Mindful Roots

Mindful Roots has moved to a new location

2011-04-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend,

Thank you so much for following the Mindful Roots blog now and over the past few years. It has been quite a journey, and we are honored to share it with you. The pilgrimage continues to evolve, as Charlotte and I are now back in India, deepening our yoga studies and practice.

We invite you to share our journey at our new web address:
http://www.mindfulroots.net

Thank you for your continued love and support.

Om Shanti.

Seth & Charlotte

That Was Zen, This is Tao

2010-09-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Transmission
Sometime around the 5th or 6th century, an Indian sage named Bodhidharma left for the far East. He is said to be the transmitter of the Buddhadharma to China - responsible for the development of Cha'an (from the Sanskrit dhyana meaning 'meditation') which would later become Zen (Japan) Buddhism. It was a remarkable transference in Asian history. Between India and China. Two of the most ancient living cultures and civilizations in the world.

Like so many pilgrims before and after Bodhidharma's time, we too will follow the ancient Silk Road (metaphorically, not necessarily geographically) from India to China. Charlotte and I have been offered positions teaching at an English Training School in North Eastern China. In the town of Yun Cheng, in the Shanxi Province - about 3 hours from Xi'an where the famous Terracotta Warriors rest. We are told it is quite a historic place, the capital city where many of China's famous dynasties once ruled the land.

Farewell India
It is hard to believe we are leaving India so soon - Now, tonight in fact. India is a place that had filled my dreams and imagination for so many years - yearning for the day I would set foot on her holy soil. And now I have spent almost four months of those days, exploring her mountains, rivers, towns, and temples. But India - like China - is HUGE! And it is ANCIENT. And it is teeming with the NEW. It is such an in-your-face perplexing mix of tradition and modernity - a booming East and West fusion at the shopping mall temple. With monks on cell phones and sadhus in sun glasses. This experience will be lingering in psyche, processing, churning - possibly until I return.

Writing this blog feels like a goodbye of sorts. But it's not. My karma is not yet finished with India nor her children. This is not a goodbye. It's a see you later. After our work in China, we plan to return to holy India, with wallets reloaded, to once again smell the spice and taste the nectar of the axis mundi of religioso. As our dear Israeli friend Nimrod once said, "India is like a strong, beautiful woman you'd like to dance with. But... (in his thick Mediterranean accent) you must let Her lead." While traveling in India, you must surrender. You must let go of who or what you think you are. You must let go of that bus ticket, let go of that train ride, let go of that custom made yak-wool sweatshirt you got in Manali that you loved so much and would be so perfect for a cold winter in China...You must let go of any plans you think you had. Because She will swallow them whole. And spit you out anew. But... if you can learn to flow with Her, to dance with India, then grace is bestowed. You are rewarded with the ultimate gold. You are your Self. You are always where you need to be. And you're always going where you're supposed to go. "For every 10,000 places you don't get to see, there are 10,000 other amazing places you do get to see."

Mindfulroots
This post almost marks the end of a chapter for Mindful Roots. It appears that we will not have access to Blogspot once we enter the Great fireWall of China. Nor will we have access to Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, or any other user-friendly forum of social networking freedom. We are both nervous and excited to move to Communist China. I know we told everyone we were moving to India... but now we are really moving to China. Our teaching contract runs 9 months through June. We are excited to learn Mandarin (our company is providing each of us Chinese tutors!). Just as it is not fair to judge Americans based on the foreign (or domestic) policy of the U.S. Government, the same holds for the people of China or any other nation. We are excited to experience China from the inside - to make Chinese friends!

Contact
If anyone would like to continue to receive photos and updates from China,
please send an e-mail to mindfulroots@gmail.com or charlottecora@gmail.com
We also have a Skype account: mindfulroots
Also...if anyone wants to come visit us in China. Come!
We'll pour you tea, teach you some Chinese, show you how to use chopsticks, and take you 'round the land between Heaven and Earth.

Thank you to everyone who has been following this blog! We deeply appreciate your support on this journey. Please check back in about a year...

In love & gratitude

- Seth & Charlotte

Feelin' Santosh

2010-09-17T05:32:00.000-07:00

Santosh means 'contentment' or 'self-sufficiency' in Sanskrit.

Sufficient through spiritual means.
Santosh Puri is the 'abode of contentment'.
The ashram is a place to heal the mind and body, to nourish the soul.
Bowing to the Divinity within you...
Om Namo Narayana.

After three weeks stay, Char and I had to say goodbye to our spiritual family, the sangha eventually has to split - as the river of impermanence reveals her timeless ripples. We had such a wonderful stay at this beautiful gem in Haridwar. We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in ashram life, or who is planning travel in India - please check out this humble ashram abode - your spirit will thank you.

They have courses going on year round, ranging from Ayurvedic Cooking, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, Clinical Yoga, and Chakra Meditation to Yantra painting. Click Here for more info.

Aligning With the Cosmos

2010-09-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

One way that we can stay in touch with the rhythms of the universe, is through the colors we choose to wear. Each day correlates with a planet, and each planet is related to a certain color, element, gem, feeling etc.

By dressing in accordance to the planet, it helps to you to align with the natural rhythms of the cosmos. Your whole outfit does not have to be the color, but make sure it is visible somewhere on yourself, then sit back and feel the natural rhythms take you in the flow!

MONDAY: Moon Day Silver, Pale Blue, White

TUESDAY: Mars Red

WEDNESDAY: Mercury Green, Green-Blues

THURSDAY: Jupiter Yellow

FRIDAY: Venus Pink, White, Pale Colors

SATURDAY: Saturn Black, Dark Brown, Dark Blue

SUNDAY: Sun's Day Orange, Gold

Pranic Healing

2010-09-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

At some point we have all heard the accounts of miraculous healings. The water at Lourdes, France is said to heal any ailment. Submerge in the Ganges and your karma is purified. Jesus could bring the dead to life, as could Sri Yuketswar, the teacher of Parmahansa Yogananda.

But how?

The answer is Pranic healing. The word prana in Sanskrit means vitality, life force, or literally the supreme energy. Pranic healing is that which is bringing the vitality into being. That is how the blind could see again, the dead revived, and the sick brought back to health in all miraculous healings. Yes it can be called a miracle, but it can also be called the science of Pranic Healing.

Based on the studies and research of Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, we were given a workshop on how to become Pranic Healers ourselves. Class began with an inspiring talk on the fact that each and everyone of us can be a healer, because healing is about tapping into the life-force energy, God, the Supreme, Mother Mary. Your choice is how you tap into that supreme cosmic energy, to allow yourself to become an instrument in which the prana may come through you and into another being. We were led through a series of simple steps to become familiar in our own abilities as Pranic Healers.

1. Sensitize the hands: through a series a exercises, clapping of the hands, then holding the hands together and pulling them apart slowly to feel the energy pulsating between.

2. With a partner (I choose Seth of course) you stand 3 meters away from the other person. Then with eyes closed, slowly move in closer, holding out your right hand until you can feel the vibrations of their energy field or aura (tricky business, you have to be really focused to be able to feel it, but it is there, we all have them).

3. You then create an imaginary fire (or trash bin) next to the person. This is a very important step because you need a place to put all of the negative energy that you clean from the person, in order to extinguish it properly. Moving your right hand in a clockwise motion and simply say, "here is the fire."

4. Then you sweep the aura and chakra line of your partner. If there is a particular area of sickness or pain that area can be concentrated on. You sweep the chakras clean by moving your hand counter clockwise on top of each chakra, placing all of the negative energy into the fire.

5. Then you must distinguish the fire, moving hand counterclockwise, "fire be gone" (you can make up your own lines, but that is the gist of it).

6. Wash hands with salt to remove any negative energy.

7. With right hand up and facing forward, and left palm facing up towards the sky, you ask the universe, God, Shiva, Mother Mary, or the Cosmos to "please let me be a vessel for healing this person. Please send positive healing and white light into my body so that it may shine on this person."

8. In a clockwise manner, you re-energize the chakras, focusing on any trouble spots, re-energize the body, then very importantly, ask the energy to stabilize in the body.

9. Last step is to then say, "now that the energy is stable, please cut the connection of energy flowing between us."

10. The Pranic Healer is then to wash their hands.

This is a very simple and easy method of healing, which can take just 5 minutes, but can have tremendous results. Seth said he felt like a million bucks after I did it on him. And, you don't even have to be in the same room as someone to practice this type of healing. Pranic Healing can be done from the other side of the world! That is how subtle and complex our energy fields are.

So let me know if anyone needs me to use my body as an instrument for Pranic Healing, because I am ready and willing.......ohhhhh which reminds me of an important step I forgot.....before step number 8 where you re energize, you must ask the person," are you willing to receive this healing light", because if someone is not willing, no amount of medicine or Pranic energy will work to heal them. Never underestimate the power of the mind, the power of your own intention, Jesus, the Ganges - this healing happens because people have faith that it will heal them. We are our own best doctors, so be kind to yourself, think positive thoughts, and as "The Hidden Message of Water" reveals to us, living in "Love and Gratitude" forms the most beautiful crystals in one's own body.

The Science of Life

2010-09-12T03:49:00.000-07:00

We are currently entering the last week of our therapeutic Yoga and Ayurveda course, and even though my teacher said not to speak of it until we ourselves have been practicing it for a year, I cannot help myself and want to share a bit that I have learned. My hope is that is will spark something in you, and that you will be inspired to learn more about these beautiful healing tools. I of course am no doctor so please take what I say with a grain of salt.........

As humans living in this beautiful world we are constantly on the quest to alleviate suffering - suffering of the mind, suffering of the body, suffering of the soul. In India, the path to relieve that suffering is found through the thousand-year old sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga.

Both provide a set of basic principles that define proper lifestyle and diet, all in accordance with your individual nature and your environment, as it is said that which is outside is also inside.

The main principle of Ayurveda is based on the five elements: ether, air, water, fire and earth. They are found in everything external and internal of the body. These elements are found in our body in the form of the doshas or "humors" or "natures." They are separated into three categories, Vata - ether and wind, Pitta - fire and water, and Kapha - earth and water.

In Ayurveda we receive our life vitality from two main sources, 30% from food, and 70% from our external environment. It is when these sources of vitality become imbalanced in the body that problems begin. In terms of the food, problems occur through the digestion of food, due to lack of or too much fire (agni) in the digestive track. The outer environment can cause imbalances in the mind and body when we are stressed, in a chaotic space, surrounded by pollution, possess a lot of anger, etc...

Our bodies always let us know externally when there is an internal imbalance. This can be seen through acne, constipation, redness of the eyes, etc. In Ayurveda they would say that one of your doshas are out of balance.

The first step in the diagnosis is determining what your dominate dosha is:

Do you have dry skin, and tend to get cracks in your feet, and split ends in your hair?
Do you dream of warmer weather?
Do you get pain in your joints, pains everywhere?
Do you find it hard to finish things, and long to travel all the time?

If so you are most likely Vata dominant.

Do you have fair skin and hair?
Are you hungry all the time?
Do you feel like you can become angry very quickly?
Are you thirsty all the time?

If so you are most likely Pitta dominant.

Do you have oily skin?
Do you have a hard time waking up in the morning?
Do you sweat a lot?
Do you have a strong sweet tooth and could eat a whole container of ice cream in one sitting?

If so you are most likely a Kapha.

So how to fix an imbalance. Well one way is to learn everything you can about Ayurveda (which takes about minimum 5 years in an Ayurvedic school), you can self diagnose looking at your own poop (yes people the poop tells it all!) or you can do what Seth and I did and visit your local Indian Ayurvedic doctor.

On our one day off, we went to the main city of Haridwar, with a group of 6 people from our course, to visit the doctor. We enter a small crowded room, where in the middle sits a desk and at the desk, is a very small, very old (I am guessing 90) man with the largest Yoda like ears I have ever seen. He is the doctor, and we are all there to witness the open examination of each of his patients, which goes something like this: I sat next to him, he felt my pulse for about thirty seconds, then asked my age, and from that he said to me three very startling facts about my past and present medical conditions, information that only I know about, wrote me out a prescription, and the whole process was over in less than two minutes. He did the same to Seth: in less than a minute he told him that his Vatta and Pitta were out of balance and that he needed to 'focus more on his asana practice.' Then he stuck a flashlight down his throat and told him that his tonsils were swollen, which they were.

I am a believer, it is true, but I also know that this man after all of these years of training is so sensitive and acute to the smallest sign and behaviorisms that the average person would never notice, that along with the science of pulse reading, he can tell exactly where the imbalance is.

After a week of medications, which were a combination of herbal tasting powders, all carefully prepared in individual newspaper packets, I feel amazing and completely healed. For example I have had a planters wart on my foot for over a year and I tried all sorts of western medicine and nothing worked, and these magic powders have done the trick....there were other things as well, but I will keep my pooping issues to myself....

The conclusion is that this is a science that has been practiced for over two thousand years and is still going strong, I think that is just one proof of it effectiveness. India has known for a long time that healing is a process of not just body and remedy, but a process of sustaining the vitality of the mind, body, heart and soul.

Ganesha Chaturthi

2010-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

[Swami Sivananda on Ganesh]

SALUTATIONS to Lord Ganesha who is Brahman Himself, who is the Supreme Lord, who is the energy of Lord Shiva, who is the source of all bliss, and who is the bestower of all virtuous qualities and success in all undertakings.

Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,
Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,
Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,
Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe

MEANING: "O Lord Vinayaka! the remover of all obstacles, the son of Lord Shiva, with a form which is very short, with mouse as Thy vehicle, with sweet pudding in hand, with wide ears and long hanging trunk, I prostrate at Thy lotus-like Feet!"

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most popular of Hindu festivals. This is the birthday of Lord Ganesha. It is the day most sacred to Lord Ganesha. It falls on the 4th day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada (August-September). It is observed throughout India, as well as by devoted Hindus in all parts of the world.

Clay figures of the Deity are made and after being worshipped for two days, or in some cases ten days, they are thrown into water.

Lord Ganesha is the elephant-headed God. He is worshipped first in any prayers. His Names are repeated first before any auspicious work is begun, before any kind of worship is begun.

He is the Lord of power and wisdom. He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva and the elder brother of Skanda or Kartikeya. He is the energy of Lord Shiva and so He is called the son of Shankar and Umadevi. By worshipping Lord Ganesha mothers hope to earn for their sons the sterling virtues of Ganesha.

His Mantra is Om Gung Ganapathaye Namah. Spiritual aspirants who worship Ganesha as their tutelary Deity repeat this Mantra or Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah.

Lord Ganesha represents Om or the Pranava, which is the chief Mantra among the Hindus. Nothing can be done without uttering it. This explains the practice of invoking Ganesha before beginning any rite or undertaking any project. His two feet represent the power of knowledge and the power of action. The elephant head is significant in that it is the only figure in nature that has the form of the symbol for Om.

May the blessings of Sri Ganesha be upon you all! May He remove all the obstacles that stand in your spiritual path! May He bestow on you all material prosperity as well as liberation!

Svaha! La Shana Tovah!

2010-09-09T01:35:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated the auspicious Day of Shakti with a special yajna fire ceremony. The yajna is a very ancient Vedic ritual, traditionally performed by brahmin priests to maintain balance and harmony between humanity and the cosmos. The word yajna literally means 'churning,' and it is through this churning of the fire that we can burn our impurities away.

The fire is the center piece of Vedic life and religion. On a symbolic level it represents the fires of transformation within each of our bodies on the microcosmic scale. In yoga the internal fire is located in the Manipura chakra at our naval center. At the macrocosmic level the fire is the burning sun, the source of energy for all life. Just as we want to feed and nourish our physical bodies, to churn the digestive fires, similarly, we offer nice smelling herbs and grains to the yajna fire. It is an opportunity to make amends, ask forgiveness, and to let go of something that is preventing you from realizing your full potential.

During the ceremony, we chanted the Gyatri Mantra 108 times around the mala. At the end of each mantra, we'd let out a svaha! with an offering to the offering. Svaha is one of my favorite Sanskrit words, it means something like the Beatles' song 'Let it Be.'

It just so happened that this new moon was also the night of Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish New Year! Our beloved Israeli friends Miri and Nimrod were there to help bring these two ancient traditions together. Similarly in the Jewish tradition, this evening begins a 10-day period of reflection, forgiveness, offering of your sins, to 'purify your karma.' On the evening of the tenth day, the Gates of Heaven (also the translation of Haridwar!) are said to be open, and it is known as Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - where we can offer acceptance and repentance, clearing impurities and making space for a sweet new year! We celebrated as tradition with apples dipped in honey for a sweet nectary prasad.

Svaha! La Shana Tovah!

Santosh Puri Ashram

2010-09-05T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hari Om.

Well we are now officially back in India India. That is Hindu India. Right in the heart of it. Residing in one of her holiest cities - Haridwar, the 'Gates of Heaven' - where the river Ganges descends from the Himalayan mountains down into the plains of India. It is a place that has attracted millions of pilgrims for thousands of years, to dip in the purifying waters of Ma Ganga. One drop, believed to wash away your impurities and take you to 'the far side.' Jai Ma Ganga Ki Jai!

We are staying at the Santosh Puri Ashram, right on the holy river. The ashram is run by an incredible divine family of yogis: Narvada Puri, or Mataji as we call her, and her three incredible children, named after sacred Indian rivers - Ganga, Mandakani, and Alaknanda (or Gangotri). Mataji is a German born women who came to India at age 18, and never left. She found her guru Baba Santosh Puri and together spent 12 years on an island off the Ganges, practicing intense yogic austerities and serving the cows. To be in her presence is a gift, and we are receiving so so much from our stay at Santosh. We are in the midst of an intensive 3-week Clinical Yoga and Ayurveda course. Needless to say, the schedule is full. And ashram life starts dark and early. Here's a taste of our schedule:

Meditation/Aarti 4:30am
Cleansing Kriyas 6:00am
Herbal Tea 7:00am
Asanas 8:00am
Breakfast 10:15am
Karma Yoga 11-11:30am
Lunch 12:00pm
Ayurveda/Clinical Theory 1:30pm
Tea 3:30pm
Ayurveda Theory/Pranayama 4:30pm
Dinner 6:30pm
Aarti 7:15pm

Wow just typing that was a lot. The schedule is challenging, but actually not too bad. I'm surprising both myself and Charlotte by waking up at 4:30am to attend aarti every morning! There is something powerful and mysterious about starting the day before sunrise - a potent moment of energy in between night and day consciousness. In fact I remember reading a Yoga Journal article months back that mentioned that humans are the only species who sleep past the rising of the sun! This struck a cord, but unfortunately I was unable to make any radical lifestyle adjustments at that time...

What was particularly challenging though this week were the most 'difficult' of the shatkarma kriyas. First up was Shankha Prakshalana, the 'Supreme Movement' - which involves chugging 2 liters of warm salt water and rather quickly, letting it 'pass through you.' This kriya is to cleanse and purify our 'lower mouth.' Shankha Prakshalana is also accompanied by its helpful friend, the Ganesh Kriya - where you take your middle finger (of your left hand), some oil, and gently massage the walls of the anus. Which may seem a little weird at first - as we don't tend to give much attention with our hands 'down there' in the West - but it is actually very therapeutic and greatly helps to empty our bowels. Needless to say, when doing Shankha Prakshalana with a group, it is essential to have several toilets available at once.

After two days of Shankha Prakshalana, next was Kunjal Kriya a.k.a. vomiting. Again the warm salt water - with a little less salt - this time to purify our 'upper mouth.' Facing South.....we all lined up and.... BLAK! 2 days of Kunjal Kriya. As Gita Meta says, something to the affect, in Karma Cola, excretion is a social and communal activity in India - just like bathing and eating. Our group has certainly bonded this week.

With the little free time in between classes, I have also managed to begin some other studies... Emily and I are learning to play the Harmonium with Mandakni. Jai Ma!! I'm beginning to teach myself Hindi, learning the Devanagari Script. I'm even studying and reciting the Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit with the local 'Babaji.' While also finding time to read from the incredible selection from the ashram library... Yes ashram life is sweet, like nectar. Sundays are our one free days, so I will try and write more next week! Hopefully these mosquitoes don't eat me alive first...

Meditations at Pangong Lake

2010-08-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

With rock as my seat,
tucked in shawl to protect from high winds.

I sit on the edge,
of intense shades of indigo blue, aqua navy.
Sounds crash into changing shorelines,
sending ripples of timeless peace.
Above us only snow.

The 'Roof of the World'
sits across the shore.
A dip in her cool blue waters,
is to step foot
in the 'Land of the Snow.'

'60% of its surface lies in China,'
the Guidebook says.

A small yellow bird squawks,
flying over head.
A symbol of timeless freedom,
naturally rings in song.

Is it Ladakhi or Tibetan?
Indian or Chinese?
There are no boundaries in the sky,
it is boundless like the original Mind.

The Universe as a Mandala

2010-08-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

During our first week's stay at Thiksey Monastery, the monks were engaged in a lengthy 7-day Mandala Puja Ceremony. They would start at 6:30am and chant all day long until about 6pm in the evening, with little breaks in between. The mandala is an intricate traditional Tibetan model, hand-crafted with painstaking detail using colored sand. In the center of the mandala lies Mt. Meru, the axis mundi, surrounded by the 4 Cardinal Directions. The model represents the entire universe within Buddhist cosmology. Once the puja ceremony is completed, which includes LONG recitations of Tibetan prayers, the sand mandala is then ritually destroyed and made as an offering. This is performed traditionally to demonstrate the Buddhist Law of Impermanence.

At the end of the week, there was a big fire ceremony in the courtyard, in which the monks made offerings to the mandala deity. Afterwards we entered back into the main gompa and ritually destroyed the sand mandala. Finally, we carried the sand remains in an urn, marching down the long monastery steps, to an outlet of the Indus river, where we offered the universe as a mandala. The monks at Thiksey perform three big pujas like this a year.

"Of all practices, the offering of the mandala is the most profound and skillful way to accumulate the essential provisions of merit and wisdom, without which we cannot travel swiftly along the path."

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, The Excellent Path to Enlightenment

"We practice the mandala offering so that we are able to give without clinging."

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, The Excellent Path to Enlightenment

Puja at a Funeral

2010-08-11T01:59:00.000-07:00

Aug 9

Death has arrived here in the village of Thiksey. The Mandala Ceremony has been temporarily put on hold, for more pressing engagements are required of the monks. For the next five days they will be performing special pujas, for the dead.

Walking alongside the ancient Indus River, we join a procession of red-robed monks and about fifty village people. All men, Charlotte quickly notices as she chooses to stay behind. With prayer beads in hand, I joined the other men to the cremation ground. Behind the monks, four men carry the body over their shoulders, in a colorfully adorned Tibetan-Ladakhi coffin.

As we arrive at the pre-arranged charnel ground, where the monks have set up for the puja ceremony, the body is placed on top a stone fixture, with an open center to receive the ashes. The villagers gather around, as the men walk up one by one and place burning incense offerings on top the coffin. The monks are seated in a crescent line around the body. Next to them is an array of offerings and puja accessories: grains, seeds, barley, beans, plant stocks, butter, and water are recognizable.

