Vedic Meditation Teacher

Compassion

2011-08-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

I am on watch. Tomorrow - a week since my youngest cat dragged herself into the house with deep punctures in her back, near the spinal cord. She is a hunter. She is territorial. She has no business bugging the bigger cats two doors down. She is a creature of nature. Now, half-shaved, half asleep, half paralyzed, she waits for the pain to subside enough to be interested in food again, enough to saunter into my office mid-morning to check on my progress, let me know she's having a leisurely day, just saving energy for the mice and possums that must be dealt with under a half-moon.

I can only check in on her, give her the yucky, pink medicine prescribed by the vet who had the kindness to come to us (as opposed to crating her up and sitting impatiently in a fear-laden waiting room).

There is only one thing. Love. Bending, petting, cradling. I am grateful this week for the individual relative comfort I can provide. Here, love, here in my meditation chair (not lost on me) is safety, is a warm, fuzzy shawl and a hand you can press your forehead into.

Bicycle Lessons

2010-08-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have a new bike. It has a basket and I love it.

Lesson One: When bicycling to Whole Foods for breakfast items, do not get raspberries. Unless you want to use them in a smoothie when you get home. Then raspberries are a fine purchase.

sustenance, spirituality, unity

2010-08-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

I finally sat down and read "eat, pray, love". Several friends have recommended it to me over the last few years and I resisted it because... well, because I was in the middle of my own journey.

Last week I acquiesced and borrowed the book from a friend. The movie was coming out and I wanted to at least have a point of reference for the conversations that would undoubtedly transpire.

After I finished the book (a good read and I admire Ms. Gilbert's attempt to put into words what is the most difficult to articulate - a personal spiritual experience of transformation) I sat with it in my hands for a moment looking at the title and then just smiled.

eat, pray, love -- sustenance, spirituality, unity

It's why we're here - it is the path of evolution. Write your own story.

Recent Follow-Up to Knowledge Meeting

2010-07-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

At my July 24 knowledge meeting & group meditation, the subject was relationships... one of the Vedic Meditators followed up and sent me an email asking for clarification. Relationships are such an important part of our lives that I thought I'd share the exchange and invite feedback. (I cut the introductory discussion from the student in order to protect identity and specifics.) Basically, he had a question about the "distinction between attachment and letting go of "needs from the other person".

"Its just difficult  for me to understand because I always thought that there are natural  needs and expectations in relationships. 

Take a married couple  for example. They are married and in love. There seems to be some  commitment to the partnership in that they each count on each other in  order to have a shared life together. 

Now if "person A" leaves  the relationship by just saying "I'm no longer satisfied in this  marriage" or "I'm seeing someone else" or whatever, than "Person B" is  supposed to just be alright with that?"

My response: 

We are all evolving toward not expecting another person to fulfill our  "needs".  We are fulfillment.  We bring that fulfillment to the  relationship.  If you come to a relationship expecting the other to  complete you or satisfy a need, you will invariably be disappointed.  It  is why relationships end. 

The beauty of this is that if both  people come to the relationship understanding they are fulfillment in  their own right, by definition there is no reason either one would no  longer "be satisfied" by the other.  The reason people leave  relationships is one of two reasons:  1. Person A thinks that Person B  is responsible for fulfilling their needs and that doesn't get done and  they leave seeking yet "another" to satisfy their needs; or 2. Person B  feels the weight of Person A's neediness and understands they can't  possibly satisfy that need and leave.  There are variations on this  theme but essentially, that's the nut.

As humans, we're never  just "okay" with loss but if someone leaves you, then look at self  before putting all blame on "other".  Chances are the neediness factor  was high on one of the sides.

Finally, people commit because the  relationship becomes a third entity that is greater than the sum of the  two.  If it is not, it often doesn't last.  Commitment to something  greater than oneself is not a lock and key, it is the road to freedom.

Any thoughts?

Arctic Circle

2010-06-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

As imagined, it is a harsh life. On the island of Kivalina there is no running water. There is very little room to build homes for growing families and the island, due to climate change, is shrinking. The community knows what the next move must be, where to migrate, how to save the culture, but there are voices that tell them "no" - voices telling them to go elsewhere. That elsewhere (far north of the village and ocean) does not include a life the tribe has lived for hundreds of years; a life of subsistence, a life of rhythm.

I, being from L.A., only a visitor, made my way to Fairbanks today, on to another set of interviews. I sat in a bar (non-existent in Kivalina) next to a man from Illinois. He asked why I was here, whether I was a tourist. I said "no" I was working on a documentary on climate change. He wasn't impressed. I could tell that he, being from Illinois, a cold state, didn't put much stock in the concept. "Is that what they tell you?" he asked. "No" I answered, "that's what they're living."

