It was not entirely unexpected… I think most of us feared it was coming since the news of his resignation as Apple’s CEO. But to have it be real, to know with certainty that such a bright light of genius was extinguished hit my heart with an intensity I could not have imagined.

I did not know Steve the man… but as I sit here writing on my Macbook Pro, listening to my iPod Shuffle and dreaming of an iPad2, I realize that he has been an integral part of my life for the better part of the last decade and beyond.

In the middle of all the craziness at Mr. Tango and despite my intentions to enjoy the evening at it’s fullest, I suddenly lost all apetite and had to wonder what it was that made me so sad. I would still have access to all the amazing technology that his vision has brought us, I would still be able to walk into an Apple store and marvel at the simple and elegant way in which, thanks to his brilliance, our creativity could be used to connect us to each other and to what we love… And yet, there was a knot in my throat. There was a tug at my heart and I could feel the hint of tears coming to my eyes.

If anything it felt as though a force of nature that had been guiding us… consciously or unconsciously assisting us in connecting and unifying our material experience to mirror our spiritual one had been lost. I felt a bit cheated to wonder at all the amazing inventions that we might be missing out on without his creativity and innovation, without his vision.

As the evening progressed I did my best to enjoy the beautiful dancing performances that we were offered… to admire the passion that they convey and the elegance of their fashion. Yet it wasn’t until the last piece of the night that a connection was made that allowed me somehow to reconcile the experience.

In the end Señor Tango himself (Fernando Soler) with a deep, powerful voice and joined by two impressive female singers dove heart first into a deeply moving rendition of “No llores por mi Argentina” (Don’t cry for me Argentina). For those who may not know, this song is from a highly successful musical called “Evita” which was about Eva Peron who was the wife of one of Argentina’s most loved and remembered Presidents. She was deeply revered by the people of Argentina and was even named “Spiritual Leader of the Nation” by the Argentine Congress. In the nearly sixty years since her passing she has become a powerful symbol in Argentina and even now, her face appears prominently on a large building along Buenos Aires’ famous Nueve de Julio street.

Needless to say, for Argentinian’s the song evokes deep emotions but beyond that, the music and words are so powerful that it is a deeply moving song for anyone who hears it and much more so, if you are in Argentina.

The entire piece was sung with such passion that it alone would have made it a treat, but at the end a half dozen long flags dropped from the ceiling and the patriotism in the room could be felt so deeply and was shared fully by an audience of foreigners from all over the world. I noticed in that moment that we could not help all to be raptured and join, if just for that moment, in celebrating the glory and grandeur of Argentina many of us singing along as best we could

It was one of those experiences that I will never forget… Nothing can describe what it was to witness the power of feeling the passion and pride that one person can have upon a culture, a nation and even a group of foreigners of all ages that were just hoping for a good time more than half a century after she had passed.

And this morning I awoke unable to shake that heavy feeling of the news of Steve passing. The whole day I felt a weight upon me as if something needed to be expressed and while its too early to tell what the impact of his life will be on the generations to come I cannot help but feel that his life, his vision, his inventions have left a print on our lives and on the way we manifest the future far beyond what we may ever be able to acknowledge.

Not long ago I was watching one of his impressive talks at the launch of some product and the thought just came to me… regardless of our view of the world, whether it is all an illusion, or whether it has any meaning whatsoever, life should be lived the way Steve does it. He was not a salesman pitching a product, he was not working to make money or to gain acclaim… he was doing it out of passion and the bliss of that creative spark which in some way reaches out to that which only a true creator can achieve… he was playing with creation… unfolding its potential through his own…

And as my life moves beyond my time as an accidental monk, Steve has served as inspiration as I look to find that space, that way of creating where I can feel as in the moment as he looked on that stage and perhaps play with this adventure called life and find more and more blissful ways of linking the ocean of transcendence that I have found inside with the unpredictable waves of daily life…

