Italy- Learning the art of loving and eating..

It has been 3 months since I left India to take a chance on love. Instantly I have learned to build bridges with my Hindu practice and the ever prevalent Catholic presence all around me ( Even the street corners ring of church bells and crosses are hung everywhere). As soon as I arrived, I built my altar, which now, with the help of Giacomo, my boyfriend( remember the Italian I met in Bangkok for 24 hours? The universe brought us together finally!), is becoming a space of worship of all gurudevas around us. Every day we light incense to honor Maharaji, Yogananda and Babaji to name a few.
Everyday I practice my limited Italian, often staying quiet and ”hearing” a lot and speaking less, with the people around me. In many ways this language barrier is a blessing, as I am learning to read energy and work my magic ( with less words and more love energy), something my yoga practice has taught me.
Everyday, I am challenged by living with another soul who is undergoing his own transition and evolution with a complicated divorce and a separation of a marriage of 25 years. We all know that these times can prove to be full of hardship and sometimes dark. I try to keep my light shining even if at times the candle flickers. I try to find my mirror and karma in all of this. How life has brought me here, to Italy to love someone who , like me, is evolving and learning to rebuild his light warrior self. A baba and a shamanic guru in his own right, Giacomo, my naga (Warrior) is teaching me that I deserve love and that even after divorce at any age, you can fall in love again.
Everyday I become grateful for the delicious foods I am able to eat and learn to cook, like the art of eating pasta, without a knife! Or the mushrooms I have learned to pick in the mountains while hiking. Often on these hikes I dream of building a home, a sort of refuge for yogis and artists alike. I am learning that if I listen I can hear the trees, and the rocks and they give me energy, as do the people who live in the mountains of Sardinia, who have shared with me their wine, honey, and even lemons. All is organic here in Sardinia. The air is pure and the oceans are a clear turquoise color full of hope and dreams. I am learning to let go and let live here.
Sometimes I lose my way, but I have continued reading the Autobiography of a Yogi. I am grateful for the energy that Yogananda has given me on this new journey. I try to practice yoga on the beautiful beaches of Sardinia and meditate on the rocks of granite (the very rocks that the great Roman Empire chiseled at to make their great empirical statues and historical sites). When I practice, I become clear again and I know that this clarity helps me find my way back to love again. I am learning to Love. Love ever so gently the entire world. To find love within, and to mirror it back to anyone ready to reflect.
As I write this, I am off again to visit the family back home in Miami, and on this holiday season, I am sending light and love to all who dare to dream, to follow their hearts and listen to the call of the universe, God knows its becoming harder everyday to listen but we cannot stop , we must dare to dream and to manifest love in all we do.. if not now then when?

One year in India = 2 Suitcases and 1 Carry on

You know its funny, how I keep holding on to memories of this past year, oh India you definitely left me with many, trying to jam them into my already full suitcases, anxiously making sure they don’t go over 20 kg so I don’t have to pay the overcharge. What is it about this country that makes me want to fit it all so neatly inside my suitcases? As if you can ever try to explain all of these experiences ,especially the spiritual ones, using the form of material things…
But Of course, being one that is extremely visual and gets attached easily to “things”, clearly my one year experience keeps manifesting itself into material things: like the Kukkum Powder that I must carry with me to do Puja anywhere I go next , and of course there must be room for my 3 Saris which I will wear again someday somewhere ( even if they are in my dreams) and the 5 Kurtas I must carry back with me, which have remnants of soap due to being handwashed endlessely in buckets and hung to dry with spiders and bees that loved to nestle in their warmth everyday in the Guesthouse backyard.
There is of course all the religious manifestations I must bring with me like the 7 miniature Ganeshas I now own because I cannot get any other kind to fit into my suitcase which are a result of my connection to Ganesha . These Ganeshas all hold memories of temples that I visited and must be wrapped gently inside my religious batiks of Lakshmi and Ganesha. I must also carry back as many rudras as possible for Shiva and his tears, to tie on the wrists of all my loved ones for protection. And, let us not forget the bracelets, bindis and henna powder that I must also keep to remember all the Indian celebrations and especially the endless bhangra dances I performed for the kids at Shanti Bhavan.
I must learn to laugh at myself for these “things” and for the long list of anxieties and fears that I now want to let go of and not pack into my luggage. Its funny how things change, the same luggage that was previously full of doubt, and hope, and also wrestled with being overweight with U.S. comforts such as toilet paper and protein bars, now has become empty and full of grace. It has become full of laughter, unconditional love, magic, endless colors and one strong warrior waiting to step into her next journey a little lighter, more trusting of the universe, ready to tell her story and in the process hoping it will help others tell theirs.
One thing is for certain, the 204 children I met here at Shanti Bhavan, in India are forever changed by me, as I am by them. We shall meet again I am sure, in this lifetime or in many to come. So now, I pack my memories of them as well into my suitcase, never fearing if I shall return again, because in my heart I know I will and even though there is a lot of uncertaintly where my future lies, I do know one thing, once I have something set inside my heart, there is little that the universe can do to stop me. I have changed my fate before, according to many psychics and destiny is only something I believe now, we help to write with a little of help from the universe. This is my story, India just now a chapter in my book that I must write and I have a feeling there will be more chapters left to live and write on this magical journey of a girl who believed she could heal the world with a little love, magic and color.