And then he made me smile sadly, ironically, inside. "Why don't they just come down here if it's that tough? If life is hard, why don't they move south?" I realized his beer wasn't deep enough to dive into the the fact that some of them had tried that. Had been to Florida. Had been to Nevada. Deep warm states. They went back north. Why? Because of the heat? No. Because they couldn't find jobs.

In Kivalina, meat is the price of gas for the boat. When you catch it, or kill it, it feeds an entire village. In Kivalina, life is lived for others.

We need to think about that.

San Diego Vedic Meditation Students

2010-06-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

I taught in San Diego last week (Thursday through Sunday) and it was such an amazing, synergetic experience. Every turn was supported by nature and completely frictionless.

Just want to give a shout out to the new meditators, B.J., Marti, Blake, Leah and Lou Ann! I also wanted to thank Heather at Bird Rock Yoga for hosting us and providing such a beautiful space for the course.

Jai Guru Deva!

Connection through Conversation

2010-05-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

I just finished a telephone conversation with Michael Miller, a colleague whom I respect very much.

It is at these moments that I appreciate the individual manifestations that make up the many. I enjoy the give and take in communicating with an other that ultimately leads me to a deeper understanding of Self.

Oneness.

Intro Talk in San Diego!

2010-05-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

As you know, I've been to Des Moines, Iowa to teach and my hosts have been Jules Green Zubradt and her mom, Joyce Green - lovely women and incredibly evolved beings.

Jules is a Life Coach and the soul of The Meditation House, a three-city venue offering workshops that expand your event horizon and providing a space to learn Vedic Meditation.

In June, Jules will be in San Diego offering a workshop and yes, once again helping to introduce Vedic Meditation to the community. Toward that end, I'll be holding an Intro to Vedic Mediation on Wednesday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. (location to be announced).

In the meantime, you can go here to r.s.v.p. and let us know you're interested.

Homeward Bound

2010-04-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Teaching Vedic Meditation in Iowa this past week has been a re-connection for me and I hope a re-cognition by the students of their higher deserving power leading to renewal of self/Self.

In Los Angeles we have access to many avenues of evolution - so many roads that it's easy to lose our way, easy to sit in traffic, feeling at least we're pointed toward destination. So sometimes when potential students show up for an Intro Talk, they see meditation as just another thing to try and, like other things, maybe it will have the surface affect of the "feel goods" for a little while. Those people usually come up with a reason they can't do it "right now".

But those who are ready and understand, finally, that they're tired of reading books, attending workshops, saying affirmations and talking about the idea of "higher Self", make the commitment to learn Vedic Meditation.

From the first meditation, the resonance, the recognition of unbounded leads to the realization that this is not a set of beliefs - this is not a school of thought.

It is action.

It is knowledge enlivened through experience.

Reunion

2010-04-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have a high school reunion coming up this summer in Bismarck, North Dakota. The deadline for registration is May 1. I haven't registered yet as I'm still waiting to see what the spring will bring. Recently, a classmate sent me a message, through the website created for the event, asking if I was the one who dated so-and-so. I honestly couldn't remember having dated the person in question (gives a hint as to how long ago this was) and I answered that I remembered being friends with him but not dating him (and apologized to him if I had) and then gave a brief answer as to my activities in high school to help the emailer identify me.

He had the right person (and apparently my apology to so-and-so was merited) and then went on to ask me about my spiritual beliefs because in high school I was a self-professed "athiest". Here, I should explain how I came to be an athiest at such a tender age, suffice it to say, it would take too long and the truth is I was at the beginning of my spiritual evolution. First, we tear down, clear a space -- then Truth has somewhere to begin its growth.

In any event, that led to a series of emails between us where he assured me he wasn't judging me, then asked me about my spiritual beliefs now and told me I was "incorrect" years earlier. Hmmm. Basically, he has a Christian faith that he wishes everyone would adopt.

Since all faiths are welcome to practice Vedic Meditation, I acknowledged his spiritual path and then asked the following question to illustrate my current spiritual understanding:

God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent - how can we not be wholly God?

He replied "Do you see yourself being omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent?" A challenge that I answered so that he could understand.

The simple answer can only be elicited by worthy inquiry.

The Martin Guitar & Miracles (Part II)

2010-04-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

On March 27, just before noon, the doorbell rang. I was in the bedroom in my meditation chair reading, waiting for potential meditation students to show up to my Intro Talk for Vedic Meditation.

I heard Carl answer the door and a woman's voice say "I have something for you" and then a silence and then Carl's stunned voice ask "Who are you?!?" and her voice answered but I didn't hear what she said. Assuming a potential student had arrived, I went out to the living room to find Carl who looked at me and then pointed at something. I followed his hand to find a case "Martin". We sat on the floor next to each other and opened the guitar. It looked exactly like his - he said "I'm absolutely sure that it's mine." He pointed out familiar scars.