So perhaps the best way to say goodbye is to realize that what he represents, that life lived at its full potential… is that part of his legacy that we never have to let go of… that we should not mourn for what is lost but rejoice for the fact that he was here for as long as he was and inspired and enriched our lives by showing us what is possible and facilitating the tools that we may now use to empower our own potential…

Thank you Steve…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos during his official swearing-in ceremony in Bogota on August 7, 2010

August 7th was a big day for Colombia. It was the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, as is the case in all countries when there is a change in leadership. It is a change in Government that most Colombians had been a bit weary of for nearly eight years. They had grown accustomed to President Uribe and his take charge style. They had seen violence decline dramatically, investor confidence increase, historically high growth and the guerrillas had been severely diminished and displaced to the farthest jungles of the country. The nation went from being a nation in chaos to being one of the most promising ones in the region. It was something that few Colombians had believed possible and they attributed it to President Uribe’s leadership.

So it was that Colombians began to fear the thought of the nation being lead by any other. Three years into his first term, the constitution was amended to allow for a historical consecutive re-election and up until a few months ago the nation’s hope was that a second amendment would allow Uribe to run for a third time. However, these hopes were crushed earlier this year by the Constitutional Court’s denial of a chance to hold a Referendum on allowing a President to run for a third term in office.

I must admit I was one of those who feared for what might come in the absence of the strong handed, highly disciplined Uribe. Yet on that day, as a newly elected President took office, I could not help but feel more hopeful than ever about Colombia and about its future. It was not just that the newly elected President had been the star Minister in Uribe’s cabinet or that he had managed to form a coalition with the support of 80% of congress and it was not just that the ministers he appointed were seasoned technocrats and not bureaucratic politicians. There was something else that gave me confidence that this man wanted to go beyond what had been done so far and open up to a new way of leading our nation.

As it turns out, that morning, before the ceremony that would inaugurate his Presidency in front of Congress, Colombian leaders and foreign dignitaries, the new Colombian President decided to do something that had never been done in modern history. The President chose to do a symbolic swearing-in which he called a spiritual oath of office.

President-elect Juan Manuel Santos, his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez, and three children began the day high in the Caribbean coastal mountains in Seijua, a sacred area north of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, at a “passing of the baton” ritual presided over by  Mamos (indigenous leaders) from the Koguis, Wiwas, Arhuacos and Kankuamos nations.

These nations are descendants of the Tairona culture, which flourished at the time of the Spanish conquest. After the destruction of the Tairona cities, they escaped into the higlands, where they have been living in relative isolation for generations.

Their mythology teaches that they are “Elder Brothers” of humanity, living in the “Heart of the World” (the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta). Those not living in the Heart of the World (generally people from the west) are called “Younger Brothers.” Their mythology suggests that these Younger Brothers were sent away from the heart of the world long ago. In response to infringements on their homeland by westerners, a legend arose claiming the Younger Brothers had now found their way back, and were wreaking their destruction on the land.

In 1990, having seen evidence on their mountain to suggest extensive worldwide ecological damage, the Koguis sent a message to the world via a Lampeter University archaeologist, filmed in partnership with the BBC. The Koguis gave a warning to the “Younger Brothers”:

“… the world does not have to end; it could go on, but unless we stop violating the earth and nature, depleting The Great Mother of her material energy, her organs, her vitality; unless people stop working against the Great Mother, the world will not last…”

It is a message that has yet to be heard or acted upon by most of the leaders in the world.

Yet on what could be described as one of the most important days of his life, the newly elected President chose to reach out to the “Elder Brothers” and receive their blessings. Dressed entirely in white linen and barefoot, and as part of the ceremony, Santos received a wooden staff, a necklace of polished stones and two string bracelets, one for each wrist.

In the ritual, which became a symbolic oath of office, Santos received from the indigenous leaders the spiritual appointment to have a good government and the staff as a symbol of authority. He also received four sacred stones representing the Earth, Nature, Water and Government. Then threads of cotton were placed around each of his hands for protection.

As part of the ceremony and in recognition of her motherly role for the nation President Santos' wife, Maria Clemencia, was given a cotton spindle, which represents the creation of the world.