Hare Krishna!

Something told me to open the bright blue door. Something called me today to enter this temple. As I did, my heart grew excited as I entered this familiar state of worship and prayer. I was equally calmed by the friendliness of the members of this temple. After doing my own personal puja and being blessed by the priest, I was invited to sit down and join in a small kirtan (musical religious celebration) and prassad (Blessed food that is served at a temple).
As I sat down in the meditation hall, I was surrounded by the sounds of : Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Krishna Krishna Hare Hare …
And I could feel my body start to vibrate with energy. Hindus and others alike say that this mantra, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna, Krishna
Hare, Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama
Hare Hare
elevates your state of consciousness. There have been others that have been so moved by this mantra that they have joined the movement of the Hare Krishna’s . The Hare Krishna’s believe in chanting this mantra daily and also worship Krishna himself on a daily basis, they believe the more people they can inspire to do this chanting the better the world will become because this chanting will elevate the world.
I don’t know why I was called to visit this temple, a Krishna temple of all things, as I usually am drawn to Shiva temples, the ones that worship Ganesha, Lakshmi and Saraswati. I think I must have felt their energy this day, I was equally touched by the warmth and openness of my friend Allegra who dared to join me on this journey! Imagine, this was her first temple visit in India!.
What moved me the most was the meal we ate with the Hare Krishnas which we politely accepted. We were offered prassad on a banana leaf while we ate sitting on the floor. Using my hands, I proceeded to eat the most authentic meal I have had in India to date. I ate goats milk, on top of rice, a dhal with chapatti. I ate only with my right hand (as the left hand is considered not cleanly enough to eat with) the most delicious vegetarian food. As I ate, I felt blessed to feed my body with this holy food.
Looking back on today’s temple visit, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be back again, on this spiritual journey in India!
I am calling now more than ever to seek balance and spiritual renewal through meditation, yoga and temples across India. Who knows perhaps soon, I will be able to go to an ashram as well. As I reflect on this, on top of the most amazing rocks, on the campus of Shanti Bhavan (The haven of peace), and I look at the lush green fields ahead of me, that have been nurtured back to life with the monsoon rains, I begin to pray:
I am calling for my spiritual guides,
to come !
May I be able to see them,
manifested as they may in animals,
human form
or in signs of the universe.
May the next six months reveal the answers in my questions
May I make the most of my final six months in India
Teaching
Healing
Myself
And others
And may the adventures that lay ahead
Serve
As my lessons for living
As an artist of life

P.S. Tonight as I look at my inbox I receive an e-mail from a Hare Krishna friend I met a while back in Bangalore. He tells me that this day, has been a very auspicious day in the Hare Krishna sect a day full of celebration and love. Funny, right? No coincidences here, I think my heart knew this, or I would never have wanted to enter this temple, a temple I have passed by for months now without even looking at . But this is how I am blessed, my heart knows sometimes what my mind cannot. I must remember to always follow it, no matter if it doesn’t all make sense to me now.. Somehow the answers always get revealed. Trust the universe right? Here goes..




It has been two weeks now in India, and here I am again at another temple, teaching yoga again and feeling blessed to be under yet another beautiful full moon.

India Part Deux

Yesterday I stopped by the local village, on my way back from the local town of Hosur, after running some errands, to pray with Ganesha and to do Puja. It was the first time I had been back at a temple in India.
As soon as I got off the Rickshaw, the village children surrounded me..
They wanted to see this non local white woman do puja. It is funny to refer to myself as white, even in India, because I do not see myself as a color or fit clearly in between all the check off race boxes on a survey. When you are Latina, a bit brown, a bit white and mestiza how could you? Even though I do not consider myself white, many do in India, because I do not carry an Indian name and I am not brown enough according to some. In my heart though and probably in some past life, I am clearly Hindu and not just any white woman.

