The Beginning of a New Passion

During the last week of June 2011, I had a series of eye-opening experiences. As the week came to a close, I realized I also had a new direction in my life, the beginning of a new service project. How this project came about seemed almost mystical to me.

Some background first. Amma* has asked us for years to chant the Sri Lalitha Sahasranama** (also called archana) daily. While I have not been consistent in my chanting, I have had numerous powerful experiences when I have followed her direction to chant it daily. This was one of those times.

My normal practice is to read/chant the text while walking. I generally take one of four routes so that I know the terrain and can be focusing on the chant rather than my feet! This is what unfolded during those seven days in June 2011:

Day 1

I chanted the archana while walking the perimeter of the play yard in a grade school that is a block from my house. After reciting the first 850 lines, I started walking back home. A minute or two after leaving the school yard, I looked down at my feet and saw I was walking through an area of the sidewalk that was full of dog poop. I felt very irritated that the dog owner hadn’t cleaned it up and worried that I had stepped in the poop either coming or going from the play yard. Scowling, I continued on with the archana. Continue reading “The Beginning of a New Passion” →

Tears of the Prophets

I read this poem for the first time today. It really spoke to me. In these days of war and unrest I think God cries for all of his/her children, regardless of nationality, religion, race or any of the other ways we subdivide ourselves and create a sense of otherness. Thank you for writing and posting the poem Paul.

Poesy plus Polemics

(Originally posted here April 2013)

Illustration from bongoisme.com

Jerusalem shudders
Her ancient stones bleed
From perpetual combat
Among three great creeds
Whose branches give forth
Each a different hued fruit
Yet all stem precisely
From one selfsame root

Abraham cries against hatred
Christ cries for wars still begun
Mohammed cries at injustice
My God cries for all three His sons

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Creating Your World of Abundance

I suspect all of us prefer living from a sense of abundance rather than scarcity. Moving from scarcity to abundance, however, requires that we change our unhealthy beliefs and behaviors, many of which have probably become habits.

Over the years, some of my clients have found it helpful to make the abundance contracts that I describe in this post. Each contract is based on principles I have learned in my personal and/or professional journey. Continue reading “Creating Your World of Abundance” →

Compassion Wins!

In June, I wrote a post Judgment or Compassion about the negative judgments I have whenever panhandlers approach me asking for money. Many readers commented on that post. Their responses were interesting and helpful to me, and hopefully to each other as well.

I decided to try Oliana’s suggestion of putting some dollars in my pocket and to generally give when asked, without thinking about it. I liked the experience of being free from negative judgments a lot. Feeling compassionate brought a smile to my face. On the days I did that, there was only one time that I didn’t give anything, and that was when the person was obviously very drunk. I used my discrimination and chose to withhold the gift in that instance.

About a month ago, I had an experience that I considered not writing about but have decided to share it. There have been two times in my life when I have felt “tested” on this issue in a way that felt very mystical. In the first instance, I believed I failed the test. The second time was this recent occurrence. Continue reading “Compassion Wins!” →

I Met Cheryl-Lynn!

I first became aware of Cheryl-Lynn when I read a comment she made on my son Sreejit’s blog The Seeker’s Dungeon. After reading subsequent comments from her, I realized I consistently resonated with the things she said. I decided to look at her blog Cher Shares and discovered she was a counselor. No wonder we had similar ways of thinking; I am also a counselor. Once I started my own blog in March of this year, we began corresponding regularly. Continue reading “I Met Cheryl-Lynn!” →

When Our Paths Cross

I remember reading many years ago that whenever our life path crosses someone else’s, whether it be for a few minutes or an extended period of time, we have something to learn from the person and something to give them; that our meeting is no accident. I don’t know if that is true, but I find it to be a useful concept regardless.

By nature I am a very strong introvert so it is easy for me to stay within myself and not interact with other people. I know when I do that, however, I am potentially missing out on some important opportunities.

I imagine from time to time, all of us meet people in situations where our meeting seems very synchronistic, times when we sense that something bigger than random chance is operating. During my last two trips to India, I had four experiences like that. Continue reading “When Our Paths Cross” →

Inspiration Comes in Many Forms

Sometimes, because of the chronic health problems and aches and pains that so often accompany growing older, plus the fact that my mother died at 74, I have felt like my life is winding down, even though most of me doesn’t think that is true. The dilemma about what I want to do when and if I retire adds to that unsettled feeling.

I met someone in India this past December who was such an inspiration. It is a memory I can hold in front of me during the times I am feeling down. Continue reading “Inspiration Comes in Many Forms” →

Wordless Wednesday

A Place For Me!

This morning when I read the Writing 101 challenge for Day #2, “If you could zoom through space in the speed of light, what place would you go to right now?” my response was immediate. I burst into tears! I wanted to go to Amritapuri, India, the location of Amma’s main ashram. (Amma, a humanitarian and spiritual leader, is often called the Hugging Saint since she has embraced more than 34 million people worldwide.) It didn’t matter to me in the slightest that Amma is in the United States now, I wanted to go to her ashram in India. Continue reading “A Place For Me!” →

An Early Morning Walk

I decided to do something different today. I would take a walk, let my feet go where they wanted to go, but carry my Android in my hand. I would take a picture whenever I felt led to do so. In my mind was a song I wrote many years ago, but this time the words were “Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning to you.” I sang that song throughout my half hour, six-block walk. Here are the results of my experiment! (You can click one of the pictures to make it bigger or turn it into a slideshow.)