“Earth and water produce the food and now I understand what I have received: water, earth, food, the people and the government,” he told the group of tribal leaders.

“That is going to be my inspiration during my term [as president]. I receive these elements with a great commitment and I will take good care of them.”

Later in the day in Bogota (the Colombian Capital), in front of Congress and foreign dignitaries the new President of Colombia started his first Presidential address as follows:

“THE TIME HAS COME FOR COLOMBIA!

THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU COLOMBIA!

Our country is a wonderful mix of cultures, races, talents, natural resources, which makes us unique in the world.
In recognition of this cultural and ethnic diversity, this morning I went with my family to the large ceremonial temple of Seiyu, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
There we met with leaders and representatives of the Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples, heirs of the ancient Tayrona culture.
They preceded us in the possession of these lands, and still keep watch from their reservations on the balance that must govern our nation and our relationship with the universe.
In a symbolic act, with deep transcendental meanings, the “Mamas” handed me a baton and a necklace with four stones.
One represents the Earth for which we must care.
Another represents Water that is the source of life.
Another represents Nature with which we should be in harmony.
The fourth represents the Government, which must comply with the order of nature and the will of the Creator.
Land, water, nature and good government, these precious symbols, will be part and parcel of the administration we begin today.
The message of our “Elder Brothers”, of the guardians of the universal balance, I transmit today, filled with emotion, to more than 45 million compatriots who come from the indigenous heritage, Spain’s legacy, rich African contribution, and so many other areas that have built what we are.
It is the message of life, harmony, and unity in diversity.
It is the message of the peaceful, wise Colombia we want to leave our children.
True to that message, I solemnly reiterate TODAY, IN THIS HISTORIC PLAZA DE BOLIVAR, THAT I WILL PRESIDE OVER A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY THAT WILL SEEK SOCIAL PROSPERITY FOR ALL.”

In the midst of marking the 200th anniversary of Colombia’s independence July 20, 2010, it gives great comfort to know that the new President recognizes the wisdom and the traditions of the natives that are most attuned to the land and its laws of nature.

At a time when we are struggling to understand and cope with the effects of our actions on the environment it is inspiring to see that one of our leaders is reaching out towards ancient wisdom and though it may be a symbolic act, it brings the hope that it is the opening of a flow of communion and interaction with ancient knowledge and traditions around the world so that we may grow to re-establish our nations in harmony with the laws of nature.

It is a sign that there is a growth of consciousness in the world, an awareness that we are not the owners of the land but rather its care-takers. And for Colombia, in particular, it brings hope that perhaps through these shared rituals we may begin to mend the wounds of the violence that landed on these shores with the discovery of the New World and its conquest. A violence that has, in the 200 years of Colombia’s history, been a constant to this day.

As it stands, President Santos faces an incredible array of challenges in all areas of Colombian life. Yet we can hope that as Aristotle said, “Well begun is half done.” Honoring the ancient traditions of his land and receiving the blessings of the wise “Elder Brothers” seems like a most impressive way to begin his term in office and it gives us a glimpse of the insight and judgement of this new President.

It is my most sincere hope that this is a sign of a dawn of a new era for Colombia and the world- a sign that collective consciousness is growing and maturing so that we may soon globally experience a time of peace, sustainability, and prosperity in tune with natural law. And I celebrate full of optimism and delight, this great sign that the “Younger Brothers” are honoring the “Elder Brothers” and that we are now receiving and appreciating these auspicious blessings from the “Heart of the World”.

* Perhaps it is worth noting that in the late 1990’s as sitting Minister of Commerce, President Santos, a practitioner of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation, visited this forrest campus where I currently live and work, to speak personally and receive guidance from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the world renowned expert in consciousness, who worked tirelessly to promote life in balance with the Laws of Nature through knowledge and techniques derived from ancient Vedic science.

