http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Saskatoon-Art-of-Living-Course.html?soid=1102455631854&aid=BqrTScyNpOM

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Saskatoon-Art-of-Living-Course.html?soid=1102455631854&aid=BqrTScyNpOM

Coming back!!

Wow - its been a while since i blogged last....its been a whirlwind of activity and not much rest. This is what life is like though, and that is how i like it anyway.

After Gurupoornima celebrations in Hartford, i was in the ashram for about a month. I had the privileged in this time to do Sri Sri Yoga TTC. Yes, it is a privilege to do this course.

I have never had such deep rest in my meditations, such depth in every moment of the course. The yoga asanas are simple yet, SO deep and profound. My favourite sessions were the knowledge session in the evening and mid-morning with Krishanji. Such depth!!! Krishanji is unbelievable, i really have no words. Such simplicity, yet such depth, wit, humour and makes everyone feel so comfortable. I could go on and on about him....i feel very blessed to have spent so much time with him with such deep knowledge.

Now i am back in Toronto (Brampton actually) and have kept my promise to myself of doing at least an hour of yoga everyday! Its AMAZING, my body feels great, all my little aches and pains are gone, and the mind is in amazing shape. sharp, focused, clear and without doubt it is without doubts : ) lol....

I co-taught a course with Larissa, one of our dynamic teachers downtown - and i would like to share the experience of one of our students. He is really an awesome guy, and he is having experiences like ones i had about a year after doing my first part 1 course. Enjoy....and i will write more....

Larissa and Shreya,

Thank you thank you THANK YOU for volunteering your time and holding the class for us.

I'm in on the 40 day pact though I think it's going to be more like a 40 YEAR pact for me. I've been doing it every day and plan to keep it up.

In the short time since this all started, the changes in my life have been.......life changing :-)

I've been telling some of the less close minded people at work about the weekend, about the course, about Art of Living, about what it's doing for me. I've even had a couple people ask for the URL so they could look into it more.

One example of what it's done is yesterday morning, I went for a root canal at 0730 Hrs. Sat down in the chair, started doing the 4-4-6-2 breathing (can't remember how to pronounce it or write it), after about 30 minutes of the breathing, while the dentist was drilling like a miner, I was so relaxed and at peace I fell asleep.

Really though, the changes are subtle. How I view the world that is right around me, how I consider my relation to that world, how I view the people in the world around me. Thats a big change. I've been walking around all week feeling unbounding JOY flowing through me. I can't put into words what it feels like to be in a constant state of Joy but I'm guessing you two already know full well what I'm talking about. This feeling of unbounded and limitless Joy is like a narcotic. I can't get enough and can never NOT have it again!

Really, if only you could peek inside the head and heart of who I was before "The Weekend". I spent most of my time fearful of people, irritated at what their expectations were of me (transference), pissed off at what I thought they thought of me (what I thought ...) ....... those things are all GONE. Yes, every once in a while the old patterns do stick up their heads but when they do, I recognize them, stop, put myself "in that particular moment" and the old pattern lgoes away. The joy returns. I am feeling on a daily basis the way I always in my heart thought I should feel and knew that I wanted to be able to feel but didn't know how.

One of the Supervisors at work who works under me had a conversation with me, she brought up some contentious topics about what she thought of me, my management style and the present rapport on the management team. I just looked at her and in that moment, felt nothing but joy for the person who she was. What she was saying, I heard. What she was saying did not make me angry, did not make me doubt myself, did not make me feel the need to immediately change things (things that I know are being done right anyways). I refused to be the football. I also saw with clarity what fears were driving her statements and could see how she was being influenced by the words of others. I couldn't have been that objective in that situation in the past. I also felt NO FEAR. I didn't feel WRONG. I didn't feel INCAPABLE. I knew, in that moment with her saying these things, perfectly well who I was, felt perfectly happy with who I was and continued to ride the crest of that feeling of Joy. It was actually quite surreal an experience to be faced with a situation I used to dread being faced with yet be able to react the way I knew I should be reacting.... reacting from a place of peacefullness, calmness and happiness.

