The Giving....

and so...



the second weekend in June...brought even more gifts...gifts for the children of a shelter an hour away from Karunya Mane..



4 BIG Bags full in fact..as those kids have No toys...



Asha, a girl at Karunya Mane who touched my husband and my soul when we met her earlier this year..she is quite the artist and student..gave 50 rupees she had in her pocket to help buy snacks for them..
Asha, Lokesh and Amita came along to help pass out the gifts to the children...
what an Amazing thing...
when the poorest of the poor..give to other poor children...A lesson..Perhaps for ALL of us to take in and maybe one day put into practice ourselves? I can tell you firsthand because I have been there with those kids...and honestly, from the bottom of my heart..there is Nothing in my life that I have ever done or experienced that even comes close to what it was like to go and give shoes and art supplies to those kids at Karunya Mane..
Nothing.
You see, when you go and witness their innocence and Love and Open Hearts and see how much they truly, Truly appreciate even the smallest of things..it changes Who You Are Forever More...
we sometimes think we have so little in our lives, when in fact, if we take a moment to just look around our homes and at our lives..we do in fact have More than we actually need. Myself included.
And if you have never had the chance to give something to someone who has very little in their lives, I don't think I even have to tell you the feeling it gives you and the happiness that resides in your heart for a long time afterwards....
(Please click back two times to read the begining of this story...to "older posts"if you arrive from Ashtangi.net)

part Two..shopping trip for the kids of Karunya Mane!

Paul helping the kids pick out things...

After they finished up their shopping, Sharath and Paul gave them a few words about how they received a great gift today and how important it was to share with others...

because that is what we do..we share what we have with others..

Big Bazaar hosted a nice lunch afterwards in their lunchroom....

as they left...

The children decided that since they had so many toys..they would like to give some to an Orphanage about an hour away from Karunya Mane...

please see next post for the second weekend!!

The waiting is Over!!!!!

(i will warn you now...make sure you have plenty of tissues..if you are anything like me..you WILL need them!!)

One Sunday in June...
a Very generous and kind man, Paul from the US, and his family..Sharath,Saraswati and Shemi form the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Mysore, sponsored a shopping spree for the kids of Operation Shanti!!


Paul wanted to take the kids shopping to buy whatever clothes or toys they wanted!!


Sharath suggested the Big Bazaar, a "mega store" in the heart of the city of Mysore....and even though the kids have come a long, long way, in terms of Good Study Habits, Cleanliness, and overall Excellent Behavior...you need to understand, that just a couple of years ago..these kids were the kids who stood outside these stores... Begging, and selling their trinkets.


They could NEVER have imagined even stepping into a store like this....let alone going inside and choosing whatever they most desired!


But this particular Sunday was different...all 43 kids of Karunya Mane went shopping!!!!! Words could not even begin to describe their day...so I shall let the photos speak for themselves...
Prema in the van window as they drive away... and as they arrived at Big Bazaar

getting organized into groups...
(please see the next post as the photos are not co-operating with me while I load them up...)

Breaking News out of Mysore, India......

I have some pretty Fantastic News to share with you all about the children of Operation Shanti...
but as I sometimes do...I am going to have to make you wait until early next week to release the News!!! (believe me, this hurts me WAAAAAAY more than it hurts you!!)
Please stay tuned.....
you will NOT want to miss this.....

On Life and Yoga

I read this somewhere awhile ago..I can't remember where...but it hit me right smack dab in the center of my Being..and I printed it up..and I stored it away in a special place..and would like to share it with you again...

I think that we ponder over the meaning of life because it makes us feel more comfortable to know that there is in fact a meaning to it all. What if there isn't? What if it's just about WHO you are? It's not what you do or anything around you, or anyone else, just You.

I suppose that it's a tall order to realize that you're the whole reason..that You're It.

And I don't think that you necessarily have to do anything about it either, it's just enough just to perceive it.

So what are all of these things that we create and invest ourselves in, all of the NOISE of jobs, family, friends, daily life..? For some it's overwhelming, for some of us none of it makes any sense and it becomes scary. So what are you supposed to do..how do you survive life?

You don't.

So focus on You and focus on being You..because at the end of the day that's where it's at. You don't have to go anywhere or do anything, apart from just being You..and you're perfect as you are! Really!! You don't have to smile, you don't have to say anything...Just be there. Everything will soon stop spinning.

Practice is exactly like life...there is no performance. You try and find the breath and try to find yourself, and when you do it all makes perfect sense and it's Still and it's Quiet.

The sweat, the drama, the effort...it's all just STUFF you have to go through to find it sometimes, it's not what it's about.

The trying for the next thing is like working for the Bigger Better Car...

It's all right there in front of you, and you don't even need to go anywhere or do anything with it if you don't want to.

So just focus on You and accept it all as it is..because it's exactly as it should be...exactly right.

India Arie Rocked the House last night....

one of my sons and my favorite recording artists was in town last night for a special performance and it was Stellar!!! India Arie...a beautiful soul..her music holds a message and she sings from her heart. She is a woman who is Strong and holds strong to her beliefs..and I kinda like that, because I am the same way...

I loved that she brought her Mom to the show...and talk about a beautiful singing voice..WOW!!! Indias Mom was Amazing!!!!!!! She said that she learned everything she knew about singing from her Mama, and that I do believe is also true.."How do you know God exists"? she asked each one of her backup singers, as she took them by the hand and led them to the center of the stage...and they each sang how They knew God exists...and then her Mom...and I can see where she got her amazing voice...it was a night to remember. Just seeing Olivers smile on his face made my night complete...This is what Memories are made of...