My Journey Back to Seattle (Jan 2015)

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

My taxi was scheduled to leave Amritapuri at 5 a.m. on January 9th. Around 9 p.m. on the 8th I was informed that it had been moved to 4:30 a.m. There would be no time for being idle that morning!

In the past, my itinerary has been to take a 11 p.m. taxi to Trivandrum for a 4:30 a.m. flight to Dubai. That flight is 4 ½ hours. The Dubai layover is two hours and then the flight to Seattle is another 14 ½ hours. Traveling that way means I miss a night’s sleep before I even leave India, and another night’s sleep on the flights (I do not sleep much on airplanes.) As I get older, I have had increasing trouble with jet lag. India is 13 1/2 hours ahead of Seattle so their day is our night and vice versa. The last few years it has been weeks before I adjusted.

I decided to significantly change my itinerary this year. With the new plan, I would leave the ashram at 4:30 a.m. after getting a reasonable amount of sleep. The flight left Trivandrum at 10 in the morning. Once in Dubai, I had a 21 hour layover. Even though it was expensive I had reserved a room at the airport hotel so spent the time resting or sleeping. I hoped it would make my adjustment to Seattle easier, and even if it didn’t it felt a lot better to get significant amount of rest before the long flight. The flight to Seattle was scheduled for 9 a.m. so I missed no night’s sleep before taking the final leg of my journey.

Dubai airport

The bottom floor of the Dubai airport consists of miles of duty free shops. It is loud and has very bright light. The second floor seems to be primarily a business travelers facilities although I only looked down into it so don’t know for sure. The hotel was on the third floor and was absolutely silent. What a respite from the over-stimulation below!

I had an experience there that will probably amuse some of you and make others shake your head wondering what is wrong with me.

When I entered my hotel room, I found this in the bathroom!

What in the world was that in on the left? I had never seen anything like it. Was it some kind of men’s urinal? It was a mystery to me. I kept looking at it and soon realized it had no flush so it couldn’t be a urinal. Still later, I realized it had a spout and handle that released cold and hot water, as well as a stopper and drain like a sink. A sink like that in the bathroom? I didn’t get it.

I took this picture and sent it to some other Americans and they didn’t know what it was either. I had fantasies of what people who didn’t know what it was for would do with it, and some of those fantasies were pretty gross.

Later in the day I decided to write a friend who is a world traveler. She immediately responded that it was a bidet. A bidet? I knew what that was and have even used them. But they have always been hoses and/or spray. There was no hose and no spray. It was just like a sink. Sitting in something like that after using the toilet still seemed really gross so I didn’t go near it!

When I returned to Seattle, I searched on the internet until I found a Wikipedia article about bidets. The picture on the article was this same type of bidet.

Bidets can be found in some countries in the Americas, especially in South America, and are a standard feature of homes in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. They are common in Arabic countries[citation needed] in the Middle East, such as Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and in the Maghreb, especially Egypt and Morocco. Much of East Asia, particularly Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea, use bidets as well.

I also learned that you use toilet paper before you sit in this kind of bidet. I am still left with the question “Why?” but at least it all makes sense, and was a pretty funny experience. What can I say, I’m an American!

I had other interesting experiences during my layover. There was an information station that had a cut out of a man. When he answered questions, his mouth moved. It looked like it was a real man who was actually talking. And stranger yet, when you walked by it looked like his head and eyes follow you as he talked. How did they do that? Was it some kind of hologram? I never really investigated it but I watched it every time I passed by.

After twenty-five years of going to India I am used to being in large groups of women wearing colorful saris and men wearing dhotis. There is a large Muslim population in the part of Seattle where I live so I am also used to seeing women dressed in long black robes (abaya) and/or the Muslim headscarves (hijab). There are even many Muslim women in Seattle who wear the burqa, a cloak that reveals only the women’s eyes.

It, of course, was no surprise to me that there were many more people in this kind of attire at the Dubai airport. Some of the women’s burqa had slits that were smaller than I was used to seeing, but there were considerable numbers of women who wore less restrictive clothing as well. Many of the men wore full length white robes (thobe) and a headress (keffiyeh).

