Dear….Whoever is Reading ;-),

I have been struggling to reconnect with my spiritual path for the past 4 months. I’ve gone back and forth between the society or the world and God or Soul for quite some time. Despite all the knowledge I’ve accumulated and the spiritual experiences I’ve had, I still struggled with what and how serious I should take my spiritual path and growth.

I started simply wanting to see and hear God in everything and everyone. To hear God speaking to me as clearly as I talk to my mom on the telephone. To have the same compassion and love for all living beings animals and plants alike that I believe God has for all living beings. But as my spiritual path progressed, my desire for Truth for enlightenment and true awareness increased as well.

As that increased so did the difficulty of walking the spiritual path. It became too hard, too difficult, too time consuming, too anything that sounded like a good reason to not to it. As I slipped away from my spiritual path, I grew nearer and nearer to material things and worldly pleasures. I became lonely and desired a companion more and more. I wanted to escape and travel and live a life of luxury. I started thinking of ways to improve my physical appearance and more. But why?

Why would I slip back when I know that they will not and do not bring me true lasting happiness? Why would I settle for temporary, insignificant fleeting happiness? Why would I settle for a happiness that would never be real? A happiness that I would have to constantly work at and have to make sacrifices for only to experience that “happiness” for a few moments when I knew that permanent happiness accompanied by peace and pure bliss was waiting on the other side.

I’ll tell you why because I was scared and still am. I am scared to let go of the comfortable, the known rather. I know the time, energy and effort it will take for me to be happy. I can see it. I’ve experienced material happiness….I haven’t experience transcendental happiness. The happiness that can only come from an eternal, powerful divine source.  The only source that could create the material beauty I see in front of me.  But the problem lies in my trust, my belief that that happiness actually exists.

I’m currently undergoing a 6 week intensive Jain Studies program in India. And we are presently residing in Jaipur, Rajasthan on the grounds of a Digambar Jain temple. Today we had a class entitled, “The Path of Spiritual Awakening/Purification.” I won’t give the professor’s name for confidential reasons, but in any case, she was amazing and obviously knew her stuff.

Everything she was saying spoke to me and reminded me of my present dilemma and my struggles with spirituality this year; especially my struggles with letting go of worldly pleasures. But the one thing she said that really made me feel like I needed to get my…..together was this:

“There is no way that one can fulfill their desires. Desires are insatiable. Absence of desires gives happiness not the fulfillment of those desires. The only way to eliminate those desires is to learn more about the true nature of soul and experience and realize that true nature. Then and only then will all desires cease to exist. ”

This is so true and yet one of the hardest things for me to do. Especially coming from an American background where desire is the number one motivation for the masses. So how do I get rid of my desires? Do I force myself to go into solitude? Do I go on a month long retreat in the middle of nowhere? Do I just simply stop going out with friends and family? Cut myself out from the world when at times I desperately yearn to be in it?

Why does being spiritual have to be so hard?

I've never really known exactly what was going on in Tibet. I always had the idea that bad things were happening, but I didn’t know the specifics (and probably never will).

Yes I know its probably a horrible thing that I’m an International Studies student and had no idea what was really occurring in one of my favorite regions in the world. But to be honest, I don’t like reading or watching the news. It depresses me. I don’t like hearing or knowing about atrocities, mass murders or genocides, or people being forced away from their homelands and their identity being wiped out. Who wants to hear about that? And I know it happens all over the world and the most tragic of events colors the pages of news sites and papers. Can you blame me for not wanting to know the details?

But being in Dharamsala surrounded by Tibetans and their culture, it would be disrespectful not to take the time to learn and understand why they are here.  So I went to the Tibetan Museum located in the Tsuglakhang Complex. This complex houses the Central Tibetan Monastery, 2 temples and the sleeping quarters of the Dalai Lama. The first thing you see as you enter this complex is a monument erected to commemorate the struggle, fight, strength and will of the Tibetan people.  It is only fitting that the museum is directly across from it.
 

