The Decade: 2000-2009

2000: Met Carl
2001: Married Carl, fell in love with Maine in November
2002: Spent birthday in Ireland & legally changed my name
2003: Quit 9-5 management job - began producing documentary; traveled all around U.S. (favorite destination - D.C.)
2004: Launched LAwritersgroup.com
2005: Documentary released, spent month writing in Prague
2006: Graduated USC with Masters in Writing
2007: Learned Vedic Meditation; spent time in New York City (amazing)
2008: Trained for a marathon, ran further than I knew I was capable of; began Vedic studies
2009: Went to India & became a Vedic Meditation Teacher.

Your higher self is waiting.

Catch the express train. Vedic Meditation. There is only one destination - evolution.

Writers Group

I am a co-founder and partner in LAwritersgroup.com and run weekly writers groups in my home. These groups run in 8-week increments so we're winding down for the year. Last night was our second-to-last session and I wrote along with the writers. One of the prompts was to start with one of several lines of poetry. I chose "I think how day hides the stars..." and went from there. I haven't edited this from the "freewrite" so it may need a little tweaking but I wanted to share. (My students are now grinning and saying "no disclaimer! no disclaimer!" which is what I tell them when they read what they've just written...)

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I think how day hides the stars, how the sun bends the air around itself, creating a curve, a warp that we follow blindly. Don't stare at the light too long for it can bring only darkness. I think about the way that every electron has its mate; separate them and they communicate by telepathy, instantaneously adjusting their spin, their shape, the moment either one recognizes the observer. I think of the observer who looks above at noon and sees nothing but blue or gray but never sees the shards of light that wait for night, for attention, for observation. I think how matter hides the empty space between the center of life and the energy that keeps us all compressed and clinging to an idea that we are here, now, and not perhaps somewhere far in the future, looking at distant time through a telescope without realizing it is a conduit to the big bang, which is here, now, hurtling toward us. I think how if one took all of the empty space from every atom and allowed electrons to nestle next to the nuclei, the protons to wrap themselves around the family, then all of humanity would fit in the palm of my hand, the way you hold a sugar cube flat out for the horse to gingerly pick it up with pursed lips, allowing it to fall between its teeth - so sweet. I think how emptiness is for scientists and angels and the observer paces in echoing corridors.

The Self

"That which is not never comes into being, and that which is never ceases to be." BaghavadGita

What does this mean?
That which is not = objects as separate from the Self
That which is = the Self

Simple really. All is That.

Thanksgiving

Teachers who treated my inquiry as worthy. Teachers who, when I grokked the knowledge offered, treated me as an esteemed colleague. Holly Prado, Jeff Kober, Thom Knoles.

Students, who come to me with worthy inquiry and teach me that we're all able to cognize the Truth.

Friends who have stayed with me through several incarnations and various stages of evolution - I don't see them often enough. Nicole Criona, Steve Brady, Christi Styles, Jen Hirshorn, Adele Slaughter.

For lack of a better word, Frienemies. Those who grit their teeth when I'm around but still manage to share and impart wisdom and show me that we don't all have to like each other to be each other.

Ex-husband who is not an ex-friend and who is still one of the first people I think of to share good news. Mark Neukom.

My husband, who tells me I'm beautiful first thing in the morning when I have bed hair; who starts the kettle boiling for me and brings me tea if I haven't made it from the computer to the kitchen, who remembers to pick up cat food on the way home from a meeting, who, when he slides into bed before me, warms my side of the bed first ...I could list each gesture but it would be a whole blog entry.

Carl Bartels. Love personified.

Follow Charm

"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls." Joseph Campbell

Vedic Meditators talk about it all the time using the word "charm". Follow charm. And then the discussion begins - how do I follow charm without becoming really lazy? "Gee, I'm not charmed by getting up at 6 in the morning in order to go to the gym before work. I'm charmed by laying in bed an extra hour."

Well, maybe you are charmed to lie in bed, but are you charmed to gain 10 pounds over the course of 3 months because you decided to stop taking care of your body? Charm has to include the bigger picture. That bigger picture, by definition, includes evolution. You can succumb to the ever-repeating known - lie in bed, feel less healthy - or opt for change (evolution). Change the status quo, change your evolutionary state.

I've used exercise as an example because it's easy to see physical results over a relatively short time. You can plug in any action here. (This is not to say that rest does not have its place in your life - but with vedic meditation, you truly need less rest.)

Today, truly follow charm, follow bliss, right now - what is the first thing that pops in your head. Follow.

