Exploring Mystic India

From the film

I needed some uplifting tonight.  We watched the film, “Mystic India.”  I’m fascinated by yogis, those who are truly advanced souls.  I think they come in many forms, some that we would least expect.  I suspect sometimes there are many homeless, as well as people who have suffered incredible life traumas and emerge with incredible inspiration for those they come in contact with, who are such yogis.

India, especially in the region of the Himalaya Mountains, is the land which one thinks of when you hear the word yogi.  These highest elevations in the world are said to hold ancient and hidden mystical wisdom and secrets.  Some have trekked their way through these high peaks on a journey towards their own elevated spirituality and enlightenment.

This film only touches upon the many wondrous possibilities this region has to offer, as you trace the route taken by one young yogi in his own journey of self-realization.   On June 29, 1792,  Neelkanth at age eleven left home and took on the harshest elements, barefoot, minimally clothed, and alone to discover enlightenment on an 8,000-mile journey that spanned seven years.  He endured freezing temperatures and wild animals, visited temples, exploring the diversity of India, while sharing his unique wisdom along the way with those he encountered.  He would later be known as Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

For further reading: http://www.mysticindia.com/index.htm

http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2008/10/teen-yogi-in-imaxs-mystic-india.html

http://www.swaminarayan.org/lordswaminarayan/biography/2.htm

The film is beautifully done with vivid colors, rituals, and architecture that only India has to offer.

So, tonight, I’m thankful for this inspiration.

 

 

Finding the G Spot – G Rated

This has been a work in progress for many years now.  I didn’t even know there was a G spot until something miraculous happened to me many years ago.  By G spot I’m talking about the God spot, wherever that exists, in my brain, in my heart, perhaps permeating every cell in our bodies, in our universe, at the same time playing hide and seek.  It’s very elusive, but once you find it you won’t mistake it for anything else.  At the same time, it seems to appear in it’s own good time.  For me, perhaps it will appear only once in this particular lifetime.

I haven’t had a near death experience; but I did have an experience while this body was still very much alive.  I briefly found the G spot.  I’m sharing it in hopes that it may give others comfort.

Several years back there was a channel on television called Wisdom I heard the phrase falling awake.  This is a good description, because the first sensation I felt prior to the experience was that of falling, a sort of free fall…you know that falling experience that you sometimes have before falling asleep.  The difference was instead of falling asleep I fell awake – truly awake.

The experience is not as vivid as it once was in my mind, although, the longing of re-experiencing it has entered my mind on a daily basis.  This might give you some insight as to its impact on my life.  It happened in November 1992.

It seemed to have become clearer to me once again after going through a divorce, and gave me comfort, probably because a haze had lifted at that time, and because I needed the reassurance of this experience.  At any rate, it is what I long for again, more than anything else.  It seemed more real than what we term as reality on earth.  After this experience I see everything around me as maya or illusion.  What happened to me was the only true reality.  Of this I am convinced.  I have over the span of years had other experiences of an astral or loving nature, but none to compare with this one.

After the falling sensation, I found myself floating out in the universe, as a ball of energy, around other balls of energy, which were like stars to me.  It was totally beautiful, and reminiscent of our Hubble telescope images of space.   I felt I was part of the Milky Way Galaxy, as afterwards, that is what I thought it most resembled.  The things I experienced were total bliss and ecstasy, and that I was a part of unconditional love, oneness with God.  I intuitively termed it as Source during the experience.  This unconditional love, wisdom and all knowledge were the Source of everything.  My experience of God was of this unconditional love, which emanated from the center, radiating outward.  It was what held the universe together.  Although, I was experiencing all of this love and oneness, I still felt individuality.  I felt that the other lights or stars were also souls.  Some of the interpretation comes from thoughts afterwards.  During the experience I knew all knowledge and wisdom where readily attainable; however, it all went away after the experience.  I didn’t ask any of life’s questions; although I think anything would have come intuitively.  All I cared about was being cradled in the metaphorical arms of God, like an innocent baby.  The other thing was the non-existence of time, which seemed perfectly natural, but was hard to understand after coming back into this existence.   Everything on this plane involves time.  With God time didn’t really exist.  It was like going home for a short period.  I can’t really tell you how long it lasted in earthly terms…. I think only minutes, as compared to hours.