The Tibetan Museum was the best way for me to learn about the specific, historical details of the Chinese Occupation of Tibet while not getting to overwhelmed with images. I learned so much from this museum and I’m not sure what I should do from here on out?

I know I can’t ‘hide’ from the world, especially when I want to help make it better. I have to develop a tough skin so I can actually start ‘ACTING’ on my compassion.  Because as I was walking through that museum reading the testimonies of these people and seeing the treacherous journeys they had to endure…some of them facing amputation due to frostbite and others escaping but still being sent back to Tibet and others setting themselves on fire, I was compelled to get off of my butt and actually stand behind what I believe. Stand behind my desire to help those that are in need.

The situation is so politically loaded that a solution is far beyond simple. I mean you have the Chinese government who claims that Tibet is there land. While there is historical evidence that Tibet has been a free, independent country since the British attempted to control it in the 1930's. They had their own postal system, passports, stamps, flag and currency. None of which had any Chinese symbols, emblems or presence.  They were a people who were functioning on their own sufficiently without the need for foreign assistance. They even had politicians traveling to the UK, United States and India to establish trade relations. And that all ended in 1951.

Whats even crazier is that the Tibetan 13^th Dalai Lama predicted that this would happen and despite the efforts of the VFF, the Volunteer Freedom Fighters, the Dalai Lama’s prophecy came true.  I sat there and wondered how could such a thing happen in the world? How could any genocide and intentional eradication of a culture happen in the world? I received a hypothesis from one of the curators of the Tibetan Museum. She suggested that it could be due to the karma of the Tibetan people. But the way she phrased it was in no way placing blame on the Tibetans themselves (which would be kind of weird considering that she is Tibetan herself), but rather as a coping mechanism. A way to possibly help Tibetans to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. In saying that it could be a result of karma, the Tibetans would have hope that it will pass. All karma must manifest and just like a fire it will burn out. It will fade away and the sun will rise.

But the question still arises, what should be done? What should the world do about this event that is beyond tragic, beyond an atrocity? What does someone like me do? A person with no political pull or any power? How do I help?

                                                                                                                                                                                                              

It has been an EXTREMELY long time since I have posted a blog about my travels and experiences in India. It has already been 2 months!!! I can't believe it.  But to try and play catch up would be a monstrous task. SOOOO much has happened to me and not all of it good. A matter of fact I would say that 75% has been beyond crappy and the other 25% has been so so...Never mind I'll correct that…75% has been crappy, 20% has been so so and 5% has actually been good.

I thought being in India would allow for me to rediscover or recapture rather spiritual energy and to get closer to my final goal. But after 2 months, my spiritual path has been shaken and stirred. What was once slightly paved has now regressed to a field. Not even a path can be seen from other's footsteps.  It is a fresh field of foliage waiting for a path to be laid out.  I have had strangers challenge my ideas and others make me question what my path should look like...what I want my path to look like and who I want to be. Stranger have helped me to see the beauty of living in a material world and how Earth can be heaven. Loved ones have hurt and betrayed me. And a close male friend that I thought would potentially become more than that gets further and further away.

I have arrived at a point where there is no way to turn the situation around other than to start over. With that,  I will say the first major lesson I've learned from India is knowing when to cut your losses and just begin a new. Sometimes a house just gets too mirky, too run down that there is no way to clean it, no way to repair it. The only thing you can do is pack up your things and find  a new home….That is what I'm doing…

I've realized that there are certain people, certain spiritual practices, goals and destinations that no longer have a place in my life...It is time for me to start over…

Luckily, I'm in the perfect place to do it. In India, away from family, friends and familiarity. I'm forced to find things on my own, make my own decisions and be my own person.  And I have the added bonus of being surrounded by young Indian women my age that have made a very big decision to lead an ascetic life. And they like me! They really like me!

I'm starting over in more ways than one and in what ways will be saved for another post...