At one point, I saw what I believed to be a Muslim mother and her teenaged daughter. The mother was in the black abaya although I don’t think she wore a headscarf. The teenager was wearing the kind of western blue jeans that contain more holes than cloth. I sure would love to know their story!

As some of you will remember, on the way to India I had been given an upgrade to business class. What a boon that turned out to be. I had hoped some miracle would happen and I would be give that opportunity again but it was not to be. The plane left at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Seattle 14 hours later. Staying the night in Dubai made it easier, but it was still an exhausting trip.

Malidoma

Many years ago I read a book titled Of Water and the Spirit by an African shaman named Malidoma. He lived in the United States but returned to Africa each year “to learn from his elders and detox from Western civilization.” I resonated with that statement and have never forgotten it.

I have the same feeling when I am in India. Sweating from the heat even feels like detoxification. Sometimes it seems like all of my cells are being cleaned out and restructured…. or maybe a better word would be renewed. I rest at a level in India that happens nowhere else. I sense even my soul is at rest. One morning on this trip I awoke to find my earplugs in my hands and my covers off. I realized I had fallen asleep before I even covered myself (normally I have a sheet, a light blanket and a shawl over me since I use a fan at night.)

When I return to Seattle I find I have more respect and appreciation for my life in the U.S. as well as increased respect and appreciation for my life in India. I am better able to be content anywhere. While Amma’s body is not in the U.S. except when she comes here for the North American tours, I feel her presence no matter where I am.

Seahawks

Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile or who know me from Seattle, know that a very strange thing happened to me last year. When Seattle went crazy for our Seahawks football team I went crazy along with everyone else! I have never had the slightest interest in football, but something inside of me changed. I know in part it is because of the incredible sense of community that has developed in the city because of this team. (Opportunity for Community May Come When You Least Expect It)

When I read about their coach’s values and the way he treats his players and expects them to treat each other, I received another level of understanding about why I felt drawn to them. He even had them meditating and doing yoga! Last year after they won the SuperBowl there was a victory parade. 700,000 people stood for hours in 20 degree weather to participate. I was one of them!

While I was in India I still followed the games. It seemed no accident that the first playoff game started only a few hours after I returned to Seattle. Knowing I would be able to watch the playoffs made it easier for me to leave India and come back to my Seattle home! I still shake my head incredulously when I hear myself talking this way about football. You never know where life’s journey will take you!

As I end this year’s trip to Amritapuri:

I know I will miss:

Being with Sreejit, Chaitanya and Akshay
Being with Amma
Being with my other Amritapuri friends
Evening bhajans
Living in community
The warm weather (but not the hot)
The simplicity of living in one room with minimal belongings
The beautiful views of nature
The deep sense of rest and deep sleep
The accelerated level of synchronicities, blissful moments and lessons

In Seattle I am looking forward to:

Being and working with the colleagues and clients in my therapy community
Being with my friends in the Pacific Northwest Amma community
Leading bhajans at satsang
The potentially mild winter (it is 50 F this week!)
Watching the Seahawks play and being part of that Seattle community
Being in my comfortable house
Warm showers
Watching my worms
Sleeping in my bed
Working in my garden
Getting beyond the jet lag and being able to sleep
Blogging!

With this post, my report of this year’s journey to Amritapuri is complete. I appreciate those of you who have been interested enough to take part or all of the journey with me. I feel abundantly blessed

Living and Learning in Amritapuri: Jan 7-8, 2015

Final days

I shared most of the events that happened on the 7th in my last post, but that evening there were even more! In the past, Amma often didn’t come to bhajans the night before a major tour because the big sound system had already been packed. That day I noticed the sound system was still in place so was not completely surprised when she showed up at the normal time. It was a wonderful last bhajan evening for me. She sang several of my favorite songs, some of which I want to relearn and lead at our local meetings after I return to Seattle.

That evening we were given notice that an elderly woman who lives at the ashram had died and the funeral would be held around 9 p.m.. In India, funerals often occur very shortly after death and the person’s body is cremated immediately thereafter. At first I wasn’t going to go, but I changed my mind. I love to be a part of those rituals.