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

Among the assumptions with which I walk along here is that at any time no matter where you are just about anything can happen and then you find yourself in the midst of an unplanned adventure. This does mean that you have to have a good stomach for uncertainty.

One of these adventures started with a casual walk where I happened to notice lots of people running around being quite busy about something. I just followed them a bit and saw that they were putting together some kind of an event on a small dead end street. It was beautifully adorned with gold and flowers and I walked through the elegant entrance and approached the most responsible looking man in the lot, the one that seemed to be giving instructions to all the others, and asked him what was going on. He said that it was a celebration for Durga, one of the Hindu Goddesses.

I did not know much about this Goddess or the ceremony, but I was intrigued. The man realized this and invited me to come by and take part in the ceremony, “Come at nine” he said, meaning nine at night, and then he added, “It will go on until five in the morning.” So I headed home trying to balance my desire for experience and also my need for rest. But in the end realized that I was in India and had to take advantage of all the experiences that I could find. I put on my nicest Kurta (Indian suit for men) and headed out to see what the ceremony was all about.

As you entered there was a very nice set-up with lots of food being prepared and offered. At the time I did not think of taking a picture of it because it seemed so unimportant in the scheme of the celebration… but it was quite an assortment of food and tasty Indian treats. just past it to the right were some tables that had been set up to eat at. It was done in the garden were I had enjoyed just days before with the wonderful children… it was so beautifully lit. I wish these pictures could have captured it.

And then inside was the impressive altar that had been set up for the ceremony itself.

Though it was to be a Durga celebration, you can see how so many of the Hindu Deities were set upon the altar as well.

and here is Durga in all her glory…

Then the pandit arrived and lit the candles… it seemed as though it was almost time for the ceremony to begin.

All of the sudden it did… though in a most unexpected way for me at least… A most interesting group of musicians sat near the altar and set themselves up. Before I knew it they were playing away singing in a most excited way and the crowd seemed to be following along. There was so much energy in the place and it was so extremely exciting… I could not understand a word, but the feeling alone was enough…

The man in the purple seemed to be the main singer… he had an amazing high voice… I thought for a moment that he could have once been a member of the Indian version of the Begees… but I was told by the man siting next to me that he was quite a famous singer for these types of celebrations in Delhi. A celebrity of sorts here.

Yet I must admit that I was most intrigued by the man in the white. He was such a funny character… I took many, many pictures of him hoping to capture a little bit of the uniqueness about him… He was so lively, so joyful and so interesting… Imagine if Kramer from Seinfeld was Indian and played in a band… yes, I am totally serious.

here he goes…

I enjoyed the singing and clapped along. Most of the time the man in the purple was singing with his back to us, which I thought was strange… but as I found out, it was on purpose since he was not actually singing for us, but rather he was singing for Durga herself… asking her to bless all those present with great abundance, health, success, knowledge and enlightenment. Thank you very much!

He then stepped up to the front and gave some kind of speech. I have no idea what it was about… but he pointed at us in the crowd a few times… One of those times it looked as though he was pointing at me… I hoped I had not done anything wrong… yet everyone seemed to look in my direction. I looked at the man next to me as if to ask what that was about an he just smiled and shook his head with approval… Well done accidental monk… whatever it was, it was an accident, thus the name acidental monk

I stayed there for about an hour and a half in the middle of all of the singing and enjoying. I kept hoping that at some point the Pandit would do some kind of chanting… but it never really happened… he just sat there and people walked up to him and received some kind of personal blessings… which I did as well at the invitation of one of the organizers…

I did not stay the whole time of the celebration… yet I came home charged with the high energy of the evening and the joy of the experience. It was beautiful… full of light and music… a delightful kind of spiritual experience and a sweet discovery to how a neighborhood might come together to celebrate their beliefs in my India…

There was a moment there were I sat in the middle of everyone clapping… with the sweet song and drumming going straight to my heart… I closed my eyes and thought of Durga as she had been presented to me tonight on that altar… and one way or another my thoughts turned to my mother… and I felt a deep sense of love come over me… That night I celebrated Durga, Mother Divine in all her forms, and my mother with a full, grateful heart… All gratitude and all love to you… Always…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

This year for me started with a most amazing week of silence. It was Maharishi’s tradition to begin each year with a week of going deep within the Self, so as to start with an impulse from those depths. Since I have been living in Holland, on the campus where Maharishi lived, I decided to follow that tradition myself along with many of the people there as was the custom for the last many years.