The woman had said her name was Jules. Carl didn't recognize her and I never saw her.

Carl sat on the living room floor strumming his guitar. I didn't have any students that day but we have music in the house again.

The Martin Guitar & Miracles

2010-04-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

A little over a month ago my husband sold his Martin guitar to a music shop. He did so because he wanted to surprise me with the ability to buy a plane ticket to Iowa because I had been invited there (for the second time) to teach Vedic Meditation but we didn't have the funds for me to go. When he handed me the cash, I was surprised and immediately asked him "where did this come from". He hesitated and then began to explain that because his thumb had been bothering him, he wasn't playing his guitar and .... at that point I burst into tears.

That guitar had been part of our courtship. That guitar was part of our "Shasta Circle Singers" early in our marriage when we would invite friends over on a Sunday afternoon for barbecue potluck and cheap entertainment of playing and singing. That Martin guitar, for me, wasn't just a symbol of creativity, it was creative action.

I went to the shop, money in hand, but the owner said he had already promised it to a customer and refused to sell it back to me. As he spoke, I was staring at the case, on a high shelf. I left in tears. Later that afternoon, our car broke down and the money was used to pay for the repairs. So much for the plane ticket.

The next day I was in a better place about it and realized that of course, all things happen for all reasons. I shared the story with fellow students in Adele Slaughter's Prosperity & Abundance workshop. The response I got was overwhelming and sweet. One student said "I wish you had said you needed a ticket, I can help you with that, I have tons of frequent miles from my days as a model." Ting! I had a ticket to Iowa. It was so amazing and in working with her on the logistics I felt that I also had a collaborator - she and I were both doing our part to teach Vedic Meditation.

For me the whole experience was a lesson in allowing others to be instruments of abundance and a reminder that I am not the source.

While this lesson in source might be considered a small miracle or perhaps not one at all, there is a second part to this story that lives up to the title of the post. I'll share that tomorrow.

Service

2010-03-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Where does the universe need me to be? Where is action welcome and evolutionary?

These are questions I have been asking since last week. Last Monday, I got word that the meditation course I was going to teach in Iowa needed to be postponed to April. I was a little disappointed but figured there must be a reason. An hour later, an old friend from England emailed to say that his brother living here in L.A. had taken his own life. My friend was acquainted with his brother's cricket team but didn't know anyone else in the area.

Obviously he was in a place of great need. I was able to be there for him because I did not leave town to teach. I won't go into the grisly details of what was required to come to his aid. The important thing is that it was satisfying to be strong for someone else and to be of use.

Taking one's life is counter-evolutionary and I felt a tremendous sadness both for my friend and his brother but I hope that in providing solace and service for my friend that something good has come of this -- perhaps the good is that my friend knows that he is not alone in this world, that he is loved and that when tragedy occurs, humanity prevails.

Advaita

2010-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

The benefits of Vedic Meditation are only part of the truth. The reason we practice Vedic Meditation is closer to the Truth. The reason is to experience Oneness -- Advaita.

If one approaches Advaita from an intellectual understanding, they may understand the concept "all is one" but that understanding is incomplete. Advaita is experience. Fully aware -- full of love.

And just as with the explanation of love - something is missing if one attempts to explain Advaita from the point of view of intellectual understanding. It is not just physics and the unified field. Advaita is not a concept. It has no rules, no borders, no limitation.

When we close our eyes in Vedic Meditation and drop to the simplest state of awareness, we experience That. Consciousness. In all glory, in all simplicity. I am That. Thou art That.

This past weekend I attended satsang with Francis Lucille. His expression of Advaita, his teaching, is full of love and a deep impersonal understanding of the individual's struggle to find the path. You can find a lovely description of Advaita on his website but I have re-printed it here and give him full acknowledgement:

Advaita is a sanskrit word that literally means "not two". Synonyms of Advaita are non-duality (nonduality, non duality). Advaita is not a philosophy or a religion. Non-duality is an experience in which there is no separation between subject and object; a "me" and the rest of the universe; a "me" and God. It is the experience of consciousness, our true nature, which reveals itself as absolute happiness, love and beauty. Consciousness is defined as that, whatever that is, which is aware of these very words right here, right now.

The Decade: 2000-2009

2009-12-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

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

Writers Group

2009-12-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

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...)

******

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

2009-12-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

"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

2009-11-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

"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

2009-11-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-01T22:02:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-10-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-27T11:57:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-14T06:25:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-05T12:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

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

August

2009-08-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-25T15:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

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.