I’m Changing…

India is forcing me to change…

As I was riding back from an amazing late lunch at Little Italy in Jaipur, I realized that I am not the same person anymore…I’ve changed.

I no longer see things the way I used to anymore…Or rather I do actually SEE things now…I don’t know exactly how to explain it.

I’m like an observer to my life, to my emotions, to my thoughts and yet I’m still the doer, the actor that orchestrates them…But there is a subtle difference to how I react and perceive what is happening…

I say all of this because I thought I was still the same person and today I realized I am not. When the officials at the Foreign Registration Office told me that the documents I had brought to them were not valid in their district, I became mad, sad, angry and desperate like most people probably would. But this time was different. I allowed myself to feel what was happening to me and I accepted my emotions as genuinely apart of who I am, but at the same time I knew this was not me.  And instead of letting those emotions grow to the point of overwhelming me…I let them dissipate. I knew they were there, but it was like the observer side of me was informing the actor that it was okay. Things like this happen, go ahead and cry and then try to enjoy the rest of your day.

It was kind of weird…but relieving…

This thought process has been going on for the past few days…I get sad or lonely and then the observer comes out and doesn’t allow for me to dwell….And I’m glad it does, because if it hadn’t I wouldn’t have enjoyed my full course Italian meal or appreciated the coolness in the air from the monsoon rains of Jaipur and I wouldn’t have been grateful for the driver that took me to my late lunch and waited for me despite me telling him not too…I wouldn’t have been cordial with him as he was telling me about the other foreigners he has driven for and I wouldn’t have been perfectly content and happy to look at his service book after dropping me off and most importantly, I wouldn’t be enjoying the beautiful sounds of the light raindrops and thunder while typing this very blog post to share with all of you…

I’m changing, not dramatically or at the speed of light, but subtly and gradually I’m changing…

I’m changing for the better…

On August 1, 2012, I decided to make a concerted effort to let go and flow. But more specifically to let go of my ideas, perceptions and beliefs and flow in the direction of life. It is now August 12, 2012 and it is only today that I realize why just flowing is so hard for me and may possibly be the same reason for anyone who is reading this.

Have you ever gotten upset because something just didn’t go your way? And I don’t mean huge life decisions like securing a job or buying a house. I actually am talking about every day, mundane decisions that for many are insignificant and trivial. I’m talking about when you’re relaxing in your room or a hotel or a nice café and you have your mouth fixed for that favorite dish or delicious cup of tea or your little brother disturbs you with loud music. And it takes everything in you not to go off or be vindictive or let it truly bother  you that they don’t have what YOU want…Hopefully I’m not the only person who has ever felt this way…

But today I realized the connection between this “trivial” anger and flowing with life…At least for me…

Although I decided to make more of an effort to let go and flow on August 1, it was on August 11, 2012 that I made the VOW to put more efforts towards flowing. I don’t want to be at odds with natural happenings of life. I no longer want to get upset or bothered by life not going according to plan. I no longer want to let one hiccup in the plan ruin my entire day or outlook of that day.

And it hit me as reception called to say that I cannot have MY chana masala because they do not serve it until dinner. I went downstairs to figure out why as the menu stated otherwise and his explanation was that it wasn’t because they don’t serve it at this time but rather they ran out of chana masala. I went back upstairs to decide my next plan of action. And that’s when it hit me. I was bothered because they didn’t have what I wanted. I was bothered because they didn’t have MY chana masala. I was bothered because lunch was occurring as I WANTED. (I know there are overwhelming hints of attachment here, but let’s not focus on that now…baby steps ;-) Things were not going the way I wanted them to go. I was holding onto MY.

I was not letting go and just flowing with the natural happenings of life. I was planning on “getting back” at the hotel and ordering from a restaurant that would deliver and never ordering from the restaurant again…BAAMMM…there goes the unnecessary tension and upset that I so desperately want to let go of. It was as I entered my room to order that “MY” was in the way of flowing. So instead of me seeking revenge for the lack of “MY CHANA MASALA” I just ordered something else and understood that it was okay. Restaurants run of products all the time no matter where you are in the world.

