Tourists flock to Bali’s “Eat, Pray, Love” sage
Providence smiled on Balinese seer Ketut Liyer the day US tourist Elizabeth Gilbert came to visit — her memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love”, would make him richer than he ever dreamed. The fortune teller said to be aged in his 90s — no one knows exactly — was a poor man when he looked into Gilbert’s eyes and predicted she would live in Bali and find true love.
Gilbert worked her own magic and Ketut’s prediction became the stuff of Hollywood fantasy. Now there is a line of camera-toting tourists waiting outside his home to hear their own fortunes told, at 25 dollars a pop. That’s a fortune for a man who is more accustomed to bartering his predictions for simple gifts from local villagers. “From 8:00 am to 6:00 pm every day … 50 people on average,” said his son, Nyoman, who acts as a translator.
“It’s a great life,” he adds, as he checks the sequence of “clients”. As black storm clouds rolled across the sky one recent Sunday afternoon, the courtyard outside Ketut’s comfortable wooden house was packed with visitors, male and female, from all corners of the globe.
The power of the human mind is an amazing thing! If you put the power of God in someone’s hands and that person predicts something, your own mind can will it to happen. That is just how the Universe works! I just saved you all $25.00! You can all thank me later.
US tourist Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love”, was a stupid book in my opinion! She is another one laughing all the way to the bank due to the gullibilty of the public.
Many individuals, especially women of middle age feel like they need to “find something”. Authors like Elizabeth Gilbert fall into this neediness category and now she is making money from the scores of other women who follow. I haven’t spoken to too many men who read the book or saw the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”, have you??