Practical Spirituality

Every time I do an Intro Talk, I am reminded of all of the practical benefits of Vedic Meditation. My students ask "but will I be able to stop the loop in my head that tells me I'm not worthy?" Yes.

It's not just an intellectual adjustment, your being is affected on a physical level first. It begins to produce all kinds of yummy bliss chemicals; serotonin, anandomine, 14 different endorphins and these course through your body. Suddenly not only is the loop erased, but the content is then replaced by your higher deserving power.

Everytime you sit down to meditate you open the channels to the message - I am That, thou art That, all of this is nothing more or less than That - and when you recognize this truth, you realize there is no higher deserving power than self recognizing Self.

Filling In

Today I filled in for Jeff Kober. He was out of town on an acting project and I was honored to be asked to run his Knowledge Meeting and lead the group meditation. There is a two-fold responsibility when you're asked to "fill in". First, as a teacher, you want to step up to the plate and answer worthy inquiry. Second, as the "substitute", you want to uphold the quality the group is used to.

First, thank you, students of meditation, for your most worthy inquiry and the insights you had to share.

Second, thank you Jeff, for the opportunity to fill your much larger chair.

The Journey

It is astonishing to think how a single misstep can alter your journey so completely. I deviated from my path two years ago today. The new direction took me half way around the world where roads are winding, ill-marked and crowded but ultimately all lead to the same destination - enlightenment.

A moral compass has only one direction. Even when we lose our way momentarily, we can count on nature's gift -- evolution.

I have no regrets. I have only love. Unconditional, ancient and newly found. I am That. Thou art That. All of this is nothing more or less than That.

Yay! is for Yes....

I went to a "Yay!" party for friend, Laura House yesterday who recently sold her sitcom. Many friends were there to celebrate and as I looked around I realized that there were many other reasons to celebrate the guests who attended, including Alissa Moreno who is being given the BMI song of the year award for "Everyday", Charlie & Liddy Knoles, who have a beautiful new baby girl that they delivered themselves at home, Richard Yaker who has discovered how to fit his passion for surfing into his work life,.....I could go on but suffice it to say that what I saw were individuals who understand that the universe is one of abundance and all one has to do is to practice Vedic Meditation by sitting down twice a day for 20 minutes and open oneself to its grace.

Atonement

The Jewish faith respects Yom Kippur today. Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers one's self absolved by God.

In Hinduism, this same time period also coincides with the New Year and a celebration of righteousness over evil. It begins with Navaratri, nine days of fast, during which there is the holy Durga Puja (Durga is the most important incarnation of Mother Divine) and finally on the 10th day, Dusshera, the new year is celebrated as Durga leaves for Mount Kailash, the abode of her husband Shiva, and it’s time for “Bijoya” or Vijayadashami, when people visit each other’s homes, hug each other and exchange sweets.

I have been taught in my Vedic studies that good vs. evil is not possible, because there is only That which is One thing and anything labeled "good" and anything labeled "evil" are also That. I resonate with this logic but also in my heart believe that we, as individuals, know how to recognize "spontaneous right action". I know, in my heart, what causes pain to individuals and to a community at large, thus sapping their adaptation energy - in my evolutionary state, I will be the one to adapt and I will not drain the resources of others.

This year I know of nothing for which I must atone. I welcome anyone who feels otherwise to email me directly at sanora@vedicmeditationteacher.com - I will gladly welcome the course correction.

3-Day Follow Up

Just completed the Day 1 lecture of the Vedic Meditation Follow-Up course. I'm teaching this week Monday - Wednesday at 9 a.m. You can find the details here on the calendar page of my website - anyone who has already learned to meditate can feel free to drop by.

My next Intro Talk is Saturday, September 26 at 12 noon.

Just a heads-up, there won't be an Intro Talk or Group Meditation on October 3 because I'll be helping to facilitate Veda 1 October 1 through October 4 at Jeff Kober's Meditation Center. If you're interested in attending Veda 1 please contact Adele Slaughter.

Vedic Friends

Last night Julie G. came over to hang out, catch up and wolf down some chow with us. It was so lovely to grill some veggie burgers, yellow squash & zuccini and discuss all things that swirl around and through us. She is the personification of what it is to live as a meditator out in the world, relating to all those lucky enough to come into her event horizon.

I love you Julie G.!