Ominous ochre-red mountains surround the desert funeral. Crisp blue skies and a harsh sun lurk overhead. A white cloud passes above blocking the fiery burning star in the sky, to provide a moment of cool. A sullen darkness falls. The head lama stands up, ringing the bell in his left hand, as he begins reciting the Tibetan prayers. The other monks hum along in their chanting echo mumbles. Money is given between the men in exchange for traditional white kata scarves. A small man approaches the center, standing near the lama with small wood animal sculptures in hand, apparently burnt by flame. Still chanting, the lama obtains a medium sized wooden stick with a white flag attached.

After a few minutes, the head lama conclusively shakes his bell, signaling the end of the prayer. Immediately, the small man runs off, the lama following close behind, almost chasing him, into the distance. I watch intently as the man throws the wooden animals into the desert. The lama tosses his stick, white flag flapping in the wind. Together the two slowly walk back to the group. The family members stand out from the crowd and begin the ritual kora, three clockwise circumnabulations around the body. One by one they each offer their white kata scarves and prostrate toward the deceased. And then, just like that, everyone began walking away…

I asked a young man why we were leaving so soon? He replied, ‘Only for the monks.’ The ritual burning was only for the monks, we were not to see.
I asked him, ‘Did you know the deceased?’
‘Yes. My Auntie,’ he replied.
‘What is her name?’
‘Tashi.’
‘Auntie Tashi.’

Aftershock in Leh

2010-08-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

Aug 8

Housed in the peaceful confines of Thiksey Monastery for the past five days, we really had no idea. I mean, we had an idea, but it was only an idea – rumored facts and tid-bits of information passed on like a children’s game of Telephone in jumbled Ladakhi-English. But this was no child’s game. 150 dead. 300 in Leh and Changlamsar. 500… It was impossible to imagine, we had to see the reality for ourselves. Were our friends in Leh okay? Our guest house? And Amalie, our sweet surrogate Ladakhi mother, and her son Anchuk? And what about our own families? Had news spread internationally??? We needed to find a phone.

We packed up in a hurry, checked out with the monks, and hit the road again – with our rucksacks on our backs and our thumbs out for Leh. After a short walk, we hopped on the back of a tractor with fifteen or so Ladakhi’s and cruised through town along wet muddy roads. We could see and feel the aftermath of the storm. Trees uprooted. Home sunk in. Roads and streams flowing together as one. We jumped off and continued walking. Soon a black SUV stopped alongside the road. We jumped in and got a very fortunate ride all the way to Leh, with a kind group of men who were driving to the hospital to pick up the recently deceased body of a relative. Needless to say, there was room in the car.

On our way we passed by a large military settlement. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Indian, Pakistani, and Nepalese families lined the streets. With bags packed, they sat waiting in the roasting sun like it was a Delhi train station. We were told that all the migrant workers in Ladakh were being sent home – back to Kashmir, Kathmandu, and Bihar, respectively. The government was boarding plane after plane to get everyone out of Leh as quickly as possible. Driving by the sea of people, the thought occurred to me that Indians must be the most patient people on the planet.

It is interesting though, that all these people are being sent home. Each year they come here in the summer months, during the High season, to earn money off the flood of tourists that pour in from June til September. But now, disaster has struck. The rest of the season will be spent cleaning up the storm, rebuilding houses and repairing peoples’ lives. Not quite lucrative work.

---

The city of Leh is in ruin. Walking through the streets, it looks and feels as if a bomb has gone off. The air is thick, hot and sticky. With rucksacks on our backs, we wear scarves over our faces to prevent the dust from swallowing us whole. Businesses and buildings are nothing but piles of rubble. Entire houses are destroyed. A family gathers around, staring hopelessly at what was once their life. A western toilet, dirty white porcelain sticks out of the debris. Cars are smashed like metal pancakes in a scrapyard. Only a machine could so completely flatten and destroy such an advent on modern technology. But this damage was not performed by the hands of men. This was the unadulterated work of shakti – the pure, raw power of mother nature. Good ol’ Prakrti huffed and puffed and blew the house down.

It is our first time in Ladakh, and the greatest storm in it’s ancient history has sent the people into hysteria. Strange karma. Now over 1,000 people dead, they say. Many more still, injured or missing, but information is scarce and filtered with fear. For the Ladakhi people the flood is not just a natural disaster, but a spiritual one – inflicted by evil spirits. The Leh locals were absolutely spooked. No one would give us a ride anywhere out of pure fear. 1,000 rps? 2,000… 3,000??? It was no use. We found our friends and of course they were okay though. Amelie tells us in Ladakhi, waving her hands, how she was so worried about us. We give her and the family a big hug and embrace.

Emily told us her story. Sleeping in her guesthouse, she was awoken in the middle of the night, not only to the monstrous storm, but worse to the local Ladakhi women screaming, running through the streets. She ran out of bed with a sprained ankle. Everyone was heading for the hills, literally. Hundreds of people set up camps high along the Japanese Peace Stupa, and across the other side of town, above the main bazaar at the old Leh Palace. The whole town was moving, bustling through the night – like ants trying to avoid the wetness, scurrying to the top of the hill.

Cultural Karma or Climate Change? Probably both. No one in Ladakh had seen anything like this before. We walk past the bus stand where had arrived in this desert mountain land only a few weeks before. It is unrecognizable, absolute ruin. We see a big government bus, just like the one we rode in on, smashed up on it’s side like early retirement. The place looks like a war zone. A wall of Mani prayer wheels have been ripped from their humble stands. Small strips of paper prayers in black Tibetan ink splay everywhere, blowing their final blessings into thin air.

The locals despairingly informed us that it was likely that the annual September Ladakhi Festival would not be celebrated this year (another big hit to the local economy). The energy and hysteria in Leh was just too much. The spook had been further stirred by Vedic Astrology. According to the stars, the worst had yet to come. We immediately turned back around for the peaceful gompa gates of Thiksey. Walking through the local villages we can hear the familiar sounds of the monks’ puja. Only now they are being held for the souls of the deceased.

Shelter From the Storm

2010-08-11T01:39:00.000-07:00

Aug 6

A quiet sombre mood permeates the monastery grounds. Last night, the second night of a fierce storm (the worst in history), struck the high desert lands of Ladakh. All through the night, the rains poured buckets from the sky, the winds howled, while thunderous lightening shook the valley. Big flashes of white lit up the dark mountain sky. With no power, we watched and listened to the raw power of nature, until the candle burned to completion.
In a place that averages only 3.5 inches of rain annually, no one was prepared. However, upon his arrival in the Nubra Valley, HH the Dalai Lama had confided that the Oracle had prophesied that a great big storm was brewing. The local people said their prayers, made the appropriate offerings to their protector gods, and went on with their lives. For there was work to be done in the kitchen and in the fields. Besides, what else could they do†?
During the middle of the night, the village of Thiksey was abruptly awaken by a torrent flood of high waters, rushing through the streets and into their homes. With no hesitation, the people picked up their essentials, food and blankets, and headed up the hill to the village monastery. All day they have poured in, hundreds of people, men, women and children. It is admirable to witness the level of community and resource the monastery offers the village and its people, as it has functioned traditionally for thousands of years. As we watch the procession of families and possessions pour in, filling all dry empty space, I am reminded of a somewhat similar scene I had witnessed a few years ago in the States…

---

While living in San Diego, during the Spring of 2008, the county burst into California wildfire. Thousands of buildings and homes were destroyed. I recall the government issuing an air health-safety warning, we wore masks through the streets. Not because of the fire per say, but because of the toxic chemicals, the paint from houses, which was being spewed with smoke into the neighboring air. And as we are quickly learning, there are no borders in the sky.

Over one million people were evacuated from their homes with no place to go. A few shelters were set up for the new American refugees, but most were sent to Qualcomm Stadium, home to the San Diego Chargers NFL football team. Like Thiksey monastery, the football stadium opened its doors during the time of crisis to shelter its people. A few friends and I took the local bus over to lend hands. The scene was mad. Thousands and thousands of people, pouring in from all directions. Truckloads of tents, food, and supplies were arriving. Big mountain piles of donated food and clothing were being sorted through in the parking lots by volunteers. We helped young families set up tents to try and get some needed sleep for the night.

California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, helicoptered onto the scene to make his routine press appearance. Cameras and people flocked towards to hear his holy words. I recall being surprised by his unproportionally large Ken-doll face, but I don’t remember what he said. I do remember the new which came the following day. The next day at Qualcomm Stadium was a Sunday, a ‘holy’ day for NFL fans, and a scheduled home game for the Chargers. It was decided and announced that the game would not be cancelled. The game would be played. And the thousands of homeless San Diego citizens, many of whom no doubt were die-hard Chargers fans – who had been following their beloved team since they were born, into a family of die-hard Charger fans, who had attended tailgate parties and gone to every game they could afford, every Sunday like it was Church, and who would have no doubt loved to be at this Sunday’s game, were it not for the fact that their house burnt down in flames the night before – yes, these people, along with everyone else, were forced to leave the Stadium, exiled into oblivion, so that their beloved Chargers could maintain dreary hopes of making the playoffs.

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All of this I am reminded of, as I watch these poor Ladakhis, Indians, and Pakistani’s, endlessly trickle into the gompa courtyard. But here I am struck by an altogether different scene. Not just the obvious dichotomy in locality of a Buddhist monastery versus an NFL football stadium, but the social function of the ‘Church.’ Here in Ladakh, the first born son of every family is sent to monkship at the local monastery, where he will learn to read and receive a proper education. It is supported by the community, and in turn, the monastery nourishes the community, as the center of learning and religious activity. It is a mutual and reciprocal functioning relationship. The kind healthy ecology is made of. And when disaster strikes the village, there is no question or hesitation of where to go, or what to do – like a public school fire-drill, everyone heads for the gompa, safely perched high on top the hill. The monastery opens it’s big Dharma gates to embrace all. Shelter is provided. The school closes, to open its rooms for everyone. Tea is served. Food is fed. A natural sense of oneness and camaraderie is felt throughout the community.
The puja carries on by a few elders, because tradition must. But most of the monks become workers, leaders, and community organizers. Passing by a stream of new arrivals, one monk says to us, ‘We take this very seriously.’ He smiled, ‘But these buildings are very old, and we must be careful with all these people.’

Not only do the local people have an extended home, but we too have a place to stay, a shelter to take refuge. Because we arrived a few days prior, we had secured a clean comfortable room†; with big white walls, high wooden ceiling, big white bed, and large mountain view windows. Just outside our door, families are lined up laying on the hallway grounds. The villagers lay on blankets and mats under gompa awnings and dining room floors. They gather for shelter. circled around big Mani prayer wheels. My heart perturbed by the commotion outside our bedroom, I open the door to offer a small bag of nuts and barley to the women. I cannot help but feel guiltily, but do my best to cultivate compassion. More than anything, I feel gratitude. Grateful to be healthy, safe, and alive - with my beloved in my arms. We received word that many others were not so fortunate. Less than 12 miles away, in Ladakh’s capitol city Leh (where we were staying only two days before), over one-hundred people were announced dead this morning. Many more are injured or missing. Bodies continue to be dug up from the storm ruin. The roads are all closed – the buses destroyed. The water supply has run dry (truly an anomaly after last night’s downpour…), and the power comes and goes in waves.

I hear screams from outside the hallway. But they are only of children playing. Despite the somber mood, there is a sense of festivity in the air. The family is together. The community is strong. The monks’ mothers, brothers, and sisters are here. All generations under one gompa. The toothless grandmothers smile at us as we greet them, ‘Juley!’ The old men waddle around, fingering their rosary beads as they breathe heavily, ‘OM MANI PEMME HUNG’ faster than is Englishly possible. As the late afternoon fades to early evening winds, I look up to the ominous dark grey sky. Thunder begins it’s familiar tumultuous rumble. I feel a few drops of rain splash upon my head.

Thiksey Monastery Puja

2010-08-11T01:30:00.000-07:00

Aug 5

Day 3 of the Mandala Puja at Thiksey Monastery . OM AH HUM.
The chanting begins at 6:30am and goes on and on. About fifty monks are in attendance, along with twenty or so Westerners – the tourists, who walk around with their big black lenses, pointing and shooting, click-click, snap-snap, shoving their cameras in the monks’ faces like animals at the zoo. Flash-click-snap. The sign out front reads†: Please no flash photography. The Thiksey puja has become another tourist attraction on the Trail, even our guide book says so. And no surprise really. Its absolutely beautiful. So sacred. A unique experience to be welcomed so openly into the strange and mystical world of Tibetan Buddhism. The gompa walls which surround us are filled with colorful murals of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, fierce protector deities, and the erotic yab-yum images of consort yoga. It’s enough to make any middle-aged Protestant American scream, running for the doors of the confessional.

The influence of Tibet’s primitive Bon religion speaks through the darkened worn images and symbols; it’s evil spirits, animism, ritual, and sacrifice Evident – soaked up by Padmasambhava and the Buddhadharma and transformed into the highly Evolved Vajrayana. The quick path to liberation, starts early. The young monks, seven or eight years of age, pour butter tea and serve big buckets of barley flour to their seniors, who have been chanting these sutras since they were pouring tea themselves. Within these same gompa walls. On these same old cushions. Prostrating, bald heads gracing these same wooden floors, who knows how many times before. These old monks waddle, lama-walking to their seats, are the last of a generation. The last lamas to live and practice the Dharma with little or no contact with the West, or the greater outside world for that matter. No flash photography. No gift shop. No commercials, world-wide-web, or television. Now, when the pretty young Israeli girls step out of the jeeps and into the puja, in their halter tops and spandex, the young monks can’t help but stare. At age twelve or thirteen, the monastic life cannot protect them from their biological inheritance. The fire of their youth, turns the spinning wheels of the lower chakras.

Thiksey monastery is hundreds of years old, these practices, thousands. There so much beauty to be felt in its presence, a transmission of ancient sound passed down through the deep, grunting vibrations of a chanting monks’ melody. Like a timeless river stream, flowing from the Buddha Shakyamuni himself. To listen is to hear the Dharma. To sit together, is to be the Sangha. In this body, in this breath.

But conventional wisdom reveals, I am still human – same too, these monks. They are not so different. Sometimes they are ‘here,’ while I am all the way over ‘there.’ But right now we are both Here. Sitting together, swaying to the melodious rhythm, sipping tea, stirring flour into Tsampa balls with our fingers. They too are tired. Bald heads drop one by one like flies, for a little puja snooze. The young monks appear uninterested, busy chatting and playing, throwing rice grain offerings at each other across the room when the elders aren’t looking. There is a genuine realness about the whole scene. However, this is their life, while I am just visiting. But I guess we’re all just passing through…

The horns blaze, Tibetan clarinets roar, bronze cymbals clash like lightning, the little lamas breathe deep into conch shells, while the deep bass drums pound – the ancient Buddha heart-beat. Deep mountain earth, sounds from another time. Someone must have hit the reset button – the mind clears, empties into silence. Snoozing monks wake. Only three more hours to go.

Shey: The Ancient Capitol of Ladakh

2010-08-11T01:11:00.000-07:00

Our first destination on our monastery pilgrimage was the small village of Shey. Only 15 minutes away from Leh, but a world of difference in appearance and in the feeling of instant relaxation and calm we felt upon arriving. The village was the former 12th century capital of Ladakh. Perched on the highest craggy point is the former palace and gompa, famous for its 26-foot high Shakyamuni Buddha statue. The village has one restaurant, one store, and one guest house, in front of which our taxi dropped us off. Standing in the village, we cannot help but be in awe of the fact that we are surrounded by 360 degrees worth of mountains. On one side rugged and barren, dry mountains, etched lines made by fierce Himalayan winds. To the other side of alpinesque snow capped mountains. But like the rest of Ladakh, the inner valley is lush, due to a sacred pond, a former remnant of the palace days.

Our guest house is set off the main road, lined with poplars and grazing cows. The room is basic, kind of dirty, actually, and the 'mother' informs us that the pipes broke last winter, and the plumber has not been by yet. This means that there will be no water, unless you go out to pump it yourself, and no toilet per say, but a dirt room with a hole in the ground that is referred to as the 'local' toilet. But it is the only guest house in town and at least Seth was able to bargain the woman down to a good price, thanks to my many looks of disgust.

At sunset we went to explore the area, walking five minutes up the road, the landscape dramatically changed unto a realm of sand dunes, craggy rocks, and the sight of ancient Ladakh, hundreds of white stupas. Stupas can have different religious properties, they are designed like layered birthday cake, each layer representing a part of the Budddha, thus they can be used for contemplation and prayers. Other times they are the burial site for venerable monks. The second I saw these stupas set amongst the barren sand dunes, my gut instinct said we had entered a burial ground. As we are walking around, in trance by this mysterious landscape of stupas, we begin to hear the sounds of horns, drums and chanting, the ritual sounds of a puja ceremony taking place. Seth of course has to get to the source of these sounds, and goes clamoring through stupas, only to find a single man performing his own personal sadhana practice, and much to his surprise this man is a blond haired westerner.

We later come to meet the man, Josh, who is our age, from Washington, and who for the last 5 years has been attending a University in Kathmandu studying Himalayan-Buddhist Studies. Furthermore we come to find that Seth’s university advisor, Steve Jenkins had taught at this university withing the last couple of years, and Josh had been one of his students. Upon further investigation into Josh, we find out that his teacher in Nepal had sent him on a special pilgrimage into Ladakh, where he was to spend the night and meditate in 108 charnal grounds (cemeteries) before the summer was over. We asked him what number he was on, he said, ´98 and it has been a far-out time. I have definitely seen some hungry ghosts!'

The 26 foot Buddha is housed above the palace, watched over by a little old Ladakhi man, who sleeps in a room next to the Buddha, waiting to collect admission fees from the visitors. We arrived after appropriate visiting hours, but regardless he opened the ancient lock to allow us into the sacred gompa. Each breath this man took and each released was a reverberation of 'om mani padme hum.' His mouth constantly moving in mantra, only pausing to point out certain deities and images to Seth as he circumnavigated the massive Buddha with his camera.
A gale of wind had begun to Blow outside, making the thin glass pane Windows of the gompa rattle and shake. Within a minute the gales became fierce angry wind gods, almost snatching Sea Horse from Seth’s head.

Come bedtime, we are in the guest house and the wind is blowing hard, loud, hot, dry, pushing the poplar trees from vertical to horizontal. The house mother earlier had told us that this was very normal for Shey in the evenings, but this was not normal for two Californians†!
I was wide awake feeling very dried out and disturbed by the intensity of the wind storm, when the sky suddenly starts lighting up. Bright alien flashes of white light where followed by the loudest longest rumbles of thunder I have ever heard-FYI- Seth slept through all of the thunder and lightening…. And then the rains began.

Before I talk about the rain, let me preface this with background on the Ladakhi home. We had noticed this little phenomena in every room we had been in, which is that in every room there is a square hole in the ceiling. We finally figured out that this hole was for the pipe of a wood burning stove, for their long frigid 8 month winters. For a land that averages about 3 inches a year, that hole in the roof never seemed to matter until that night in Shey.

The thunder storm brought rain, and a lot of it, possibly half a years worth of rain, at which point Seth wakes up because it is pouring buckets in our room. Next to our bed. Since I had been up for it all, I had already heard the guest house family downstairs freaking out, trying to cover all the holes in the house, including coming on to the deck attached to our room, which we had noticed earlier had a hole leading right down into their nicely carpeted living room. There is not much to do but laugh when your room is filling up with water, our bed was dry and at least the rains dissipated the dry, relentless winds.

But the story of the storm in not quite over. A couple hours later to say to me in a very calm voice: 'Charlotte there is a bird in our room.' Sure enough there was loud flapping coming from the corner of the room, as a feathered friend had come into our room to take shelter from the storm. Then at about 7 in the morning we were awoken, the storms had stopped, but the entire family was out on our deck setting up a massive plastic tarp. They were banging doors, windows, throwing down large rocks, all to the background noise of crinkling tarp, as from our bed we had front row views of all the action.

The next thing we know they are coming into our room, bringing in plastic chairs and other items that had been on the deck, completely ignoring us. Only in India, would there be no knocking, no apology for their early morning disturbance or for entering our private abode. For in India there is no such thing as private, especially when there is work to be done. In classic Indian style once again, the house mother was extremely surprised when we told her that we would not be staying another night as was originally planned, never mind the fact that we were standing in our room in a large puddle of a rug.

Leaving Leh

2010-08-11T01:03:00.000-07:00

It was time to leave Leh. The city was getting under our skin in an unhealthy way. Like any city it is noisy and dirty, but in Leh that is accentuated with the fact that the streets are narrow and village life, meaning a trip downtown, was a car dodging, loud honking, unhappy time. There is this other thing about Leh too. Three months of the year a collective of shop owners from Kashmir take over the streets of Leh with their Pashmina shops. Unlike shops in America, these shops keep all of their goods outdoors rather than in, therefore it is hard to avoid the man outside every store who yells in your face,‘Pashmina, Pashmina Shawl, I have got a good price for you.’ The reality is that the Kashmiris are here in Ladakh for three months, then take their money and go to their shops in Goa for the rest of the year, hurting the local economy, and causing inflation on all the items, making Leh the most expensive place in all of India. Needless to say we were starting to see only the negative side of Leh, with the exception of one thing. Our lovely Ladakhi Guesthouse.

Set back in a rural farming area, surrounded by poplar trees, soft gurgling creeks and poplar lined walkways, our guest house room was a gem at only 150 rps a night (about 3 bucks). Every morning our Ladakhi guest house mother would have fresh mint tea waiting outside our door, I mean what more do I have to say. On our last night in Leh before heading for a tour of the small villages and monasteries of the area, our Ladakhi mother invites us over for a special Ladakhi dinner. Her English is very limited, but her use of facial expressions and hand gestures, including the sounds ‘Oh, Oh, Oh’ have made our communication possible. But that night for dinner, she had asked her daughter Tenzin to join us and translate as she spoke almost perfect English.

The family dining room is filled with 2x4 Tibetan rugs, which cover the low sitting area that covers a third of the room. In front of the rugs are low, brightly colored ornate tables, similar to the ones we have seen the monks sit in front of during Puja ceremonies. These are their dining room tables. There is a large old fashioned wood burning stove in the room, which now has an electric hot plate sitting on top of it. As the daughter explained, ‘The old stove was not used anymore.’ The side walls were covered with antiqued brass teapots, large brass cooking pots and about 50 pieces of assorted metal dishware, all deliberately layed out in an ornamental fashion. The room smelled of musty yak cheese and of fresh mint tea, which was constantly being refilled in glasses in front of us.

Amelie, the word for mother in Ladakhi, serves us plates of fresh momos, which are Tibetan/Ladakhi version of a vegetable dumpling or potsticker, adorned with a type of Ladakhi tomato salsa. The more we eat, the more Amelie tries to fill our plates, and our bellies, regardless of our cries, ‘Please no more, so full.’ Dessert is the famous product of Ladakh, despite the arid desert landscape, they grow the most amazing apricots, which came straight from Amelie’s daughter’s tree.

At the end of the evening, Seth and I were just beaming. Amelie was calling him son, he was trying to hug her, but I don’t think they hug here in Ladakh. Anyways it was a very special dinner. We have been blown away by the love, laughter, kindness and generosity that these people have shown us.

