Indian Cinema and Day one at Prana Vasha TT

Yesterday was a completely full and wonderful day!

It started out with Chai at Sri Durgas with my good friends here in Mysore and they invited me out to the Cinema to see "Lucy" with Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson...
It was Intense to say the least and we All Loved it!!

It is actually my second cinema experience in India. My first one was seeing the movie "Rambo" with 4 Tibetan Monks about 6 years ago...



Don't ask.

Oh the fun I have had in my life!

Afterwards we scooted back to Gokulam as I had a date with some of my Facebook friends, one of which I had never met and one in which I had!
They are newlyweds who met 4 years ago on line and they are the most adorable couple and SO in love. Kamakshi and Harish. 
We met at the Coconut stand and had a coconut together when up walked one of my dearest friends here in Gokulam! Pavi from "The Green House". 
The really ironic part of the whole thing was that Kamakshi had wanted to go and meet Pavi and we had planned on going to see him..and he just appeared! 
It was crazy and wonderful!

We all walked back to The Green House, Pavi's little store on Shala Road and we had such a great visit, as we always do at Pavi's. He is a treasure chest of the most wonderful knowledge and I honestly could sit and talk with him for hours on end...and we did.

It's Monsoon season here in Mysore so we had intermittent rain showers so we sat and talked and learned things from Pavi and we ate home made Banana Chips from Pavis store and they were Sooooooooo Gooooooood, that I Had to buy a jar to take home with me!!
Seriously the Best I have ever had in my life.

It was late when we finally said our good-byes and I had a long walk home which wasn't bad, but it had gotten dark and I am always in by nightfall here.
I made it home safely and realized I had to get my bucket bath and get ready for bed and quick as I had to be up at 5:00 this morning to get ready for my first day at the shala with my teacher!!

Bright and early this morning my driver and good friend Raju was right on time to collect me for my class and off we went into the fresh, dewy Indian morning...me happily in the back seat of a rickshaw!

Saturday Morning and my days on an Indian scooter.

This is day three of my entry back into India and I have been BUSY!

To update you from yesterdays post..
my how things change and Fast!

Remember how I was just So Brave yesterday?

Ya, well, today is a Completely Different Story my friends...
I was So Brave for sure when I had my entourage Chris and Warren and I was sandwiched in between them on these quite crazy and confusing and dangerous roads...
but the very Second they weren't there protecting me..guess who got scared to death? 

Ya, you guessed it..This girl who has been riding a Vespa for about 6 years now and is Fearless on it...IN The US that is!!


I had a Very Close Call yesterday with a car and a rickshaw and I don't think I have to tell you that I trusted my gut and my intuition and I returned the scooter yesterday.
At least for the time being as I am living much too far out to even consider it again right now. 
Besides all the rain we have had and the Winds!! I do Not remember ever having winds this strong here before...
but to be perfectly honest with you..
it isn't the Rain nor the Winds that scare me.
It's the roads and the people driving on them..
you see the roads here are really quite unpredictable.
You have pot holes Everywhere and they range from tiny to HUGE and you don't know how deep they go and after my phone call to Chris yesterday telling him of my plan to return the scooter and mentioning the pot holes, his response was "Oh, tell me about it. Those pot holes have KILLED people" 
Need I go on?
He had me at Killed.

Not to mention the Speed Bumps (or Humps as they refer to them here)..
I don't think I have ever ridden over so many anywhere in the world I have ever driven..
they are literally Everywhere!

Then we have the rules to the road...
There. Are. None.
Do I need to continue?

I was a hot mess on a cloudy day in August yesterday and I have never felt such a sigh of relief as when I handed over those scooter keys back to Harish.
I felt as though a bad weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

So...this presents a new challenge..
Plan B on getting to my Yoga class at 7:15 a.m. 

Safer, more comfortable and protection from the early morning rain.
It's a no brainer for the time being anyway.
I start class tomorrow...
and I feel a sigh of relief.

Vijayanagar, India days one and two....

I left the states on Tuesday the 29th and here I am in India on August 1st.

I am of course one day ahead and you know what else?
I don't have ANY JET LAG this time around!!!
I feel SO well rested and refreshed!!
I'm not sure if it was the Melatonin I brought and started two days before I left..or the first leg of my flight over here...

we won't discuss the second leg other than I am deeply Grateful I arrived on time and safely~

The driver was waiting outside of the Bengaluru Airport and my eyes spotted him the moment I exited the doors. 

Perfect!

Lokesh escorted me to his awaiting car and loaded up my three suitcases. Yes, I did say Three Suitcases..one was filled with things that won't be coming back home with me..so I can do a teensy bit of shopping while I am here..
and we were off to Mysore!
He got me here in Record time!! One hour ahead of schedule in fact.

Perfect! 

We arrived in Vijayanagar at my hosts beautiful home on a quiet, quaint street with beautiful bungalows all lined up with a peaceful park directly across the street where Indian men and women get their daily exercise whilst walking round and round the huge grounds.
(blog post to come on that)

My adorable little in law apartment in separate from the beautiful main house in which my hosts Chandon and his wife Juhi reside along with their 20 year old son, her mother (who is away for two weeks in Pune) and her very sweet father Abi!

One hour after I arrived, I was served the most wonderful breakfast of Idli's with the customary Coconut Chutney and Sambar!!

Then this morning Juhi brought this to me...

 she told me that today was Friday and she had a special meal for me with sweets...SOOO Delicious!!! I did eat one sweet and saved the rest for later though!

And some more photos of the home I am staying at....

I'm really comfortable here and it is so quiet and cozy. I feel so lucky to have found this place. I will have to scooter over to my TTC though, but it will be a breeze..