Some people may describe this as out of body; however, I was more aware of what was happening in my body during this time than ever before.  It was as if I could feel every cell.  I was perfectly aware almost in a surreal way of everything physical, like I was in the body and in the heaven existence at the same time.  I didn’t want to come back from it, but when I thought of wanting to remain in this state was when I started to come back.  I could see this world in the background. Yet it was in black and white, and only an illusion, but still important or necessary. I looked at the sphere called earth knowing it was a school and a learning experience.   My daughter was just entering her teens.  My longing to remain there actually preempted any responsibility I felt as a mother.  The compelling force to stay in this bliss and ecstasy, and the unconditional love of God was so strong that nothing on earth could have held me.  Words cannot explain it.  Somehow I knew everything would continue and be fine without my earthly existence.  But these thoughts ended the experience.

There were no words spoken to me, or no meeting of any entities, just energy, and everything and everyone composed of energy and oneness and unconditional love.  For weeks afterwards, I had so much energy, and tried so hard to repeat the experience.

I wondered if this was happening to others.  I thought it couldn’t be.  If people knew this, there would be no wars, no anger of any kind at all.

Maybe one day again…. hopefully I will fall into this perfect state of bliss and love. There is absolutely nothing in this earthly existence that can compare.  If you even take the most loving experience you’ve ever had and multiple it one thousand times, you still could find no comparison.  When I’m listening to music now, I relate it to being in love with God.  Sinead O’Conner’s song, “Nothing Compares to You,” says it, as does the words to so many love songs.  I see God as all.  When I read Rumi, I know what he was talking about.  I have had other experiences, some major, some minor.  I think a lot of what I experience comes from this first experience.

I have no reason why this happened.

After this there was no more “just belief.”  There was “knowing.”  I termed it as going to heaven.  I hadn’t pictured heaven this way.  It certainly wasn’t in human terms as it is so often described.  I grew up in churches preaching fire and brimstone.  So, I expected to see a judgmental Jesus in clouds.  I’m not a churchgoer anymore that is going to church buildings, and wasn’t at the time this happened.

I have found spiritual people along the way since this happened and talked about it and found others who have also had similar experiences.  I have read.  I learned the term Samadhi.  I know there are different levels.  I briefly encountered one level.  Through synchronicity, I picked up a book in our house, not knowing where it even came from or how I had it.  It was by Yoganada.  Since then I’ve been reading him almost daily.  He lived this experience everyday.  I could literally see this heaven in his eyes in a photograph of him, taken one hour before the death of his earthly body.

I’m no one special.  I have no idea why this glimpse of God was given to me.  I still have no answers; well, maybe a few more than I did have.  I know that unconditional love holds everything together.

I heard a statement from Deepak Chopra; although, I don’t think it is his originally; and I may not have it exactly right.  “Every saint has a past.  Every sinner has a future.”  This statement certainly gives us all hope.

I’m certainly thankful for this experience.

For Valentine Month – Thy Will Be Done & How I Met Superman

The Wedding Dinner

I was listening to an interview with Debbie Ford. In it she said if you only pray one prayer, pray, “Thy will be done.” I totally agree with that. God can dream much better things for us than we can ourselves even imagine.

So many people are looking for their soul mate. I have a somewhat different take on soul mates. I believe that soul mates are our teachers; therefore, they can be anyone we come in contact with, even for a brief time. Sometimes what we need to be taught is not that pleasant for us. I definitely see my first husband as my soul mate. I may have flunked that lesson. It takes two to make a relationship. This applies to any relationship – not just that of spouses. I often hear people putting all the blame on this one or that one. We all play the victim at times and the victimizer, the controller and the controlled. It’s our dual nature until we learn better. I have learned that in any troubled relationships that I may have that I am the one common denominator in them all.  A twin soul on the other hand is someone you are really in sink with and are ready to take that next spiritual step with.