But here I was yesterday, at the local village at their local temple, barefoot, laying on the floor. (a customary position done by Hindu’s when praying intently). I prayed yesterday to Ganesha, the God that removes all obstacles, as I have prayed many times to him before.. Yesterday, I prayed, to remove the obstacles of money that keep me tied to the fear of cutting my adventure short here in India. Backpacking for two months in East Asia, was fun, and I learned a lot but to be honest it was an unexpected leg of my adventure that I did not count on, and definitely has left me with a financial burden. Now, due to those two months, I am definitely living with very little and sometimes I wonder how I will make it through these next six months. But I have grown to trust the universe… money will come… if I believe in the work I am doing., everything I want will come to me again. It must. ..

Funny, here… my poverty is nothing in comparison to the children in this village I have brought my poverty upon myself . I have chosen to volunteer and not earn money. Much like a Sadhu, giving up all my material attachment, moving to India, living on barely nothing I am spreading the love as selflessly as I can.. I have managed to live for 6 months, backpack through East Asia and return back to India, always staying open, giving of my light when needed, inspiring and learning from all that came on my path. I am truly blessed!

As I meditated on this point yesterday, the village children were quick to remind me that my stress over bills was nothing compared to the real work that is yet to be done in India to overcome poverty among so many poor children. And not just India alone! There are so many more children to serve across the world.. so many more to play with, inspire , heal and teach.
.
Walking back to the Rickshaw, I took a moment to play with the kids, before I had to go back to the school...
It really opened my heart and reminded me why I am here in India now.. to help the children. The very kids I teach, and work with ,would be in the same predicament of extreme poverty as these village kids were, if Dr. George’s school Shanti Bhavan had not interevened. This year, the school had its first graduating senior class. All the students were admitted to prestigious colleges where they will begin the path to success in India, despite their Untouchable caste level. This is the movement I have come to be part of! I want to help eradicate poverty through education, yoga and the arts. Change is really happening. It is inspiring to be part of it…

I forget sometimes, why I have given up a year of my life, to do Karma yoga and volunteer. But I reframe this thought when I start to get anxious about what is next.. you know those questions that make you anxious when you think about them?.. “What will I do for money?” “How will I pay my bills?” “I can’t keep my loans in forbearance forever!” Then my mind quiets as I open my heart and I hear my inner voice. The voice of the divine mother saying:
You have not GIVEN UP a year, You have been GIVEN a year.

One year, to live in India, One year to test my limits, One year to make an impact on the lives of children that need me as much as I need them. One year to heal my heart. One year to figure out what I want to do next. One year to continue writing.. One year…of manifesting my dreams to help heal children all over the world.

I can still feel the power of India .. the love here.. I am lucky to be back here again, to be able to taste it, and live in its colors, its heat, and monsoon rains. I am lucky to pray and do Puja and Yoga in India. I am lucky to be reborn here. India is now my other home, I now know, that. No one will ever be able to take that away from me, even if I am not able to be here forever, I can always return to it if I will it…

I know because time has already shown me I can return. Now only time will tell what these next six months will be like and what I will learn from this next leg of my adventure… India part two….are you ready? I know I am….

Hong Kong- Champagne and Banyan Trees all uphill on a road full of dreams

My last leg on this visa mission back to India was Hong Kong. Here, I was to meet my beautiful and talented friend Amy who was revolutionizing the art scene in South East Asia. I was also here to meet, my dear friend Marc, who grew up here and was seeking to return to his roots, it had been a long time since I had seen either one of them. I had promised both I would come for a visit over a decade ago, and being one that never lets up on a promise, I found myself booking 30 days in Hong Kong.

As soon as I arrived, I forgot I was in East Asia. This cosmopolitan city, was full of bankers and frustrated hand bag designers all ready to sell their souls for a dime. There was of course, the yoga enthusiastists and the designers and cateres of the town. I was instantly drawn, to the sheer beauty of this concrete jungle, where the windy roads lead you up and down levels of living you have never known you wanted. All of it, an illusion of course, maya , a type of pure luxury …