Most of my life has been spent concerned with and working towards ten minutes in the future, an hour in the future, a day in the future, a week in the future....etc. I had a hard time to relax and never thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing (even though I thought I did) because each moment seemed like a waste of time getting to the next moment. Walking someplace was a complete waste of time because it meant I was wasting time I could be using achieving the next moment, interacting with people was a waste of time because it kept me from achieving some elusive and obscure goal that I knew, I just KNEW had to be on the imminent horizon.

It's all gone. That feeling. That sense of urgency. That jittery restlessness. That sense of having to move forward from "this moment" that occupation of my mind that kept me from truly interacting with and truly being with and truly relating to the people around me. It's all gone. I'm walking around in a state of successive moments and each one of those moments is perfect and inside each of those moments I am perfect and each one of those moments is "the only moment in the world". Yes, the old patterns stick up their head sometimes. Like above though, I recognized them and I say to myself, "No, just be now. Just be HERE right now. Yes.... thats it.... "that" moment in the future will come in it's own time and when it comes, it will come but just for right now, it's just right now". Thats sort of how the inner monologue goes and it brings me ZAP, right there, it makes me live-see-breath that moment I'm in right now. I used to think I knew what it was not to be stressed. I can't tell you how much this living in the moment has shown me what stress truly was.... by allowing me to experience it's absence.

There is work involved. This way of being and thinking is still so new that I make mistakes along the way but I always learn from my mistakes. I know it takes time to integrate everything. My life has been a successive series of lessons on patience though so I'm good with it. I know I'll get there eventually but I'm not rushing it and I'm being kind and easy on myself about it. I'm just taking it one moment at a time :-)

I could go on but I won't. I will just say that last night I ate a bowl of ice cream and for the first time, truly experienced and really tasted what Vanilla is. Oh.....smiling..... smiling a lot. Keeping the Guruji grin on my face every chance I get! Now if I only had more people I could hug...!!!!

You two are my superstars. If I can ever be of service or do anything for either of you, you only have to ask. I truly hope this isn't the last I've seen of either of you!!

Peace be with you both,
Jim

What an amazing 68 days!!!

Ok, so its not 68 days yet - but by the time i get on a plane to go back to Canada, it will have been.....

I should have said - what an amazing 365 days, coz for the past year, life has truly been a celebration. Every day brought fresh new surprises and amazing people and situations into my life. It has not necessarily been easy, but it has definately been too much fun!!

I landed a day before Guruji's Birthday, and we had an awesome satsang and prasad at our local Sanatan Dharma Temple for HIS Birthday. It was good catching up with everyone and seeing everyone.

The next month was a blur - we had a great course at Kamiti prison - see some experiences here http://www.youtube.com/user/ShreyaYES - still have to translate and caption the videos, and then meetings and intro-talks etc etc... was socialising and catching up with all my family at the same time. So every moment everyday was preciously used.

Anyway - took some time to attend a friend's wedding. IT WAS AWESOME!!! normally i dont enjoy them too much, its too much indulgence in everything and makes me ill by the end of it. This wedding was short, sweet, to the point and the food was also balanced and not ridiculously unhealthy and rich - the family was happy and not tired all the time and EVERYONE really enjoyed the wedding and all the functions. It was for once a perfect Indian wedding, not too much and not too little.

For the hen night we went to Sunbird Lodge - i give it 7 stars!!! Amazing place to go relax and catch up with friends. Awesome sceneries from every cottage and Lake Elmentaita was FULL of flamingos, it was soooo pink. We saw great game at Lake Naivasha Game Reserve....every time i make a trip out of Nairobi, the beauty of Kenya stuns me more and more......we have so much natural bueaty and wildlife here....i wish we looked after it better...