And as a result of me letting go of MY, I ended up having a wonderful relaxed evening. I ended up laughing and smiling about the smallest of things and was just…happy…

I'm not sure what's going on with me. My opinions, ideas, thoughts and future have changed drastically in just a matter of a few weeks. I've realized things that I once thought were for me are not. I've accepted things about myself that I was forcefully trying to cast off. I've changed in so many ways that I can't believe it. I've accumulated so many experiences both spiritual and worldly that I haven't been able to formulate into words...I'm currently sitting here in Abu Dhabi with my father, taking a break from India...An African American woman in the Middle East with her father taking a break from Master's fieldwork in India...who would have thought that 30 years ago I would be doing something like this...Am I being random???

I don't know...It's just lately...I think about everything...Everything that I have been blessed with...everything my family has been blessed...everything that has been created and from where...I don't know how to explain it, but it s like lately I wonder and admire how things have come to be both material and unknown...like how does a one day old baby know how to raise its arm without seeing or having someone tell them how...how was ballet invented...who decided that moving in such a way was good...how was dance created...who thought of coordinating their legs to music...heck who came up with music???...I could go on for pages, but I will stop here, because the point I want to make is this...I'm noticing all the magnificent things that make up the "mundane."

And that's a beautiful thing...Now it could be clouded because I'm living the "good" life right now...I'm on the beach, eating good food, able to go to one spot and get all the toiletries that I need, lounging reading and spending time with my dad...That  may all change when I get back to India where I don't have the luxuries of a one stop shop where i have to wash my own clothes in a bucket, adjust to electrical outages and be out of touch with my family...but right now... in this very moment I see beauty in everything and I'm going to take it all in until it is time that I can't...

For the past 6 weeks, I have been held prisoner in India by myself. I’ve been too afraid to venture out of the comfort of my room alone for fear of being harassed. I’ve been out visiting places with other participants in this academic program, but I haven’t been able to go the places that I want to. If you haven’t read my blogs, I’m a tad bit special. I’m not like many tourists who want to go to all the popular places that Lonely Planet lists as a must see…especially in India.

I want to visit the places that most people avoid and don’t care to see…the spiritual places that truly change and inspire you. But I don’t want to just go and see them. I want to experience them, soak in all that positive energy and just wallow in it. Just sit there and be transformed in some way. I want to see the spiritual side that makes India…India. 

Although, my main purpose (and should probably be my sole purpose) for this trip to India is academic. I’m here to go out into the field and collect data on Jain nuns. Women who have chosen to renounce the world in pursuit of truth, freedom from suffering and ultimately bliss. I know, I know that will be a spiritual adventure in itself, but why not free two birds with one key (like that twist don’t you…nonviolence ;-). Luckily my research is religious and spirituality focused which allows for me…almost requires me to frequent spiritual places such as temples, mosques, shrines, monasteries and pilgrimage places and more. So when I left for India back in May, not only did I want to collect a ton of information on Jain nuns, but I also wanted to solidify the direction my spiritual path is going to take. I want to find clarity and spiritual renewal while I’m here…Erase some of the clouds that have been hanging over me. Open doors that are keeping me from myself…But I won’t be able to experience any of it, if I’m afraid.

As I’m writing this blog entry, I’m residing in a semi-Monastic center known as the Root Institute in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India. If you don’t know, Bodhgaya is the place where Buddha sat in meditation under the great Bodhi tree until he obtained enlightenment (yeah I know).  This place is AMAZING. There are palm trees, jasmine trees and just green everywhere. The pace of the city is slow and quiet, so unlike the busy chaos which characterizes Varanasi but fear is still lurking in the midst.