This is about the day I prayed, “Thy will be done.” what led up to it and what followed. This prayer is often prayed after we’ve exhausted all other means of trying to manipulate life the way we think it should be.

I was acquainted with a wonderful woman and her daughter. I had known them for a few years, and found we had so much in common. I especially shared a lot of interests with the mother. We thought much in the same way, liked reading the same kinds of books, etc. I didn’t know the rest of the family, but through more and more contact with her met one of her sons. We had both been single for a couple of years. We began to date. I found I didn’t have as much in common with him; but still I was calculating my plans for becoming a member of this family. Losing my mother about five years earlier played a role, and I think I was looking for a substitute.

I loved spending time with the mother and daughter, but the son wasn’t exactly drooling over me as planned. I was still, you might say, “settling” for this relationship, thinking well you can’t really have it all. My daydreams about finding that perfect man said otherwise though.

The course of this entire relationship was less than two months. He did take me out for dinner at a nice restaurant and point blank asked me what kind of man I wanted. I used my daydreams as a reference and bolted out, “Superman, I want Superman.”

Shortly, thereafter, I had a business trip planned and was fretting over the care of my dog. He offered to come over and feed her. I was so relieved. Upon returning home I found my dog half starved. It takes a lot to make me mad, but this did it. With the utmost determination I started thinking I don’t deserve this and began praying. I basically said, “God, I’m tired of being single. You know the kind of man that would be best for me. You pick him.”

A couple of days passed. I sort of forgot about the prayer. I started looking on line using the keyword art and found Chris’s picture and bio. It sounded like we had a lot in common. I wrote about three lines of email to him to which he responded with a rather lengthy one. He started calling, and within a week drove the two and one half hours that it took to meet me. He said he knew he wanted to marry me the minute I came to the door. It took me a full day. Our first date was a five-mile hike. Now we celebrate our first date anniversary with a hiking trip.

I hadn’t had any more contact with the one who didn’t feed my dog until one day he just showed up asking me what had happened and why I hadn’t shown up at his family’s for Thanksgiving. I replied, “Do you remember when you asked me what kind of man I wanted?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Well he flew in.”

He also met someone, getting married about the same time Chris and I did. All is well with his mother and sister. We are still great friends, as they are also with Chris. I also married into a great family, as all of Chris’s family have heartily embraced me as their own.

In my phone notebook you will find Chris’s office number under Superman. It’s been almost ten years now, and I’ve had no reason to change it.

I’m thankful that Chris taught me that when you have to be gone from the house for any length of time you just leave a giant bag of dog food out.  Duh?  But, in the grander theme of things I’m glad I didn’t know that at the time.

 

The Spiritual Journey of a Child

The view from our front porch

That would have to be in the beginning.  No, correction, if we are all a part of God, and God has no beginning or no end, then in the beginning couldn’t really be accurate.  I really can’t imagine no beginning or no end, but God is far beyond my imagination.

If the spiritual journey comes down to lifetimes then I really can’t say, as any remembrance of lifetimes is scanty to say the least. In this lifetime my first recollected God connection moment was when I was around eight.  I was in the wooded area near our house, lying in warm overgrown grass looking up at the clouds, thinking God was in those clouds.  All my senses were alive.  I felt the soft crunch of the grass, the warm ground, and the kind breeze and was in awe of all life around me – the bees, the worms, and the insects.  There was nowhere God was not.  God was the entire life and beauty of the moment.

It’s strange what we remember when we were young.  This, however, is one of my strongest memories.  I’m thankful to carry this memory of seeing through the eyes of a child.

 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

From our flower garden one year

How many times have you heard a statement or read something or saw something of the simplest nature that has had the profoundest effect on you?  That one simple thing that took up a mere second of your life comes back to you over and over as one of the best spiritual teachings you’ll ever receive.

When I was a teenager I saw written on an overpass, “Jesus is coming soon, and man is he pissed.” I think sad might be a more appropriate term than pissed, since I personally think Jesus is on a much higher plane than “pissdom.”  Still, I think the graffiti artist or poet definitely got the point across by using that term.  It’s more that we should be pissed at the messes we have gotten ourselves into by not respecting ourselves, others or nature.