I have to say that the experience of silence was like being at sea… sometimes like being at sea in the middle of a huge storm with tidal waves and sometimes it was like floating peacefully with an expansive view of infinity. I spent a lot of my day in meditation and was fortunate to be able to eat very healthy organic foods and read Vedic literature and other deep knowledge.

While I was going through this whole process, I must admit I felt so many things going on inside of me that I had no idea how I would come out. In the beginning, I processed all kinds of emotions that were linked to deep romantic and personal losses as well as questions about where I was and where I wanted to be… but as the week passed that type of thinking became less and less and somehow the weight of it all became less and less and what I experienced the last few days was quite beautiful, even if I did not totally understand it at the time… and even now I only have a glimpse of it.

During those last days a small part of my broken heart began to open up again little by little… I had not even known that it was closed, at least not in that manner… but something in that experience reminded me of the joy that it was capable of. That is not to say that I had not been able to enjoy things, but that somehow it was as though the cloud that was hiding the sun was starting to drift away. As though up until that point, the day had been bright and yet not entirely sunny, if that makes any sense…

And when I came out of silence it felt as though I had come out of a deeply refreshing waterfall… so much so, that the depth of experience of that silence was still very much in my daily life. I did not think much of it though, until a few weeks had passed and then I started to wonder what was going on…

To be honest I was not used to feeling so well for no apparent reason. Nothing had changed in my life from the year before and yet everything was different. I did not feel any particular attachment to anything and yet I found great joy in everything. I felt a sense of freedom and adventure that I had long forgotten was even possible. And while my life was just as simple as before, in a little forrest in Holland, it felt more and more unbounded every day.

I commented this to my friends from time to time, but did not make much of it because I did not know if there was any lasting value in the experience. I always commented on it with a bit of incredulity as if poking fun at myself. And I was also very aware that I was in a very pure and settled environment whose softness was probably greatly responsible for these experiences.

Yet I found myself engaging in activity and delighting in it more than I was accustomed to and from a deeper level. Its something that is so hard to express… you can see it in my writing as I blogged about my daily experiences such as Pool of Transcendance, You are or High in Holland.

I started to live life as if I were witnessing it and then commenting on it, even as it was happening. It was as though I could be aware of the impulses within me and choose to go with them or not… and even when I did I was still able to watch myself in the process.

It became clear here in India that this experience continued into a more active everyday life and I find myself delighting in the smallest of things often times being moved to share these experiences with you all here, yet wondering if it is something that makes any sense to anyone else…

I have tried to understand where all of this has come from, what it was that started it for me and how it is that it continues… but all I seem to be able to come up with is that it was born in that one week… in the mirror that the deep silence offered me and in finding, in whatever small way, a sense of peace about myself and the world around me.

There is no way to know how long this might last or what it means to how I choose to continue this path… but it makes me ever so grateful to life that I have been blessed to have such an experience… such a glimpse… of the power of silence and to have that Wholeness, that transcendence, lively in my life in such simple ways and with such a sweet nourishing quality.