Amma returned to her room after the bhajan program and the brahmacharis set up an area close to the back ashram gate for the funeral. When their preparation was complete, they carried the woman’s body into the area on a stretcher, and placed her on a table. She was wrapped in a white sheet, except for her head. Shortly thereafter Amma arrived. She kissed the woman and then placed a beautiful flower garland that was at least five feet long over the full length of her body. Afterwards Amma sprinkled flower petals on her.

The group who attended sang “Om Namah Shivaya” at the beginning and end of the funeral. After Amma blessed the woman’s body, the attendees chanted the 108 Names of Amma and the 8th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Then family members and friends circled the woman. It is traditional in Hindu funerals, for the eldest son, carrying a coconut on his head, to lead a procession during which the body of the loved one is taken to the cremation grounds. Once there, the cremation rituals begin. The man who took that role at this funeral was young so I wondered if he was her grandson. Anyone can attend a cremation, but generally it is only the family members and friends who go. I decided to only participate in the funeral.

I see this type of ending as the perfect way to complete one’s life time. There are other rituals that, for me, are a close second though. Devotees who live abroad often want to have part or all of their ashes taken to Amritapuri after they die. In that case, the urn containing the ashes is placed next to Amma during an evening bhajan program. After the bhajans are completed, she takes the urn to the friends and family members waiting at the bottom of the auditorium stage. She blesses the ashes and gives darshan (hug) to the close family members. A brahmachari then takes the group to the ocean, performs some rituals and one of the friends or family members throws the ashes into the ocean. I have no doubt that is the ritual that will happen for me unless I am blessed enough to be living at the ashram when I pass.

I knew the South India tour group was leaving at 5 a.m. on the 8th, but no one knew when Amma herself would leave. As it turned out, Amma left the ashram immediately after the funeral. That day, I had been there when Amma went to the auditorium to record music, when she came to the evening bhajans and when she led the funeral rituals. I felt very graced to have my trip to Amritapuri end in this way.

On January 8, I finished packing my belongings and cleaning my room. My taxi would be leaving for the airport at 5:00 a.m. on the 9th so everything needed to be finished that day. I also spent time reflecting on the six weeks I had spent in Amritapuri.

Before I end this post I will share some of the synchronicites and nature experiences that occurred during my last days at the ashram.

Synchronicities

1) For the last week, I had a need to talk to an ashram resident. Usually when that happens here, the person passes by me soon thereafter. This time that didn’t happen. For days, both my daughter and I were watching for her, to no avail. On the 7th, I decided I would try to find out where her room was located. I soon found out the building and the floor. I knew if went there, I would probably find someone who could give me more specific information.

As I walked up the stairs to her building, I looked across the courtyard below and saw her talking to the man who was working in the phone room. This was after watching for her for days! It was a nice reminder that effort is also necessary to make desires reality. When I put some effort into finding her, beyond just “keeping my eyes open”, there she was.

2) This year I also noticed how synchronicities that happened in the past can have purpose in the present. Last year, I met a young woman from New York in the line of devotees waiting to hand Amma the prasad (packet of ash and a piece of candy) she gives people who come to her for a hug. The young woman had overheard me talking to someone else about Sanskrit and had joined the conversation as she also wanted to learn Sanskrit.

As we continued to talk, I discovered she had been born in Seattle. That was interesting enough, but the synchronicity didn’t stop there. It turned out, she was born a hospital where I used to work. In fact, I was working as the Maternal Newborn Clinical Specialist at that hospital when she was born! It meant so much to her to think that I could have held her during her first days of life.

This year that same woman walked up to me on my last day in Amritapuri, and asked if I remembered her. I said I didn’t recognize her face, but I certainly remembered the interaction once she mentioned it. She told me she has thought about that experience almost every day since it happened.

3) Last year there was a 73 year old woman whom I saw over and over again. It seemed every time I turned a corner she was there. I have friends at the ashram that I rarely see, so to see someone so frequently caught my attention. I talked with her several times during that visit and was extremely inspired by her life story. She was an incredible role model of what living in your 70’s can be like.

When I started having back problems this year a friend from BC Canada did some bodywork that was very helpful. I started healing at a rate that was much faster than when my back has “gone out” in the past. One day, another friend told me they knew a woman they thought could also be helpful and suggested I talk to her. I thought about it briefly and decided to say no. When I discovered it was the same woman, now 74, that I had been so inspired by last year I changed my mind. That synchronicity was way too obvious to ignore, so I accepted her help as well! I have no doubt that she will continue to be part of my life path in the future.