I’m here with another male in the program, but he leaves before I do. So for 3 and a half days…I’m here alone. And that scared me. And it didn’t help that this town is filled with men and everywhere I turn someone is asking me where am I from? What is my name? How long am I here? Where am I staying? And here’s the kicker, “Are you alone?” 

 I began entertaining the idea of booking an earlier train back to Varanasi and just staying on the grounds of Root Institute until my departure, but then the voices of Elizabeth Gilbert and Rita Goldmen Gelman ring out. If you haven’t heard me mention Eat, Pray, Love or allude to it in anyway please check out this YouTube video, instead of reading about my relationship with that book. As far as Rita, she’s becoming my hero and is currently playing a major role in spiritual and travelling life.

Rita Goldmen Gelman is the author of “Tales of A Female Nomad.” Similar to Gilbert, due to an unhappy marriage and a suppressed hunger for travel, Rita ventures out into the world in her late forties in search of adventure and relationships with people of other cultures. But unlike, Gilbert she doesn’t set a specific timeframe of one year or limit her travels to 3 places. Instead she literally becomes a nomad. Selling off everything she owns with the exception of a backpack and a few clothes. And she travels to places she’s always dreamed of or places her old classmates suggest like Borneo. And in each place the length of time she spends varies from weeks to years.  Rita does this all as a single woman travelling alone. She befriends others along the way and takes risk, risks that many would describe as insane and uncautious. But she does it anyway and as such many doors are open which would otherwise remain closed for others. One of these doors allows her to stay in Bali for 4 years. 4 YEARS!!! Just on a recommendation of a passenger on a flight to Bali who gives her the name of someone in town. Rita goes to see them the minute she gets off the plane and they offer her a place to stay right on the spot. CRAZY right?!?!?! I want to be like her when I grow up… I want to be like her now.

I don’t want to let fear keep me from experiencing India from this blessing in disguise that I’ve been given. I will be living in India for another 5 months and how crazy would it be of me to stay locked up in my room the WHOLE time?  I want to take risks, I want to open myself up to what India and her people have to offer me. I want to seize those rare opportunities that come my way.  I want to live India. I want to have an adventure.

So with that...no more hiding, no more treating myelf like an inmate. I'm making a pledge to have no regrets and to walk through any door that opens. My father says he should have chipped me when he recognized that I was a flight risk. And maybe he should have because I'm about to take off ;-)

For many who are trying to find their way to God, Truth, the Divine, etc., have encountered fasting in one form or another. In general, a fast is an act that includes ones detachment from food or drink. It does not necessarily entail abstention from all food and all drink, but it does require that one abstains from something for it to be considered a fast. This has taken the form of juice fasts, water fasts, potato fasts or absolute nothing fasts (no water, no liquids, no food).

What does abstention from food and/or liquids do for you spiritually?....DETACH.

One of the main obstacles on the spiritual path is our attachment to this world and things in it. When you partake in a fast, it is one of the most basic forms of practicing detachment. When you consciously decide that I am not going to eat any foods and only drink juice or water, you are mentally and physically detaching from food. Although this practice of detachment is on a small scale, it has a profound impact on the individual who does it.

*But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE remember that if you have never fasted before it is not something to do lightly. It is best to fast in the presence or under the guidance of a master or a nutrionist or someone who is knowledgeable. Your body is used to eating and to just stop especially if you have medical issues is not a good thing. You have to know when your body has been pushed to its limit and when its time to stop and recover.*

I've found in my experience of fasting that I have more energy. What? How can you have more energy? Because I'm not concerned with all of the tasks and thought processes that go into eating, I have more energy to focus on other things...let's say....reading, writing, schoolwork, professional work or better yet...my sadhana. I'm not giving attention to my hunger or my body saying it wants food. I'm not thinking about what I have in the refrigerator or the pantry to eat. I'm not thinking about what I'm going to eat with my rice or what vegetables I'm going to fix with my beans. Even further, I'm not thinking about what dishes are clean that I can use to cook so that I can eat or what dishes I'm going to have to clean after I'm done cooking so that I can eat. Do you get the picture? All of the time and energy that is put into eating is able to be directed elsewhere when I fast.