Its that power of silence upon which this accidental monk aims to be anchored…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

I have never thought of myself as much of a seeker… but in this short time in India I am realizing myself very much as a witness, a finder of sorts. Discovery is a daily occurrence if not an hourly one… I am finding transcendence in and out of meditation as abundant as the air that I breathe… It comes to me with the smallest of experiences and it heightens the impact of everything that see, touch or taste…

I live each day as it comes here… and it always seems to come with a marvelous experience no matter what I am doing, whether I am in a temple, a park, a market, a Vedic Observatory, or a restaurant… on this day, it was just a walk in my Delhi…

From the start Delhi greeted me with smiles and warm hearts… with colors and sights…

Every little thing seemed to be something worth noting… worth capturing…

I was not the only tourist on the streets this day… I figured this to be an American cow since it was on the wrong side of the street and could not care less…

It greeted me (in English of course) and then went on its way…

These guys were actually on the right side of the street…

but it seems to me they were in a no parking zone…

Then I turned a corner and was greeted by this beautiful boy… who is a bit camera shy…

but he warmed up a little…

and these hard working ladies… whose very smiles in the midst of such strenuous duties lightened my heart…

They seemed to enjoy getting a little bit of attention…

and the men just seemed to watch them as they worked… no comment…

yet this led me to discover a new and beautiful park that served as a great contrast and a purifier of sorts…

There was absolute tranquility there… only a few meters away from the busy road and the construction site…

It made me feel as though everything was smiling for me…

as I made my way through that transcendant path…

It felt as though I walked on wave upon wave of softness and beauty… the sun was brilliant and every color appeared to delight in glowing specially bright…

It was all so simple, so sweet, almost makes me shy to mention it… but it was full of bliss… and that is what is is for me… a walk through my Delhi…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

You get a sense here, as you drive around Delhi, that there is a struggle taking place. Its a big tussle between the forces that are pushing this nation towards “progress” and “technology” and those that are pulling it back towards its roots, its spirituality, its Self.

Today I got the chance to visit Jantar Mantar, a three hundred year old Vedic observatory set in the midst of Delhi near where the Parliament now sits. It was an immediate contrast for me because while you went to view the huge instruments you could not help but notice how some of them, which once pointed to the sky, now pointed at a building or two. These instruments that were designed to keep precise watch over the cosmos and stand as testament to the depth of knowledge that was part of Vedic culture, stand here as relics of a time gone by.

They sit in the middle of the city with honking cars speeding by, as a monument to the past without most passers-by even acknowledging or hinting at the greatness in their design. While one can feel some degree of satisfaction in knowing that the observatory is being maintained and cared for, anyone who knows the tremendous value and significance that these instruments have not just in measuring our planet and other heavenly bodies moving around in the cosmos, but also their value in realigning our own physiology, our own bodies with the cosmos… cannot but be disheartened by the ignorance of this great work’s true benefits for society.

It stands as testament to India’s near-sightedness that they honor their past yet not enough to comprehend that the understanding of life that they are running towards is infinitely less fulfilling, enriching, civilized or evolved than the deep knowledge they are running from.

Yet this struggle is in stark contrast to the one we are having in the West… which is growing more and more weary of its undirected development and its unfolding list of unintended side-effects, and reaching more fervently towards ancient wholistic knowledge and understanding of life.

In Europe and the U.S. the struggle is more subtle on a level where it is hardly noticed. Yet there is rarely a gym in the Western world that does not offer yoga classes. There is a long line of movie stars, athletes and even politicians who are ever more appreciative of ancient traditions. Eastern words and concepts like Karma, Pundit, Mantra and many more are becoming a part of our lexicon as though it had always been so… though often failing to acknowledge the origin of such expressions.

It is another effect from our shrinking world. You have hundreds of millions of Indians wielding cell-phones while the least spiritual of your friends in Europe or America is raving about their new yoga class.

And it makes me wonder… can we have it both ways? can we straddle the fence like this and get the full benefit of both?

I for one have been trying to… I am, after all,  the accidental monk traveling in India blogging online about my experiences…

Maharishi always talked about 200% of life, 100% relative and 100% absolute, and he delighted in the benefits of technology when it made it possible to expand the avenues through which knowledge could be shared. He expounded on the Vedas and Vedic literature countless times in front of video cameras and tape-recorders leveraging the timelessness of his message on the most advanced technologies.

Though it must be pointed out that he also cautioned us on the dangers of unbridled technological advancement. As science developed more and more complex games with finer and finer levels of creation he grew more and more cautious and sounded the alarms warning of the unforeseen perils of playing with the fabrics of creation despite such a finite amount of understanding and experience of it.