One of the other most profound teachings I heard was something that was repeated to me by one of my best friends.  Our teacher, a Himalayan monk, called her by name, and told her to be happy.  I am still analyzing the significance of this statement.  How could he tell her to just be happy when so much in her world was crumbling around her from her own personal tragedies and those happening in the lives of most of her loved ones?  Was it really that simple – just be happy?

She did take his advice.  Things in her life that seem insurmountable began to dissolve.  There are still struggles but she has an inner faith and beauty that radiates outward with which she takes on life’s challenges.  She plucks each weed one at a time.

All of us have the Garden of Eden within.  Most of us have let the weeds take over.  We have not only let the weeds take over.  We water them as well.

The neglect of our gardens has gone on for so long that the task of refurbishing it becomes daunting.   The weeds have intertwined with our good plants trying to suffocate them

We don’t realize who we are or the potential we possess.  We are not self-realized.  We label ourselves as fat, skinny, poor, sick, aching, sad, depressed, unlovable, or ugly. We identify with a disease or the divorce we went through or some other tragedy or drama that has played out in our life, never letting go long enough to see the lesson in it.  Our petals would open with our own true brilliant color if we would just quit watering the weeds.

As Buddha said, “Happiness is the way.”

Law of Attraction Gone to the Dogs

I’m thankful for synchronicity and answered prayer.

(I believe that every genuine thought is a prayer, and that every prayer is answered.  “Ask and ye shall receive.” On some days we think today I’m going to be happy and we are.  On other days we think I’m going to be sick, and we are.  Thoughts can’t be forced.  Forced thoughts only provide counter thoughts.  I do believe outlooks can be changed towards the positive which in turn can change our thoughts towards the positive.  This is a re-post of something I previously wrote – something true.)

So much is written about the law of attraction.  I see it working in my life daily.  Sometimes I judge it as good, sometimes bad.  This is an example of good.

I’m learning more about the process.  Mostly we go about our lives letting our subconscious control us.  The subconscious is like a computer waiting for commands, functioning well when we have a clean cache and give it precise commands, or operating erratically when we give it confused signals.  I have discovered through various life experiences that the subconscious respects and responds to authority, better yet, authority with determination.  I’m going to give true examples here.

We had buried our Labrador Abigail.  She had been with me for almost sixteen years and with my husband for over a year.  Dogs probably do outlast spouses in this day and age.  It’s almost a must to have a dog when you live on a farm.  It took almost six months before I became ready for another dog.  We were beginning to plan out our hiking trails in the woods surrounding the house.  Our neighbors were reporting see bob cats and even bears in the area.  This hadn’t really bothered me, as I hadn’t experienced sightings myself.  My aunt had made the comment, “Aren’t you scared walking in the woods by yourself?”  Well, I hadn’t been; but the power of her words seeped in.

The next day as I was walking enjoying the beauty of nature that busy voice within me was talking away.  It said, “God, I think I’m reading for another dog now, preferably a German Shepard, as you know that is what Chris wants, since he seems to think that breed will provide me protection out here.”  My busy inner voice continued on to some other matter, as I walked on towards the house.

The next day I went out to enjoy the path we had lain out thus far.  As I was within a tenth of a mile from the house, I saw what seemed to be a pure bred German Shepard facing me.  We both stood there frozen staring at each other for a moment.  My mind kept saying over and over, please be friendly… please be friendly.  The dog followed me back to the house.  It took a little while for me to remember the prayer  that I had stated the day before.  And when I did, I was in total awe.  We named the dog Abner.  We suspected that there were two dogs; one died along the interstate, the other made it’s way through the woods to our property.  Abner was old and sad, as if he had lost his partner.  He only lived a few months, but he had a good home I think until his death.

After Abner’s death Chris said, “What we need is a puppy.” The next day a lady who worked in his office approached him asking if we might be interested in one of a bunch of German Shepard Elk Hound puppies her aunt needed to give away – another moment of astonishment to say the least.  She was visiting her aunt that weekend and would even bring one to us, and we lived quite a distance.