9-9-09

I've seen a lot of things out there about today's date. I don't remember 9s being significant though. I mean in an omen kind of yikes, something big is coming, kind of way. A few years ago, we went through 6-6-06 - now, three 6s in a row I do remember from The Omen so I get the brouhaha over that line up - but no one went crazy for February 2, 2002 or March 3, 2003, or April 4, 2004 or May 5, 2005 (or maybe Mexico did) or July 7, 2007 or August 8, 2008. So why the big fuss over the 9s?

I do have a friend who is turning 29 today on 9-9-2009 and if you add up that series of numbers 9+9+2+9 it does equal 29 which also equals 11 (2+9) - numerology, if you're into that sort of thing, tells us that 11 is the guru number, the number of higher enlightenment. Again, what's with the fear, people?

Oh, and Happy 29th Birthday, Caroline Frost!

Labor Day

Something about Labor Day always makes me anti-Labor. Like anything I had going on needs to be put on hold because after the weekend there will be a shift. Post-Labor Day will be more productive than summer was, more energy, more movement forward.

At least I hope so!

Early Riser

I got up at 4 a.m. this morning because I woke and couldn't get back to sleep. I looked at Facebook - not a lot going on at 4 a.m. even from my east coast friends. Not sure what made me so antsy - I was thinking about friends I hadn't seen in a while and thinking about this city that I love, even when it's on fire. Maybe especially when it's on fire. I hold it more dear in times of disaster. What will rise from the ashes? Who will re-build, who will move on and how will that shape their evolution?

I hope you are safe. I send my love and good wishes to you and your loved ones, human & otherwise. Jai Guru Deva.

Sunday Wonders

Last night Carl and I had dinner with our friends, Keri & Ken. Just a relaxed evening of bbq, conversation and a quick dunk in the pool (so nice in this 95+ weather and smoke-filled skies). It amazes me these days how often conversation turns to the universe and our role in it. Ken has done some camera work for the series The Universe and loves to think about the vast and endless possibilities.

As for me, I love to think about the endless possibilities all within the universe that is you.

Learn Vedic Meditation

Saturday, August 29 at 12 noon, you're invited to an Introduction to Vedic Meditation. You can find the details of the event on my website. If you're interested in attending, just fill out my RSVP form and show up. The benefits of Vedic Meditation are extensive so here are just a few:

• Reduction of biological aging (studies show actual reversal of aging)
  
• Improved memory, energy, creativity, intelligence
• Relief from depression and anxiety
• Relief from migraine headaches
  
• Relief from insomnia and fatigue
  
• Faster reaction times & improved sports performance
  
• Normalization of blood pressure & reduced risk of heart disease
  
• Relief from "writer's block" (or any other creative block)
  
• Normalization of weight

I look forward to seeing you!

Vedic Movies

When I was at Initiator Training this past spring, my fellow teachers and I began to compile a list of "vedic" books and movies. Most of them had a science or other worldly theme: physics, alternate universes/worlds, etc. On Monday night, I finally saw Lars and the Real Girl. Such a beautiful movie. The thing that was remarkable to me is that he created his own world and the rest of the town went along with it; at first, in order to support him, but then something happened. They wanted to support the "relationship" he created and they were truly sad and in mourning when Bianca "died" (sorry about the spoil). After her death, true to himself, Lars continues to create his world, the rules again based on love.

We create our own universe and whatever that universe is, whatever the reality, if it is born of love, the community will support it. That is the vedic view, love at the base, we create the universe, because we are the universe.

The only thing consistant in this universe is change...

I just caught the end of Elizabeth: The Golden Age which I actually saw on big screen on October 19, 2007. Why do I remember that date? Because that night I was supposed to be at a friend's wedding. That's another story for another time, but it's funny how a shift in status creates a shift in consciousness. I am living that reality and wondering what it means and how it will change things. No fear....change is just evolution at work.

Roles

It doesn't really matter how much you believe you have changed, there are always going to be people in your life who remember how you were at a certain time period in your life and will possibly forever cast you in that light. You just have to live your life evolving and growing and knowing that all perception is truth - your perception and their perception. Truth is relative to the knower. One thing that is not relative is Being. Pure Consciousness. From which the knower, the knowing and the known emerge and converge. Pure Consciousness simply is. With Vedic Meditation we tap into it twice a day to experience the silent witness.

I am.

Label me friend, sister, ex-wife, love - I am that also.

Minneapolis

Went out for Thai food last night and then for a walk around the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Many cool things but I think my favorite wasn't a sculpture at all. It was the dozens of large wind chimes hung in a row of small pine trees. The pines capture the vibration of the metal causing a long sustained tone that you can only hear if you are walking directly under the canopy of branches. Walk off of the path underneath and the sound fades. I can only describe it as other worldly.