I found myself sipping champagne way too often, engaging in semi intellectual conversations, meeting countless great contacts but in my heart I was missing India. I quickly recovered from my attachment to this comfortable illusion full of , high heels, expensive cars and sexy French men ready to dance the night away with me. I had to channel the divine again. I felt I was getting lost in this city and it had only been one week!
To my pleasure, I found the beautiful banyan trees that were outgrowing their concrete walls in my walks of meditation. I kissed them every time I passed by them on these very narrow and steep streets. I think they were a metaphor for my existence. Pure light and spirituality intermixed with the concrete wants of illusion and luxury. But there were signs given to me by the universe, that I had arrived at my destination. Hong Kong was here to teach me lessons I could sense it . There was the beautiful turquoise butterfly that greeted me, on my very first walk down Breezy Path. There was the strength of the stream I passed by everyday to the metro. There was the strong rocks and tender cold ocean that greeted me everytime I sought it out. I was surely to be blessed in that land of illusion.
Despite the greed of this city, I could see everyone was seeking some spiritual comfort, even if they seldomly admitted it. I could feel it... I saw it at the temples, which always had patrons praying with their expensive handbags in tow. Most of the time, I was the hippie in HK, but I didn’t mind it. I felt in my own way I was inspiring a small spiritual revolution among these lost expats, eager to make loads of money and drink every night. .
I had to remind myself that I could easily fall into the same illusion, but that I was also the lover, the artist that all Hong Kongnese crave to be. I like to hope that my time here inspired those I met to follow their dreams, despite what it would equal to their bank accounts. But I knew in order to do this, I had to stay on track. I had to remember to follow my path, by practicing meditation everyday and staying in tune with the universe, following the moon, the ocean and the animals that came before. Me… om shanti..
My final days here leave me thinking: What will become of me and Hk? Let me learn these lessons kindly and let me not forget the beauty of this delicate balance of luxury and nature named appropriately Hong Kong…

Full moon party Yay or Nay?

So, again, sans computer, sans the ability to word doc, here I am writing purely free style again!

When I first heard about this Full Moon Party I was excited to celebrate the moon in Thailand by the ocean. But as I arrived in Koh Pangan, I came to realize how Young this party really was. The beautiful 18-21 crowd isn't really my scene, so I was a bit disappointed.

However, that being said...
I loved dressing up, using body paint, and dancing on the beach. That night, I danced the night away, meditating with the moon, laughing with the stars, living in the moment. My feet tasted the sand, I moved with the rythym of the Shaman in me. I loved every moment.

So, if you are like me and can bring the party wherever you go, then it really doesn't matter if you ever get to go to the Full Moon Party in Thailand. Just make sure, you find a moment, when the moon is full and dance with it. If you can be near the ocean this is ideal. But, if you cannot, do not fret. Just find it.

Every 28 days, it appears in the sky and graces us with the beauty of its light. Be under the light, remember that the moon grants your every wish. Be sure to state your affirmations, plant your seeds of intentions. It is said, she helps grant these and that every month under the moon, we should state our intentions.

Remember the light of the moon. It is here to remind you of your light. You are light! And as long as she is with you, wherever you are, you will never be alone. The moon is the goddess. I am the goddess. You are the goddess. We are warriors of life and peace.

Please go out there this month and party under the moon! Its better than any VIP table/party anywhere on this planet.

Om Shanti!

Rock Climbing Divinely

As I write this, purely without editing, due to my labtop having technical difficulties, I pray this spontaneous post will have some meaning to those who are following me on this blog and that the grammar is not horrific to read through.

This last week, here in Thailand I have spent it on Ko Phi Phi and Railay where there are some of the most beautiful cliffs to climb. Climbing has become a beautiful obsession of mine, ever since i tasted it in Vermont about a decade ago. Back then, I was afraid of the height and the fear of falling and had a hard time trusting my partner who was belaying me ( holding my rope).

SO, when I attempted to climb 10 years later, in Thailand, I came to it, with an open heart, and open mind. My body and mind having evolved, with Yoga and meditation, were ready or so I thought, for this new adventure...

But back on the rope, my body close to the rock, my hands grasping for a hold, tearing in agony as I tried to hold myself up, I became quickly fatigued and fought hard to overcome my mind's weakness. You are your thoughts. It is clearly evident, that mind over matter is true when you are climbing. But, I was lucky, the team below always encouraged me and pulled for me to make it to the top.

As I let go, and stood 75 feet above ground level, I grasped onto life, pure Lila(divine play). I sought for balance of body and mind. I kissed, literally the rocks in front of me. I honored my strength. I became one with the warrior in me.

For the team below, it was just another climb, but for me, it was an ultimate sign of strength, an obstacle I wanted to overcome. A dance against the cliffs, so delicate you could fall at any minute. Fall and confirm the fear, or climb in grasp of hope. I transcended time, anxiety, fear, and moved to love, life and strength.

It dawned on me at this moment that the cliffs that were before me and the act of climbing, were a form of living poetry. A beautiful dance of evolution. So what is the lesson here?
Lesson #1 Face your fears, be open! An open heart equals an open body and mind.

P.S. I can't wait to go again. My hands are now slowly recovering, but my mind is ready. Are you ready to face your fears? Trying taking small steps. Taste your growth! Its delicious!