The Seahorse Montage

2010-08-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

It all started while we were stuck in the little trucker stop village of Marhi. Waiting patiently for the dangerous Rohtang Pass to clear, I came upon a little local vendor selling hats. Now, I had been looking for "the hat" since I arrived in India. Due in part to the Jewish mother's voice in my head, warning me of the dangers of excessive sun exposure... And now at 11,000ft , in the little town of Marhi, this "slightly used" brown rimmed hat, glimmering in the mountain light, caught my eye. I tried it on. It was a perfect fit. The two elderly Japanese women next to me were raving about how great it looked on me, and asked if they could take my photo... I took this as a sign. For only 100 rupees, I crossed into a new realm of being - I was now a "hat man." After a warm hat welcome by my friends, we learned that around the rim of the hat was written "Seahorse" repeatedly. With great laughter, we had a new addition to the family - Seahorse.

Now, fast-forward to the small Ladakhi village of Summur, while on the Dalai Lama tour. At the end of the teachings of Day 1, while the stampede was leaving the monastery, I happened to spot out of the corner of my eye... Seahorse! I had to do a double take. Sure enough, sitting in the grass, was a little Ladakhi man, wearing his very own Seahorse hat. Excitedly I pointed him out to Charlotte while I scrambled for the camera..

After that first Seahorse encounter, we began seeing Seahorses everywhere! And each one, was resting on the head of an old Ladakhi man. We quickly discovered that I was rockin' the old Ladakhi man hat. And everywhere we went on the Dalai Tour, Seahorse became a way to connect with the locals - to cross invisible cultural boundaries, and connect the human heart. They loved it! And so did we...

Here my friends, is the Seahorse Montage:

The Dalai Lama Sutra

2010-07-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

Thus have I heard.

HH the Dalai Lama was dwelling on the Himalayan Valley of Nubra in Ladakh, together with a great community of monks and nuns, lay and village people, and a select group of Westerners. Surrounded by ancient Buddha mountains with pure snow peaks. The recently blessed, hundred-foot Maitraya looks down upon the procession from the Gompa mount. Prayer flags of red, green, yellow, blue, white - representative of the five elements - color the sky, blowing prayers in the gentle winds.

Squished like bugs, we sit roasting in the Himalayan sun, waiting for His arrival. A sea of red; bald monks sizzle like lobsters, waiting to receive the precious buddhadharma. Waiting. Waiting. Cultivating scorching patience - wiggling Westerners get restless. "Put the umbrellas away!" They say, "I can't see!" When there's nothing to see. The Dharma is to be heard. Through a crackling speaker box, an English translation transmits through. The drums and horns sound. Here we go...

A big Dalai Lama smile and bow spreads through the crowd. We return by dropping our ego-minds in three prostrations. Thousands in attendance. The tea blessing begins. Thick, salty, yak butter is served up warm in big bronze pots by monks and Ladakhi women, adorned in their finest garments, deep blue turquoise chunks and big yak wool top hats. Along with the tea is served thick Tibetan bread, made fresh by the village women the night before.

The Dalai Lama raps on about emptiness. Nothing exists from it's own side. Cultivate the wisdom that knows emptiness. Interdependence is the other side of the coin. Perception, logic, ration, epistemology, subject/object, Prasangika Madhyamikya says... Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, and Shantideva say... bodhicitta! Tongue twisting mouthfulls of Tibetan and Sanskrit, names and texts linger in the dry desert heat.

"Scientists are showing that those who constantly think of 'I' are more at risk of heart attack." The ego-mind is attacking the heart. Thoughts can kill.

The suffering of sentient beings is felt throughout hot, aching, itching, wiggling Western knees and spines. While the mountains sit strong, watching the endless procession in stillness. No wiggling mountains. No itching rocks. Pure Being - at the natural level. The cool snow peaks appear a mirage as giant beads of sweat slide down my brow. The Dalai Lama laughs and all suffering is momentarily ceased.

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After an incredible week in the small rural villages of the Nubra Valley, on the Dalai Lama tour, drinking yak butter tea, spinning big prayer wheels, photographing big white stupas, eating momos and chow mein, saying Juley all day, taking ice cold bucket baths, living a life a little closer to a Ladakhi, a little closer to the Earth - something amazing happened. On the afternoon of the final day of teaching, HH the Dalai Lama announced he would be granting the Westerners an audience!

With a group of less than a hundred, we rallied through all the Ladakhis, security, and up to the DL's residence. The excitement was so high. The whole week we had felt so blessed to even be there. The Dalai Lama had been giving high teachings and initiations to the local monks and nuns of the Nubra Monasteries. At each one, we were fortunate enough to have a private section, right up front, with an English translation. This made for a rather unique and intimate gathering - a truly special Dharma transmission. And now we were to meet HH up close and personal!

He "lama walked" out to our group, smiling and waving, apparently unshaken by the heat, or the 3 hours of teachings he had just dished, at the end of a long week of teaching - he was not finished yet. In English now, he addressed us as his friends, speaking of the universality of the human heart. After about a fifteen minute dialogue, filled with much laughter, he willingly suggested a photoshoot. Thus our week in the Nubra came to a climactic end, with a meeting with HH the Dalai Lama.

Juley! We Have Arrived in Leh

2010-07-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

After the harrowing journey over the Himalayan mountains, we arrived upon the capitol city of Leh. We came into a dirty bus station at about 11pm, and after 4 days of traveling, we were quickly suckered into the first guest house we were offered. We had no reservations, which is the way it usually works, you get to a place and a guy comes up to you and says, "come look at my house, very nice place." Sometimes it is, but in the case of our first night in Leh, this was not so. I think when we arrived to the guest house it was only a matter of moments before Seth announced to me, "we are leaving in the morning." The first thing we found out was that there was no water, so if you want to bathe they bring you a bucket, which may or may not be warm, and they might not bring the bucket at all!

In the morning our pseudo tour guide, Glenn, announced he had found a much better guest house about 15 minutes away. So Seth and I packed up our stuff in a flash and, still hungover from the bus journey, found ourselves walking through the cobble stone village paths of the real Ladakh - the Ladakh that we had imagined through all the stories and movies we have seen and heard. The new guest house turned out to be a beautiful traditional Ladakh home, white walled, hand made bricks, thatched roof, beautiful green vegetable garden, streams running through and around the property, and my favorite Poplar trees lining it all. Our room is surrounded with big windows, facing in all directions the snow covered Himalayan mountains. Our little Ladakhy mother brings us fresh mint tea in the morning, and there is an actual toilet, unlike most places in the area which just have a hole in the floor.

Check out the picture below of the view from our bathroom!

Heaven. Suddenly the journey here started to feel like a distant memory as we fell in love with the city of Leh.

Here in Ladakh we have learned one word, "Juley" pronounced JOO-LAY. It is one of those amazing words that means: Hello-Goodbye-Thank You- Please-Excuse Me-Peace-and HEY YOU ALMOST RAN ME OVER! We must say Juley at least 100 times a day.

We have spent our days here in Leh in preparation for leaving for the Nubra Valley, which is located in the heart of Ladakh, about 5 hours from where we are. A place that requires permits, tents, bus tickets, and all the usual travel commodities.

Leh has an influx of westerners, and therefore the restaurants offer a selection of Indian, Ladakhy, Chinese and Israeli food, which we partake in, always saying, "Well...this may be the last time we will be able to get a falafel."

The valley that Leh sits in is surrounded by peaks that host an assortment of buildings, from monasteries, peace stupas, old forts, and the famous Leh Palace that was supposed to be the reproduction of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

Before coming here I had read the anthropological studies of the Ladakhy people done by Helena Norberg Hodges, in her book "Ancient Futures" (thank you Daruka). Which was written over 25 years ago, when she had become one of the first Westerners to come to this part of the word. She started an organization called the Ladakhy Woman's Alliance, that supports the self sustainable lifestyle and culture of the people. Everyday this organization shows a documentary film based on "Ancient Futures" which we went to watch one afternoon. You can all probably imagine the themes addressed in the film, a culture completely self-sustainable, producing no waste, strong community, being destroyed by the influx of globalization. People moving from the farm lands of no poverty to live in the dirty ghettos of the "big" city of Leh. Food production no longer local, grains shipped from Southern India, rather than grown in Ladakh.

Really sad, the day we watched the film, I had actually taken an hour walk, with my two girl friends, to buy bus tickets at the the very dirty bus station. Although we were staying in the image of beautiful traditional Ladakh life, to get to the bus station we had to through the nasty, dirty, garbage heap projects of Leh. Shops slanging crap, western paraphernalia, guns, sex and rock and roll, feces everywhere, no fresh water, no vegetable gardens, all in all pretty gross. I was thankful to get back to the other side of town, and to the sound of the streams running past my bedroom window, but a great perspective none the less.

Now off for a five hour journey deeper into the mountains, over the highest road pass in the world! to the very small town of Sumuur, where we will receive two days of teachings from HH the Dalai Lama.

A Journey to Ladakh

2010-07-19T05:20:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to write this post now for the past three days. I don't know if it's the altitude, writer's block, or the fact that it is just impossible to translate such an intense experience into mere words (I'm beginning to feel this will be a theme in India - the inability to describe the ineffable). But seriously, our journey to Ladakh was ridiculously out of this world. Both good and bad. Someday I'll take the time and write a longer story about this one, but for now I'm gonna have to keep it brief...

It was supposed to be a "smooth" 2-day bus ride from Manali to Leh. With a overnight stay in the desolate Himalayan town of Keylong to break up the journey, and to help us acclimatize to the high altitude. Leh, the capitol city of Ladakh, is situated at about 14,000 ft high in the Himalayas. Until the last few decades, it was pretty much isolated from the rest of the world. It is one of the highest and driest regions on the planet, only accessible about 3 months - for the rest of the year the valley freezes over, and the few road passes are all snowed in. To reach Ladakh, you must journey up to 17,000 ft, over the second highest road on the planet.

Day 1

Very excited, and with a sangha of friends from the Heart Sutra course at Tushita, including Glen our teacher, and soon to be tour guide and fearless leader, we packed onto the government bus with a few other Westerners and several Indian families. Now, we had already overheard a few broken hearts and horror stories at Manali restaurants, about how the roads had closed due to a recent avalanche. One girl told how their bus had broken down on their way back to Manali and they had to ditch the bus, walk several miles to find horses, ride the horses back up the mountain to gather their gear, and horseback ride all the way back down to Manali - all the way to the table next to us on "date night" at People's restaurant. Char and I looked at each other wide-eyed in agony for these people, but we assured ourselves the road will be clear and safe by tomorrow, nothing like this would happen to us...

Well we didn't have to ride horses. But we would have paid to! The landslide was in full effect when we arrived at the pass on Day 1. As we pulled up to the tiny little trucker stop town of Marhi at 11,000 ft, we could see the blocked pass above, lined with hundreds of jeeps, buses, and trucks, stacked behind each other like red and white dominoes all the way down the mountain switchback road. We had only been on the road for about two hours, and already had been delayed twice. Now we were to "wait it out" until the road cleared. As we gathered for chai and lunch at one of several small dhabas, we learned that there was another problem: a truck had nearly fallen off the cliff and was stuck, half blocking the road. Still we waited...all day... until nightfall, when with sunken heads we all gathered back on the bus and dreadfully headed all the way back down to Manali. Spirits defeated, we were almost back at the Manali bus stop, when ptsssssssss one of the back right tires went out like a kick in the stomach. To add injury to insult, our sister Emily twisted her ankle in the busy street as we were searching for a guest house.

Day 2

The next day we all headed back to the bus stop, a little less enthused, but still optimistic about the road ahead. There was still no word about whether the pass was clear. The government bus office sent their P.R. rep on the bus to give us a big pep talk, a motivational speech ha! To get everyone riled up, "No one is coming back to Manali tonight!!" Shouts and applause from the bus... Those words proved true... but I would have really liked to see what this guy would have had to say, oh about 10 hours later, when we were stuck waiting again in Marhi. He wouldn't have gotten off the bus so easy...

Back in Marhi we waited.... and waited... and waited.... still no word. Ladakh melted further and further into an imaginary realm beyond our reach. The domino line of vehicles was still stuck in pause. By mid-afternoon, the 11,000 ft altitude hit Charlotte and she began to feel uneasy and lightheaded. Everyone was getting restless. There was talk about ditching the bus and walking 5km with our bags over the pass... We learned that some cars had passed through, thinking the landslide was done. One car got slammed by some big rocks. One person died. Tension on the bus was getting high. Some wanted to walk, some wanted to stay the night, others wanted to go back to Manali for fear of sleeping at such high altitude.

We ended up staying the night in Marhi, after waiting around for over 10 hours... with still no promise that the road would be cleared by morning. Some had left the bus, taken a taxi up the hill and walked across the pass into the night. Who knows what lay ahead. We found a "place" to rest for the night. Behind each dhaba restaurant, through the kitchen, was a path through the tiny village to a toilet. So many toilets. We stayed in the toilet village, in a tiny little shack with bunks. Give thanks for sangha, again and again. However that night our sangha grew to include a few tiny hairy little friends. As I lay our sleeping bags on the top bunk, a big rat raced above my head across a wooden pillar. They would multiply throughout the night... But it actually wouldn't have been so bad, except as soon as I lay down for bed, the altitude hit me, hard. My head was throbbing. Tossing and turning, heart pounding, it was incredibly painful. I could barely breathe - I didn't know if I'd make it through the night. I crawled into Child's Pose and focused on my breath. Laying back down into Savasana, I finally drifted asleep... for about 2 hours.

Day 3

We were awaken abruptly, dark and early by Glen at our "window" door, "WE'RE GOING! WE'RE GOING!" Absolutely startled, we jumped out of bed. Banged my head. Char's glasses fell. We could hear the bus engine starting. "WE'RE GOING! WE'RE GOING!" We all ran out to the bus as quick as possible dragging our things behind. No one was on the bus. It was chai time.

Finally on the road again, it took us over five hours just to get through this little pass. The truck was still stuck, but one by one vehicles were being squeezed by. A group of saintly Indian man stood on the edge of the earth all day pushing trucks and buses like ours through the muddy rocks. It was quite a scene. But finally, like a newborn, we pushed through that motha!! After hours of amazing fresh mountain landscape, we made it to Keylong, two days later... Finally, we were making progress. We were told that we would stay at the finest hotel in Keylong. Which in India means we stayed in tents in the front yard of the finest hotel in Keylong. With no showers. We climbed up the river and took a icy cold Himalayan bath.

Day 4

We were back on the bus the next morning, late, at 5am, for what would be the longest most difficult day yet. We had over 250km til Leh. We were tired, weary, excited, and a bit loony. Did I mention this day was long? We covered some of the most amazing land I have ever witnessed. The diversity of the landscape and geology was insane. From the lush green mountains and trees of Manali to rugged stone scapes, dry desert plains, frozen tundra, snow like Siberia, to red rock like the Grand Canyon. It was unbelievable. All in all we drove over 17 hours that day. And I felt every single bump. We were, by the way in the very back of the bus, and could literally feel the road. Numerous times we hit a bump in the road and was sent flying off my seat, slamming my head into the luggage compartment. Once in particular, my head already throbbing from the altitude, I felt my brain do a little jiggle.

But I was really doing fine, until we hit the high pass, 17,000 ft, and stopped for a photo shoot. I began shaking, and shivering, my body weak and cold, I stumbled back onto the bus. Then flushed with hot flashes. Then again cold, hot, cold, and hot...my head was absolutely throbbing. I felt worse than ever. Finally, the little Indian ladies got back on the bus, and we began our descent. I started to feel a little better, but those last four or five hours were so uncomfortably painful. Just about everyone on the bus was looking more and more like death. People were throwing up. Every five minutes an Indian woman would let out a hideous moan, sending shrills down everyone's spine. We were almost there. Beautiful white stupas began appearing through the dark night of the dirty bus windows. I could almost feel the sheets of the guest house bed ahead of me. And then ptsssssssss - deja vu - the same tire went flat like a hospital life-line. We were stuck in the dark somewhere in Ladakh. After an hour or so, the tire was fixed. Back on the bus, we were in Leh in another hour and a half. Like tourist fresh bait, we were swarmed by taxi drivers and guest house owners. Somehow we made it to a bed that night, not the soft down comforter I had dreamed about, more like a wooden plank, but we had arrived.

HH The Dalai Lama Turns 75!

2010-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ever since we knew we were going to Mcleod Ganj, the exile city of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people, we knew that we would be there at the same time of His Holiness' birthday. It was the one definite plan we had bef0re embarking on this journey, to attend the Dalai Lama's 75th Birthday Bash!

Tuesday, July 6, arrives, and with it the monsoons. Small sidenote about monsoons - when they arrive, it is as if God has taken a large river, placed it in a bucket then decide to pour the contents onto the land all at once. The monsoons make the rain in Humboldt County look like a garden sprinkler. Sidenote about Mcleod Ganj - we are told that this little spot in India gets the 2nd highest rainfall on the planet! I preface with this as the Dalai Lama's Birthday celebration was being held in his very humble temple abode, a large yellow building set upon the hillside, about a 35 minute walk down the beautiful woodland path from where are staying.

The festivities were to begin at 9 am and we had been advised to arrive by 7:30 to secure seats in the outside courtyard of the temple. When we woke up to the monsoon, however, we decided it might not be the best idea to stand in the rain for two hours waiting to see if the Dalai Lama would or would not show up for the festivities, as it was unclear at that point whether or not he would even be there. We had heard rumors that he is not really that into his birthday... We get there at about 9:10 and the streets surrounding the temple are already packed with hundreds of Tibetans, each with a massive brightly colored rain umbrella. There was excitement in the air - the rain, the birthday, the crowds...as we squeezed through the temple gates we bumped into a rainbow umbrella which sprayed water down upon Seth and a nearby red clad monk. The two of them laughing, Seth reached out and rubbed the monk's shaved wet head, as we passed him by.

We wedged our way through the crowds, avoiding more umbrella pokes, passing old Tibetan women selling traditional "momos" veggie stuffed dumplings. Everyone was heading toward one small rigged doorway, with one large security guard, allowing one person at a time through this doorway. It was like an elephant stampede trying to get through a tiny ant hole. So there we are, crammed into a stairwell with hundreds of Tibetans, I am talking so squished I feel the pressure on my innards, and as I was on day two of recovering from India stomach - it was not good. I am starting to feel very claustrophobic, very anxious, the crowd is not moving, but there is Seth squished up next to me, announcing to the entire crowd in a joyous voice, "May all beings be Happy, We are all loving and peaceful people, just here to celebrate His Holiness' Birthday, can we please enter? OM MANI PADME HUM!" That is what I love about him, even in the most uncomfortable of situations he is able to find the light.

So after what seemed like an eternity to me, we made it through the security, and felt a deep breath of fresh air. We were allowed into the temple, but due to the large crowds, we could not be on the floor, but on the balcony overlooking the open courtyard, where as it turns out, the Dalai Lama was sitting, watching his special Birthday performances. So we were upstairs with all the Tibetans, dressed in their finest attire. Some were dressed in traditional costumes, where groups were rehearsing their bits to perform for His Holiness. Loud speakers were blaring the ceremony, and when the Dalai Lama's voice came through, I was instantly brought to tears. Though we were pressed up against hundreds of red robed monks leaning over a railing, we could not quite glance a glimpse of the Dalai Lama. Regardless there was still a Tibetan Party going on upstairs, and when some Tibetan Rock stars took stage, Seth took me in his arms for a little impromptu jig, which was awarded with a "thumbs up" and many smiles from the monks!

As we were leaving we happened to notice a side entrance into the courtyard, near where the HH The Dalai Lama Turns 75!

Dalai Lama was sitting. By maneuvering through monks, we were able to stand on some rickety plastic chairs, and OH YES, get a glimpse of the left side of the Dalai Lama's smiling face.

So there you have it. We were at the Dalai Lama's 75th Birthday and we have the sticker to prove it!

For photos of the event, check out HH the DL's Facebook page.

Dharamkot A.K.A. Little Israel

2010-07-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Our little friendly neighborhood

Morning asana sesh on our guest house deck

Daily view at our favorite Radha Krishna Restaurant

This guy made the bomb veg omelettes

Epic hike to the waterfall

Charlotte's Indian Initiation

2010-07-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

I have realized that there are certain initiation rites that must be passed through in order to partake on a pilgrimage through India.

Initiation #1 Riding the bus.

There must be a saying in India, about all forms of transportation which is, " you can always fit ten more in!" We are living at about 7,000 ft, in the mountains, and as you can imagine the roads are small, curved and unpaved, with numerous obstacles of cow, human, and the hundreds of vehicles that are going this way or that. I still can't quite tell which side of the road we are supposed to be on. Seth and I went to the Kangra Valley, about 1 hour away from where we were, to receive a special blessing from the Karmapa. The Karmapa is considered the highest Lama after the Dalai Lama. Twice a week he comes out of the monastery to give a blessing. Thus we needed to take the bus to get there. The picture below where I am laughing very hard, is due to the fact that we shoved into the bus and since there was no room to even sit or stand, we were placed on the large gear shift box next to the driver. I was literally at the front of the bus. I am finding that during these moments you just got to laugh. So what if we are hot, dirty, sweaty, scrunched, motion sick, it is all part of the adventure, and the great lesson of impermanence, as this too will pass.

I am so thankful to be traveling with Seth, we are having so much fun!! It has been so nice that he was here before me, and got the lay of the land down. I have traveled much by myself, which comes with it's own joys and challenges, but being with the one I love and trust has made traveling a whole different experience. It is so nice to be able to release control, let go of worries of whether or not you are on the right bus, because as long as you are together, you will make it through, hopefully with a smile on your face.

Initiation #2 Traveler's Stomach

Seth and I were having a light dinner at a Tibetan cafe, watching a contemporary film about Tibetans living in India, and the identity struggle they most go through, wanting to fight for their country, not feeling truly at home in India, and overall feeling very helpless and pretty hopeless about the chance to ever be able to go home again.

Seth had ordered a salad. Everything is pretty fresh and clean here, restaurants use filtered water to wash things, as in this area there are a large amount of Westerners, but I should have known better before I took a bite of a big Spinach leaf! That night it began, I won't go into the gory details, I just know at one point during the day after my hundredth time to the toilet that I turned to Seth and said, "I am not having fun anymore." I can not believe that Seth endured this experience alone, as I have never been more thankful for his presence in my life. Seth was the best nurse, he read to me all day long, as I lay there in distress. (Megan May, if you're reading this, you won't believe what we found at the Indian book shop. That's right... an illustrated copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagul!) He catered to my every need, including trips out to the communal porch outside our room, to tell our neighbors, a family of about 500 Punjab's, to be quiet! And in the afternoon, when I had the fever and chills, he rushed into town to the doctor's to get me a nice big dose of meds. So in the world of East I am once again thankful for the meds of the West, as on day two I am almost 100% better. It takes a good dose of sickness to remind us to be ever thankful for the health of our vessel, and to be incredibly thankful for the one's who love us enough to still think we are beautiful even after we have just exuded ungodly noises from the bathroom.

