Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017

Each day becomes a lovely blur now, as I imbibe so much wisdom and experience so much love and connection. I ran my normal trail run to Chidambaram for puja; a lovely service. Back for a late and solitary breakfast in the quiet Sivananda Hall. Made a quick jaunt to the library to research symbolosim of Saraswati before catching a ride with Sundarum to Ganesh puja at Kailash. Not only does Ganesha offer removal of obstacles, he also represents auspicious new beginnings, so on the first of each month a special Ganesh puja is held. I also got to help a little with the puja and I liked that! Then lunch--an amazingly delicious (but all the meals seem to be amazingly delicious!!) lunch of sautéed tomatoes and olive combined into a chunky, savory sauce heaped on polenta. I hope the last meal before I die is here at the ashram! Send me to heaven with a full and happy belly! And for dessert, I enjoyed a delightful and intriguing conversation with Santi R. who I find to be an incredibly stimulating person with such wonderful energy. I mucked around all afternoon, did a deep yoga relaxation, went to dinner and washed my stinky running clothes. At dinner, I talked again with Solana, who told stories of her experiences in various ashrams and of her education and experience. She is also amazing and has had extraordinary experiences with Amma and John of God and Swami Satchidananda. I think she did a lot of good in her past lives to have been fortunate enough to live all over the world and follow holy, powerful people as she has done. Sigh! It kindles desire in me to do the same. In fact, I've talked with several people who have lived in different parts of the world and experienced the presence of and time with different enlightened masters and I feel these discussions are tempting me toward the same path. Echoes of these talks burn in my mind without cessation every day.