Seeing as though I fast for spiritual reasons, I try to focus that energy towards my sadhana allowing for me to dedicate more time and energy to something that helps me get rid of karma and get closer and closer to knowing who and what I am, to FOCUS on soul, on me instead of food. In doing so, I gain CLARITY when I'm confused or in doubt about anything whether it is spiritual or non-spiritual.

Fasting is a way for me to re-focus on what really matters in my life....SOUL. It allows for me to see things more clearly than I would on a day when I'm allowing my hunger to have priority.

After a peaceful morning of reading and writing, I decided to check my email at the internet café that was about a 5 minute bike ride away. As I’m checking my emails and sending out a couple, I notice a noise coming from outside, but because I was too paranoid of all the Indian men surrounding me I didn’t dare look away from computer screen until I was ready to leave. And sure enough the little pitter patter that I heard was none other than the beginning of a huge rainstorm…aka monsoon season has finally hit India.

For a while, I never thought it would come. Something I’ve never experienced, I was hoping to be able to walk through knew high puddles of water while holding my sari up or ride a bicycle through the rain like the locals or at the very least sit outside on someone’s patio and just watch. Now the latter two,  I could have taken care of today, but seeing as though I was wearing a white skirt and my Kindle with me, I wasn’t too keen on riding my bike through the rain. Instead what I got was an extra wet tuk tuk ride with the bike riding side saddle. It was one of the most liberating moments in my life (even though it lasted for less than 3 minutes). I know I know it may sound like a stretch but here me out…

For the past 6 weeks, I’ve been beating myself up about not enjoying myself and being too afraid to go out on my own and just enjoy every moment that I have in India. As such, I’ve been restricting myself to the safe compound of the campus grounds we’ve been staying in or waiting to go out only when a large group does which typically means sacrificing the experiences and places that I want to see and moments I want to add to my memory book…Flashbacks of my time in Thailand started to arise. I was so afraid of what would happen if I went against the rules of safety for women travelling alone, especially those travelling alone in India. I was putting myself in a prison.

Even as it was raining today, instead of doing what I wanted to do (which was ride in rain or at least walk to a tuk tuk in the rain) I listened to the Indian men who told me to wait the storm out. So that’s what I did I waited and I waited like I had been doing since I arrived in India. I was a good little girl and followed the rules, followed the directions that were given to me. As I sat there, thoughts of liberation and freedom began to arise. Didn’t I set out to free myself from prescribed norms and illusion while I was in India?  Didn’t I say that I was going to do things for me and no one else? Hadn’t I learn from my past regrets of playing it safe in Thailand?

So the next tuk tuk I see (which so happened to pull right up to the internet café), I jump up to ask him to take me and my bike home. He does. I run out in the rain, hoist my bike into the back of his tuk tuk and squat on the seat, tucking in my white skirt with one arm holding my bike and the other holding onto the rails. I felt like a big little kid :-p

As he rode and I was splashed by rain, I couldn’t stop smiling. We dove into chai colored puddles and I squinched as to not let a drop touch me, but secretly hoping to get splashed and just enjoyed riding through the rain. I watched as we passed little Indian boys intentionally jumping in the puddles and groups of little Indian girls walking as if they weren’t completely soaked. I saw teenagers riding their bikes and racing to get home. I saw… joy and I had a little peace of my own in the middle of a storm.

For the first time, I woke up HOT and my night's rest wasn't all that great. This was a direct result of electricity failure in India. I haven't had an A/C room during my time in Varanasi when I probably should have seeing as though it is on average 108 degrees but feels like 116. But I was doing fine without it...until last night.

