THANKSgivng

Happy Thanksgiving all, only one day late!!! I have so many things to be thankful for. So I shall just state thank you existence, and Swamiji!

There is one thing I would like to talk about, and thank in particular though. An event that changed my life. What? I got a dog. Well actually my family got a dog, but you know, same thing. I have had dogs my whole life, I was born at home with a dog (Carmen) in the next room, My first word? Dog leash. I swear I'm not kidding. When we moved to Ohio Ashram in 2008 we gave all our pets including our two dogs, Rosie and Bojangles, away. That has always been the sore point about our move, friends? I could deal with, new house? It's a house, but the dogs....
When we moved into our own house in 2009 we could conceivably get dogs again, but my parents where done with that part of our life. The long walks twice a day, fenced in yards, hair everywhere. I wasn't though, I was just waiting for the day I could get a dog again. Then on Tuesday we got a call. "would you like Bojangles back?" No reason just that call. The funny thing is my want for the dogs had seriously increased when my friends talked about their dogs I would get teary eyed, and I spent long minutes at those friends houses fondling over their dogs. Long story short we have Bo back. A medium sized Golden Retriever/ Irish setter mix. He is getting quite old 13, in fact (91 in dog years) but is exactly the same, albeit slower and with a more pronounced limp. Here is a picture of him, and I. So thank you countless times Swamiji you have made this the most thankful thanksgiving ever.

Here's a picture Bo and me, taken today by my mum.

A Total First

Today I had my first official driving lesson. My mother taught me, in a large parking lot for a business no open on weekend. It went pretty well, the parking lot was comprised of many smaller parking lots all parallel to each other, so I only got up to about 24 mph, and got in A LOT of turning practice. I only had one small mishap, although it wasn't even that, I pressed the gas a little to hard, turning the wrong way and nearly hit a trash bin, but mum screamed at me, and I missed it so... that was OK.
One interesting thing did happen though, I got stopped by the police. Yea, how many people get stopped by the police in their first HOUR of driving, it wasn't for anything bad though. He was just wondering why we had been slowly meandering around the parking lot for over an hour. I guess if I was a board (or not) police man I would have stopped me too. Anyway he did an official "check up" on me, mum, the car, the owner of the car (dad) the insurance etc. (I could hear it all though his walkie talkie thing. He then gave me a quick driving tip, told me good luck and went away.
Let me add he didn't just coast up, he had the lights flashing, so I guess I should have said in addition to starting, stopping, and turning I had a lesson in what to do when the cops pull you over which is always useful, right?
I always imagine cops going home to their house that has their wife who just finished cooking dinner, and his kids, about age 10 and sitting down at a big oval table and the cop telling his family of that days stories "Today I stopped a girl who was just learning how to drive, her first hour" he might say. Probably really unlikely, but hey that's what goes through me head. Check back in soon, I have another lesson in the parking lot tomorrow and a Holiday parade to march in for band. (Last year there was a camel at it!) so more stories!

Photo Credits: me!!! It was taken from a school bus window, which is a motor vehicle like a car... get it?

An edible step in life

Over the course of my four years (well a little less then that) of being around the temple the only jobs I have ever done were a Pooja assistant and doing the pictures and videos. Both jobs are very nice in their own ways, but I feel a lot that they do not directly help OUR temple. Today though I did something that totally shifted my volunteering contribution. I became an anadattaa in other words I cooked Swamiji's dinner. Big. For me at least it was a simple meal, but came out pretty well in my opinion. It makes me feel though that I have taken a big step in life. Cooking is something the adults do, something very mature. Not that I want to grow up super fast or anything, it's just well it is a good, so there!

