The Universe is Calling

On the eve of the Equinox and National Aboriginal Day here in Canada I was fortunate to attend an event hosted by our astrophysical observatory to hear the earth's creation stories from our Blackfoot elders and look through telescopes into our vast universe.
It was a deeply symbolic night rooted firmly in the traditions and stories of our indigenous peoples but with a view that stretched into the farthest reaches of the known universe.

Looking through a telescope and seeing as far away as Saturn established for me a new relationship with this great unknown. Its as if the planets and their moons were staring right back at me too. I felt a little bit more intimate with deep space's extremities.

And if you are or have been going through your Saturn Return like I am, then seeing that ruler of limitations and fears was like putting a face to the name of what is challenging my current self perceptions!

In a time when all of our technology is both shrinking and expanding our relationship with eachother and the universe, I too felt closer to its farthest reaches and at the same time my "bigger picture" just got way bigger!

Be the Change You Want to See!

The planet is in peril. Our mother earth is bleeding and her resources exploited beyond her capacity to heal. We live in a time when greed is King and the majority of his subjects are loyal supporters.
While this is all reality it is never altogether clear what WE collectively can do when the earth's future seems to be in the hands of ignorant governmental bodies, greedy multi-national corporations and citizens who feel that their small change is not enough to make an impact.
This past weekend I was inspired by an event put on by the University of Calgary called "The Planetary Healing Mandala". A group of hundreds of people from all different walks of life united for the common goal to empower change and energetically raise the vibrations of a planet that is all of our heritage.
It is interesting to note that in these shifting times we seem to be seeking the guidance of ancient practices and their keepers, our indigenous peoples, to show us the way to reconnect and remember a harmonious and sustainable way of life. Native ceremony was used to open the circle. Age old instruments from many different countries guided our meditation and many of the speakers represented traditions from nations as diverse as India and Australia.
Intention is a more powerful tool than one may realise. I have seen it work in my own life time and time again. Thoughts do create reality. Physical manifestations first originate in our consciousness. And when you put all of our individual positive intention together and it becomes collective, the power multiplies!!
However, floating above us in its ethereal light was our greatest ancestor of all, our very own Creator and Sustainer, Planet Earth. A Mother who has been giving since time immemorial with few conditions but that we keep her in balance so that her gifts are plentiful for future generations.
In that moment we all felt the blessing of what it means to be here, though it is with great responsibility that we must nurture this gift.

Sahasrara - The Blooming of the Ultimate Flower

In many ancient temples across India one can see the ceilings painted with the 1000 petalled lotus, also known as Sahasrara, our 7th chakra and seat of divine consciousness.
Our spinal chord can be imagined to be a long stem through which our "kundalini", serpent power which arouses human potential, travels and directs energy towards the blossoming of this flower. Here it is said to unite the forces of our Shakti power which resides in the root chakra with our Shiva consciousness whose abode is our crown chakra.
The journey of darkness to light, material to spiritual and lower to higher planes certainly mirrors the journey of the lotus' struggle to grow out of mud and unfold into a pure and beautiful expression of nature.
It is not unlike our own efforts to move beyond the lower planes of human existence and reach the divine light that is within each one of us.

New Years Eve

On the eve of the New Year, in the light of a partial lunar eclipse, with a Piscean sister born on the same day as me, we danced to the Brahmanic sounds of Hindu worship.
The devout bathed in the holy Ganga as plumes of mist rolled off of the river.
It was my second New Years in Varanasi, and like the one before it, I felt all the power and blessings of being in a place of unbroken ritual and worship for thousands of years.
I cast away the unnecessary worries of adolescence into the foggy blackness and welcomed the divine to intoxicate my being.
And the dance continues...

For Raju

From the temple of my beloved, I did roam,
To the house of the Lord from where I was thrown.
Wandering Babas invited me to smoke and talk,
When money was asked, from this place I did walk.
Then a Sadhu urged me to sit and drink chai,
But even this place I knew was not mine.
Searching, searching from each holy place to the next,
I found an empty chair where I decided to rest.
And there standing before me was the God of my temple,
Where I am always invited and the truth is simple
"To merge with the divine one must cease to covet,
For always united in One is the lover and her beloved."

Pushkar

Last Himalayan Adventure, Zanskar

Phuktal Gompa, Zanskar

The origins of Phuktal Gompa are said to be traced back to a monk who attained enlightenment in a cave 2000 years ago. It is from this cave that the Phuktal monastery arose in its present day form. Inhabited by over 70 monks and a three days walk from the main town of Zanskar one feels a million miles away from the 21st century.