Anyway came back and had some great intro-talks, made some good contacts and had a YES+ course organised out of it. It happened at the Gurudwara in Brookside. At the same time we had a 2 day refresher course going on and a Breath Water Sound course going on in Kwangware area. It was a great week and weekend, very busy, but there is nothing better in the world than being busy doing what you love to do, you never feel any tiredness and can keep on going! Really, ask me... ; )

Since then my partner in crime Nimo left to go back to her home far far away....so our chill time at Zen Garden also was no more... (seriously try the chai tea latte there!) Its where we would go and plan our next course, or action plan. So of course, something exciting has now come up.....I AM GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE WORLD CUP. In case you didnt know it from my facebook, you do now! I am excited....and very very greatful to an extremly generous cousin who i have not met in the longest time for doing this for me. Yes, there are still people like this on the planet, and i am related to one, actually i am related to many of them : ) So off i go to S.A and will be posting the next blog once i am back....

In my cousin's honour - i'll post a pic he took during the opening game...JGD.

What a Life! Seriously......full of grace!

I have not been blogging for a while as i thought, i am not doing a lot of teaching so why write about everything else i am doing. I then realised that teaching is such a small part of what i do.

I have been in Canada for the past couple of weeks and have had an absolutely amazing time here. I have experienced grace in my life at every moment. This concept of experiencing grace in our lives used to be very alien for me. What do people mean when they say this ? Well, they couldn't explain it well enough to me, and now i know why. So in my own small way, i will do my best to describe....

Have you had times in life when you felt like......i didn't do anything to make that happen. Even though you may have made decisions, organised, helped, worked hard - but at the end of it, it all felt like an unseen hand was guiding you along and things were just happening around you and through you. I think these are the times when grace is in our lives. I feel so much through the people who surround me, and i feel like i know what they need to feel good, happy, to heal and to feel loved. I have also realised in the last few weeks that there is nothing people in the world want but LOVE. That is all they want. To feel loved and accepted, and all the negative as well as positive emotions and actions that come out of it are all attached to wanting love.

So then i wonder what is love ? Is it the ooey gooey feeling of being with someone, one person and loving them so totally ? I think not. I think love can be in every action, and this i have seen through observing Guruji. Everything he does, its done with so much love. Even one look from him makes you feel so special. What is it about Him ? If you transmit love, in your very presence people can feel it. Its like living life the way God intended for us to live it. Eventually you start becoming quite insignificant, and only the love that is transmitted stays. This is because of the definite knowledge that you are not the body and that there is an un-seen hand that guides and moves and observes and does eveything in this universe and this unseen hand knows what is good for you better than you do. So you realx and let things happen the way they are meant to, but at the same time fully participating in this happening.......confusing ? lol....Think about it a little.....

Next post will be from Kenya now i guess. Am off to see Guruji this weekend at the centre in Montreal. Will update on that too : ) as a parting word.......Let life live you, dont live life! JGD.

Satsang....

So, we had a beautiful satsang today. For those of you who dont know, satsang means 'company of truth' sitting and singing, laughing, dancing with people who love doing the same. Sharing knowledge and sharing love.....

I remember satsang used to mean something different to me. It was 4 men sitting at the front screeching into mikes, and everyone sitting behind them busy trying to shout over the screeching, talking to their neighbour about the latest fashion, or break up in the family. It was not pleasant for me.....

This satsang is different, someone leads beautiful bhajans, kirtans, hymns, love songs, anything....sometimes even just an instrument is played. I sit there, and sing along for a while, and observe as my mind goes blank. I am totally in the present moment and eventually ever cell of my body is only listening and absorbing, the energy. The energy gets higher, and my eyes feel heavy and close themselves. I dont feel like singing anymore. So i sit still, and let the beautiful music wash over me, it feels exhilerating, so so so blissful....the tempo picks up the beat and i feel a surge in energy shooting up my spine....