India, it's great to be back after only 8 months, and if my love were here with me..it would be even more wonderful.

The Highest Pass

I don't usually talk about things like I am going to talk about to many people.

Only because when these things happen, they are such a gift and I know they are just so beautiful and that not many people will understand the depth of the gift...but I always do.

The reason I am going to write about it today is because I think that in doing so, maybe, someone will benefit from it in some small way.

I told one of my very best friends yesterday while on a long distance phone conversation with her and she was just so astounded and touched by it, that I felt I should share this with you, my readers. 

About Three months ago I went to see a psychic medium.

I was having mixed feelings about going off to India and I felt that I needed some clarity.

It was the last question he answered of mine that day...

and he told me quite adamantly that I should indeed NOT GO TO INDIA.

He added that "You should take this advice to heart"

So I came out of the reading with the decision that I would indeed Not Go to India this year.

Each day that passed I only wanted to go more. I talked to my husband about it and he kept telling me that I should GO! He felt that I would be fine and that I needed to Do This!

I agreed.

I booked my flight, booked my room, and started to prepare for my journey.

But as each day subsequently passed I had this underlying dread that perhaps I shouldn't be going..then my mind would go to those places that I didn't like it going to...

Three days ago when I woke up I went through my daily morning routine that includes my morning puja ritual. As I finished my puja I said my prayer for the day. I asked to be given a clear message. I asked for this dark dreaded lingering thought to be lifted from my mind. I then said "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You"...

At 1:30 that day I headed off on my vespa with my yoga gear and headed to my class.

I was early.

So was another student who I sat down next to outside of the room.

She was a woman of 50 with beautiful big blue eyes and a sunny personality.

She started out the conversation complimenting me on the colors I was wearing and I in turn complimented her on her colors...the conversation somehow lead to my leaving for India and for reasons I cannot explain, I told her about the psychic I had gone to see and how he told me what he told me...

I noticed immediately how her expression on her face change suddenly and she blurted out "You're telling My Story, Oh My God" !!!!!

I stopped speaking.

I looked deep into her eyes and simply said "What do you mean"????

As she proceeded to tell me this...

"I booked a flight to India last year too. But before I left I went to see a psychic, a woman. I asked her that SAME question. She told me that SAME answer!!!

So I went home and I cancelled my flight right away!!

Later that day my daughter called me and told me that there was a random India movie previewing at her friends home out in Malibu and would I  like to go with her and see it?

She said she went..

and that random Indian movie was about the Guru she was going to go spend a month with in India!

(It was The Highest Pass and you can watch it free online now)

The movie was about her Guru Anand Mehrotra. 

As she watched the movie with her daughter she grew more and more excited...after the movie ended she said her daughter looked at her and said  "You're going to India aren't you and she said YES, I AM"

I sat there quietly listening to her story.

Then I asked her "So you went, and did anything bad happen to you while you were there"?

To which she looked deep into my eyes and said "NO, in fact it was the most Incredible month of my Life and I loved every moment of it! I want to go back!"

I got goosebumps.

Then I simply said "Thank You for telling me your story" and then we both commented on how Ironic it was that we had the conversation to begin with, let alone the Exact same experience....

I got my answer.

It was clear as clear could be.

I no longer have the dark dread hanging over me.

I feel light inside and Know that I will be just fine.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

11 days

left now until I take my departure for India.

I'm getting things in order around the house and training my son to feed and take care of Fiona and Bindi..just like I do..I tell him as I show him each thing..make sure they have a lot of attention and so much love...I tell him as I fight back tears about leaving for two months.

What will you guys do without me I ask, they both look at me, not knowing the reality of my leaving.

Skype.

That is all.

I am so Grateful for Skype.
It's my best friend when I am away from the ones I love.

I am ready to go though. I feel like I have tied up all those little loose ends that need tying up before such a trip.
I've actually never been so relaxed about it as I am this time...
must be all that yoga I have been practicing.
It works wonders.
I can't imagine what I will be like after 8 weeks of a 6 day a week practice.

I'm excited though!!

A Blessed evening with Krishna Das..

and what a night it was!!

A gathering of like minded souls..the crowd was incredible at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre!
I was amazed at how many people knew one another..you would think here in Los Angeles, being the Huge city it is..it was Wonderful to see!

The Theatre was just beautiful!

we had some pretty good seats, but really, anywhere you were sitting would have been perfect because it was all about the Kirtan and KD's mesmerizing voice along with his harmonium and accompanying band members.

The energy was wonderful and I took it all in.
I have been listening to KD at home for Years. I have every CD he has ever made and I love them all..
He has a wonderful sense of humor as well!

But his ending words before he left the stage were what hit me most..
after we had some moments of complete silence, in which you honestly could have heard a pin drop. He said to us all..

"If we know anything about a path at all, it's only because of the Great ones that have gone before us. Out of their love and kindness, they have left some footprints for us to follow. So, in the same way that they wish for us, we wish that all beings everywhere, including ourselves, be safe, be happy, have good health, and enough to eat. And may we all live at ease of heart with whatever comes to us in life." 

Profound and Quite Powerful, No? 

If we all could...

A Lotus Girl

Oh how I missed you!

My very first blog site and my most beloved~~~ A Lotus Girl!!

My husband is the one who coaxed me into re-opening her again.

I am on my way back to India very soon...and so I did it.
I changed her up and now I am ready to begin again!

I promise to keep you all reading feverishly as this trip to India is going to be the Best one yet!
The only thing missing will be my love...but he is always with me.

Stay tuned...