Throughout the night, I tossed and turned, spread out and curled in, among other things and desired so much to uncover any layers that were surrounding me to help with the heat. But some how I think I managed to get a few decent hours of sleep in. But when I awoke this morning, I was still very hot and I had a gosh awful headache.

Usually when this has happened in the past few weeks, I would complain and throw a pity party of how I'm going to have to suffer through things like heat and lack of electricity for another 5 months.  Which would then lead me to think of ways that I can cut my trip short and go home. But for some reason this morning, I didn't have such a thought. I mean yes I thought it was hot, but I was smiling about it. Taking it all in versus complaining about it.

I know this may not sound significant, but it stuck out to me that I wasn't bothered by my headache. I didn't worry that I was going to suffer from heat exhaustion again. Instead, I just readjusted myself and laid back down, staring at the walls, concentrating on the wind that the fan was blowing against my skin, staring outside of my window at the mango trees and the rays of light shining through them and just thinking about me being in India, in Varanasi, the holiest place in the world. The heat was insignificant to all the beauty and blessings that were surrounding me...

*The view outside of my window in Varanasi.

Dear Friends,

     I just wanted to share a little quote that literally just came up in class and expound upon how I feel about it. I'm sitting in a class about Integrating Modern Science and Spirituality. And at the bottom of one of the professor's slides in red writing was the quote,

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going."

      Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to go into the past. Back to who I once was adn wondering if my past was so bad so tainted and had such a stronghold that it was not possible for me to reach my future, spiritually that is. I've been surrounded by individuals who have already renounced and seriously taken up the spiritual path and others who have had profound spiritual experiences and those who are so relaxed on the path that they have lost all expectations and hence are at peace. When I reflect on what I know about them and their journey to get to all these various points, it doesn't seem as bad as mines. When I hear about them it makes feel like I have committed "too many sins" to overcome them and reach the destination that I so seek. But today in class this simple quote popped out at me and helped me to see that all though my past has to be dealt with. The only way it will keep me from walking towards my future is if I allow it to.

     I think of stories I've heard about very successful individuals who had it rough when they were younger. Prominent, World Changing Individuals such as Martin Luther King, B.R. Ambedkar and Rosa Parks. And I also think of individuals such as Tyrese, Hill Harper and others who are not known, one of which I've just recently met on this trip. Despite their rough histories, regardless if it was a resutl of race, drugs, a broken home, finances, juvenile delinquency or a combination of the former, they have risen above it all. They used their history to make them who they are today. And now they are highly successful individuals, some are philanthropists, public roles models and more. And had they allowed their history to dictate their future they wouldn't have made an impact on the lives of so many, such as myself.

     Now I completely understand that this may be cliche, overdone or a very simple concept that everyone knows and has probably encountered at one point in their life, but I have found that when you hear things from those you love at the most random of times, you tend to be more inspired, more likely to act on that advice and take it to heart than you would any other time. So this is for those who have yet to hear this from someone they know, from someone they love :-)

    


     So if you're feeling down and out, overwhelmed, pressured or inadequate, don't let yourself hold you back. Don't let what HAS happened, determine what WILL happen.

     I've been in India for the past month and even though it is one of the most spiritually filled countries in the world, I still have not been able to reconnect with my spiritual path as I had hoped. My sadhana practice was still floundering and I had no idea how to get back.

     For the past few days, I mulled over my favorite spiritual phrase lately, "Starting Over." If you've read my previous blogs, you know how frequently this has been mentioned on my spiritual path. Well I was doing it again. But this time I had inspiration from my fellow colleagues and namely a young woman named Zalpa ;-). On an extra long train ride from Jaipur to Varanasi, my group had many intriguing, funny and yet engaging conversations. And of course with all of us having religious or philosophical backgrounds, God, Truth, "The Search" was bound to arise. As we talked about these things and I was asked the typical questions of why the spiritual path or why this or that, it made me think of why I began my spiritual path and why I'm continuing it now. And I realized that my original motivations have changed. I have put so many rules and regulations on my spiritual practices...when I should do them, how I should do them for how long and how many times. I was approaching it like a daily task or a chore. The desire, the spark was gone and the only way for me to get it back is to return to the beginning. I have gotten so bogged down with shedding karmas and watching my thoughts, speech and action that I was overwhelming myself and losing sight of my initial craving. I have go back to the simplicity of the first day. I had to go back to my original motivation of simply wanting to be free, to have peace and truly know God.

