamsala is a workable plan. There's a huge Tibetan community in the New York City area and you might consider checking out what's available there, as a "backup" to your plan to go to India. There's also a Tibetan medicine outfit, Shang Shung Institute, in Conway, Massachusetts, that you might want to look into. http://www.shangshung.org/

If you have in mind some healing arts other than Tibetan medicine, I'm not sure Dharamasala would be the place to go for study.

And although you seem to have rejected the idea of college because you don't think you can pursue a major you want ("the healing arts", whatever that means), you might want to look into Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, http://www.naropa.edu/index.cfm , which has a Buddhist studies focus (although if you're interested in this, I'll be blunt: your written English needs to improve or they're not likely to admit you).

__________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln
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Nick-H

I don't know Dharamsala, in fact I am woefully ignorant of the North, but here, down South, I'd say that, as far as 'healing arts' go, there are not that many possibilities.

--- Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, and probably some other native schools of medicine I haven't heard of, are respectable and easy to find. Learning and qualification, much like Western medicine. Other languages needed.

--- Yoga practices, such as that taught by KYM in Chennai. My wife goes to a KYM-taught doctor, but he is also a fully-fledged allopathic doctor.

--- Some of the better-known Western schools of alternative/complimentary medicine, for instance Reiki.

Outside of that framework, as a healer, one is likely to be either dressed in Saffron, lauded, worshipped and set up in as ashram --- or treated as a witch. If you doubt the latter, never underestimate the Indian propensity for superstition and superstitious fear.

Of course, Tibetan medicine itself would be a wonderful thing to study, but... wow! It is considered one of the most difficult languages in the world. Apparently it makes English look positively regular in its relationship between spelling and pronuncitation. I once heard it described as must have been invented by two committees, one handled the speeking, one the writing, but who never communicated with each other

Anyway, you probably already know more about this than I do. Dzi' certainly does.

Years ago, I used to go to a doc of Tibetan medicine on his occasional visits to UK. I forget his name, but he was translating (and some had been published) the basic text books of Tibetan medicine (a huge amount of which has to be learnt by heart) into English. I wonder how far he got... maybe Google would tell me...

dzibead

This is definitely true - it's way worse than Gaelic, even. And it would be bad enough if it were written in the Roman alphabet, but on top of the spelling/pronunciation discrepancy, there's the Tibetan alphabet to deal with as well ...

fsg

@ Sunsprit.

I can quite appreciate your wish to visit India.

I always wanted to at a little older than your age, but it was not till I was a lot older that I managed to get there, that was in the days before the internet, with the help of a guide book and info from the Indian tourist office by post! Now I am there every year, however not to Dharamsala.

I suggest that you do a little more research on your own before posting questions here which really have not been thought out.
AND when you have been to India DO let us know what your experience was.

Its amazing how many posters do not let us know how their first trip to India was.

Feedback like that would be invaluable to youngsters like you.

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The British gave India bureaucracy..... India perfected it [Lord Desai]

labrol

Sunsprit, I respect your spirit and perseverance in the face of advice, that, though well meaning has been abrasive at times.Now that it fails to put you of,pack your bags but read a lot and brace yourselves for what could be a great experience or a jerky roller coaster.

By 'healing art' you possibly mean mind and body healing, not just healing by medicine. That becomes the domain of either psychology or philosophy. That could also mean Yoga and meditation. Research these and see what suits you. There are oportunities for all these in your home country. Yet perhaps the call of something exotic, diverse and raw attracts you to Dharamshala and India. Do come here and do go through all the advice given you by the responders in this forum. All of it is well meaning advice. Keeping all this in mind will make it a rewarding experience for you. Also, read the article 'The India Confusion' in the India for beginners section under 'articles'. It will prepare you for India. This is my country and I love it.You will love it too if you are prepared to deal with all the challenges that it throws at you all the time.

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Alone I walked. Strangers joined in. We became a caravan.

sunspirt

lol, I felt the same way about learning spanish only my comparison to the people that invented it was a bit different now i am learning sign langue and it is so much easier
! thanks

sunspirt

thanks, and when the time comes i will, this place has been helpful to me.

sunspirt

thanks, and yes i mean beyound medicine. I have a gift that I have no clue how to use, i don't even know what to call it. I guess i have been stuggling to find someone that can help. That is why college is not an option, I hardly doubt they have class on "how to enhance your lantent abilities". But thank you I will look into it. YOur advice means alot

Paleface

I felt that was the case as you appear to be indomitable, which only comes with a complete surety of one's talent. My wife at a younger age to you also was in the same predicament, there's no need here to go into what that gift is, but suffice it to say it's of the extraordinary kind. Most folks anywhere on this planet will have no clue of what you actually have there, let alone be able to advise - in my wife' case that she was already in India was of course helpful, as there are many here who do now how to deal with extraordinary psychic or healing abilities.

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Only a mediocre person is always at his best. Somerset Maugham.

sunspirt

you get it!!! thanks heavens someone finally has. so what do I do. I'm being torn from the inside because of this. Its my nature to help others but I have no clue how to do it properly and i could hurt them. it's like resting who I am. it hurts

camelgirl

Now that this thread has moved into another cosmos, perhaps you can start a new thread in the proper forum where like-minded people gather & don't have to deal with the unspiritual types (like me) who really don't get it!

http://www.indiamike.com/india/yoga-...-in-india-f54/

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My selected India photos http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...r/7030/cat/500

Paleface

We are here to help - exactly my Guru's words and he has done decades of Tapasya in the Himalayas, and it all distills down to this simplicity.

Paleface

You are probably correct about the thread title however there's really no need to be sarcastic where a little magnanimity would be more gracious, sunspirit is young, that doesn't automatically mean naive.

fsg

@ camelgirl

How on earth can you go to India and not be moved by the spirituality of the place.

Yes it has its ups and downs, casteism etc. Politicians are , well , politicains, the monsoon fails, the farmers drink poison,. Lots of problems

For me I have been[ in India] there before, not a Bhuddist, Hindu. Reincarnation?

The soul lives on.

What drives you to go to India?.

Please explain, then perhaps we might see the perspective you are coming from, and we can all move forward