India’s Natural Beauty

The setting sun on the 7th was beautiful beyond words. No picture I could take could even begin to capture its glory but perhaps this will give you a glimpse of what it was like.

In the afternoon of the 7th, I was with a friend at the Arabian Sea beach. We saw birds swarming in the distance and walked to where we could get a better view. Their focus turned out to be a fishing boat.

.That evening, I walked to the roof of the building I live in to watch the eagles soaring overhead. There were so many of them. Such a breath taking sight. Here is a picture of one of them.

After watching the eagle, I looked down and I saw this form of beauty:

And still later that day

I am truly blessed.

Living and Learning in Amritapuri: Jan – 7, 2015

(Note: The dates on this post overlap with my January 5 post. That is because there were some important events that I didn’t mention in the previous one!)

Stopping Critical Self Talk

Visitors and residents at the ashram offer classes they think would be of interest to the visitors. It is a chance to raise funds for Amma’s humanitarian projects as well as give valuable information and experiences to those who take the classes.

The date and time of the class I was to teach on Stopping Critical Self Talk was changed four times so I had plenty of opportunities to practice patience, flexibility and detachment. I ended up holding the workshop on January 3.

When I taught a class two years ago 5 people signed up ahead of time. More registered the morning of the class. I think the final total was about 10. This year, the evening before the class 15 people had signed up and by the time it started there were 23!

Teaching here provides challenges I don’t face in Seattle because most of the people who attend Amritapuri classes are from Europe or other places around the world where English is not the first language. Conditions are also different because in India there is noise from the fans, and lots of noise from the street below; quite a change from teaching in America.

Attendees were very interested in what I had to say and participated actively in the various components of my class. They expressed a lot of gratitude for the new information and experiences. I was very excited and look forward to teaching again next year. I felt and still feel a lot of gratitude for the two friends who helped me with the logistics of running the workshop, and the emotional support their presence offered.

Cast Viewing of the Play

A week or so after each year’s Christmas play, everyone involved in putting on the drama meet to see the first draft of the play DVD. I love participating in that event. Since most of the cast weren’t able to see the play at the time it was presented this is their first opportunity to see the final production. It is always a time of laughter and celebration.

Below are some more play photos:

Jesus

St. Francis and poor woman

Francis and Priest Sylvester

Sylvester and Claire

Sreejit and other musicians

Chaitanya- writer and director

To see photos closer click on the gallery. To see the original photos I posted go to:

Then and Now

When I came to the ashram the first time in January 1990, there were a total of 30 Western visitors. At the height of the holiday season this year, i.e. December 2014, there were 1,800 Western visitors! Such a tangible example of the difference between then and now.

On January 7^th I was in the dining room when people at the end of the room started standing up. I looked to see what was going on, but all I saw was more and more people standing. When the senior Swamis (monks) enter the hall to sing or if they walk up to us we generally stand up. But that doesn’t generally happen when they are just walking down a corridor. Besides, the number of people coming to their feet seemed bigger than a Swami’s presence would warrant.

I quickly realized it was Amma that was walking by! She was on her way to the auditorium stage to do some bhajan (devotional songs) recording. Seeing her in an unexpected way was such a nice surprise for us. It must have also been a surprise for the people involved in the recording. Minutes later, I saw three of the brahmacharinis (female monks) and one of the senior Swamis running for the stage. It must have been an impromptu bhajan recording! Amma teaches us to be like a bird perched on a dry twig, ready to fly at a moment’s notice. This looked like it was an experience in doing that.

It was also an example in the difference between then and now. In the “old” days it was not unusual for Amma to show up at any time. Now she gives darshan 14-21 hours on every public darshan day and spends time every other day doing scheduled activities with us. She is no doubt busy directing all of the humanitarian projects during a majority of her remaining time. We certainly still have spontaneous experiences with her, but it is rare to have her show up at unexpected times.

