Imagine my surprise when I received an email on my Android yesterday saying “Congratulations on earning your India badge!” At the time I was in the Seattle airport ready to board a plane to Toronto, where I would be attending the last programs on Amma‘s North American summer tour.
What India badge? The message made no sense to me and I couldn’t imagine what the badge was. When I took a look, I discovered it was acknowledgment from Fitbit, makers of a device I wear that, among other things, counts the steps I take. What a fun synchronicity that the badge would be about India, one of the places I consider to be Home!
Several times between 1987 and 1990, during guided imagery experiences or in dreams, I had received a “gift” of blue-white light. Each experience had so profoundly moved me that in December of 1990, I decided to ask Amma what the light represented. She responded that blue-white light is the color that occurs when an individual soul merges with God.
I believe that sometimes we are given glimpses of what is possible, and then the “door” closes, or the “window” shuts, and our job is to do the work to get back to that place. Having glimpses of the sacred keeps us motivated to keep moving forward. It seemed to me that receiving the vision of the blue-white light was one of those instances.
Sometime later, I purchased a ring that had a light blue stone. One day as I gazed at it, I realized the color was very similar my blue-white light experiences. At another time, I came upon a metal figurine of two angels holding a light blue globe. I saw the figurine as a symbol of those earlier experiences and purchased it. The angels have been on my altar ever since.
When I read that this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge was “Symbol,” the angel figurine came to mind. This morning, before I left for Toronto, I took photographs of it. I was annoyed that I kept seeing a reflection of myself holding the camera in the globe and actively avoided taking a picture that had me in it.
When I looked at all the photos later, I discovered that there was a reflection of one sort or another in each of them. I saw that those reflections created a beautiful effect.
As I thought about my avoidance, I realized that was symbolic in and of itself. I had resisted taking a picture of me surrounded in blue-white light, a light I had been told represented the soul merging with God.
After I return to Seattle, I will purposely take a photograph where I am in the reflection. I will look at it when I am procrastinating doing the practices I know I need to do in order to progress on my spiritual journey!
I’d rather be the rhythm than the lyrics I’d rather be the paper than the ink I’d rather be the ears than the tongue
I’d rather be the photo than the caption Recognise me through my deeds Rather than my vows Identify me with my smile Not my prayer May my utterances Be overpowered by my expressions Pay little attention to my language For all the poetry I have penned And will ever write I want to be more than my words More than words…
Vermi-composting is a process by which worms make high quality fertilizer for the garden. I have a large outdoor worm bin as well a smaller bin that stays in the house during the winter and on my deck the rest of the year. I blend most of the food scraps I put into both worm bins, but last week I decided to put some bigger pieces of food in the small bin so that I could watch the worms at work.
First, I gave them part of a large round zucchini that had been partially cooked. I tore it into 4 pieces before I put it into the bin. Within 36 hours nothing remained of the zucchini except the skin and the hard stalk that had connected it to the plant.
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Next, I decided to put an acorn squash that had fallen off of the vine and was starting to deteriorate in the bin. Again, I tore it into four pieces. This time the vegetable was raw so it is taking considerably longer for the worms to eat it.
I took these photographs over a three-and-a-half day period. It is clear that only the seeds and probably the skin will be left when the worms finish their meal!
I’ve had a garden in my front yard the last few years, but it has never been like this before. Maybe it is because of the new raised beds, or the extraordinarily hot weather, or the vermi-compost.
Whatever the reason, I am marveling at what is unfolding in front of my eyes! There have been times when everything was growing so fast that I wondered if I was living in the Jack and the Beanstalk story.
This may not amaze those of you who are used to successful gardens but this is the first time I’ve had this experience!
One of the things I am especially happy about is that the garden is full of bees. Most are bumblebees but there are honey bees as well. Two years ago bees were rarely to be found in my garden.
On June 29 and 30, Amma conducted programs in Atlanta for the first time. At one point, my daughter Chaitanya asked if I wanted to visit Martin Luther King, Jr.’s church and the other buildings at the MLK National Historical Site. I jumped at the opportunity. We went during the short break between Amma’s morning and evening programs. Our plan was to see as much as we could this year, and view the rest the next time we go to Atlanta. The first place we visited was Ebenezer Baptist church. Starting in 1960, Martin Luther King, Jr. co-pastored that church, along with his father. As we sat in the pews, a recording of one of Dr. King’s speeches filled the air. I closed my eyes and imagined myself being present at the time the speech was first given. I would have been content to stay sitting there for hours. When I looked around, I noticed many people were taking photographs. I resisted doing the same, but in time changed my mind; I wanted to be able to share this memorable experience with others.
At King Hall there were many exhibits about the lives of Dr. King and his wife Coretta Scott King. In addition, the hall contined rooms that were tributes to Rosa Parks and Mahatma Gandhi.
In Rosa Parks’ room, there were many pictures and mementos. I was particularly drawn to a quilt that was hanging on the wall.
Among the items in Mahatma Gandhi’s room were one of his walking sticks, a pair of sandals, a portable spinning wheel, and framed quotes. I was not aware that Dr. King had so much respect for Mahatma Gandhi. I also didn’t know he had traveled to India. Dr. King once said: “To other countries I may go as a tourist, to India I come as a pilgrim.”
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Next we went to the place where Dr. and Coretta King’s bodies are interred. It was beautiful and felt like very sacred space to me.
We had planned to visit the home where Dr. King was born, but once there we discovered they only let visitors in twice a day and you have to get tickets ahead of time. We did appreciate having the opportunity to see his house and stand on his porch, but will have to wait for a future visit to go inside. We spent the last half hour of our visit at the National Park Visitor Center. Below you will see parts of the huge mural that is across from the entrance to that building. I wish I had had time to look carefully at all that was contained in that artwork. Inside the Center there were enough exhibits to keep us busy for most of a day. Several of the displays were interactive. An example is in the picture below, where visitors were able to walk alongside statues of the civil rights marchers. We will definitely spend more time at this Center in the future.
The night before our visit, I read about the National Historical Site in the tourist book in my hotel. I found a story that really surprised me. In preparation for writing this post, I learned more about it. When Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, not everyone supported the decision. The first ever integrated dinner in Atlanta was planned to celebrate it. Black business owners signed up to attend but the white business establishment wanted nothing to do with it. J. Paul Austin, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, and Mayor Ivan Allen brought some of the prominent white business leaders together. The message Paul Austin gave them was:
“It is embarrassing for Coca-Cola to be located in a city that refuses to honor its Nobel Prize winner. We are an international business. The Coca-Cola Co. does not need Atlanta. You all need to decide whether Atlanta needs the Coca-Cola Co.”
The event sold out within two hours! During our time at the Site, I experienced deep emotions and many memories. That era had affected me and my life decisions profoundly. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King, Jr. contributed significantly to making me the person I am today. I feel blessed to have visited Dr. King’s memorial site and look forward to returning to it in the future.
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”-William Shakespeare
Living, Learning and Letting Go 