Changes in the Temple

Hello Readers,
Although I have already written about some changes that have occurred in my life (the shift out of band, the end end of term) yet more changes have occurred in my "other" life. Temple that is. To promote the meditation side of our temple we have cut back on rituals and spend more time flyering, and doing talks and programs. That is good and all, and I am sure it will help, but it caused a big shift in how I look at things. I think I have felt sort of frustrated the past few weeks with the weekly Anandaswara Abhishekum, juggling doing the video, helping with it the alankar, trying to block out the noise of rituals while editing and so fourth, ignore the people walking back and fourth (I edit the videos right in the temple shrine). But today although I can say it was quite nice, and I got done faster just to do the video, I missed doing, well, helping with the abhishekum. It's not even physically helping out with the abhishekum, but being in the area with a high energy frequency then usual seems to recharge me.

Old Memories

Every year the school were my dad works, and were I went for my elementary education holds a soup supper to help raise money for the school. So last night I went and it was quite fun, I spent the evening hanging out with old friends (this is the town I lived in for nearly 13 years) meeting their new friends, catching up on all the high school news etc. Very fun. At the end of the night when everyone was wiping the bits of soup with hunks of homemade bread a slide show was show showing pictures from who knows when, but a REALLY long time ago. It was much tear wiping and sniffling as everyone gathered in that room watched the history and present of the school that built up part of their childhood when it was over my good friend Lara turned to me and another friend of ours Clair and goes we have to go outside. And so we did. We went and sat or climbed on, or swung on every piece of playground equipment chatting about what we used to do, and how we did it. A friend of Lara's John was there as well and he took pictures of us reminiscing.
As we left the town pulling down the main street of shops the pear trees lining the streets festively decked out in strings of white lights a small part of me wished I could have finished growing up in that town. Go to a 200 person high school vs my 1500 person one. Been able to bike to school everyday, and walk to friends houses rather then get a ride everywhere, but I realized if I had grown up there, I would just be an average teenager from yellow springs. I probably wouldn't be spending evenings at a Hindu temple, getting to talk to Swamiji, or even go to India. Everything would have been different, and honestly even if it's harder I would never give up what I have gotten the past few years living in this central Ohio town for going back to little Yellow Springs.

Melting my heart

Right this second i am sitting in the basement of the temple on the soft carpet. Before my very eyes is Swamiji on the screen preforming darshan. Every movment of his so presice and exact. His back straight hair black, thick, and full. All of this i observe from the front row in the temple Ananda Sabha. currently the newst and latest program eN Relationships is closing it's first session of the weekend. The program went all night long. I stayed for the first until about one am and the last part. Oming in about 11:45 am. I am as usual the photographer for the event, which means that I have the most amazing oppertunity of sitting in for darshan. Sitting here and watching Swamiji go through the beautiful movments of darshan
The only I can think about is wanting to go to India and see him there be in the wonderful spiritual energy center of Bidadi ashram. It has been a little under two years since i last saw Swamiji in person February of 2010. But at least we have this video conferencing which is better then nothing!

Thoughts and Silence

Dearest Readers,

Many things and changes have come about my life since last I wrote. I have thought about writing about them, tried to visualise putting the words to paper (keyboard) many times, but never could bring myself to do it. I am still not ready to go into detail, it's not a matter of ready or not, it's just this isn't the time. To breifly state I have had a lot of inner conflict about my life, values, and so forth. I feel they are not 100% under my belt, but I am definetly getting there. There is something today though that gave me courage to keep on the harder path of a spiritual life. See it's so much easier (OK I am going into this a bit) to just do what all the other girls in my school are doing, do what they do, just fade away from the teenage uninhabited temple. Today some friends of mine came over for tea (see, I will never be your average teen) and we were talking about ... I don't even remember but we got onto the topic of falling asleep. My two friends were talking about how it's always hard for them to fall asleep because they think so much and cannot quiet there thoughts down. Now I will not venture to say that I am livivng in the present state, but I barely think, and I do feel there is a clear shift in my thoughts, also, when I want to stop thinking before sleep I just do!! Done. Finshed. Complete! I know it hasn't always been this way, when I was younger I would have to listen to music to fall asleep, I think because focusing on it would quiet my mind.
That's all I have to say, thought you might find it interesting. Remember to comment!!!

Photo Credit: My mother, taken on halloween night while trick or treating.