Friday, November 27, 2009

gratitude - from costa rica

the american thanksgiving started with a satsang and meditation at the sat institute in costa rica.............gratitude has many faces and many forms............a keen and grateful eye recognises and appreciates all those forms and faces.........the energy and smiles on the faces there, some known and some unknown contributed to the feeling, i had during and after the meditation. shunyamurti, in his guidance and during his talk (satsang) is himself an energy of gratitude................

the part that i walked away with was how conditioning blinds our inner vision..........can we observe the thoughts and behaviors that feed on the conditioning...........

.......the human mind is the only enemy to be dealt with......it requires no other ammunition than the awareness and observance of ones thoughts............a moment of pause, to give one enough time to hear oneself and see oneself, a brief moment, and then the next and the next as the awareness becomes the ally and the friend one seeks.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

eating and emotions.....

...we eat to nourish our soul and feed our emotions............the body needs food, it is a machinery that requires a well balanced intake of food...........and then some disconnect happens and food becomes the tool for filling emotional and mental voids............and we go into a self-violence mode.....practice ahimsa (non-violence).......to resolve the conflict within ..............eating disorder is so evident to others except to the person.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

rain in costa rica.....(includes pictures)




........walking in the rain, is once again so much fun............the weather is warm and allowing the water to soak you just cleans you out, mind, body and soul...............mmmmmm

so yesterday we went to a botanical garden in Tirrualba......about 2 hours drive from Escazu. This place was oozing with good plant energy. Alex the head gardener was our guide and he knew all the plants, trees and the medicinal qualities of different fruits, vegetables and spices.....for me the highlight of this trip was seeing the plants that I had never seen before.............such as the nutmeg tree, mangosteen, various families of ginger plants, which looked nothing like ginger, cinnamon, brown and white cacao, clove and the list goes on.............. we tasted, rather feasted on the delicious fruits, and were given samples of the exotic flowers............the whole trip felt like we were on our own farm, out for a tour.........walking meditation.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Journey to Costa Rica (includes pictures)

Nov 21, 2009:
Departure from Toronto, Pearson airport to San Jose, Costa Rica. As I walked on the moving walkway towards the gate the following thought occurred, what is going on in my brain, where am I going…….maybe the question came up as a result of the discussion with a friend who asked me a similar question. His comment was irum, what are you searching for, you keep going away to find something. The intellectual aspect of the brain kicks in, and explanations start to churn in the small mind. It is a small mind because it is driven by past thoughts and memories.


So do I like to travel, is it a desire for change, what I seek in places away from home, can that not be found right here…………………wherever I go there I am, I think someone wrote a book with a similar name. I am reminded of a Feng Shui philosophy which recommends moving the furniture around, to remove stagnant energy, maybe my energy gets stuck and needs a fresh perspective., achieved by changing the physical, emotional and mental environment. And so this is the explanation from my egoic small mind……………..






The flight to San Jose, scheduled to depart at 9:30 in the morning, but kept getting delayed……………..every half hour we were advised that the maintenance crew was trying to fix both the toilets…………….eventually the announcement was made that a replacement plane will be brought in and the flight will depart 3 hours later than scheduled. Air Canada was generous to offer $8.00 per head coupon for Starbucks or Tim Hortons………….so all the passengers scurried off to redeem their coupons…………a full stomach makes the mind more relaxed……….I had been sitting in meditation, filling my stomach with some long inhales…………the coffee cinnamon cake and the latte was a warm welcome……….we eventually boarded and were soon taxiing on the runway, the smiles and anticipation could be sensed by the energy in the cabin……but wait, the pilot was heard announcing that we were returning to the gate to disembark a sick passenger…………..the paramedics came on and declared that the passenger had to be off loaded………later the story we heard from the steward was that the young man had thrown up twice on the plane and once after disembarking, the young man and his father both left the plane.........luckily the wait time was not too long as they did not have any checked baggage………….soon we were taxiing again and lifted off on our way to San Jose, Costa Rica,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I resumed watching the movie, Time Travelers’ Wife…………





We landed at the airport, Juan Santamaria, surrounded by a beautiful sunset…………..the mountains and the clouds mingled in one……..the long wait at the immigration line was forgotten as soon as the clean cut young immigration officer stamped the passport, looked up, smiled and welcomed me with this comment thank you for coming……..Eduardo was waiting outside, with the Casa Laurin sign………..when I arrived at the B&B, Jenny and Dolly, came leaping towards me, and welcomed me with their barking………Ginette had supper waiting, and their were 3 of us at dinner, enjoying the fresh salad and the lasagna.

November 22, 2009:
As I sit here writing this, it is 4 in the afternoon……….I have nurtured my body with some delicious pineapple, papaya and guavas and delicious quiche……….taken a walk to the super market, got wet carrying the groceries back , yet enjoyed it thoroughly………….





Watching and hearing the soothing sound of falling rain, I look up and outside the windows I see the lush green, of the vegetation and the distant mountains covered with misty clouds……the birds are singing.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

why am i wealthy.......

and so in conversation this person casually will mention, money and wealth..........sometime refering to the wealth of others and sometime his own.........i keep quiet...........a thought comes to Mind..........wealth is not in numbers............wealth is not in hoarding...........wealth is not for boasting.........maybe wealth is in what we share...........share ourselves and our belongings...........trust ourselves and trust others.........the actions do always speak louder than the words

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

the energy of complete surrender.........

in the class which I taught today, the thoughts that came up were "surrender", "acceptance" and "gratitude"............nursing a head cold, I planned a slower class..............as the last part of the class came to a close, I was guiding the participants in their journey of deep yogic sleep, yoga nidra...........their energy of surrender was humbling............as i looked at the group and noticed the tears in my eyes.

Monday, November 16, 2009

ZEN and Japanese culture by Daisetz T. Suzuki

"It is mind that deludes Mind,
For there is no other mind.
O Mind, do not let yourself
Be misled by mind."

an old Japanese poem

Sunday, November 15, 2009

actions of the unaware ego...........

.........starting with each individual, the ego radiates and spreads outward to form group ego............the internal conflicts and violence spreads into the world...........

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

when the princess found her prince charming...

is it a fairy tale.........or an observation of a real life story...........the joy was infectious.........the simplicity of each moment when two people were lost to the world, they were around others, only with each other, engrossed in their delight...............hhhmmm.........great energy!!!!!

Friday, November 6, 2009

death of a breath......

and the human form is over...........attending a funeral yesterday reminded me of how fragile the outer form (a human body) is...........as we sometimes watch our breath, or "reclaim our awareness to the breathing, the next inhale and exhale"........may we be reminded that life is for the living

and when the human form dies, can we replace the tears of sadness with tears of joy........ in celebration of the life of the departed...........

Monday, November 2, 2009

"i think therefore i am"

how misleading is the idea "i think therefore i am"..................those brief moments when i don't think............when there is no i.................only a sense of peace and oneness