Well, Elmer was a very friendly dog, and perhaps I gave him too much attention as a puppy.  He loved the long walks in the woods, but he wanted that kind of nearness on a non-stop basis.  He liked to roam the neighborhood.  Being surrounded by other farms we have a large neighborhood.  One day he didn’t return after one of his outings.  All of our inquiries led to dead ends.  Different neighbors would say I saw him a few days ago. We think a family, with children, eventually adopted him.  Elmer moved on.  We moved on.

One day as I was mowing the lawn I thought about Abigail as I was mowing over her grave.  I wondered if she had been reincarnated.  I remembered how she was so afraid and would practically knock me down to protect her self from other dogs.  In our neighborhood, there were two vicious dogs; obviously, the owner had trained to be hostile.  Getting past these dogs was a real chore.  Abigail proved to be no protection against them.

I silently, with determination and authority said, “God, you know I really didn’t want a German Shepard.  That was really what my husband wanted.  What I really want is another lab, this time with a little bit more fierceness built in.”

Later that day, the phone rang.  It was Chris.  He said, “Jerri, someone dumped two lab puppies off in one of the professor’s backyard last night.  He wants to know if we would be interested?”  So, wow, can you imagine my surprise!  Well, by this point, I guess I wasn’t SO surprised.  We’ve had Barney now for over three years.  We extended our trail to the woods nearing the house of the neighbor with the vicious dogs.

Unbeknownst to us he expanded his wild pack from two to five.  At one time, Barney held all five dogs off me.  He got a little scratched up in the process, but that didn’t deter him.  Chris fenced that area so neither Barney nor I would have to contend with them.

Barney and I just returned from our walk.

Home is Where the Heart Is

We just returned from a friend’s house.  There were six of us, and she cooked a wonderful lunch.  There was so much love that went into the meal, and so much warmth around the table reconnecting with friends we hadn’t seen for awhile.  I’m thankful for the sharing of one’s home.  We have encountered that a lot over the last several years as we’ve gained many new friends traveling along our spiritual path.

Home is definitely where the heart is as the old saying goes.  I feel the beat of my heart as I write this.  If everyone followed their heart wouldn’t life be much simpler and much happier?

So how does my own heart beat when it comes to my living space?  I follow my own heart when it comes to my own home.  I should say our home.  It is helpful to have a partner whose heart beats in a very similar fashion.   We live more rustically than most.  In looking around I find I pattern much after nature.  The rock from the outside, and we have plenty of this on our farm, has been moved to the inside.  We have two rock fireplaces – well we actually use wood burning stoves.  Both are truly unique.  Our home overall is truly unique as each person’s should be.  When you walk into our home you see an eclectic mix of materials, patterns, textures and objects that resemble us but at the same time don’t define us.

Since we are empty nesters I will mention children briefly.  Grandchildren may delightfully change our home scenario in the future; but for now it is just the two of us.  You can always tell a home where there is children.  You walk in and toys are everywhere.  If I ever go into a home with children and don’t have to maneuver around toys, a sadness lingers.  Something just isn’t right.  I do feel children should be as much a part of every room as the adults are.  I remember one summer having the couch by the window.  I could lie on the couch watching television while my daughter rode by repeatedly on her tricycle by the opened window playing drive through.  We used various toys for food and monopoly money for payment.  At other times I would come home and she would greet me at the door like I was entering a restaurant, seating me, with menus written up, mints by the door, and taking my visa for payment.  She had quite the imagination.  No, she didn’t go into the restaurant business.  We did however, pass on to her as did my mother, her grandmother, a love of food, and she is quite a good cook now.  It is really hard to mention children briefly, so I will cut myself off at this point.  However that brings me to one of the most important areas of the house – the kitchen or eating area.