In this moment i am not interested in seeing anything, talking to anyone, not interested in anything at all. Just being in this state where my mind is blank and i am a nobody, i am nowhere, and eventually i am nothing.....deep deep rest happens in this state. It is a state of meditation. So blissful......pure joy, happiness, contentment in this moment. The most common sentence i hear when i talk about meditation is - "I just cant concentrate!, its impossible for me!" - Meditation is the simple art of doing absolutely nothing, not even thinking, so you need to de-concentrate....effortlessness is the key. Using the breath as a tool, bringing the mind to a stand still state is possible.

For all those meditating regularly, well done, give yourself a pat on the back! You have found the treasure we have been sitting on and looking for for lifetimes....for those yet to start, dont waste a moment. Start meditating and discover the true wealth within you that does not leave you, even as you eventually leave this body.....JGD.

Sweet Waters tented Camps!

So this weekend i ended up on a sudden trip to Sweet Waters tented camps! It is a beautiful space located in the heart of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in the shadow of the great Mount Kenya! The mountain had cloud cover most of the time we were there, but no matter what you were doing, you could feel its presence looming. I kept orientating myself by checking where the mountain was....

First we stopped at Barneys in Nanyuki for a quick lunch. what a cute place! As you eat your lunch you watch the small twin engine planes land and take off. Most of these belong to the surrounding ranch owners. I could have done with a ride in one : ) check out some pics of the place here - http://www.barneysnanyuki.com/

Being in the game park was amazing. After being in the prison last week. I felt like, wow....opposite values are really complimentary! The feeling of being in the prison, the sights, sounds smells of the prison, the faces of the inmates were floating in my mind as i looked over the top of the roof of the hired safari van. I couldn't help thinking, what would they give to be here right now ? Could i organise a trip for them ? would the prison accomodate that ? I wanted to share this beauty and the vastness with them.

The vast wilderness before me, behind me, all around me. The best thing was the freshness of the air. NO pollution, no smell at all, just pure pristine cool fresh air! Thousands of miles of pristine savannah wilderness.....totally untouched by humans. A space reserved for the most amazing animals on the planet. As soon as we entered the conservancy we saw 4 lionesses and a HUGE male lion. My camera it turns out was only for happy family pics, and did not work so well for the long shots i needed to shoot the lion. Nimo took some great pics, and will post them up when she sends them to me. The lionesses were so majestic and elegant, there is no mistaking why the lion is called the King of the jungle. You could see raw power in the way he moved, his stride, his mane and i think one swat of that paw could send a human flying a meter away!

This was just the start, we saw Cheetah's (a cute baby one too) hiding in the long grass. we saw a family of about 60 elephants! has anyone noticed that the size of elephant tusks have started getting smaller than when we used to go game drives even 8-10 years ago ? Giraffe (my favourite animal!) did you know its the only animal whose both right legs move together and then both left legs move together ? other animals use opposite legs to walk/run. Fascinating! We saw buffallo herds, Rhinos, hippos, chimpanzees, babboons, some really funky birds! (too many to list), bush babies, etc etc....It has been raining a lot, so the park was lush and the animals were all really fat! Its true, they all looked so healthy and well fed. The lions especially, i guess as usual the lionesses (read women!) were hard at work while the male lion (read man!) sleeps 20 hours a day! Its a fact about lions! he he....

Anyway - want to keep my blogs short and sweet. To sum it up - we are very small, our existence is very insignificant compared to the millions of miles, and millions of years of life that i saw this weekend. It made me feel so good and greatful that i have been a witness to such beauty and wilderness. every trip into the national park gives you something different to love about it, respect about it, and learn from it.

Friends reading this from out of Kenya - Dont think twice, book a trip to Kenya now. It could be a life changing experience.....JGD

Kamiti Prison Courses

Hello! All my 1 follower so far : )

Its late but i am writing this blog because i promised someone i would. So here goes......