Preparing for the South India Tour

Early in the second week of January, the level of activity at the ashram skyrocketed as preparations were being made for Amma’s upcoming South India Tour. Everywhere vehicles were being loaded with the equipment and supplies needed for the tour. There are cities where 50,000 people or more will attend the programs on a given day. Imagine what it would take to feed that many people! Here is a picture of one of the pots they cook in!

High numbers of ashramites, as well as the local devotees will do the work required to organize and carry out the programs. Twelve bus loads of Amritapuri devotees will be part of the tour. All will work at the programs in one capacity or another.

Organic Gardens

A day or two after I wrote my January 5 post about the small Organic Gardens that have been popping up all over Amritapuri, I had an opportunity to visit two of the larger ones. Those are a fifteen minute walk south of the ashram. I had visited one of those gardens last year. Oh how it has grown! It started off as a tulasi farm but now contains so much more. I will be writing about it in detail for a GreenFriends newsletter towards the end of the month so will add the link to that article after it is published. For now, here are some pictures.

The other garden is called Amma’s Grace Garden. Amma’s goal is to eventually have all food served at the ashram be organic. The first step in reaching that goal is to have the meal Amma serves everyone at the ashram on Tuesdays be organic. This garden is producing a lot of the vegetables needed for that meal.

Living in Awareness

Last Saturday, I decided to do the morning prayers as a walking meditation instead of sitting like I normally do. Fairly quickly, I discovered I was “receiving” a series of “tests” or “lessons” in the midst of the prayers. I stayed in the moment and worked through them without missing a word of the chants! I enjoy these types of challenges and decided to share what I learned. Continue reading “Living in Awareness” →

Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 27, 2014 to Jan 4, 2015

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is always an evening of festivities. It was different than normal this year in that the day fell on a public darshan day. The crowds were big so even though she was moving fast, Amma didn’t finishing giving hugs until just before midnight. That meant the evening entertainment program started around midnight. There was a play that was mostly in Malayalam and some other entertainers as well. Then Amma gave a New Year’s talk and led several high energy songs.

I want to give particular emphasis to her New Year’s message. She talked about how to deal with all of the suffering we are witnessing in the world and also identified five things to keep in mind if we want to live meaningful lives. I have no doubt I will be reading this talk multiple times after I get home. To read the speech go to.

It was a tough evening for me because I was so tired, and my back problems make it hard for me to sit for long periods of time. I knew I couldn’t sit in a regular chair for so long, so I decided to sit on the side portion of the auditorium. Many of the brahmacharinis (female monks) were sitting on top of tables there. I sat behind them so I could get up as frequently as I needed to. I moved several times over the next hour trying to get a better view. Continue reading “Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 27, 2014 to Jan 4, 2015” →

Amritapuri- Then and Now

I just discovered that Amritapuri has it’s own Facebook page. I had no idea. It contains old photographs as well as current information.

This is a photo taken in 1996; after the ponds and backwaters behind the temple were filled in but before the auditorium was built. I had totally forgotten this phase in the development of the ashram.

How different it is today.

She Fed Santa!

800px-Adventskranz_mit_Amaryllis_aus_Kunst-_und_Seidenblumen — Photo Credit: Wikimedia

This year a lot of devotees from Washington State came to Amritapuri for Christmas, one of them being my Seattle friend Marmot. She related a funny story to me last night and I told her if she would write it down, I would post it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Continue reading “She Fed Santa!” →

Wordless Wednesday

Rain, Rain and More Rain

It is 6:00 a.m. on December 31 as I start to write this post and it is pouring. When it rains here it can really rain. The fact that there are a lot of metal roofs in the ashram probably enhances the sound, but it would be loud even without them. It is still very dark outside but I can see the puddles forming.

Every time I think it can’t rain harder, it does. I love the sound, and the coolness it brings with it. I think this is what it must be like to be here during the monsoons, although then the rain probably lasts much longer. I’ve been in Amritapuri during the latter part of the monsoons and know how hard it can be to get laundry dry because of the rain. Continue reading “Rain, Rain and More Rain” →

Recycling: A Model for the World

There have been recycling efforts of one kind or another at Amma’s Amritapuri ashram since 1999. Over the years, the program has enlarged and become more refined. The Recycling Center moved to its current location in 2012 and is a model for all of India and the world. Continue reading “Recycling: A Model for the World” →