Joyce

She has been my host for this Iowa Vedic Meditation course and I have been blessed with abundance, lack of obstacles and the gentle grace of elephantine strength. She is an amazing spirit and everything one looks for in an evolved meditating being. Thank you, Joyce.

Teaching

We cognize as inquiry is made. We learn from the answers bubbling up from Being, where all questions and answers reside. Worthy students increase the wisdom of the teacher.

I love this living, breathing knowledge.

Iowa Initiations

Today was a full day of initiations and teaching Vedic Meditation. Before I came, I asked for a thunder and lightning storm while I was here (don't have many of those in Los Angeles) and nature complied, accompanying me all day with her low rumbling and brilliant flashes of light.

IOWA

Today I drove from Minneapolis to Des Moines - beautiful green rolling hills. I forgot how windy it was in the midwest. I forgot the humidity in August. I forgot about the mosquitos. I forgot how much I loved it here.

Evolution

As I allow Nature to do its job, I realize that as I grow and change, not everyone sees my growth as evolution. I suppose suddenly sprouting wings and flying can not only be liberating but also isolating.

I don't want to live in isolation. That's why I teach Vedic Meditation. I want everyone to recognize that they have wings sprouting ... I want them to know that change is evolution. It is unable to be anything else.

Nature

Nature's only job is evolution - my job is to allow Nature to be the boss. Pretty simple really.

August

This month is going to be great - starting with an Intro Talk tomorrow night and then teaching meditation all week and taking off for Iowa on Friday. I'm psyched to be going to the midwest - hoping for a thunder storm while I'm there.

Thom Knoles

I've been going to Thom's follow-up Vedic Meditation course this week. It's good to get a refresher on the basics every once in a while. I found myself laughing more than once at the meetings because no matter how many times you hear it, or how long you live it, the information is always somehow freshly relevant.

Sweet!

At the Feet

Tonight I'm heading over to Hancock Park to hear what Thom has to say. It's always good to sit at the feet of a fellow teacher and listen to their wisdom. There are times it would be nice to be able to go back and say to a particular teacher / role model "hey remember when you told me X...can I get a playback of that?"

I do think that one of the signs of a successful teacher is that the student is able to hold the knowledge and when they need to "check" on something, they simply look within. Having said that, I also think that part of being a successful student is the willingness to show up and sit reverently at the feet of those who taught you in the past and acknowledge that the information imparted is still relevant.

The most successful relationship between teacher and student is marked by separation and the latter moving beyond the knowledge of his/her mentor.

Iowa Intro Talk

I woke up thinking about Iowa this morning. I leave on August 7 and am giving an Introduction to Vedic Meditation in Des Moines on August 8.

I love that I'm able to pick up and go where there is a demand for the knowledge - worthy inquiry - and can't wait to be in the midwest again. I miss the plains, clean air and wide open spaces.

Time is Relative

Days and nights pass inexorably by...you feel the stress of not enough time but you keep putting off learning meditation. It's alright. You know where to find me when you're ready.

Radiance

One of the little known benefits of teaching someone meditation is the student's newly acquired radiance. It begins to appear the very first day. I see it immediately. But what's even more wonderful is that people around them begin commenting on their appearance. I have my new students fill out forms at their follow up meetings and almost everyone writes "People have been complimenting me this week."

The same thing happened to me when I first learned - I had people ask me if I'd done something different with my hair. They knew something was different but they couldn't put their finger on it.

Now that I'm teaching, I watch the transformation happen before my eyes. It's quite astonishing and yes, satisfying, because I helped bring that radiance to the surface.

Hiking the Hills

When I think the sanskrit word sukha - "happiness" in English, I picture myself walking along the market streets of Rishikesh. When I say market streets, I should explain that they're dirt roads and just before the cybercafe is a cow and her calf, lying in the doorway next to it, just hanging out. I would go in every other morning, and greet her on my way to check for messages from the states.

It's been 5 months and ten days since my return from India and I find that the images and feelings evoiked by those colors and sounds and smells (of mud, of animals, of spices cooking on outdoor fires) have been recently growing stronger.

Lately I've been hiking 4 miles in the hills near my home and I feel India creeping from my psyche into my physiology. It is a feeling of contentment and aknowledgment that there is only one thing -- the cow & her calf, the cybercafe & the smell of spice. It is me as I walk.