Today we finished our 2nd course at Kamiti prison. My 1st course there was 2 weeks ago, and i spent a lot of time breaking all my concepts about the kind of place Kamiti prison was. Before i went in, people had told me some horrendous stories about what goes on in there. A prison in one of the poorest countries of the world. Kamiti Maximum Security prison is situated in Kiambu, Kenya. Surrounded by lush green tea fields, this place used to be a torture chamber. There is an inmate population of 3000, the largest prison in Kenya. There used to be a saying, if you are sentenced to Kamiti, you will either die inside or if you are lucky enough to survive it inside, you will be mental by the time you come out.

One the first day, i went for the first prison smart course, the officers, wardens everyone was at first suspicious of our motives for being there, but eventually i found their suspicion turned to curiosity. They got used to seeing us everyday after the first 2/3 days. I was the only young asian lady going into Kamiti, and i had Paul (another local African teacher) and Duncan (the blessed soul who drove us there everyday)go with me. For the inmates, at first we were approached with curiosity. I was observed like a species from another planet. They were told we are were there to teach stress-management. Those who would like to join are welcome. the first course saw 30 brave participants come forward voluntarily out of 3000 inmates. With Paul and Duncan, the 7 days flew by, i had gone through teaching the entire course without saying much. I was more focused on excercising their bodies, and doing a lot of breathing to calm the mind. The inmates had some very intense experiences, i will post their experiences here soon.

The 2nd course was a lot more interesting. I taught it with Nimo (my own first basic course teacher). She being a lot more experienced, taught me a lot. This time word had been passed through the prison and we had 70 participants on the course! This time 2 young asian girls were going into Kamiti daily. One of the course participants narrated later - we thought you ladies were coming here to have fun and mock us. But after experiencing the breathing and the excercises, we feel free and truly transformed. Every inmate had a blessing for us, every inmate had their heart opened up. They felt free, the Sudarshan Kriya had transformed them, Grace had penetrated their lives. Some of the most hardened criminals were having some very powerful experiences. We talked to them about trust, brotherhood (to end the mentality of tribalism, a big problem in Kenya). We talked to them about forgiveness (they were very bitter towards the people/person who had landed them in prison), we talked to them about Kenya and patriotism, and how much the country needs good people to build it. They felt like there was a light at the end of the tunnel, we asked them to have a vision and a mission for themselves, their families and communities. We spoke to them about guilt, and freedom.

They said, these were things they had never thought about. All the inmates had very powerful experiences. All this time i was learning so much from them, and learning so much about what pushes a person into such a situation that they commit horrendous crimes. Towards the end, we felt so much love from the inmates (i really dont like the word prisoners).....we did a dancing process at the end where the inmates felt free for the first time ever....some dancing in ecstasy with their eyes closed and tears running down their cheeks....i went around saying to them, give it your 100% and you are free right now!!! It was a fantastic celebration.....it felt like the air was electric!

As i left the prison, i had a heavy heart, and felt responsible in a way for the inmates being there. The government, people, society in general of Kenya, had in some way failed these beautiful souls.....to me they were like innocent children, caught up in a big bad world, pushed into crime...... I feel so used to going there every morning, i am going to wake up tomorrow and miss going to the prison and seeing my friends......

These experiences have made my resolve stronger, to bring this precious knowledge to as many people as possible, to anyone who is willing to listen, first 30, now 70, next 90 inmates.....all 3000 of them will experience the Sudarshan Kriya. Slow but sure, 97 prisons, 50,000 inmates - with Guruji's grace, nothing is impossible for Kenyan prisons.....and for giving me the priviledge of this experience i bow in deep gratitude to my Guruji.

We are now working on a program where inmates will be able to go through a 9 days YLTP (Youth Leadership Training program) once they come out of prison. They will then become Breath Water Sound teachers and continue to spread this knowledge in their own areas....JGD.