The Lover and the Beloved

2010-07-03T05:58:00.001-07:00

After 5 weeks of solo traveling through India, my Beloved Charlotte has finally arrived! It was strange, really, being a part for so long. Too much time for the mind to wander without her... My memories of our togetherness were fading as I grasped for them empty-handed like smoke. What did it feel like to hold her? What did she smell like? Will she still love me? We were both equally nervous and excited Thursday morning. Riding in a taxi with two Indian brothers, apparently the younger one decided it would be a good day to learn how to drive... we took it nice and slow down the winding hills, with frequent unexpected "clutch" stops. As the taxi neared Gagal airport, my heart was pounding with adrenaline. We turned into the airport entrance, through the gate, and - JERK - the car stopped. We all started laughing as I reached out with my hand... So close! Eventually we did make it. And out of the terminal walked the most beautiful angel in all of India. Dressed her finest Indian garments she was glowing. As we embraced, she was shaking from excitement. And just like that, I was Two again, and we were One.

Now the real journey begins. When two souls collide. Where the sky is the limit and our heart is our guide. Flowing wherever these high winds blow. It's been so much fun to show her my "world" I've been livin for the last three weeks here in Dharamshala. I get to re-live the excitement of arriving in India for the first time through her. Today we took a trip to the monastery of His Holiness the Karmapa, where we received his blessings! Squeezed together with a bus full of Indians, laughing about nothing, her hair blowing in the wind... I was blown away. For the last four years or so I have been dreaming about traveling through India with the one I love. Today that dream is a reality. And it is beyond my wildest dreams. Much love to all of you who are reading this, to those whose paths we have blessedly crossed, and who have loved and supported this journey. You are in our hearts and prayers every day. Hare Om!

I'll leave ya'll with one of my favorite Sufi songs:

The Lover and the Beloved.
The pearl inside the shell.
I can't remember which is which,
when my heart begins to swell.

Taking It On the Path

2010-06-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

The next day following the Tushita retreat, a group of us jumped into taxis and drove two and a half hours to Bir, for two days of teachings with the venerable Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, at the Deer Park Institute (a modern day Nalanda). Bir is a small little Tibetan Colony town, located in the beautiful Kangra Valley, set against picturesque snow-peaked mountains and big blue skies. There are about five Tibetan Monasteries in town upholdin the Tibetan Buddhadharma.

The momentum flowing from Tushita was really high, and together with our traveling sangha, my weekend at Deer Park was deep, and truly special. Tenzin Palmo is a renowned Western Tibetan Buddhist Nun, who spent twelve years in secluded retreat in a Himalayan cave. Her remarkable story was recently published in the popular book titled, Cave in the Snow. Since her return from the mountain, Tenzin Palmo has been a major voice delivering the Dharma to Westerners, and also addressing the inequality of women in the old Buddhist tradition. Speaking and giving teachings around the world, she raised enough funds to build the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, where she currently living. Her life and teachings are an inspiration to millions, including myself.

The weekend's teachings at Deer Park were centered around the Eight Verses for Training the Mind by Langri Tangpa (1054-1123), a Tibetan text from the Mahayana Lojong (mind training) tradition. It is a short text, only eight verses long, however within it contains the entire Mahayana path to Enlightenment. Tenzin Palmo's teachings and commentaries on this text were so clear, so practical and concise, demonstrating her wisdom and experience with great humor and compassion. The essence the text focuses on how to change our basic attitude in life. Essentially, how can we overcome this limited sense of self, to open to something so much greater? And how can we take our obstacles and challenges and turn them into spiritual opportunities?

So much of our time is spent unconsciously self-cherishing ourselves. Walking around all day, we are trapped by the habituation of our minds, regretting or analyzing the past, fantasizing or planning the future, running over our same stories, desires, and delusions. We are the stars of the movie, the center of the universe. This experience tends to separate ourselves from the people and the world around us, and according to the Buddha, is the fundamental source of our problems. We tend to think it is always the other person who is the problem... the noisy neighbor, the slow waiter, or the angry landlord. We think, "If only I was in the perfect place, with the right people, then I could practice, then I could be happy." Through examination, we can see this popular belief is far from the truth. Noisy neighbors are the meditation. Sentient beings are the practice - not an obstacle, but an opportunity. It's so easy to meditate in a cave or in retreat - to imagine compassion for all "SB's" when they're not there. Until someone knocks at the door..."How dare you interrupt my meditation on loving-kindness?!!"

When we truly begin to look at ourselves, and at our own suffering, then when we look into the eyes of another, we see this suffering mirrored. We see that each one of us experiences ourselves as the most important person under the sun. While we often feel separate, we are not alone. And each one of has the same simple desire to be happy and free from suffering.

It's very easy to be kind, loving, and friendly to people who are kind, loving, and friendly. But those who are difficult...ahhh....we tend to run away from. A perceived obstruction to our peace. But if we are able to change our fundamental attitude towards ourselves, and towards others, we can see that every challenge is an opportunity, a precious jewel to cultivate. In this sense, it's not what happens to us that matters, or even what we do, but the intention and the attitude with which we engage in activity. When a difficult situation or person emerges, we can transform the bitter into sweet honey. When someone honks and flips you off on the highway, you can smile and say, "Thank you precious teacher." When anger, fear, or hatred arise in the mind, we can greet them as old friends, "Hello anger. I know you desire. What have you come to teach me today?" By not retreating, clinging to our small selves, or identifying with the affliction, we can develop the wisdom to transform them. With right mindfulness, the affliction becomes powerless.

The problem is not that we think, remember, or plan. The problem is that we identify with this thinking. This is avidya (ignorance). However, behind the coming and going of this ignorance, is our primordial mind, our true nature, beginningless and endless. Like the sky, the true nature of our mind has no center and no space, it is infinite and luminous. We tend to identify and say,
"Hey that's my cushion!" But you cannot say this about space. "Hey that's my air!" Space is something you can't capture, because it has no boundaries, it is all pervading. Our pure minds are like this. Our thoughts are like bubbles, or dew drops. They appear so shiny and solid from the surface. Then... pop! Where did it go? All thoughts are just thoughts, as clouds are clouds. Impermanent. Changing. But we tend to focus on the clouds or thoughts, and miss the luminous sky.

However, on the flip side, if there were no afflictions, no suffering, no difficult beings, there would be no life, and no practice. "Life is the gymnasium of the soul." The resistance we face are like the weights and machines in the gym, allowing our muscles to grow stronger. Through practice, we can take all of life's obstacles and resistance on the path. We can cultivate the attitude of gratitude, and greet others with openness and compassion, and with a willingness to learn. The happiness of others should be our main concern. For if we truly look at reality, we can see that our own life, our own happiness, is totally dependent on the happiness and well-being of others. And in fact we will be happiest, when thinking of the happiness of others (This is something actually being proved valid at the neurological level of the brain "in the lab" by modern scientists and advanced meditators! More on this later...)

Outside JFK International Airport in New York, there used to be a banner which read, "The best way to overcome your enemies, is to make them your friends. " - Benjamin Franklin. If we learn to take everything onto the path, we become fearless. Whatever happens to us will truly only make us stronger. We can become the alchemist of our own minds, transforming every situation into pure gold. When people are being "difficult," rather than getting angry, anxious, or upset, we can respond with patience, generosity, and kindness. For hatred cannot drive out hatred. Only love can do that. Whomever you are with, is the most important person under the sun in this moment. They are in fact, our precious teacher.

Now is the time to put these teachings at the center of our lives. Our biggest obstruction, keeping us in delusion, is our own laziness. But even if you met the most perfect Buddha guru, all he or she can tell you is to practice. As Tenzin Palmo says, "Isn't it?"

Seeing Things As They Are

2010-06-27T23:44:00.001-07:00

This last week has been nothing less than life changing. I have felt the immense flux and range of human emotions; pleasure and pain, loneliness and doubt, joy and excitement, frustration and confusion, followed by insight and clarity. I have laughed and cried many times - mostly in silence. More than anything though, after a month of travel, I feel like have settled into India, and into myself. The pilgrim's initiatory rites of chaotic confusion, vomit and diarrhea, lonesome blues and irritability have passed, and I am settling into an easeful peace and contentment. Allowing things to simple be as they are.

The six-day Heart Sutra retreat at Tushita was a deep breath of fresh air, proving to be immensely beneficial and inspiring. It had been over a year since I had really visited the teachings of the Buddha. Now, the Dharma has once again caught my mind-stream and swept my heart toward the path, of wisdom and compassion. The teachings are just so universal to the human condition - like subtle common sense. The tools and methodology for cultivation and developing one's mind are just so down to earth - filled with wholesome reason and logic, and most importantly, immediately affective in ridding oneself of afflictive or destructive emotions, and cultivating positive ones.

The retreat gave me the structure and discipline I needed to actually sit and examine, "What the hell is going on in here?" For most of our lives we are so busy, constantly moving from one activity or thought to the next, that we very rarely stop and pause to actually reflect or process what is taking place in our lives. We rarely allow ourselves the space to be mindful, to observe the patterns and thoughts, and their causes and conditions, which are governing our lives and often inflicting great harm and suffering upon ourselves and those around us. Only later, sometimes after many years, do we look back and see where we went wrong... which leads to regret. This is the beauty (and often the pain) of retreat. To give ourselves the gift of mindfulness. To explore and bring awareness to our own mind and body. To listen, to feel. And hopefully, with compassion and gentleness, befriend ourselves. To allow what is to simply be, in totally acceptance. What a precious gift. This does not mean that we are to condone our bad behavior or negative emotions, but rather we can accept them as they truly are, and learn to deal with them.

I will provide a very personal example. During one of our analytical meditations, we were asked to imagine someone or something that we strongly desired was sitting right in front of us. Poof! Immediately Charlotte appeared. Shining and smiling like an angel before my eyes. Then, we were to analyze. What is it about this person or thing that is so attractive? So appealing, that we grasp for it? After running through a laundry list of qualities and attributes that I thought she possessed, making her such a wonderful person, I realized that these qualities were thoughts and feeling within my own mind. They are subjective. There is no such thing as an inherently beautiful or compassion, objective Charlotte. Someone else may look at her, without the experience I have had, and perceive her in an entirely different manner. Is there experience any less real, less valid? In this sense, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Therefore just as the beauty, the compassion, and the kindness of Charlotte exist as thoughts or feelings within my own mind, so does the happiness and joy I feel. They are not waiting for me in California, but rather exist right here within my own heart, waiting to be awakened in the present moment.

This may appear quite simple intellectually, however to directly experience this through realization of my own condition was liberating. For you see up until this point, I had been suffering a great deal in India without her. I did not even realize until meditation, but I had been feeling very lonely - suffering from self-pity, confusion, grasping, and attachment. I was even debating whether I had made the right decision, coming to India by myself. Sure I was having fun, meeting great people, doing wonderful things. However, unconsciously I was feeling that my real happiness was dependent on Charlotte being by my side. I was grasping on to what in Buddhism is known as "self-cherishing." And we all do this. We become so caught up in our stories, and recurring thoughts - we identify with our pain. Our common language expresses this: "I am lonely. I am sad. I miss Charlotte so much. Poor me. Blah blah blah...." We carry this suffering in our heart, and replay it over and over, like endlessly scratching a scab. Not letting it heal, I was suffering about my suffering.

The object of our desire becomes so real, and our pain becomes so self-important, that it engulfs our mind, and obstructs our view of reality. This is why the negative emotions are called afflictions. And this downward spiraled slippery slope of negativity derives from the subtle seed of ignorance - a misconception that we make all day, all the time. We mistake things as being solid and compounded, fixed and unchanging, independent in and of themselves. When in reality all things are constantly changing, are impermanent, and do not inherently exist independently (as modern Physics is now affirming). All things arise from their appropriate causes and conditions. A flower blossoms with a seed, the right soil and nutrients, water, and sun, etc. And all things are made of the parts of the parts of the parts.... Which we then label as a thing, "flower", "me" or "I", "Charlotte", etc. Isn't the flower just the composition of it's parts? The stem, leaves, thorns, petals, roots, etc... And what about the parts of the stem, the leaves, thorns.... and the parts of each of those parts... until infinity. Right? Even sub-atomic particles are made of even smaller sub-atomic particles. In this sense, we can say that all phenomena are empty. Empty of what? Empty of an independent, solid, and inherent existence. No-self.

This may appear straightforward to understand at the intellectual level. But because our patterns and habits are so strong, an intellectual understanding alone is not enough to actual change our actions and behavior. Because we fundamentally mistake ourselves as existing independently, we likewise mistake all things "outside" ourselves as independent and external, solid and fixed. In effect, we mistakenly believe that these things outside of ourselves will bring us happiness and joy in our lives. We mistake the pleasure of the cake as the cake itself. Just as we identify with our emotions, saying "I am angry."

During meditation, I realized that with Charlotte gone, unconsciously and quite automatically, I had been craving and grasping for her due to this fundamental delusion. As if the happiness, joy, and love I feel for her, could somehow exist outside of myself - I longed for it. It is this love that says, "I love you because you make me happy." This is so limited though, a conditional love diluted by attachment. True love knows no attachment. Genuine love says, "I want you to be happy." Like the light of the sun, it knows no boundaries. Only with this understanding, can we truly develop boundless compassion, unconditional love - like the love a mother naturally has for it's child. Totally selfless, the mother would die for it's young. We see this even with animals!

A soothing peace and calm penetrated my afflicted mind, unfolding a wave of joyful content. I feel like I am now ready to receive her in my life, fully, as she is. With no expectations or judgements, I can begin to truly love her, unconditionally. Likewise I can begin to love myself and others in this way. I am slowly beginning to see things as they are. I think.

Mcleod Ganj: A Week in Photos

2010-06-18T00:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am heading into a 6-day retreat at the Tushita Meditation Centre, an intermediate class focusing on the Heart Sutra. I am greatly looking forward to the silence - sitting in stillness, opening to the space of mindfulness, and processing that which has come before. I give thanks for the opportunity to focus on sadhana and cultivate with sangha in the beautiful forested hills of Mcleod Ganj. I'll be out of touch til the 24th, then one more week until Charlotte arrives!! Stay happy and healthy ya'll... give thanks every day for toilets, hot running water, and clean organic veggies.

An Encounter With His Holiness

2010-06-16T00:36:00.000-07:00

Tashe Delek. Namaste.

Yesterday I had the very special opportunity to see HH the Dalai Lama at his main temple residence in Mcleod Ganj. The Indo-Tibetan Friendship Society was celebrating the 50th year of the arrival of His Holiness and the Tibetans to Mcleod Ganj. The whole thing was somewhat esoteric though, there was no official announcement or anything - it was one of those things you heard rumored from a friend of a friend, that maybe HH was going to be making an appearance Tuesday morning??

I got to the main temple around 9am and after a heavy Tibetan security shake-down, with every little item searched in my bag, down to the very ink of my pen, I was told I could not bring my camera inside (So no photos my friends). I turned around and rather than walk all the way back up to my room, I entrusted it to the Tibetan woman running the temple gift shop. All good. Walked back through and the same security guard did the same pat down and search, down to the ink of my pen, that he had done 2 minutes prior. It was a little much, but understandable given the circumstances.

For the Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama is a god, the living example of the Buddha in human form, and literally the most recent incarnation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avolokiteshvara - not to mention the political leader of the Tibetan people. For many Tibetans still living in Tibet, it is their most wishful dream to one day meet HH. To be in his presence is a great spiritual blessing. And this I truly felt.

For a few hours I waited, sitting on the hard concrete in the hot sun - surrounded by old Tibetan women prostrating, surrendering their egos and their withered bodies, while countless men chanted prayers, fingering old rosary beads. I chanted Om Mani Padme Hum right along.

As people continued to file in, filling all empty space, a group of about ten Hindu Brahmacharyas, began offering a Puja ceremony to HH. All of a sudden the ground began shaking with movement and excitement, prayers and prostrations erupted, everything was bustling - HH the Dalai had arrived. Surrounded by security and armed Indian forces, he slowly began walking up to the stage. Taking his time, smiling and shaking hands with people along the way, doing what I have dubbed the "Lama Walk," this little bent over hobble-shuffle the older lamas do. He sat down on his yellow throne while the Hindus finished the fire Puja at his feet. Above them a large yellow banner read: LONG-LIVE INDO TIBETAN FRIENDSHIP. Up until this point I really had no clue what was going on.

As the Puja ended, the Brahmacharyas prostrated one by one at HH's feet. Then some Indian officials spoke for a little while in Indian-English and I began to get the picture. They were enthusiastically honoring and thanking HH for all that he has brought to the region. He said this small mountain town has benefited so much in the past 50 years, not only the people, but the trees, the birds, and the hills. They have benefited not only physically, but also spiritually by the teachings and wisdom HH has imparted over the years. It felt quite genuine. Through a small crevice between security guards and photographers, I was able to watch HH. He kept smiling and laughing, nodded his head yes. It was all very simple.

They blessed HH with a red shawl, then he got up to speak - in Tibetan... with a Hindi translator... for a about fifteen minutes I watched. Every once in a while the audience would burst into laughter or applause, and I would join. It was really fun just to see him speak even though I had no clue what he was saying - it was just so joyful. At one point I heard the words America and Australia...

Then the Indians brought out a big feast, served on banana leaf plates. For a while we just sat and watched the Brahmacharyas and HH eat their food, not really quite sure if we were also being fed, was the ceremony over?... But eventually HH the Dalai Lama finished his meal and waved goodbye, and Lama Walked away... And we were served lunch. Big buckets of rice and six different kinds of dahl were efficiently served to the few thousand in attendance.

I have learned a few things about these big Indian meals served on the floors - they give you SOO much food. They just keep coming with more rice, more chapatis, more dahl, more curry. And the food is prasad, it's holy, consecrated, so you have to finish EVERYTHING, which can often be painfully challenging on the belly. Eventually you have to swoon over your plate with your arms and say, "Bas, Bas!" "Enough, Enough!" I have been getting pretty good at eating with my right hand, however, yesterday I learned a new trick that I must share with you. Some of you may already know this one, but it totally elevated my Indian hand-eating to a whole new level. The trick is to gather the food in a nice round snowball, pick it up, and then, the trick - you flick the food with your thumb, across the other fingers into your mouth. It totally works. Try it.

For photos of the event, check out HH the Dalai Lama's Facebook page.

Mountains and Trains Whisper the Dharma

2010-06-10T03:14:00.000-07:00

Blessings everyone! After a hot stinky no-sleep 20 hr journey from Rishikesh to Dharamshala, I have arrived at 7,000 ft to the cool mountain town of Mcleod Ganj, home to his HH the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile. It is literally a breath of fresh air from the hot sticky banks of Rishikesh and Haridwar.

I will attempt to paint a picture for you of my experience with Indian transportation, but seriously these words are nothing my friends. Took a rickshaw to the Rishikesh train station where we waited to board a 10hr train to Chakki Bank. Now it is "off season" for tourists, however, it is "high season" for Indian vacations - everything was sold out, could not even get a cheap sleeper ticket, so we we forced to sit at the back of the never-ending long train, in "General" seating. Traveling with a friend named Ruth from Spain, we squeezed onto the train with our bags and managed to find a small crevice of a seat with a Hindu family. We sat down at the perfect moment, because right after hundreds more Indians boarded the train, with no where to go but stand, sit, squat, lay, climb, sway, squeeze, sweat, push, shove, shout, or somehow find contentment amidst the festival attendance on board this train. After a few hours, Ruth and I managed to jump up to the second deck and squeeze in with the luggage, as we looked down upon sea of Indian people. At every stop, somehow more people were boarding, and no one seemed to be leaving. Indian trains defeat the laws of geometry and mathematics. I discovered the true meaning and purpose of Indian Hatha Yoga and asana practice: to be strong and flexible enough, both physically and mentally, to find an easeful position which allows for sleep. Forget moksha or samadhi. Sleep is the ultimate peace - and finding it on an Indian train the ultimate attainment! We wore sunglasses to look as cool as Bob Dylan - and to shield our eyes through the night from the fluorescent light blasting at our heads.

What is so wonderful, I am discovering, about travel in India, are the little moments of joy and peace found within the storm of chaos. At every train stop, vendors selling food, chai, soda, and snacks hand mystery meals through the railings to on board passengers. For 20rps (about 50 cents) I had one of my best meals in India: Rice and Daal with Cucumbers, Potato Samosas with yummy sauce, and hot Chai - it was absolutely delicious and left me smiling from ear to ear.

Finally arrived in Chakki Bank at 2:30am, took another Rickshaw through the ghetto to bus station, where we waited painfully sleepy til 5am for the bus to Mcleod Ganj. The bus would not have been so bad if not for the brutal train ride the night before, but it was so rickety and bouncy, driving up hill around windy roads, falling asleep for 10 minutes at a time, kept banging my head against the window frame, waking up delirious and smiley, stinky and excited. All of a sudden, giant snow capped mountains appeared through the dirty bus window.

I am really diggin Mcleod Ganj. It's touristy, but not as "in your face" as Rishikesh. Everything is so much cleaner, the air so much fresher, and the natural beauty is astonishing. Green green lush trees and shrubs, paint the landscape, amongst Himalayan mountain giants. And the food!! ahh soo yummy. My first taste of Tibetan food - vegetable momos and thukpa noodle soups - delish! Bald headed red-robed monks add color to the busy streets, filled with amazing Tibetan handicrafts, restaurants, and book stores. Every 50 ft there is a sign for a Yoga Teacher Training or Tattoo Studio, Rebirthing and Hypnosis, Reiki, Tibetan Cooking Class, and all the cool New Agey practices.

I am staying at the simple but so beautiful Shiv Shakti Cottage, about a 15 min walk up hill from town, tucked away in the trees, with stunning views of the mountains and valley below. A Tibetan tattoo artist named Deep is letting me stay in an extra room with he and his mother for very cheap, in exchange I am teaching him yoga. I am so blessed to cross paths with him and to receive this wonderful stay. I am learning much about the area from him and his friends - soon his motorcycle will be fixed and he's gonna take me to all the hot spots. The room is perfect, and it feels so good to unpack my things and settle here for the month, as I await my beloved Charlotte at the end of the month. The constant traveling and moving takes much energy, and it is good to plant some mountain roots and focus on my sadhana. Starting tomorrow I will begin a 5 day course at the Himalayan Iyengar Center with Sharat Arora, senior teacher and student of BKS Iyengar.

The weather has been great, and quite Humboldtesque. Beautiful and sunny during the day, and rainy in the evening. Actually last night it poured monsoon style harder than I've ever seen, for like 20 minutes... then passed like a thought cloud. Thunder and lightning rumbles throughout the valley in the evening. And, after much stipulation, I have severed the bonds yet again - yesterday I chopped off my Humboldt-hair. Once again, reborn, fresh anew like the mornings dew - treading a little bit lighter on the path. Ahh anitya "impermanence."

