I don’t remember what happened, but somewhere between Fairfield, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri, we had a meltdown. I said something. Michael reacted. I got upset. By the time we arrived on the campus of Unity Village, we weren’t speaking to each other. Not to worry though, divine powers were already conspiring to bring us back to love, however…it did take a village. (more…)
My daughter and I were giggling the other day. She said “Mom, you’ve been traveling for over a month and you’ve only gone 1,000 miles. At this rate, you’ll be on the road forever.” She’s a bit anxious because she wants us to get to San Francisco where she lives. I assured her that we would get there…just not sure when. (more…)
After three days in Gettysburg, we got in the car and headed east on Hwy. 30 (the Lincoln Highway) towards Philadelphia. It was a straight shot. I don’t know how we got so lost.
Michael is the designated driver and I am the co-pilot ~ the navigator. We have the navigation system on our new car and Mapquest on the IPad. That might have been the problem.
I had dueling electronic gadgets (both with voices) telling me two completely different routes. It was like having two virtual backseat drivers. After finding ourselves in the downtown slums of York, Pennsylvania, we finally had to pull over and stop. (more…)
Truth is One. Paths are Many.
~ Swami Satchidananda
These words are carved into the gates of the LOTUS shrine in Yogaville, Virginia. As a matter of fact, they are found throughout the ashram ~ on doorways, plaques, and t-shirts. This is one of the central teachings of this spiritual community.
The Truth being referred to here is that we are all spiritual beings embued with true divine nature and that we all have a divine calling back to the same source ~ God. Swami Satchidananda says we are all traveling to the same mountaintop. However, the paths to the top are many. (more…)
I had an eerie feeling as we twisted and turned up the gravel road to the top of the mountain where the Southern Dharma Center is tucked away. We were arriving for a five day silent retreat. So we thought. Actually, we had no idea what we had signed up for.
But climbing up this isolated road, for some reason, I was already thinking about an escape plan.
Little did I know that this experience was about doing zazen (Japanese sitting meditation) for over eight hours a day. (Check out this video on zazen meditation). (more…)