While he praised the advancements of the Internet and electric vehicles, he warned against bio-engineered food, increasingly encouraged organic and local foods and advocated the limited use of cell-phones and wi-fi networks…

Yet it has always seemed difficult to walk the fine line in knowing how quickly to adapt promising technologies and how much to pull from our ancient knowledge. And it is harder and harder without a guiding light and leadership to help us in keeping perspective and finding that life-supporting balance.

As I stood there in awe, looking at the amazing instruments, I wondered how it is that these two apparently opposing values can come together and help us to realize that we can have all the outer pleasures without sacrificing our inner glory. How is it that we may come to understand that these instruments were made not just for the purpose of studying the cosmic bodies, a task which modern technology may have surpassed, but also for aligning ourselves with our cosmic counterparts, a task which modern science fails to even conceive of.

It seems as thought that is going to be one of our main tasks in this coming century… that we may bridge this gap so that we may know ourselves to be nothing less than the full glory of what we are… Heavenly bodies in the midst of heavenly bodies…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

There is something in the energy here… that I know that no matter what, an adventure will take place. I was at a beautiful garden near a temple just taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful flowers and then it happened.

It all started as a quiet study of a beautiful garden. I was looking for an angle that might capture it best.

and I noticed these men enjoying their afternoon together…

and these ladies were practicing yoga

and pranayama

these were walking about… cell phone ready…

These boys seemed to be wondering what I was doing…

and then they started to play in front of me…

they loved to run at me and then see their picture…

and then a few more joined in…

a little one came along as well… they tried to teach him to smile…

he also wanted a running shot…

then they thought the pair would be cute together…

they were loving the chance to be in pictures… so I had them jump…

then these sweet girls also came along and wanted to get into the act…

after taking nearly a hundred pictures the boys were still there… waiting for their next instruction… so I showed them how to do Suryanamaskar (sun salutations) exercises… and then took pictures of them doing it… which they loved…

reaching for the sky and the camera’s attention…

Then they wanted to show the world how they meditated…

and so did the girls…

and after meditation they enjoy the flowers more…

as do the girls…

So this was my adventure… at the end they kept looking to me to come up with interesting pictures for them to be in… but alas, it was my time to meditate and to come in to write this blog and share this experience with you.

It was a perfect garden today filled with great variety of flowers steeped in the spiritual air of the temple and adorned with all varieties of human flowers… from elder wise men and women to the most tender hearted of young boys and girls…

Just wonderful, wonderful and more wonderful…

©2012 . All Rights Reserved.

I was all ready to be a good boy… My light was out and I was on my way to catch the 10 pm Angel train… and then as I settled into my bed and closed my eyes… carnival called out to me…

Of course it was not carnival, but there was some serious celebration taking place not to far away. There was music and from time to time there was a kind of announcement being made… I thought perhaps it was a wedding, but then I remembered that they are still celebrating Navaratri (Nine days of Mother Divine) here in India.

This morning I had been invited to a Vedic ceremony that was quite amazing, something about how they all behaved made me feel as though the way that they lived the ceremony was from a very deep level in their hearts. I was honored to be there and while I did not understand the chanting or know exactly what the offerings were, I could feel, from a deeper level, the energy that was being created… the connection between the offering and the hearts in the room.

It gave me a sense of depth throughout the rest of the day…

So when the music outside continued and caught the attention of my restless mind, I thought I should just go out and take a look. After all, it was bound to be another one of those sights that only India can bestow. So I walked out confidently into the Delhi night and followed the music to a place that looked like some kind of social club. There were guards at the gate checking invitations and while I normally would have been embarrassed to ask, I just used my foreigner status and held my camera in front of the guard.

I spoke english to him asking if I could enter and I could tell that he did not understand a word. Yet I continued to wave my camera up and down in front of him and he kind of nodded his head. I will never know what the nod meant. It could have been no as much as it could have been yes. But I just interpreted it as what I wanted to hear and I walked into the club.