Rishikesh

2010-06-06T00:31:00.000-07:00

The land of the Rishis, the great "seers" or sages of India, who for thousands of years have left this world behind for the infamous caves of the Himalayas. While the West has made great progress technologically and scientifically through an admirable pursuit and exploration of the material and external reality, the rishis have, since antiquity, been involved in a pursuit of the "inner" science - the exploration of spirit and human consciousness. They have discovered other ways of knowing and receiving knowledge than purely through the means of the intellect. The divine wisdom of the sages has been carried down from the mountains and penetrated the heart of Indian civilization; inspiring such disciplines as Yoga, Ayurveda, Astronomy, even Math and the Sciences.

As I bathe in the cool running waters of the Ganges, at the foothills of these great mountains, I stand at the precipice of these ancient wisdom traditions. Countless spiritual seekers have flocked from all over India - from all over the world - to this very point on the earth, in search of answers to life's deepest questions. I sit on the quiet sandy beach and take it all in stillness. Infinite hours of meditations have take place amongst these stones. What stories do they tell? The ever-flowing Ganges carries my prayers. I close my eyes and feel my breath. It's the same breath I breathe in California - only Rishikesh air. A calm peace washes over me, hushing my thoughts. A rare moment's escape from the noise and chaos on the streets behind me. I open my eyes to a group of Indians in orange life vests, splashing and screaming, river-rafting down stream. Constantly reminded of this dance between ancient and new, East and West - we meet here in this moment, always.

I found a temple right off the main bazaar where babas chant Hare Krishna 24 hours a day - you can hear em' from the streets. Been chanting with them daily. One on the harmonium, double-sided drum, and lots of Indian tambourines. All day they sing with full heart, different melodies of Sri Chaitanya's maha mantra:

Hare Rama Hare Rama,
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krisna Hare Krisna,
Krisna Krisna Hare Hare!

Felt so good to finally chant kirtan in India. Closed my eyes and was immediately brought back to Arcata, sitting around chanting with Daruka and friends. Hare Om.

As the music would linger, I'd look over at the orange powder-faced, dread-locked sadhu leading on harmonium, and a huge mirrored smile would erupt on both sides. We'd lift our arms and sing "Hare Rama!" and the drum would pick back up, sending spirits soaring.

Jai Ma Ganga

2010-05-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

It is now my fifth day in India. Each day so full, however, it feels more like my fifth week. I have made it pretty far north, to the foothills of the great Himalayas - Rishikesh, the self-claimed "yoga capitol of the world." I am staying at Parmath Niketan Ashram right on the banks of the fast flowing Ganges River.

Before I left, my friend Amanda had given me a small vessel of Ganges water that she had collected from Haridwar, when she visited India last fall. A single drop of Her holy water is said to purify your sins - so I did a short ritual bathing at Chicago O'hare International Airport. As I sat down in meditation outside the gate, a studdering Australian Hasidic Jew approached me, intrigued by my seated yoga asanas. I said "Shalom" and he gave me a teaching from the Talmud, and wrote down the address for a famous Rabbi, a Kabbalah teacher in Santa Barbara. I thanked him and continued with my Ganga blessing. He stood next to me and began "wailing at the wall," swaying from side to side, calling out prayers in Hebrew - while I chanted in Sanskrit. I couldn't help but appreciate the irony, as a born Jew, about to step on a plane in search of spiritual India... I poured Ganga over my head and felt chills down my spine. Bowed in pranam and boarded American Airlines flight 292 non-stop to India.

Stayed my first night in New Delhi in the "tourist ghetto" of Pahar Ganj at Hotel Namaskar. Thick sticky dusty air clouds the nostrils, dodge rickshaws and motorcycles, cows and humans, as I carefully step through stones and rubble - looks like a bomb just went off, but everyone stayed put.

Took the 6:50a train from Delhi to Haridwar. Finally, Hindus, everywhere! Sadhus in orange robes, women in every-colored saris, more cows, everyone laying on the floor to keep cool from the scorching Indian sun. Met a Swedish brother named Isac in the train station and we have been traveling together since. Took a rickshaw to Har Ki Pauri Ghat, one of the holiest places along the Ganges - it is said that Vishnu came down and left a footprint, and is the floodgates where the river descends from the Himalayas down into the plains of India. First thing, we headed down to the ghat and stepped into the cool refreshing waters of Ma Ganga. Ahhhh... so amazing. After so much reading and research, stories and videos, to actually taste (not literally, don't worry momma) this river Goddess - to partake in this ancient Hindu rite, dipping in the water with thousands of Indians side by side. I came out rejuvenated and reborn.

We found a nice little hotel with a deck 50 yards from the river and overlooking the whole scene. And what a scene. Unknowingly we had arrived on the full moon, and one of the holiest days of the year at Har Ki Pauri, by the evening there were close to a million pilgrims gathered along the river for the evening Aarti ceremony to Ma Ganga. I saw one blonde girl that afternoon, otherwise we were the only white people in the entire city.

It was one of the wildest experiences of my life. From the surface it looked almost like the Hindu equivalent to the Super Bowl, close to a million in attendance, stadium seating along the river, with no joke - cotton candy vendors and merchants selling Ganga paraphernalia. However, once we entered into the center of activity, there was so much heart and devotion, perhaps similar, but far (a world away) from any sporting event in the States. We purchased hand made baskets filled with flowers and incense offerings and walked down to the river bank where we were met by a Brahmin pandit. Another third eye blessing and we recited Vedic hymns, said aloud the names of our family members, and received blessings for long life and prosperity, then lit our basket flame and released it to Ganga - where it floated down river and shortly tipped over.

We crossed the half bridge to the Ganga temple and the Aarti ceremony began, everyone was going wild, the flames were lit and we could hardly move, pressed side by side. It was intensely devotional. Brahmins circled clockwise flame offerings to Ganga while loudspeakers and everyone chanted the traditional hymns. Huge flames soared beside us as we swayed to avoid getting scorched - it was all over in less than 10 minutes. A bright full moon rose above the river. Roaring lightning and thunderstorm broke, as rain poured from the heavens - clearing and sweeping the city clean, ready for a new day.

India!!!

2010-03-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, much has happened my friends. Life changes quickly. Each moment, each breath, each turn, takes us down an ever unfolding fresh paved road - never been traversed before! Yet sometimes there's that feeling that creeps up, like I've done this all before, in fact I've been doing it for thousands of years, repeating the same cycles over and over again. Happy Spring!!!

I'm going to India. That feels really good to type. After years of day-dreaming, fantasizing about lentils n' temples, psychedelic colors, sadhus and meditating along burning river ghats, I'm going to India. I'm graduating from HSU in less than 2 months. I leave for Delhi on Tue May 25th. I am selling/giving away all my belongings, and heading East for the promise land - to free my spirit, that has been bound by University dharma. I plan to keep the blog rollin to stay connected and share my journey with you all... but we'll see. I really just have no idea. I bought a one-way ticket and applied for a 10 year visa. I could go to India for a couple months, or a couple years. If spirit wills it, and I can find work, I may keep traveling throughout Asia - Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sikkim, Thailand, Laos, Bali!!! Or I may give it all up and sit in a cave for 3 years 3 months and 3 days. I really don't know. And the 'I' that doesn't know can't know. It can only step out of the way to let the heart lead. I'm surrendering and letting Mother India work through me. Jai Ma! Much much more to come my friends.

Blissed and Blessed: an evening of restorative yoga

2010-01-16T22:56:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmm.... Just got home from a juicy Restorative Yoga workshop at Om Shala led by visiting instructor Christine McArdle-Oquendo. It was two hours of candlelit yoga, accompanied by some incredible healing sounds from my friend Aaron Noble. While we ever-so slowly moved through our sequence, Aaron held the frequencies high with crystal singing bowls, chimes, and didgeridoo.

Can you say Sat Chit Ananda? Experience. Consciousness. Bliss.

We could barely all fit in the room with all the yogis, blankets, blocks, chairs, and straps! Each given a sheet of paper with the illustrated asana sequence, we were able to move through the sequence at our own pace, holding each pose as long as felt comfortable. In this way, it was like an individual practice, but with the energy and support of the group.

It is incredible how affective these poses can be on your mind/body. Often times we can get so competitive with ourselves in a vigorous Hatha Yoga practice, that we forget how to just relax and take it easy with asana. A simple pose like legs up the wall can be extremely beneficial when we focus conscious breathing for an extended period of time. Restorative Yoga utilizes particular asanas that activate the parasympathetic nervous system, causing the mind and body to slow down. By moving into stillness, we can experience more fully the essence of what we truly are - Absolute Bliss. We tune into Source. Refreshing and restoring our mind/body with fresh prana, new life.

I caught the wave and rode. Flowing deeply with the support and life-force of breath. Dropping deep into each pose, using each breath to breathe in healing light and compassion into every cell of my body. Sometimes I'd drift under water only to be pulled back up by the vibrational force of the didge, or an unexpected gong of the singing bowl to zap me back into the presence of the present. And then I'd just drop-in. Dwelling deep within the cave of the heart, flooding with Joy.

It was so beautiful to share the practice with the community. While we were each drifting off into our own realms of consciousness, we were also very much there together. Chanting together. Breathing together. Moving and flowing, loving and healing ourselves together.

If you have never done Restorative Yoga before, or it's just been a while. Go. It is such a nurturing and healing experience. Side effects may include feeling relaxed, released, restored, blissed, blessed, healed, light, loved, rejuvenated, clear, damage to sense of ego-self, heightened awareness of Self and Oneness, possible difficulty speaking in words, trouble finding your car keys, and/or sleepiness.

Jodie DiMinno teaches Restorative at Om Shala on Sundays 6:30-8p (following my Sadhana) and on Wednesdays 7-8:30p. Also check out this great article Aaron wrote on sound healing for Conscious Dancer Magazine! (page 26)

Let us continue to remember to love and support ourselves fully on this journey. Bless.

Lord Keep Me Shining

2010-01-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

Check out this beautiful video my friend Daruka put together to the sweet sounds of Jai Uttal's track "Lord Keep Me Shining". If you've been in my class recently you've probably heard it. Enjoy!

8 That which is awake even in our sleep,
Giving form in dreams to the objects of
Sense craving, that indeed is pure light,
Brahman the immortal, who contains all
The cosmos, and beyond whom none can go.
For this Self is supreme!

9 As the same fire assumes different shapes
When it consumes objects differing in shape,
So does the one Self take the shape
Of every creature in whom he is present.
10 As the same air assumes different shapes
When it enters objects differing in shape,
So does the one Self take the shape
Of every creature in whom he is present.

11 As the sun, who is the eye of the world,
Cannot be tainted by the defects in our eyes
Or by the objects it looks on,
So the one Self, dwelling in all, cannot
Be tainted by the evils of the world.
For this Self transcends all!

12 The ruler supreme, inner Self of all,
Multiplies his oneness into many.
Eternal joy is theirs who see the Self
In their own hearts. To none else does it come!

13 Changeless amidst the things that pass away,
Pure consciousness in all who are conscious,
The One answers the prayers of many.
Eternal peace is theirs who see the Self
In their own hearts. To none else does it come!

- Katha Upanishad

Sankara's Six Stanzas on Nirvana

2010-01-12T21:45:00.001-08:00

Om. I am neither mind, intelligence, ego, nor chitta,
Neither the ears nor the tongue, nor the senses of smell and sight;
Neither akasa nor air, nor fire nor water nor earth:
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

I am neither the prana nor the five vital breaths,
Neither the body's seven elements nor its five sheaths,
Nor hands nor feet nor tongue, nor other organs of action:
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

Neither greed nor delusion, loathing nor liking, have I;
Nothing of pride or ego, of dharma or liberation;
Neither desire of the mind nor object for its desiring;
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

Nothing of pleasure and pain, of virtue and vice, do I know,
Of mantra or sacred place, of Vedas or sacrifice;
Neither am I the eater, the food, nor the act of eating;
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

Death or fear have I none, nor any distinction of caste;
Neither father nor mother, nor even a birth, have I;
Neither friend nor comrade, neither disciple nor guru;
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

I have no form or fancy: the All-pervading am I;
Everywhere I exist, and yet am beyond the senses;
Neither salvation am I, nor anything to be known:
I am Eternal Bliss and Awareness - I am Siva, I am Siva.

(Taken from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)

Why practice yoga? Interview with Max Strom

2010-01-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

This is a really great interview with senior yoga teacher Max Strom in which he discusses why would someone want to practice yoga? I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with him last year at Om Shala and was really inspired by his strength and compassion as a human being.

Enjoy!

6.5 Earthquake Shakes the Roots

2010-01-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday around 4:27p pacha mama let out a big belly roar that shook Humboldt county. It was a magnitude 6.5 that set off in the ocean near the coast of Ferndale, about 20 miles south of Arcata. So far there are no injuries reported, just snapped power lines, property damage, and missing pets.

A friend of mine was on a cliff gazing out at the ocean when it happened. She said she saw the edge of the earth shake! I was working at the store on the plaza all day and stepped outside to grab a burrito with a friend. As I was walking back to work, I reached into my pocket and my stomach sunk as I realized I left my keys in the store and I was locked out! At that very moment, the glass windows of Mazzoti's began shaking and whoooshing beside me. I thought someone got slammed into it. There was a pause. Then the earth below me began rolling. Earthquake! Glass windows! I ran into the street as everyone began pouring out of the stores and restaurants. Two girls let out screeching cries. All of the cars parked on the street began swooshing side to side like jello as the road rocked like the ocean. I could feel the earth deep within my belly. Then all the bars let out and people came running out with beers yelling and howling like the world was coming to an end! It was all very surreal, and all very much Arcata.

The power went out for most of the town. I could not believe that the one time I lock myself out of the store, there's an earthquake! It was almost comical. Luckily the owner came by shortly after and opened the door. We fumbled around in the dark to try and assess the damage and couldn't believe that there appeared to be none. Only a few little things had fallen over at All Under Heaven. Give thanks to the store's protector Buddha's.

My cell phone was down for about an hour, and the electricity was shut off at home til about 8:30p. I was planning on going out that night to do some kirtan chanting with friends, but took the opportunity to retreat and go inside. I burned some incense, did some yoga, and read ancient scripture by candlelight. I was almost disappointed when the lights came back on...

The Katha Upanishad

"Hidden in the heart of every creature
Exists the Self, subtler than the subtlest,
Greater than the greatest. They go beyond
All sorrow who extinguish their self-will
And behold the glory of the Self
Through the grace of the Lord of Love." (20)

This quake served as a beautiful reminder of the fragility of all of this. Our whole world and life as we know it is not as stable as our comfort and routine has us to believe. At any moment it can be "shaken" up. Everything is constantly changing, flowing, dying and being reborn. You can never step in the same river twice. You can never breathe the same breath again. In sanskrit this is known as anitya or impermanence. However the ancient texts continually teach us that there is something that lasts, forever pure and eternal in nature. Something that no earthquake can shake.

"When the wise realize the Self,
Formless in the midst of forms, changeless
In the midst of change, omnipresent
And supreme, they go beyond sorrow." (22)

This was a beautiful moment to recognize and reconnect to Spirit.
To offer great gratitude and love for family and friends,
strangers, plants, animals, and rocks.
And to deeply appreciate the life we got.

100 years from now, all of these humans will be gone.
This is a very significant statement to ponder.
Let us remember we are all just visitors passing through.

So much love.

The Transformation of Things

2010-01-07T00:55:00.000-08:00

Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly,
a fluttering butterfly.
What fun he had, doing as he pleased!
He did not know he was Zhou.
Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhou.
He did not know whether Zhou
had dreamed he was a butterfly
or a butterfly had dreamed he
was Zhou.
Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction.
This is what is meant by the transformation of things.

Michael Cera Does Vipassana

2010-01-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

Actor Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad) speaks to David Letterman about attending a silent 10-day Vipassana retreat. Although they joke about the retreat and being a "celebrity with no time for meditation", Letterman seems sincerely interested, and Cera appears genuine in his silent experience.

Check out the full interview here:

For more information on Vipassana meditation or if you're interested in attending your first 10-day retreat, check out dhamma.org. The retreats are donation based only and are on-going throughout the year in locations all over the world. I highly recommend attending one if you're interested in exploring what meditation can offer your life.

Eyes Open or Closed?

2010-01-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

In today’s yoga world there is such a plethora of styles and traditions. Each teacher has their own unique flavor and expression, interpretation and approach. This abundance of yoga is certainly a blessing in our modern world, however, the smorgasbord of styles and traditions can be confusing. The philosophies that influence the practice are so often mix-and-matched. Each school teaches a varying approach to asana, pranayama, alignment, etc.

As we move through our practice, and through life, it’s important to stop and ask the simple question, “Why are we doing what we’re doing?” Something I believe is very appealing about yoga to many people is that it challenges you in all aspects of your being: physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, spiritual, etc. Yoga recognizes the totality of the human condition and provides a means to integrate the various layers of Self. Therefore every movement in a Hatha Yoga class has an emotional and psychological connection or response, and a philosophy to back it up.

While I was in the Bay Area over the holidays, I had the opportunity to experience the Berkeley yoga scene. I found a really beautiful studio on Telegraph named Yoga Mandala. It is a Tantric temple space, spiritual community, and Hatha Yoga studio. I took two classes and really enjoyed them both. I appreciated the deep element of spirit and authenticity the teachers brought, and of course lots of chanting!

Something really interesting came up, however, during practice. In both classes the teachers continually reminded us to keep our eyes open. Simple. Right? I realized that until now, I had always been encouraged to close the eyes, to go inward. And now out of habit, it was very difficult to keep them open for an entire class. (I did close my eyes during Savasana…)

I spoke to one of the teachers, Jessica, after class to inquire about this very simple but subtle dilemma. Her answer made perfect sense from the tradition she is coming from, and actually represents a fundamental divergence in yogic philosophy that we see present within modern yoga!

“We are coming from a traditional Tantric approach,” she explained. Simply put, Tantra recognizes that the Divine is found in everything. The underlying creative force or shakti of the universe is manifest in all things. The “unity in the multiplicity” could be considered the Hallmark of Tantra. It is in this sense a “life-affirming” philosophy. Embracing all phenomena, experience, thoughts, sensations, etc. Closing the eyes during a Hatha Yoga practice can be viewed as cutting yourself off the from the experience and world around you. Most Tibetan Buddhists (Vajrayana/Tantra), in fact, meditate with their eyes slightly open. This is seen to provide a more seamless integration of mindfulness “off the mat”. In this sense, there is no “checking out” during practice, and no “checking back in” to this world after Savasana. With the eyes open, it is one open field of consciousness.

The eyes closed approach, however, is just as valid, but comes from a different philosophical approach. It is perhaps more Classical, stemming from pratyahara, the idea of sense withdrawal found in the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita.

"When he completely withdraws the senses from their objects, as a tortoise draws in its limbs, then his wisdom is firmly fixed." - Gita II:58

Here the focus is on drawing the yogi’s awareness inward to do away with sensual experience. By closing the eyes, it can be easier to develop one-pointed inward concentration – focusing on the breath, sensations, prana, ajna chakra, Isvara, etc. Eventually this highly concentrated focus will lead to deep absorption in samadhi.

I believe that both approaches are equally suitable for a yoga practice and can serve the individual based on his/her needs. Most of us begin our yoga journey with the eyes open. Naturally, we need to see what the teacher is instructing, and to observe our own body alignment. I also spent much time looking at other bodies aligning around me, comparing them to my own... It is interesting to notice how dependent we are on our senses, particularly vision, to guide our experiences through life. Closing the eyes in Vrksasana Tree Pose will show you real quick. However, one of the magical unfoldings of this journey is that as the practice progresses, the body naturally aligns itself. It knows when to lift the heart, relax the shoulders, tuck the pelvis, etc. We can begin to close the eyes and perhaps have a deeper inward experience. However, over time our practice can switch to autopilot - habitually closing the eyes out of repetition and muscle memory, and potentially disconnecting from our experience.

Do you practice with your eyes open or closed? As an experiment, next time you practice, try doing the opposite. An eyes closed inversion can be an invigorating experience. So can keeping the eyes open during a forward bend, while maintaining total awareness of the breath and sensations. If nothing else, it can be a curious investigation into your own experience, and a fun way to shake up your yoga practice. Either way, don't forget to ask why you're doing what you're doing!

Bringing in 2010

2010-01-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

January 1st is just another day on the Gregorian calender, however, it is also more than that. It has become an important ritual in contemporary society. With so many people gathering in celebration around the world, it is an energetically potent moment. It is important that we use this opportunity mindfully to cultivate towards our highest goals and ideals.

As we bring in the new year it is important to also let go of 2009. For many of us, our lives are so fast-paced that we are constantly moving from one activity to the next without pausing to reflect or process the events leading into Now.

If you can, take a moment to check-in and reflect on this past year...

What is your quality of mind right now, compared to Jan. 1 , 2009?
What were some of the big events in your life in 2009?
In what ways have you grown?
Is there anyone or anything that you can forgive? (yourself included)
Is there anything you can let go of?
Think of a good deed you did for another being
Recall moments of joy, happiness, and laughter

To help us transition consciously into the new year and decade, let us begin by invoking the qualities of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who sits at the thresholds of space and time and who blesses all beginnings.

ॐ गम गणपतये नम
om gam ganapataye namaha (108 repetitions)

By chanting the sacred mantra of Ganesha, we bless the year ahead. It can help to remove any obstacles we encounter on the path - letting go of emotions, toxins, negative thought/habit patterns, or anything that is preventing you from living your life in the highest place of consciousness and bliss.

May 2010 be a year of Peace.
May we each go deep deep inside to find that essence of Truth within,
that spark so bright it can lift the veils of any dark night.
Dwelling within the cave of the heart, returning to Source until we find a voice.
Vowing to move and speak only from this place, deep within.
Knowing that its strength lies its connection, its foundation, its roots.
An interdependence with all life, swirls us together like pearls on a string.
May this be a year of integration, of celebration, and dedication.
Stepping Thy lotus feet on the accelerator of the conscious evolution revolution.

A Festivus For the Rest of Us

2009-12-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to you all as we celebrate and rejoice in Spirit!
May your days be filled with the warmth of friends and family,
May the darkness of night be lit with flames of love, peace, and joy.

May the thoughts and actions of our lives contribute
to the happiness and freedom of all beings.

Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu.

Aum. Shanti Shanti Shanti.

America's 1st "yogis"

2009-12-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

The yoga tradition has an incredibly diverse and ancient history. Argued by some to be the oldest living religion in the world, yoga originated in India approximately 5,000 years ago. Just like any religion or tradition, yoga has changed over the centuries, adapting in response to the particular time and cultural context. It is in this sense, one of the oldest living traditions in the world. Yoga as it is practiced in America today, however, is only roughly 100 years old. It is the latest manifestation of an ancient living tradition.