We are one of the few families that actually use our dining room full time.  Our kitchen is rather compact, and the dining room is the only eating area.  It is actually the center of the house and gets a lot of use.  We like lots of warmth as well as light.  You might feel you are entering into a fantasy when entering our dining room.  The walls are painted a shade of orange with tinted yellow woodwork and a vermillion cupboard.  Dishes are equally colorful.  Several years ago I went wild with colors covering all the white walls.  Call it menopause, but it was definitely time for a change, and I haven’t tired of the colors one bit.

Both my husband and I have a great love of the outdoors.  We love that we are virtually in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of the woods.  We love to let all this beauty in with lots of windows.  It’s good for reading, which brings me to another essential element of a home filled with heart – books.

Sometimes I wonder why we collect so many books.  Each time I vow not to buy another and just read what we already have, I see one more, no five more I think I can’t do without.  My husband has this same addiction.  I think I’m preparing for those days ahead if they do come to pass when we may be forced back to simpler times.  And what do you need in simpler times – well, besides a horse and a plow – books.  Books are everywhere in our house – yes, even the bathroom.

I think the bathroom at one time used to be the most overlooked part of the house.  What was once simply utilitarian has grown in some homes to resemble ancient Egyptian baths.  Bathrooms now can be as much living spaces as the rest of the house. We are fortunate that my husband can do tile work.  Tile has been the main theme in our bathrooms, one large one and one small one.  Our bodies are made mostly of water; therefore, we should pay no less attention to the room that holds our lifeblood – water.

This is the inside scoop.  Stay tuned for the outside scoop.

What is home to you?

Beginning 2011 with Yogananda

Be Victorious Meeting Life’s Challenges

“Walk with courage. Go forward from day to day with calm, inner faith. Eventually, you will pass beyond every shadow of bad karma, beyond all tests and difficulties, and will behold at last the dawn of divine fulfillment. In that highest of all states of consciousness will come freedom from every last, trailing vapor of misfortune.”

— from How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence
by Paramhansa Yogananda

I’m always so inspired by Yogananda.  This picture inspires me as well.  It was taken an hour before he left the physical body.  God shines so strongly from his eyes.  I’m thankful to start the new year reading something daily from Yogananda.

 

Inspired by Nature

I wrote this earlier, but we are once again at this point in Mother Nature’s cycle.  Even though summer is my favorite season I’m thankful for all the seasons, as a different beauty unfolds in all of them.

“When I discovered a new plant I sat down beside it for a minute or a day to make its acquaintance and hear what it had to tell.”  John Muir   He was truly a yogi, a Rumi of nature.

I had been thinking about John Muir on Friday, and later turned on PBS to find the Ken Burns series on National Parks showing.

Last night, or rather early this morning at 1:15 AM we observed the full moon but only mistily and briefly, as it was cloudy.  We were fortunate to observe it at its peak.  I was told it was good start new things after a full moon meditation, particularly this full moon.

I haven’t been out in nature like I used to, mostly finding excuses such as it’s too wet or too cold.  I decided today was the day to re-start hiking.  My husband and I went out today.  Even though the temperature was in the teens I was surprised at how quickly I warmed up.  I was layered to the max.

We are most fortunate that we have the wonder of nature in our own back yard.  If ever there was a spirituality it is in nature.

 

 

Life-Changing Books

About four years ago I discovered a life-changing book.  It was “Where There is Light” by Paramahansa Yogananda.  I was leaving to pick up my husband from work and hurriedly grabbed a book from the bookcase to read while waiting in the parking lot.  The pure truth of it resonated with me like embracing a forgotten part of my soul.  I examined the book trying to visualize how it happened to be on my bookshelf.  I could usually remember how each book came to me.  I finally remembered it came from A.R.E. as a free gift.  It truly was a gift, one that I had neglected for years, but as they say…. when the time is right, or when the student is ready the teacher will come.

I had never heard of Yogananda until that book.  The next book to follow was his most famous, “Autobiography of a Yogi.”  His other books followed.  It was the beginning of a change in spiritual course for both my husband and I.

I recently got the unaltered version of “Autobiography of a Yogi,” and am now re-reading.  Hardly a day has passed since that first day of discovery that I have not read the words of Yogananda.  I am so incredibly thankful for his teaching.