     Over the course of our conversations, Zalpa mentioned her work for her Master's Thesis which was based on a book that she carried around for years from the age of 16. And this book was not "religious" in the sense that it was a part of any religious canon or referred to as a central authoritative text for any religion, but rather it was her canon. A book that gave her so much inspiration and guidance for her life. It was a book filled with inspirational poetry by the Sufi poet, Hafiz. And I was so inspired by her and the effect the book had on her that I wanted to read it too. I've heard of the beautiful poetry of Sufis and how their unconditional, never-ending love for God has taken them to bliss. I've always been interested in the mystical side of Islam so I figured why not.

     So last night, I ordered a copy of "A Year With Hafiz: Daily Contemplations" by Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky. And although this is not the exact same book that she first read, I figured having one poem a day to reflect one would be a good start for me (and it was the cheapest ;-).

     The book of course starts with January 1, but I figured I can start in the middle of June and work my way back around. If the Universe, if God wasn't trying to speak to me this morning I don't know what or who was. The first poem or rather the contemplation for the was the following poem called, "Pick the Lock,"




"There are so many keys on your ring, so many fine spiritual sayings you can recite, and maybe so many pictures of saints in your house.

But you rarely work hard enough, peer deep enough, to pick the lock.

You should have stopped reading pages ago, if not in this book, in another,

And just sat down and done whatever it took to grab God by the tail and pull Him from a cave in you."

                                     -Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky
                                      A Year With Hafiz, 2010



     About a year ago, I was saying to myself and to one of my spiritual teachers that I've read so many books and I've explored so many different methods and techniques that I have no idea where to start, but I knew it was time for me to stop reading and just DO. Isn't that crazy? Those last few lines truly spoke to me and resonated so deeply with my current status on the spiritual path. It made me ponder over why I feel the need to be so scheduled, so regimented, so organized with myself. Thinking it has to be this way or that, this time and that time when instead I should just sit down and do whatever comes from my heart. Hafiz has reminded me of the call for action to just do it instead of waiting around, reading book after book for something to happen, to get rid of all the rules and just flow from my heart. 

On a Sunday morning in Rajasthan, India, I had the amazing opportunity to check out a part of Jaipur that I don't think many tourists get to see. If it had not been for the efforts of Sita (for the purposes of confidentiality names have been changed ;-) my ISSJS colleagues and I were able to take a Heritage Walk around the Old Pink City side of Jaipur.

The Heritage Walks were started by a group of history buffs that wanted to take their knowledge back home and booster pride and historical knowledge about their home towns. I think that's personally amazing. I barely know anything historical about Fort Worth. I could tell you where to go eat, shop, cycle, picnic and the most beautiful spots there, but I couldn't give you the background, the journey it took to get there. So the fact that these Jaipurians (???) can divulge so much cultural information is so interesting.

But anywho, Sita arranged for one of these walks and we got to walk around the backstreets of Jaipur and you wouldn't believe the world that's back there. When I first went to this part of Jaipur I thought it was filled with bazaar after bazaar. I never imagined that there were people living behind them and the cost to stay there is baffling. Just a mere 50 or 60 rupees a month which equates to about a dollar, but that comes at a cost. The conditions were shocking and would be unimaginable for many Westerners. And yet, many Indians or at least many of the one's in Jaipur live this way and choose to live this way (according to the guide). I can't explain the conditions in words and that's where the wonderful invention which is photography comes into play.

I took many pictures, but I will only select a few impactful ones for this blog...