Long before there was Iyengar, Asthanga, Anusara, and Vinyasa Flow, there was a yoga that existed on American soil. Looking back at mid-19th Century New England, we find can find its roots within the intellectual circle of the Transcendentalists; who began exploring the exotic philosophy of the East, and indirectly initiated the transmission of yoga in America. Ralph Waldo Emerson first met the Hinduism of India through its sacred texts; particularly the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, “The Song of the Lord”. He found in ancient India the mystical expression of his vision of the transcendent Self. He discovered what he termed the “Oversoul”. In his infamous essay written in 1841 titled The Over-Soul, he writes,

“… Meantime within man is the soul of the whole; the wise silence; the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally related; the eternal ONE.”[1]

Emerson’s words echo the Ultimate Reality or Brahmin affirmed by the Upanishads and other ancient texts of India. A younger student of Emerson’s, Henry David Thoreau, also took an influential interest in the East. He wrote from his cabin at Walden Pond,

“In the morning, I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat-Geeta…in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.“[2]

The renunciation of his stint at Walden Pond is reminiscent of the ascetism of the Indian yogis. And in this regard, Thoreau can perhaps be seen as one of the first American yogis, at least in an intellectual or literary sense. In a letter to a friend, he writes,

“… I would fain practice the yoga faithfully. To some extent, and at rare intervals, even I am a yogi.”[3]

Without analyzing the degree to which Thoreau or Emerson actually carried out yogic practices, it is an important moment in our history. The words of the Transcendentalists provided Westerners for the first time with the “idea” of yoga; an exotic discipline and practice that was just as near as the natural world. Their exploration set the stage for the arrival of yoga in America.

[1] "Ralph Waldo Emerson's The Over-Soul." The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Web. 10 Dec. 2009.

[2] Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America How a "Christian Country" Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. New York: HarperOne, 2002. p. 95 – from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden

[3] De Michelis, Elizabeth. A History of Modern Yoga: Patanjali and Western Esotericism. London: Continuum, 2008. pp. 2-3

Yoga in America: the numbers are in

2009-11-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

Yoga Journal Releases 2008"Yoga in America" Market Study

Practitioner Spending Grows to Nearly $6 Billion a Year

February 26, 2008 (San Francisco, CA) – The latest "Yoga in America" study, just released by Yoga Journal (yogajournal.com) shows that Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, including equipment, clothing, vacations and media (DVDs, videos, books and magazines). This figure represents an increase of 87 percent compared to the previous study in 2004—almost double of what was previously spent.

Data for this survey were collected by the Harris Interactive Service Bureau on behalf of Yoga Journal. The poll surveyed 5,050 respondents, a statistically representative sample of the total U.S. population. Yoga Journal commissioned RRC Associates, a research firm in Boulder, Colo., to perform the data analysis.

The 2008 study indicates that 6.9% of U.S. adults, or 15.8 million people, practice yoga. (In the previous study, that number was 16.5 million). Of current non-practitioners, nearly 8%, or 18.3 million Americans, say they are very or extremely interested in yoga, triple the number from the 2004 study. And 4.1% of non-practitioners, or about 9.4 million people, say they will definitely try yoga within the next year.

The study also collected data on age, gender and other demographic factors. Of the yoga

practitioners surveyed:

72.2% are women; 27.8% are men.
40.6% are 18 to 34 years old; 41% are 35 to 54; and 18.4% are over 55.
28.4% have practiced yoga for one year or less; 21.4% have practiced for one to two years; 25.6% have practiced two to five years; and 24.6% have practiced more than five years.
71.4% are college educated; 27% have postgraduate degrees.
44% of yogis have household incomes of $75,000 or more; 24% have more than $100,000.

"While the yoga population has stabilized, spending among practitioners has nearly doubled," says Patricia Fox, senior vice president and group manager of Active Interest Media's Healthy Living Group. "Yoga practitioners are a devoted consumer group supporting a thriving and vibrant market."

The 2008 study also indicated that almost half (49.4%) of current practitioners started practicing yoga to improve their overall health. In the 2003 study, that number was 5.6%. And they are continuing to practice for the same reason. According to the 2008 study, 52% are motivated to practice yoga to improve their overall health. In 2003, that number was 5.2%.

"Yoga is no longer simply a singular pursuit but a lifestyle choice and an established part of our health and cultural landscape," says Bill Harper, publisher of Yoga Journal. "People come to yoga and stick with it because they want to live healthier lives."

One significant trend to emerge from the study is the use of yoga as medical therapy. According to the study, 6.1%, or nearly 14 million Americans, say that a doctor or therapist has recommended yoga to them. In addition, nearly half (45%) of all adults agree that yoga would be a beneficial if they were undergoing treatment for a medical condition.

"Yoga as medicine represents the next great yoga wave," says Kaitlin Quistgaard, editor in chief of Yoga Journal. "In the next few years, we will be seeing a lot more yoga in health care settings and more yoga recommended by the medical community as new research shows that yoga is a valuable therapeutic tool for many health conditions."

The growth in the yoga market is reflected in the growth of Yoga Journal. The magazine saw an increase of 5.8 percent in paid circulation, and an increase of 9.2 percent in paid subscriptions, in the period from July through December 2007, over the same period in the previous year, while the first two issues of 2008 were record issues in terms of ad revenue and ad pages. The magazine is also a top-selling health and fitness title at Barnes & Noble nationwide as well as at Whole Foods.

Tara Comes to HSU

2009-11-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Today in my class Meditation, Contemplation, and Imagination, we had a wonderful guest lecturer, Allison Rader. Allison is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who is now the head lama at Chagdud Gonpa Rigdzin Ling, a Vajrayana community out in beautiful Trinity County. I had the pleasure of doing an experiential retreat weekend through the Religious Studies department last year, led by Allison at the Gonpa. She is an incredible teacher, so real, and engaging. And she has the ability to hold such sacred space. In a room full of 30 people, I felt like we were engaged in a private conversation (and so did everyone else!). For an hour and half she gave an incredible Dharma talk, describing the spiritual path of the Vajrayana, and particularly leading towards a general understanding of Tibetan visualization mediation practice. We then closed our eyes, sat up straight, and she led us through a basic Red Tara practice, visualizing some of the basic elements of Tara - compassion, loving-kindness, humility, etc. It was so beautiful, I slowly opened my eyes feeling tingly all over. Then we read aloud:

In the space in front of me the mother of all the victorious ones, Arya Tara, actually appears and to her I pray:
Now, as I and countless others are lost in the ocean of samsaric suffering,
I seek buddhahood to gain temporary and ultimate happiness for myself and all living beings.
For this reason I take refuge in Arya Tara, embodiment of pure awareness,
inseparable from all perfect qualities of buddha, dharma, sangha, lama, yidam and dikini.
From the depths of my heart I pray, evoking from Tara's forehead, throat and heart
a brilliant surge of rainbow light.
As the light rays touch me and all other beings, the poisonous fruits of negative karma-
sickness, demonic afflictions and obstacles - evaporate like dew in the morning sun.
Merit, wisdom, glory, wealth and longevity increase beyond measure.

Illustrious Tara, please be aware of me. Remove my obstacles and quickly grant my excellent aspirations.

JET SUN POCK MA DROL MA CHED CHEN NO
GAL CHEN KUN SEL SAM DON NYUR DRUP DZOD

OM TARE TAM SOHA

The last part in Tibetan we sang/chanted in harmony. There was a brief moment of rational discomfort, to be chanting in the classroom... then I realized, we're chanting in the classroom! It was such a beautiful practice. The Tibetan syllables left my body vibrating in illumination. We finished with a proper Buddhist dedication.

Dedication
Throughout my many lives and until this moment,
whatever virtue I have accomplished
including the merit generated by this practice, and all that I will ever obtain,
this I offer for the welfare of sentient beings.
May sickness, war, famine and suffering be decreased, for every being
while their wisdom and compassion increase in this and every future life.
May I clearly perceive all experiences to be as insubstantial
as the dream fabric of the night
and instantly awaken to perceive the pure wisdom display
in the arising of every phenomenon.
May I quickly attain enlightenment in order to work ceaselessly
for the liberation of all sentient beings.

Prayer of Aspiration
Buddhas and bodhisattvas altogether:
whatever kind of motivation you have,
whatever kind of beneficial action,
whatever kind of wishing prayers,
whatever kind of omniscience,
whatever kind of life accomplishment,
whatever kind of benevolent power
whatever kind of immense wisdom you have,
then similarly I, who have come in the same way to benefit beings,
pray to attain these qualities.

The Auspicious Wish
At this very moment, for the peoples and nations of the earth,
may not even the names disease, famine, war and suffering be heard.
Rather may their moral conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity increase,
and may supreme good fortune and well-being always arise for them.

Just a word...

2009-11-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

What an experience it is to be a human being...today...in California... in 2009! Such a diverse and complex world that we find ourselves in - so much information, technology, products, advertisements, and the choice, oooh the freedom to choose, which kind of toothpaste we want from the infinite variety available on the shelves. Humans have clearly made immense progress technologically in the past few hundred years. Our external world has drastically changed. But I often wonder has the human condition changed? Do we not still have the same basic needs and desires in our modern world as did the peoples of the ancient? Food, shelter, warmth, to love and be loved, to be happy, peaceful, to live a joyous life... While we have made much progress externally, have we done much internally as a society to fulfill these basic human desires? Are people more happy now with their iPod's, televisions, SUV's, and hair conditioner? Perhaps. I admit it is pretty incredible to have 5,000 tracks of the most amazing music ever created all in one device that fits in your palm, ready to make you feel warm and fuzzy at the press of a button. Or has this material gain and freedom to choose actually pushed us further away from the things which we truly care about?

I believe we each have these basic human desires, a basic spiritual yearning towards wholeness, towards peace, freedom. Yet unconsciously so many of us are looking outside of ourselves through material pursuit to fulfill this basic humanness. And guess what... it ain't working, the most basic needs are not being met. You can't subsitute prozac for peace. A quick fix won't do. Temporary satisfaction ain't the game. We're talking about true freedom, infinite lasting peace.

I got one word for ya...

What should I do about my meditation practice?

2009-10-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

I recently started reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and have to say I am really loving the book. I think she's brilliant, funny, insightful, and has got me jus itchin' to travel....
Has anyone else read it?

Gilbert presents her story like traditional mala beads, weaving together 108 tales or beads. The number 108 is seen to be very auspicious, "a perfect three-digit multiple of three, its components adding up to nine, which is three threes." She then divides the mala-book into three sections about her travels to three countries Italy, India, and Indonesia. This leaves us with three sections of 36 tales, written during her 36th year of life! Wow that's a lot of threes...

Right now we're in an ashram in India....
Here's an excerpt that I found particularly meaningful, and humorous :

"What should i do about my meditation practice?" I ask Richard one day, as he's watching me scrub the temple floors. (He's lucky - he works in the kitchen, doesn't even have to show up there until an hour before dinner. But he likes watching me scrub the temple floors. He thinks it's funny.)

"Why do you have to do anything about it, Groceries?"

"Because it stinks."

"Says who?"

"I can't get my mind to sit still."

"Remember what the Guru teaches us - if you sit down with the pure intention to meditate, whatever happens next is none of your business. So why are you judging your experience?"

"Because what's happening in my meditations cannot be the point of this Yoga."

"Groceries, baby - you got no idea what's happening in there."

"I never see visions, I never have transcendent experiences - "

"You wanna see pretty colors? Or you wanna know the truth about yourself? What's your intention?"

"All I seem to do is argue with myself when I try to meditate."

"That's just your ego, trying to make sure it stays in charge. This is what your ego does. It keeps you feeling separate, keeps you with a sense of duality, tries to convince you that you're flawed and broken and alone instead of whole."

"But how does that serve me?"

"It doesn't serve you. Your ego's job isn't to serve you. Its only job is keep itself in power. And right now, your ego's scared to death cuz it's about to get downsized. You keep up this spiritual path, baby, and that bad boy's days are numbered. Pretty soon your ego will be out of work, and your heart'll be making all the decisions. So your ego's fighting for its life, playing with your mind, trying to assert its authority, trying to keep you cornered off in a holding pen away from the rest of the universe. Don't listen to it."

"How do you not listen to it?"

"Every try to take a toy away from a toddler? They don't like that, do they? They start kicking and screaming. Best way to take a toy away from a toddler is distract the kid, give him something else to play with. Divert his attention. Instead of trying to forcefully take thoughts out of your mind, give your mind something better to play with. Something healthier."

"Like what?"

"Like love, Groceries. Like pure divine love."

(p. 140-141)

The Travelers and the Grapes

2009-10-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Four men - a Persian, a Turk, an Arab, and a Greek - were standing in a village street. They were traveling companions, making for some distant place; but at this moment they were arguing over the spending of a single peiece of money which was all that they had among them.

"I want to buy angur," said the Persian.
"I want uzum," said the Turk.
"I want inab," said the Arab.
"No!" said the Greek, we should buy stafil."

Another traveler passing, a linguist, said, "Give the coin to me. I undertake to satisfy the desires of all of you."

At first they would not trust him. Ultimately they let him have the coin. He went to the shop of a fruit seller and bought four small bunches of grapes.

"This is my angur," said the Persian.
"But this is what i call uzum," said the Turk.
"You have brought me inab," said the Arab.
"No!" said the Greek, "this in my language is stafil."

The grapes were shared out among them, and each realized that the disharmony had been due to his faulty understanding of the language of the others.

"The travelers," said the Agha, "are the ordinary people of the world. The linguist is the Sufi. People know that they want something, because there is an inner need existing in them. They may give it different names, but it is the same thing. Those who call it religion have different names for it, and even different ideas as to what it might be. Those who call it ambition try to find its scope in different ways. But it is only when a linguist appears, someone who knows what they really mean, that they can stop the struggling and get on with the eating of the grapes."

(excerpt from Idries Shah's - The Sufis)

Happy Diwali!

2009-10-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

Light a candle,
Say a prayer.
May Goddess Lakshmi bless us all!

Micheline Berry Kicked My Buddhi

2009-10-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend at Om Shala, I participated in an incredible workshop intensive with guest yoga instructor Micheline Berry who came up to Humboldt from LA (she teaches at Exhale in Venice Beach). Let me begin by saying, Micheline blew my mind, and kicked my buddhi. I didn't have too much expectations before hand, and I wasn't sure if I was going to vibe with her yoga. Originally trained in Forest Yoga (Ana Forest), she has now been studying with Shiva Rea for the past few years. She teaches a style of Tantra or Prana Yoga, a Vinyasa which she calls Liquid Asana. Vinyasa Liquid Asana from LA?.... didn't particularly sound like my style... Wrong. It was amazing!

Micheline is from Brazil and comes from a dance background, teaching a style of yoga which is definitely 'out of the box' and 'off the mat'. In fact our first class together, she started by telling us to roll up our mats and put them aside. She threw on some funky music and had us dancin, gettin down for almost 30 minutes. Then, heart-beating, dripping puddles of sweat, 'now, get out your mats!' I've seriously never sweated so much in my life... I couldn't believe the next morning was Detox Yoga. What was this?!

The most powerful aspect of the weekend was the Teaching Empowerment sessions we shared together. There was a group of about 10 of us teachers, and we really went deep. As we were doing such intense physical practice on the mat, stuff came up for just about everyone. I was so impressed with her ability to hold sacred space, and to navigate through all our inner turmoil with such compassion and insight. She actually came to yoga through her experience with Buddhism, like myself and many others. With this foundation in meditation, compassion, and loving-kindness, I feel she truly embodies the Divine feminine. In fact each class, she beautifully sang an invocation to Tara, accompanied by her Indian shruti box.

She worked diligently with each one of us individually, to help us tune to the creative source flowing within, to harness our own Shakti. Reminding us that we are each artists, with our own unique gifts and creative expression, our own personal myths. However, we are all connected to Source. And our vulnerabilities, and our weaknesses, are actually our gifts. They are the little, perfect imperfections which make us human, which connect us all. "Be who you are," she said, "it's a shortcut to who you are."

I feel so blessed to have had this experience this weekend, continuing my yoga education. It was tremendously inspiring and empowering. And such a joy to connect with the community of yoga students and teachers here in Arcata. What a beautiful sangha we share. I am so grateful right now. Great and Full. Feeling the Love. More than ever. Give thanks ya'll.

and

"Trust the Yoga"

Snakes Dancing in the Rain

2009-10-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Poem & Reverie assignment
inspired by a dream,
written for class this morning.

Snakes Dancing in the Rain

3 snakes slithering through my mind's eye,
burrowed deep beneath cold earth.
Mother has just given birth.
Fresh life, new born blood
drips from its thin brown tail.

Fear grips, clenching breath tight.
Father hisssssses his hungry tongue,
gaping at newborn bloody son.
The land is dry, cold, dark.

Sky opens pouring heavy rain,
Kissing the earth
Fresh wet life breathes again.
New born blood washed away.
Snakes dancing in the rain.

The wise omnipotent serpent king. Continually shedding it’s skin, changing with the wind. Slithering and winding through tall grass prairies, across desert, forests and mountain peaks. The great change is among us, impermanence in the sand. Dancing and shaping, shifting lands. Soul speaks through slithering tongues and hissing lungs, breathing, and breathing in the dirt. Nestled and burrowed between heaven and earth. Guiding our dreams through ancient mind streams, swimming and sliding through underwater valleys. Waking visions of life teaming with images rife with meaning of a life dreaming full of meaning. Hissssssssssssss…… rain drops falls from the heavens and kiss the earth. Each drip drop ripples stillness across. Echoing silence, returning to that place. Dwelling deep within the heart cave of my earth body. Echoing stillness, echoing stillness, echoing stillness. The rain dances across my face, splashing palms. Life-force seeps into my skin, melting my body, nourishing my soul. Life is born from dreams such as these.

The Soul of the World

2009-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Today in my class Meditation, Imagination, and Contemplation, we discussed the concept of Anima Mundi, the latin phrase meaning 'soul of the world'. It's a concept that extends the notion of psyche/soul beyond the individual, connecting with the larger psyche, or soul of the world. Psyche is not necessarily something that exists alone, internally within a floating head. The Earth has soul. The mountains, rivers, and trees, like us, are expressions of Anima Mundi. When we experience beauty in the world, it refreshes the soul, for it naturally yearns for beauty. The awe we may experience from witnessing a magical sunset, is a recognition of soul; a deep need within each individual. These moments of 'awe' infuse our life with meaning, they humble us as humans, and reconnect us with the Infinite.

In our yoga practice, as we explore deeper into ourselves, we can begin to extend our vision of Self beyond this body, this thought, this breath. The word asana, literally means seat. And we can recognize that whether we sit or stand in each asana, we are connecting to the Earth. Each step we take on this journey, no matter what direction, the Earth is lightly kissing the 'soul' of our feet. The air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink, deeply connect us all to this beautiful blue planet, our only home. There is no separation between you and me and the air we breathe. Humans are not separate from nature, our psyche has just been disconnected. Humans are... naturally natural by nature. The only separation exists within the mind, the ego, the one which creates Me, Myself, and I. But where do I end and you begin?... It's like asking where does the Earth end and the sky begin?

In yogic terms, Anima Mundi can be seen as Purusha, or Spirit. Or in Vedantic terms, related to the great Brahmin, the underlying Ultimate Reality within all things. It is ultimately, the path of the yogi, to penetrate through all false illusion, wipe away the dust from the mirror, to reveal Thy true Self. It is Sat-Chit-Ananda, Experience-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute. The soul longs to experience itself, to remember it's own Divine bliss. To re-awken the unity within the multiplicity and rest in peace with God.

Until then... let us return to our breath. This powerful life-force, literally breathing us alive each moment of every day. Let us remember that each breath we take in, the trees are exhaling fresh oxygen, and with each breath we exhale, the trees are inhaling, taking in that which no longer serves us. It is this reciprocal dance of the Earth which enables life to exist. Deeply interdependent, connected with all. As long as we breathe the air of this Earth, we have a responsibility to serve and protect it. It simply starts with a shift in awareness. Extending our limited idea of self, to expand towards its potential it so yearns to experience, to know our Supreme Self, to recognize the awe of Anima Mundi, and to rest in the bliss of it all.

I'll leave you with some words from Deep Ecologist John Seed:

"...'I am protecting the rain forest' develops to 'I am part of the rain
forest protecting myself. I am that part of the rain forest recently
emerged into thinking.

What a relief then! The thousands of years of imagined separation are over and we begin to recall our true nature. That is the change is a spiritual one, thinking like a mountain, sometimes referred to as 'deep ecology.'

As your memory improves, as the implications of evolution and ecology are internalized and replace the outmoded anthropocentric structures in your mind, there is an identification with all life. Then follows the realization that the distinction between 'life' and 'lifeless' is a human construct. Every atom in this body existed before organic life emerged 4,000 million years ago. Remember our childhood as minerals, as lava, as rocks?

Rocks contain the potentiality to weave themselves into such stuff as this. We are the rocks dancing. Why do we look down on them with such a condescending air? It is they that are the immortal part of us."

- Blessings to you all, as we continue dancing like rocks, the story continues...

Yield and Overcome

2009-10-05T11:49:00.001-07:00

Twenty-Two

Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.

Therefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.

Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.

- Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching

What we need is LOVE.

2009-10-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Peace. Shalom. Shanti.

May we each spread this Peace,
This Light, into the World.

One Love.

Jai Kali Ma! Blessed October!

2009-10-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

October is here! Halloween is just around the corner.... as we move into the Autumn season, lets see what we can learn from our friend, the Hindu Goddess Kali, and reflect on the grand illusion of this Divine Dance.

Here are some excerpts taken from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, enjoy!

Kali

"On the feet of the Goddess are, among other ornaments, anklets of gold. Her arms are decked with jewelled ornaments of gold. She wears necklaces of gold and pearls, a golden garland of human heads, and a girdle of human arms. She wears a golden crown, golden earrings, and a golden nose-ring with a pearl-drop. She has four arms. The lower left hand holds a severed human head and the upper grips a bloodstained sabre. One right hand offers boons to Her children; the other allays their fear. The majesty of Her posture can hardly be described. It combines the terror of destruction with the reassurance of motherly tenderness. For She is the Cosmic Power, the totality of the universe, a glorious harmony of the pairs of opposites. She deals out death, as She creates and preserves. She has three eyes, the third eye being the eye of Divine Wisdom; they strike dismay into the wicked, yet pour out affection for Her devotees" (11).

Kali and Maya

"Sri Ramakrishna, on the other hand, though fully aware, like his guru, that the world is an illusory appearance, did not slight maya, like an orthodox monist, but acknowledged its power in the relative life. He was all love and reverence for maya, perceiving in it a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. To him maya itself was God, for everything was God. It was one of the faces of Brahman. What he had realized on the heights of the transcendental plane, he also found here below, everywhere about him, under the mysterious garb of names and forms. And this garb was a perfectly transparent sheath, through which he recognized the glory of the Divine Immanence. Maya, the mighty weaver of the garb, is none other than Kali, the Divine Mother. She is the primordial Divine Energy, Sakti, and She can no more be distinguished from the Supreme Brahman than can the power of burning be distinguished from fire. She projects the world and again withdraws it. She spins it as the spider spins its web. She is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta and with the Atman of Yoga. As eternal Lawgiver, She makes and unmakes laws; it is by Her imperious will that karma yields its fruit. She ensnares men with illusion and again releases them from bondage with a look of Her benign eyes. She is the supreme Mistress of the cosmic play; and all objects, animate and inanimate, dance by Her will. Even those who realize the Absolute in nirvikalpa samadhi are under Her jurisdiction as long as they live on the relative plane" (50-51).

Jai Kali Ma!