It was easy to follow the music onto a lawn which had a colorfully decorated entrance with hundreds of pairs of shoes left by those attending the festivities inside. So I pretended as though I was meant to be there as well… took off my shoes and made my way inside.

So it was that todays India, which started in the blessings of a Vedic ceremony was capped by a most entertaining display of joyous celebration of this great holiday. I watched beautifully dressed young ladies, with amazingly colorful saris and dazzling jewelry, dance out stories in praise of Mother Divine and their friends and relatives rejoicing with them and even, from time to time, standing up and dancing with them. It was heartwarming and gave me a strange sense of being with family.

I sat among them and never once did I feel unwelcome. It was wonderful. It was simple and it was most sweet.

It was yet another gift in the form of a memorable experience from my dear India. I am ever more amazed at the softness of the hearts I come into contact with here, at the innocence with which they flow and the beauty with which they carry their lives…

It was another day in India and another day in which my heart was gently caressed by silence and yes, by a most joyous Carnival of sorts…

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I have been trying to find a way to describe the experience of being in this culture. Its such an impressive mix of noise and silence, of tastes and colors.

Shortly after arriving here I found myself being driven around in a small van through the city. From the way we were cruising and relating to the other cars, you might have thought it was a race… an all out race. There are dotted lines on the street that to you and me would indicate lanes, but no… they are just markers that signal a vehicle’s claim to the road.

But not to worry, the drivers here are not set back for long by such measures. They have finely tuned the use of a little known (in rural America) car dispersing tool, the horn. It seems to me that people here believe it serves almost as a magical wand to just make the other vehicles disappear… if only it where so.

The widespread use of this device, however, does add an element of excitement as you criss-cross through the streets passing within millimeters of the other vehicles as though they were not even there. The back and forth of horns between all ten vehicles vying for their place on the three lane road becomes like a modern day symphony.

Everything here has this kind of magic. When the driver had asked me where we were going as we left the airport. I gave him the directions and asked him if he knew the place.

He said, “No problem.”

I sank back into my seat and prepared to enjoy the view of the city. Though after a few minutes he asked again, so I did my best to repeat the directions I had been given.

And he just nodded at me and said “No problem.”

I mentioned, despite knowing now for certain that there was no problem, that I could call the place and have him talk to the people and get directions. To which he just simply responded “Ok, no problem.”

So I called and passed him the cell phone. It was a heated conversation during which he showed his amazing aptitude at staying in the race, honking away and taking note of the directions to our destination, all at the same time.

I couldn’t help but laugh at watching all of our near misses with the other cars. I wondered if I should worry or say something, but I found it hard to imagine that either would be of any use. So I just enjoyed it and recognized that this is just how it is here. He was like a duck in water…

When he handed me back the phone I asked him if he knew now where it was.

Yes, you guessed his answer. “No Problem.”

In the end he seemed to have a pretty good idea, though he did stop to ask a couple of people when we were just a few blocks away.

Yet the best was when he stopped next to a boy who was washing his hands on a spicket by the sidewalk. My driver calmly walked out of the car and went over to the spicket. He washed his face a little, drank some of the water and said a few words to the boy. As I watched this I could not help buy smile, if you can’t find the address, why not stop for a drink?

The driver got back in the car and said to me, “He doesnt know,” he paused for a moment and then thought to reassure me, “No problem.”

So we drove a block or two more along the road that the last person had indicated and sure enough we were there.

This was my welcome to India, my first taste of Delhi and now I know that no matter what, there is one simple answer here… “No Problem.”

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I am starting a journey in less than five hours. Its going to be a very fun time coming up… I wont say much now… but some time Monday, at the latest, you will have the first post… should be interesting.

Thank you for coming to the site and for your patience as we improve everything. I have to say, sharing this time with you is something that I cherish each day and I hope to be able to continue writing things that you may enjoy.

Lots of love to you all and see you on the next step of this adventure… enjoy!

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