A Lovely Day

2009-09-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm.... what a lovely day. After weeks of AT&T phone robots, technical support, and terrible "can you please hold" music, I am finally connected to the internet at home. Connected to the world (wide-web)! Lame, I know... but it feels really good to be connected, and I plan to update the blog more frequently now. So much has transpired these past few months that it almost seems ridiculous to squeeze it into a single blog post, so i'll just continue with my lovely day...

After my AT&T karma was settled... i made it just in time for Paula's Advanced Hatha Yoga class at noon. It was such a yummy class: We started off with a sweet meditation, imagining the Higher Self, as a separate entity, standing before us, with Truth and open arms. Am I ready to receive? If Truth knocked on the door, would we know it?... We moved into a great asana practice with lots of shoulder and hip opening, and did some partner work playing with pincha mayurasana and rabbit pose, ending in a nice long juicy savasana. Mmmmmm. Thank you Paula. Namaste.

Next on the agenda was Religion in America. Today we moved through the timeline to African American religious traditions, and a classmate gave a powerful presentation from within the tradition. It was a great presentation, passionate, and inspired, but it was heavy and very controversial. Without getting into too much detail... the title of the presentation was, "Are we Africans or The Lost Identity of Ancient Hebrews, the Untold Truth" As the title says, the student's presentation was to reveal the "untold truth" of the ancient Hebrew people. Using the Bible as guide, he revealed scriptures (mostly Deuteronomy and Leviticus) which point to a very different story then the one many of us grew up with. The ancient Hebrews, the people of the Tribes of Israel, he claims, are not the Jews of modern Europe/America. The real Hebrews of the Book, are of African descent. After Moses freed his people, they migrated south to Africa, spreading the tradition of Abraham. Eventually in the 1600's, with the Atlantic-Slave trade routes, these captured Hebrews were taken on ship to the New World, to the Americas, bringing us to today. He used Biblical references of plagues and prophecies depicting the real Hebrews. Explaining how the European translation of the image of Jesus, became a blonde haired Caucasian, while scripture describes him as dark-skinned with "woolly" hair.

What I found personally most controversial about the presentation, was the underlying argument that the Jews of Eastern Europe, the Ashkenazi Jews (my direct ancestors) were not the Hebrews of the Book we have believed - they have stolen the identity and tradition of the ancient African Hebrews. Whoa, hold on. So the 6 million Jews which were slaughtered during the Nazi Holocaust of WWII, were not the Hebrews of the Bible? Have they mistaken their own identity as the "chosen people" of God? Are they not the same peoples who have been persecuted and oppressed time and time again for the last few thousand years? Okay, I'll stop myself right here, because clearly I don't know enough of the history, nor have I studied the Hebrew Bible enough to fully understand. But this raises a lot of red flags and I encourage all who are interested, to join me in investigating this further...

This hypotheses stirred up a lot for me, especially as I try and understand my own cultural identity, being born to both Jewish parents, and with grandparents and extended family from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazi Jews). This created a nice bridge to my Geography 304 class, studying ethnicity, race, and human migration. People today ask, what are you? What they really mean, I think, is why does your face look like that? Where does your face come from? What ethnic backgrounds comprise your facial composition? lol...Well... I'm a Polish/Lithuanian/Jew...although I don't know a single Pole or Lithuanian, and I don't go to Temple.... Identity is a strange thing, living in the United States in 2009. I feel I'm striving to find this balance between understanding the past, knowing where I came from, while at the same time not allowing "my" story to draw lines, to divide and separate me from the rest of humanity. Maybe, being proud without having pride. Honoring my ancestors and our roots, honoring tradition, yet not being stuck or bound by it. Finding new ways of expression, creating tradition which is inclusive to all, universally sacred. Jew? Hebrew? Human? Sometimes I just don't know... At the moment I feel like a Jew-Bu-Sufi-Yogi.

I ended the day, teaching Community Yoga at Om Shala. It was one of the best classes I've taught yet, twelve students showed up and the energy was amazing. The almost full moon was shining down, illuminating Chandra room as we breathed and flowed through a beautiful practice. We ended class with 3 deep continuous AUM's, which were so loud they woke up Peacock who was resting on the massage table next door! I have to say, I am fully enjoying this new turning as a yoga instructor - it is the most incredible "job" I've ever had! It's such a pleasure to be able to create sacred space for people to connect to their bodies, connect to their breath - to be an instrument of guidance and to share this special practice of Yoga. I feel so tremendously blessed and honored to be of service, and am so excited as this journey continues to grow and unfold. I am learning and growing more each day than ever before. One student said to me after class a few weeks ago, "Ya know, you're probably half my age... but I'll tell you what, there's not one person on this Earth I can't teach something to, and there's not one person on this Earth who can't teach me something. Thank you." If we can keep this humble attitude, this open-heartedness towards each other throughout the day, I think life becomes a bit lighter, our smiles a bit brighter. Breathing in Ya Shakur, the attitude of gratitude. And exhaling ahhhhhh, melting into stillness.

Aum. Shanti. Shalom. Peace.

Global Mala 2009

2009-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

This September is National Yoga Month, join millions of yoga and health enthusiasts at hundreds of events nationwide and around the world. Deepen your commitment to a healthy lifestyle by celebrating the transformative power of yoga with friends, family and your global community! Yoga Month invites all styles of yoga to participate in an awareness campaign designed to draw attention to the many benefits of yoga and inspire our fellow citizens to live healthier, happier lives.

The Humboldt Lotus Collective is a club at HSU I co-founded last year with a few other yogis on campus - we hold free yoga and meditation classes every week for students and faculty! On September 19 or 20, in sync with the Fall Equinox, the Lotus Collective will be holding an event to celebrate the Global Mala - an effort to unite the global yoga community, and the bigger human family, to create peace, and raise consciousness through the sacred practice of yoga. To connect the Global Mala thread in Arcata, we'll be leading 108 Sun Salutations, filled with kirtan, chanting, dance, meditation, and more! Stay tuned as I find out more about this incredibly exciting event, I'll be blogging it as it manifests.

For more info, check out:
http://www.globalmala.org
http://www.yogamonth.org

How We Live Our Yoga

2009-07-12T10:02:00.001-07:00

While perusing the stacks not so aimlessly in my store the other day, I came across a book I had never seen before, How We Live Our Yoga: teachers and practitioners on how yoga enriches, surprises, and heals us. I began reading it and could not put it down, I flipped through the final pages after just a few shifts at work. It's an incredible collection of unique essays and personal stories shedding important light on the yoga tradition. Unlike most yoga books on the shelves, this book is not filled with asana descriptions and mechanics, it's not another how-to-do-yoga book - but more of a how-to-live-yoga book. The authors provide candid insight on many pressing dilemmas facing modern yoga teachers and practitioners. Pulling from very real life experiences, their stories explore the paradoxes encountered when practicing the ancient art and science of yoga in contemporary America.

In the essay Coming Apart in Pune, Elizabeth Kadetsky shares her Self-destructive and enlightening experience studying yoga in Pune, India with the great master B.K.S. Iyengar. One of the most difficult and controversial dilemmas facing American yogis... sex. In The Meaning of Brahmacharya, Adrian M.S. Piper dives deep into this very personal account, questioning whether it is appropriate and/or necessary for a modern yogi to practice celibacy. And in one of my favorite essays, The Guru Question, Jeff Martens, provides thought provoking insight into the age old question, does one need a personal guru to progress on the spiritual path?

Each of the essays are unique, filled with personality and depth. They are humorous, sad, intriguing, brilliant, and ultimately, very inspiring. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in experiencing yoga beyond the asanas. Through their own courageous explorations, the authors helped me to examine my own personal yoga practice, and to come to know my self a little better. Blessings and happy reading!

Lost in Love: An Evening With Krishna Das

2009-07-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

While I was in Grass Valley I had the opportunity to go to a live kirtan concert with Krishna Das! It was an amazing night, so powerful and filled with love. There were probably a few hundred people from the local community, and it was so nice to be surrounded by such beautiful loving souls. KD was accompanied on stage by a lovely women on violin, an older man on the "buddha bass" plucking strings that "penetrate through illusion", and a young man on the tabla drums who was amazing! They said they were in Oregon a few days before and decided, hey let's go to India for a couple days. So they flew across the globe, hung out in India for a few days, and just got back to cali in time for the show! What a crazy life... they were pretty jet lagged all over, but still managed to lead an incredible kirtan.

The chanting has quickly becoming one of my favorite practices, it's a way to drop out of the mind, and sink deep into the heart. When we chant in the sacred sanskrit tongue, we are able to tune our consciousness into the ancient vibrations of the Infinite, as the language and words themselves have been spiritualized by the ancient rishis of India. The singing usually starts off slow then picks up real fast and slows back down toward the end. Some of the songs last up to 20 minutes! Sometimes my whole body starts vibrating and I feel really strong sensations around my nose and face, sending me into a deep meditative absorption. After the song ends, my heart melts into the silence, the stillness sends waves of peace through every fiber of being, everything stops......... you just drop in. It is a powerful practice of Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, of pure love. We're singin love songs to the Divine Mother. Opening our hearts and allowing light to pour in - it is an incredibly healing practice that left me feelin so so high. Here's the words to one of my favorite chants:

Om Namoh Bhagavate Vaasudevaayaa

Ram Ram Seetaram Ram Ram Seetaram
Seetaram Seetaram Ram Ram Seetaram

KD has such an incredible presence, and I could feel strongly the presence of his guru Maharaji through him. He's also a great story teller and has a beautiful sense of humor, partly from his New York Jewish roots! Another Jew lost and found in the (far) East. There was a more serious story in particular which was so inspiring it set the mood for the rest of the evening. Some years ago, Krishna Das, Ram Das, (all the Das's!) and other westerners were at the ashram in India, when another westerner from Canada came on the scene. He arrived in hopes to learn about meditation. So he went up to Maharaji and asked him, "How do I meditate?" No one had ever seen Maharaji meditate before. He never gave formal teachings or lectures. He was always laying around, throwing food, smiling, loving, very playfully, just BE-ing. When the man asked him how to meditate, he responded, "Meditate like Christ meditates." And sent him to the back of the ashram with the rest of the westerners. "What did he say?" they asked. "Meditate like Christ." "Oh."....... "What the heck does that mean?" They went back and asked Maharaji, "How does Christ meditate?" He started to respond, then suddenly became silent, his eyes closed and he entered into a deep state. Everyone was blown away, they'd never seen him meditate. All of a sudden he started smiling and tears began to pour from his eyes. He returned and said, "Christ didn't die on the cross. He lost himself in love... He lost himself in love." Krishna Das asked us, "How can we do that? How can we love everyone so selflessly. How do we get lost in love?" The music began... as his question melted into my heart, it became a mantra for the rest of the evening. I was lost in love.

Ananda Yoga Teacher Training

2009-07-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Blessings great souls,

I just returned from a month-long Yoga Teacher Training intensive at the Expanding Light, Ananda Village ashram in Nevada City. It was an incredibly powerful, empowering month of self-discovery, tuning deep into the sacred vibrations of Yoga. It was a wonderful experience to live and be a part of the beautiful spiritual community of Ananda, located on 800 acres of sacred land in the foothills of the Sierras. Ananda means Divine Bliss, and the community feels like a bliss bubble of heaven. The outside world seems to melt away, as the high vibrations seep into your consciousness. There are wild animals everywhere including deer, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, all kinds of colorful birds, and even black bears. Because of the yogic/vegetarian/ahimsa energy of the place, the deer are fearless of humans and come so close you can almost pet them!

The members of the community are all disciples of the great master Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi - and in just about every room, you'll find photos of all the great masters and saints, watching over the whole scene. It was really wild, many times I'd catch myself during class, daydreaming or thinking some impure thought, and I'd look up and see Paramahansa gazing at me with his Divine eyes, smiling lovingly, telling me, "I know. It's okay. It's all God. All part of the cosmic dance." It was a very humbling experience.

The training into Ananda Yoga was incredible throughout the month. The love and energy put forth by all the teachers and staff was inspiring, for they truly live the teachings of Yogananda, and are great yogis themselves. It was quite difficult at times however, because this style of Hatha Yoga is unique and different than my own personal practice prior to coming. The asana pratice moves at a much slower pace, holding each pose longer, enabling the practitioner to go "deeper" not necessarily stretching "further". The whole practice is aimed at preparing the body and mind for meditation, as is traditional in Raja or Patanjali Yoga. In fact, the asanas are seen as "meditation in action." As it is a level-1 200 hr training, we were learning how to teach yoga to beginners with little or no experience, how to teach to seniors, people with osteoporosis, high blood pressure, hip replacements, etc. We moved slowly through each pose, breaking down the components of the asanas so that we can modify them for any body. I am very thankful for the knowledge, however, it was challenging at times to stay in "Beginner's Mind"- I found myself craving more advanced poses, and we'd often sneak off after class to practice inversions...

Ananda Yoga can be summed up in 3 words "In and Up" - the whole practice focuses on bringing energy into the body, and directing it up the spine toward the brain. On a more subtle level, we are receiving prana/life-force and raising it up the sushumna central channel to our spiritual eye-center, the ajna chakra point between the eyebrows. In this way we are working to raise our consciousness, to move toward superconsciousness. When we can begin to tune into to the subtle energy flowing through our practice, then we can really go deep. One of my favorite classes of the month was a Chakra Asana practice led by Gyandev, the director of the program. We started at the root chakra, the muladara and worked our way all the way up to the crown, practicing asanas specific to awakening each energy center. It was a powerful experience, where I was able to touch deep into the subtle body, experiencing the swirling energy of the chakras fully for the first time within. Noting where energy flowed more fluidly, and where there were blockages. This subtle energy is working all the time, however, when we begin to consciously direct our awareness towards the centers, we can begin to really work with the energy flow, leading to powerful awakenings. It was very inspiring, and I'm excited to study chakras further and integrate them into my own practice and teaching.

The thoroughness of the training was excellent. We studied asanas, pranayama, chanting, philosophy, anatomy, diet, and much much more. I feel that I received an incredible foundational yoga training that will serve me greatly in whatever direction yoga takes me. However, the best part of the experience was the people, the teachers, the staff, the community, and mostly the other students in the group, the family - the tribe. Interestingly enough, I was the only male in the group, amongst 13 other women, which was an experience in and of it itself! I feel like I was also receiving a degree in Women's Studies as well as yoga training lol... But they all quickly became my soul mommas and sisters and the group came together really tight. So many laughs (thank you Meadow for your beautifully contagious laughter), many cries (we couldn't sit down for sharing circle without the kleenex making rounds as well), ups and downs - we all were there to support each other, and created such a safe space to learn and grow. Thank you all so much for your love and kindness, I miss you already. Jai guru!

The last week we split into four groups and did team teaching. We really got to put everything we learned into practice as we led two classes with our groups. It was an awesomegasana experience and so much fun to feed off each other as we flowed through the classes. The classes were open and free to all so we had some folks who were on personal retreat attend, which was a lot of fun - we got to modify a lot of asanas, bust out some chairs, and really get in there with the adjustments.

Before I knew it, the month was coming to a close. I am still in awe at how quickly the month flew by - Ananda is seriously on another plane... The last night we had a closing circle filled with lots of laughs and tears. I looked around the room at all these beautiful people I spent so much time with these past weeks, I could not believe I would not be seeing them every morning for sadhana. My heart was filled with an incredible sensation of blessedness. So thankful for the opportunity and time we all shared. Once again I was blown away at the thought of the ancient lineage of Indian masters, who's teachings and practices have been handed down over years, brought to life in this moment. This sacred current of Yoga, the thread still being weaved, the sutra we are all forming. All the teacher trainings around the country - we were brought HERE, right NOW. Breathe.
Thank you great souls. We performed a sacred Vedic ritual by chanting the Gayatri and Mahamrityunjaya Mantras seven times over candle flame, followed by making an offering, writing a blessing/prayer and releasing it into the burning flame, the smoke sending our prayers into the universe.

Our final graduation ceremony was held in the beautiful Hansa Temple. It was a festive morning, after much anticipation, I couldn't believe we were here. The ceremony was very beautiful. Gyandev gave a talk on what makes a good yoga teacher. He reminded us that this is a service gig - we are carrying this light, this wisdom as a gift to share with others, to awaken and heal. What makes a good teacher is not necessarily knowing every asana mechanic or alignment, every benefit or modification, etc. That knowledge is all great, but... what really makes a great yogi is being able to tune to the great Masters, to Yogananda, attune yourself to the Infinite. Allow yourself to be an instrument through which to share the sacred practice of Yoga. His partner Diksha played the harmonium one last time as we chanted and sang, one by one sitting before the altar, praying before the masters, the great yogis, to guide our practice, to guide our teaching as we move through this life. We then walked up to the altar and received a powerful blessing from Gyandev, before receiving our certificates. It was such a beautiful scene, and I walked away feeling very high.

I am now back in Arcata, once again surrounded by the redwood rishis of the Northcoast. It's good to be home, transitioning back to waking life. However, I miss everyone so much. Ananda already feels like a dream, a beautiful bliss dream... I am so grateful for the time I spent there and the teachings I received. I am very excited to put this wisdom into action and start teaching yoga here in the community. Thank you all great souls! Jai guru jai!

Namaste.

Strokes of ink on an empty white

2008-08-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

A Cup of Tea

Can you taste the universe in a cup of tea?
Dance in rain as drops fall from the sky,
Nourishing the Earth,
Cleansing the soul,
The water slips down from mountain to stream,
Flowing directly to the cup of tea.

The drink of enlightenment,
Tastes so pure.
Sipped by Buddhist monks in ancient China
To sustain lasting periods of Vipassana
To clear the mind,
To discover the way things inter-be.

When the cup is empty,
It is full.

The Nature of a Poem

If poetry is the language of the heart.
Then Nature is the poetry of the soul.
The essence of which we have manifested.

Man.
Woman.
Manzanita.
Sparrow.

Strokes of ink on an empty white.
Alone they are incomplete.
Combined with others,
They become whole.
Sentences form,
Images are born.
Webs spun,
Relationships woven.
Deeply interconnected.
Magic reveals,
A poem is born.

Nature is the poetry of the soul.
Can you read?

Baby Blue

Six weeks of walking along the Pacific,
Highway 1 cuts inland to Legget.
Time to say goodbye to good ol’ Baby Blue,
For a while.

Sitting down with her one last time.
Breathing in the cool ocean air,
I am refreshed.

Reflecting on the time we have shared.
She has taught me what it means to be free,
To live and just be.

Her waves crashing, pounding rocks and shore.
Shaping, chiseling, refining the coast.
A sculptor, creating the line.
Eternally dancing, playing, changing, molding, breaking,
and changing some more.
Always changing.
Volatile yet still.
This massive body of water,
This ancient teacher.
I am blessed.

Searching to find where the vision ends,
Where the sky begins,
My heart is lost in the abyss between.

A mysterious, unknown world,
Exists underneath it’s surface.
Above it,
I stand alone.

Life after pilgrimage

2008-08-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

The pilgrimage has ended, yet the journey has only begun. As I have re-entered back into society, I now must use the strength and wisdom I gained on the road, and turn it into practice. I have found a beautiful 4 bedroom house here in Arcata, which is beginning to feel like home, and I am quickly making friends in the community. I am anxiously awaiting the start of the Fall semester here at Humboldt State University where I will begin my studies. I'm planning to create my own major integrating the teachings of Eastern Religion, Native Americans, and Environmental Science. As I continue on the journey, on the path of peace, I plan to share my experiences with you all.

Namaste.

"The resting place of the mind is the heart."

Final Steps

2008-07-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

After 64 days I have made it to the town of Arcata, my new hood! My last day of walking was a long one, I clocked in 21 miles, walking from the farm in Loleta to the grassy lawn of Humboldt State University. The entire day was spent walking along the busy 101 freeway. I didn't care though, I was so excited I was able to tune out the cars and cruised at an incredible pace. As I passed through the town of Eureka, a girl on a bicycle stopped and asked me, "Hey are you the guy who's walking to school?!" Yes... "I just read your latest blog last night. Congrats on making it here!" I couldn't believe it. It was Rachel, a student at HSU who had sent me an e-mail weeks ago, sending me positive vibes. We chatted for a few minutes beside the road and then I headed on, ascending my final steps to Arcata. At 5:30pm I exited the freeway and walked up the ramp, the HSU campus was quickly approaching. I had to rub my eyes to make sure it wasn't a mirage. I ran up and collapsed on the grass. I did it! I actually made it. I looked up at the sky and began laughing, thinking back at the journey, and how far I had come. There were so many times where I didn't think I would make it, not like this. I could have rode up the coast in a day and a half in a car. But I would have missed out on the journey of a lifetime. I give so much thanks and praises to the universe. To the gods, the spirits, the buddhas, whatever forces brought me here safely. I am so thankful to all of the amazing people in my life and who I met on this pilgrimage. I truly would not have had the strength to do this alone, and it was your love, support, and positivity that carried me up the coast.

I am now staying with Jocelyn, the wonderful girl who wrote the story on my journey, in her apartment in town. Now I must complete the final stage of the pilgrimage, the re-entry into society. I am exhausted and need to rest, and try to process what has happened these last two months. I need to find a home and prepare for the upcoming semester.

I still can't believe I'm here. I feel like when I go to sleep I'm gonna wake up in Ocean Beach to find that this was all a dream. I need to find a job...

A Soft Bed In the Road

2008-07-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have now been on the road for over two months! It is incredible how quick this time has past, yet when I think back to the beginning, it feels like years. When you're on the road, time melts away, bringing you into the present. I have received some incredibly good fortune from the universe and some amazing people have offered me beds to sleep in as inch closer to Arcata. A friend of my fathers, a Meher Baba lover named Ron, invited me into his trailer in Gualala, a seaside town right on the Sonoma-Mendocino county line. His trailer was in the trees and was small, tight for two, but we made it work fine. Ron is a wonderful man with many stories to tell. He spent many years in the sixties, walking and hitchhiking through Europe, Asia, and North Africa, a real Dharma Bum. I really enjoyed my time with him and he even walked with me for 3 miles on my way out. Jai Baba brother!

When I got to the notorious coastal town of Mendocino, I couldn't help but walk into this little bookshop (I can't seem to walk past any bookshop without havin a peak). I asked to put down my pack behind the counter and fell into a conversation with the two women who worked there. They were both real sweet, and Mary even invited me to stay the night at her home. "I must warn you, I have two teenage daughters," she said. I told her I think that would be alright and she sent me up to her house just in time for dinner. They live in a cute little house above a record's store, right next to the post office, in the middle of town. Her daughter's are Rosie, who's home for the summer after her first year at UC Berkeley, and Margie who's in High School. A few of their friends came over and we had a little party. We all got along great and they even invited me to stay another night, but the road was calling me.

A few days later, I reached a point where Highway 1 turned inland, and I had to say goodbye to the Pacific, for now. I took a moment to sit, to breathe in the ocean air one last time. I walked a few miles inland and suddenly found myself surrounded by giant Redwoods. I was instantly filled with strength and a peaceful wave came over me. I stopped for lunch and had a really great conversation on the cell with my Mama and my brother Joey. She informed me that Reggae on the River was going on, right now, up near Garberville, about 40 miles north. I felt it was too far for today, but when I got off the phone I decided to hitch a few miles up the road towards Legget. My mom sent out some good energy cuz someone stopped right away. It was a women named Liz who was drivin up to Garberville to visit her boyfriend. There was already a hitch-hiker named Gypsy, riding up front, so I jumped in back with my pack and off we went. It is always bizarre, getting into a car after miles and miles of walking. My mind has to adjust quickly. This ride was great. The music was playing, the good vibes flowing, I rolled down the window and the wind was blowing. I was feelin so good I decided to ride with them just about the whole way, to the Reggae on the River music festival! We drove along the winding highway until we hit the town of Legget and suddenly, after a month of walking along highway 1, we were suddenly flying along 101. We crossed the county line into Humboldt County, my new home! I jumped out of the car at Benbow and said goodbye. A tattooed man with long gray hair working security, named Rainbow, let me stash my boots and pack in his truck, and I danced into the festival barefoot. Then it hit me, like a wave. After months of walking alone, in solitude, I felt as if I was suddenly teleported to this festival, with two thousand people in my face. It was a little intense. But the positive vibrations swept over and I had a great time dancing to the sweet reggae music. I spent the night at the Benbow Lake State Park Campground about a mile away.

I woke up the next morning and gave Margaret Taylor a call. Margaret lives with her husband in Garberville and invited me to stay with them in their home after reading about my story in the local paper. She came and picked me up and brought me to their beautiful house in town. I had such a wonderful time with Margaret and Jay and ended up staying for two nights. They really made me feel at home. I even got to soak in their awesome hot tub! They moved out to Garberville 30 years ago during the "late 60's hippie diaspora." We seemed to share values about people and the environment and it was really great getting to know them, I feel I learned a lot. I was really taken back by their generosity. Thank you both for your incredible warmth.

Margaret took me up the road to the Avenue of the Giants, where I got back to walkin. This may have been the most spectacular part of my walk, certainly the most straining on my neck, as I walked with me head tilted up, gazing at these giant trees. These are some of the tallest and oldest beings on the earth, our ancestors, our true roots. Being in their presence produced a profound shift in my state of being. I camped at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and hiked into the forest.

Swaying in the wind, the Redwoods croak. Like a door swinging on rusty hinges.

I stare at them in absolute wonder and amazement.

(Like a cow, watching a human walk by).

The Redwoods are ancient Buddhas.

The most incredible sentient beings on the Earth.

This moment, my life, is just a flicker in tree-time.

I made it to the little town of Loleta. The town is real small. There's a "main" street with a Post Office, a Bank, a market, a few empty buildings, and a bar with live music at the end corner. It looks like a movie set. I got in touch with Jeanne Van Der Zee, another woman who read my story and has invited me to stay with them. I'm here a day early. I can hear her surprise and excitement through the phone and in minutes she's there to pick me up. She gets out the car and gives me a big ol' hug and tells me I'm beautiful. Then she took me up to the bar, her bar, that she owns, and treated me to an ice cold local beer. She introduced me to everyone in town, telling my story, and how she read about me in the paper. I felt like a local celebrity. Jeanne is an incredible women with so much love to give. She took me to her home, on the farm, where Peter her husband, and Taylor her daughter were waiting to meet me. Taylor just graduated high school and will be attending HSU this fall too! She took me around the farm introducing me to Papi, their watch dog, their goats, and chickens! The goats were real friendly and came right up and licked my hand. We went back to the house and had a lovely dinner and conversation. Jeanne and her family have been wonderful and I feel like a part of the tribe. I slept incredibly on the soft bed in the road.

A Californian Summer Song

2008-07-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

California sure is a beautiful state. I have lived here all my life but have not truly experienced the land until now. I feel like I have earned the right to call myself a true native Californian. As I walk along the highways of the north, I wonder what life was like for the natives, the Pomos, and other tribes of the land. Before the roads, before the buildings, before the pollution. I imagine walking through vast Redwood forests in between villages, sipping cool, pure water from rushing creeks. I look out at the vast Pacific to the west, and the powerful mountains to the east. I pick delicious blackberries on tip toes beside the highway. I wipe sweat from my brow and look down at all the dead bumble bees beside the highway. I have seen thousands. They must be flying into windshields.

In between sets of speeding traffic,

Empty spaces of deep silence.

....

VRRoooooom!

The ocean is timeless,

Neither coming nor going,

Eternally present.

Constantly changing,

Rock formations re-arranging.

Volatile,

yet still.

A perfect moment. Breathe.

The Footsteps of a Pilgrim

2008-07-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

After crossing the Bridge, I entered into beautiful Marin county. I am now literally following in the footsteps of John Francis, as I walk along the same roads as he did, in silence. A couple days later, I entered into the small community at Pt. Reyes Station. As I walked into town, after a long 15-mile day along the highway, the first person I see, is none other than, John Francis himself, standing in the street talking with a friend. I limp over and we give each other a big smile. We sat down on his favorite bench in front of the post office and chatted for a while, making plans to have lunch together the following day. I met up with my moms' friends Steve and Susan, who live in town, and they kindly let me stay at their beautiful home. I had a really great time with them, and exploring the town of Pt. Reyes. Susan is an incredible artist who's paintings I found spread all around town, and Steve is a carpenter who's working on developing an electric vehicle kit for the Prius. Wonderful people.

John turned me on to another active Peace Walker, a man named Brother Northstar, who actually just recently passed through Arcata! I looked him up and found out that he has walked over 15,000 miles on his One Earth, One People pilgrimage, following in the footsteps and continuing the message of Peace Pilgrim. Walk on brother! Click here for a story on his pilgrimage. Learning about Brother Northstar, and spending some quality time with John was incredibly inspiring. I felt as if my pilgrimage was taken to a new level of meaning.

While of course I knew John has had an impact on me, greatly inspiring my walk, it was not until going out to breakfast with Steve (who is also a friend of John's), on my way out of town, that I realized just how much his life has altered my own. Steve and I both noticed how subtly John's life and story has influenced countless peoples' lives, including our own. Steve is now working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, by creating electric vehicles. Shortly after I read John's book, "Planetwalker", I sold my car to my roommate, for two months rent, and began walking and busing around town. Now, for the last 2 months, I have been walking on this Pilgrimage for Peace. John is an incredible, inspiring man, who I now think of as a friend and mentor. But I think what is so powerful about his story and being around him, is how clear it is that he's just a "regular" guy. When you're with him, it's just two people talking, having a conversation. If you look deep into his eyes though, you can sense his incredible journey. He has showed me that one person's life truly can make a difference. For the last two months, this pilgrimage has completely changed my life, it has become my life. Because of John, I am a much better person today than I was a few years ago. It fills me with such hope and excitement, and I wonder how I can direct my life to have such a positive influence on others as well. Thank you John, may we each be the change!

40 Days and 40 Nights

2008-07-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

After 40 days and 40 nights, I made it to the Bay Area at last! There I spent 6 days resting and visiting with family. I even got to meet my niece for the first time and was officially dubbed, Uncle Seth. Welcome to this world, Karly Alexandra Powell, you are a beautiful shining star.

After much anticipation, Monday July 7th crept up, and it was time to celebrate my journey and cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Thanks to my Pops, who put in tremendous time and effort organizing the gathering, around 30-40 people showed up in support of the pilgrimage. We all circled up on the grass with a beautiful view of the Bridge, standing strong in the backdrop. The highlight of the event was the appearance of John Francis, the "Planetwalker", who spoke about pilgrimage and the ability for individuals to make change. It was a culminating event of my journey and left me feeling good all over. I felt an overwhelming feeling of joy as I looked around at all the smiling faces who were gathered. It was the first time in fourteen years that all three of my brothers and our father were together. Even my little niece, 6-month old Karly crossed the Bridge with us as my brother Adam strapped her to his chest.

The fact that my walk, this Pilgrimage for Peace, has the power to bring all of these people together fills my heart with joy. It was an epic moment, and now a memory I will cherish forever. Thank you to all of you who came out. Your love and support was strongly felt and I am filled with gratitude, reminded once again of the incredible abundance in my life.

There is now nothing standing in my way between here and the redwood forests of Humboldt. Re-fueled with strength and faith, I now walk tall, as I inch my way North along Highway 1, for the final 300 miles. Ho!

A Path With Heart

2008-06-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since I've written a post, and I have covered a lot of ground, both mentally and physically. I have now been on this pilgrimage for just over a month! Thanks to some help from new friends and family, I have made it to Santa Cruz in incredible time. I am now resting and spending some time re-visiting my childhood with my bestfriend from elementary school, Tom. So far this has proved to be an incredible journey, the most exciting, challenging, and adventurous time of my life. I have seen almost half of the beautiful California coast and have connected with so many amazing people. I have learned that once you embark on "A Path With Heart", the entire universe conspires around you in support, propelling you forward along the path. The positive energy and intentions which I am putting forth, are coming back to me even stronger in all dimensions. I have received food, rides, money, shelter, warmth, inspiration, support, love, blessings, and much more from the most unexpected people and places. I have found that by doing my best to stay open, to shed attachments, and let the journey unfold organically, everything happens beautifully and perfectly at the exact moment it's supposed to. If you do not resist or oppose the Tao, you can simply ride the wave. I am learning to allow my heart to carry me through this dance of life and am having a ball. I want to share with everyone the hope and inspiration I have been receiving along the way. People are good, when given the opportunity. There is a conscious revolution taking place this very moment. Seeds of change have been planted and beautiful flowers are blooming in the minds of individuals all up and down the coast, and all over the planet. It is an incredible time to be alive! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me in my efforts for peace. Know that you are supporting and loving yourself as well.

"The mind creates the abyss,
The heart crosses it."

Thoughts From the Road

2008-06-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

My mind is an emtpy vessel, similar to a glass. It can be filled with water, which is pure, or the glass can be filled with alcohol, which paints the illusion of fun and happiness, however, robs me of my will and ambition, leaving me emtpy and dry in the morning. The alcohol in fact dehydrates my body, sending me aching for water, for the purity I needed all along. I have a choice what to put in my body and with what thoughts to fill my mind. Positive vibrations are key. Like water, they are refreshing and cleansing. With the right ingredients and intentions, I will only manifest good. Peace Pilgrim speaks of human potential, of how we have only scratched the surface. Once you begin living a selfless life, for the good of the whole, she says, you tap into an infinte energy source. Call it what you will, God, Buddha, Jesus... I think we are all connected to this source for it is within us, however are not accessing it daily due to the power and influence of our Ego, which creates an elusive barrier, a false self individual indentity separating you from me. Walking with a heavy pack on all day takes a tremendous amount of energy and is quite draining. Throughout the day I must continue to refuel my body and mind with water and positive thoughts, reminding myself why I am walking on this pilgrimage and of all the people supporting me. It is quite remarkable how much energy I can recieve from something as simple as a colorful flower along the roadside, passed and unseen all day by the hustle and bustle of modern life. Or maybe an elegant bird will perch itself on a tree above and chirp me a tune. Or even a simple thought, a memory of my friends in OB. Like Barclay, ripping it on the guitar as we sit around the living room and Jeremy pours us Chinese tea. These simple things provide me with much strength and joy as I walk and give me fuel for the long road ahead. While they can be external things in the environment which trigger this spark, like a flower, a bird, or the powerful ocean waves, this energy is found within in me and can be accessed at any time. It's a beautiful thing. The only thing limiting me from doing or attaining anything, is the same thing which allows me to do it, my mind. As I spend more time away from the city and in tune with nature, I notice a profound shift in my state of mind. For the first time I feel some of the conditioning and mental pollution of society starting to melt away and I'm beginning to uncover my true Buddha-nature (which has been forever flowing like a stream underground).

May all beings be Happy
May all beings be Well
May all beings be filled with Peace
May all beings be filled with Loving-Kindess

Dancing Through the Concrete Jungle

2008-06-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am now at a library in the quiet beach town of Ventura after quite a ride. I made it through the concrete jungle of Los Angeles, with the help of a few vehicles and friends, and am now in my fourth county thus far. (Tomorrow I will actually be in my fifth as I make way into Santa Barbara!) I made the conscious decision to ride on a few buses to get through parts of LA, for I would have been walking through the industrial LA Harbor and most likely been stuck on the streets at night, as there is no beach camping or hostels near by. I stayed with my friend Ty again and his family in both Huntington and Longbeach, and then said goodbye as he set off for his own journey to farm in Costa Rica. Thank you for your generous hospitality and valuable friendship, bon voyage brother! I then walked and hopped on the Metro to Venice Beach, where I met up with my friend Sean, whom I worked with last summer with Environment California. This turned out to be a full day of walking, waiting, and busing through the craziness of LA. I could not believe how inefficient the public transit system is, in a city with such terrible traffic and pollution. It was quite an interesting ride as I met some strange folks, and journeyed through Compton, Inglewood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and so on. I finally made it to Venice and met up with Sean just in time for the infamous Sunday night drum circle of dancing on the beach and a wild night of fun in Venice.

I set out from Sean's place and headed north through the affluent town of Malibu, on my longest day of walking so far, 23 miles! Spotted some dolphins again in the early morning, mid-asana. The beginning of my walk consisted of dodging the tide along ridiculously luxurious coastal homes, each with their own private beach access. I'd say at least half of the homes today were going through renovations and had Mexicans working out on the deck. I spent all afternoon smiling, saying "hola" and "como estas" as they were all very friendly. About half of the walk today was spent along the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway, and half on the sand. I was getting real hungry for lunch and was confronted with eating fish tacos as they were highly recommended at the local seafood joint. The idea sounded delicious, however, once I got up to the restaurant, I could not pull myself to do it. The seas are drastically being over-fished due to human consumption and I decided I wouldn't be supporting it that day. I reached a coastal access staircase along the road where I collapsed to the ground for a rest. I looked down and noticed a professional photo shoot taking place on the beach. Just then, I heard what sounded like the Mexican Ice-Cream Man, as a Taco Truck came and pulled up right beside me, blasting a Spanish tune. It's truly unbelievable how things just pop up at the perfect time when you're on the road. Things have a funny and beautiful way of always working out. I got a delicious veggie burrito and chocolate milk, and the kind women even through in some free chips and guac! I headed back to the staircase to chow down. I looked down and realized there was actually a topless photo shoot taking place. So here I am, chomping down a burrito, reading my Diamond Sutra, while below me is this model, half naked and sprawled out on the sand with some blond surfer model in underwear laying on top of her. It was quite a funny scene, and a delicious burrito. I continued north through ritzy Malibu, with million dollar homes and cars zooming by me. Everybody staring at this wandering dharma bum. After walking along some beautiful shorelines, I reached the magnificent Point Dume. I hiked up the steep wooden steps and sandy trails to the top which offered a spectacular 360 degree view of the area. While taking it all in, I met three businessmen, one of which said he grew up surfing in OB! They wished me well and I hiked down to the other side of the cliff to Zuma Beach, where I rested for a little while. I walked a couple miles and then actually hitch-hiked for the first time. A friendly couple whom I had asked for directions at a gas station, pulled me over just ahead and offered a ride up to the campground. They said they were headed north and I was so exhausted I jumped right in. After much hesitation, I have decided to ride in vehicles sparingly. Like John Francis told me on the phone, it's not as if I'm giving up riding in cars for 22 years. This is my own pilgrimage and I've got to do what feels right for me. So I'm going to attempt to travel leaving as light of an imprint as I can, without killing myself. This may include riding on a bus or hitch-hiking here and there. As a guideline, I will only ride in a vehicle if it is already heading north. That way no real extra gas will be burned by my decision to ride. The bulk of my journey will definitely still be on foot.

Who Ate My Tent?

2008-05-30T13:14:00.001-07:00

It is now Friday, May 30th and I have now been on the road for one week! I am currently at a library in Laguna Beach and am now in Orange County. A lot has happened since my last post so I will try and fill you in. My big pack and I seem to attract some attention so I have been meeting some friendly folks. Ray, who wants to hike the AT (do it!), Allen, the surfer with Surfrider Foundation, I met at Swami's who was so stoked about my trek we both let out a cheerful howl as we parted. I met Edna from New Zealand who thinks that the population size is the big problem. I met a wonderful family who I hung out and had lunch with, Jeff, Jamie and their two kids. We shared traveling stories and Jeff told me about his recent eye-opening trip to Uganda, and the atrocities take place over there right now. We played duck-duck-goose. That same night, after a long day's walk, as a I was staggering around the campground, I ran into a family from Idaho who invited me to stay with them for the evening. Their son had left early that day so they had an extra tent and cot already set up, ready to go for me. I felt like I was getting spoiled but I couldn't turn down the offer. They were having BBQ wild Elk for dinner which they had killed in Idaho and brought out to California. I briefly considered trying it, but politely refused. (This was probably the closest I've come to eating meat since I became a vegetarian. But since I didn't need the meat for survival, I chose potato salad).

My first big scare came on Monday as I was heading into Oceanside. I had been walking barefoot along the shores all day when I ran into some serious trouble mid-afternoon. I reached a point where the shoreline and the cliffs were becoming one and I could not see around the bend to know how far it would stretch or what the conditions were like. It was 2:30pm and the high tide was not supposed to peak until 4pm. As I approached, two guys were leaving the area and it looked like there was enough sand for me to walk around, so I went for it. I got around the first bend fine, however, it rapidly got worse. The water was rising and the sand was quickly disappearing. Before I knew it, I was stuck, standing on a slippery mossy rock, bare-footed with my heavy pack. For the first time on the trip, I was truly scared. All the doubts and fears I had about the journey suddenly came crashing down on me with each wave that hit, splashing water and fright, ricocheting off the cliffs and knocking me back. I steadily hopped from rock to rock, timing it in between sets of waves. A few times I slipped sending me and my pack in the water. I finally was able to make it back to the sand. I dragged my defeated body up a long staircase leading me back to the street and civilization. I dried myself off and reassessed the situation, only to find that my tent was gone! I retraced my steps back to the water to no avail. The sea had eaten my tent! I was pretty bummed but luckily found an Adventure 16 store not too far up the road and managed to purchase a new tent just before closing. Thank you Evan! Hopefully this tent will last me a bit longer. I can't take chances like that anymore and am now being extra precocious.

The next big event was walking through Camp Pendleton, San Diego's rugged 130,000 acre Military Base. This proved to be the longest and most strenuous days thus far. When I walked up to the South Main Entrance, where thousands of cars were coming in and out all day, it appeared I may not be able to walk through the designated bike path, recommended in my guidebook. The soldier at the entrance, checking ID, told me I could not go through. He said the trail was for bikers only and since I didn't have a bike, I was out of luck. Just then another Marine came running out of the office and asked what was going on. I explained that I was walking up the coast and how I needed to get through. He seemed impressed. He asked for my ID and ran inside the office. He came back out with another Marine and I told my story once more. Now they were really excited and actually invited me inside for coffee and donuts! They told me I was "like Forrest Gump or something" as I chomped down a big sugary donut. It was fun hanging out with the boys for a few minutes. Someone tried to drive through with a forged ID card and got caught. Suddenly, there was a commotion and one of the younger soldier's got real excited because he found some "action". Their job looked real boring and slow, checking vehicle ID's all day. A few of them said they wished they could walk with me. We said goodbye, unfortunately they wouldn't allow for a picture, and I headed off towards the bike trail. I was officially walking through the Military Industrial Complex. It was eerie, like an artificial town, with a shopping mall, gas stations, grocery store, suburban town-houses, even an elementary school! Much different from the "Marine World" I went to as a kid. The walk itself was brutal; long, hot, and mostly uphill.

Wednesday was a short day in terms of walking, and most of it was spent head-down looking at the sand, jumping and dodging rocks along the shore. The sand was burning hot on my bare feet as I reached the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. I slowly tip-toed my feet along a strip of gravel paved around the edge of the facility. It was a strange feeling, walking around nuclear power. The facility itself oddly resembled a prison, with warning signs all along the towering barbed walls, reading "Do Not Enter, armed response." The eroded bluffs along the San Onofre shore, however, were amazing! My guidebook says that this is how most of the coast would look if not for human development.

As I rise into my morning headstand,
The world turns upside down.
A dolphin shoots out of the ocean sky.

The Journey of 1000 miles begins with one step.

2008-05-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of my epic adventure and it was quite an interesting one. My Pops had flown down from Oakland to San Diego the night before, so that he could walk with me the first day, and send me off right. Friday morning came quick. I finished boxing up my room and loaded up my new home, to be worn on my back for the next 2-3 months. I said goodbye to my roommates, and made it to the People's Co-Op for breakfast, my last meal in Ocean Beach. Jeremy served me up potatoes, fruit salad, brown rice, and cuban black beans. Delicious. I said a final goodbye to my friends and community I had established in OB, took a few photos, and hit the road. It was very special to have Pops accompany me for Day 1. We made excellent time as we left OB, passing through Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. Then, my first real challenge hit, hard. I know walking in California, I will be facing some of nature's harsher elements. The sun and it's heat will be a difficult obstacle. However, I wasn't expecting to deal with rain until I got closer to Northern California. But, that's just what I got, wet. Luckily I had a plastic poncho with me that I purchased at REI, which I wore over myself and my pack, saving us both from getting drenched. Pops, however, did not. We ducked inside a coffee shop in PB for an hour to let it pass through. The thought to check the weather didn't even cross my mind. It hadn't rained in San Diego in months and we just had a huge heat wave! And so it goes. While in the coffee house we learned from the television that there was a tornado that hit Sierra Madre, California, flooding the town! Rainstorms in San Diego at the end of May? Tornados in Southern California? Climate Change??? We found a dry cleaners and got Pops decked out in plastic.

Here comes the sun! When we got to La, Jolla the sky opened up and blue patches began to break on through. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as we entered the most beautiful part of our days walk. We stopped for lunch above the Cove and watched the Sea Lions. We walked along Coast Walk, which is the first of the actual California Coastal Trail ground I stepped on. It's an amazing little walk above La Jolla's caves, offering spectacular views of the area. We reached the La Jolla shores where we were to actually walk on the sand for the first time. The plan was to walk along the cliffs until I reached Torrey Pines State Park, where I would set up camp for the night. This, however, was not an option. The tide was much too high, and there's no way I could make it. The nearest campground was San Elijo, which was another 10 miles north! It was already 6pm and would start to get dark in a few hours. I was starting to get worried and had to think quick. Ty! My new friend who lives on UCSD campus! I had just met Ty a few weeks prior in a pretty cool way. He actually bought a tent from me off Craigslist. He came over to my house in OB to pick up the tent and we clicked instantly. He was gonna use the tent for his upcoming adventure in Costa Rica, and I told him all about my pilgrimage. We were both very impressed with Craig and his brilliant List. So I called up Ty and right away he told me to come over for the night. While walking to his pad, something extraordinary happened. A magnificent rainbow lit up the sky, actually leading the way to Ty's! My roommate Al came to pick up Pops, and we all said our goodbyes. I will now be walking solo. Crashing at Ty' house was a huge relief and I am now having a wonderful time with him and his friends. I decided to hang out here for the day, let the storm pass, and finish up a few things online (Hence this blog and post!) I will set out again early tomorrow morning. More to come! Many blessings.