Want to have a "Golden Aura"? Then go to the Re Man meditation at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains in North India next to the holy Ganga river with Internationally renowned Healer and Yogi Guru Dev Singh Khalsa.

Every spring a large group gathers near Rishikesh to Chant the Re-Man for 7 days until until 11,000 repartitions have been completed.

This year my yoga teacher Darshan Kaur is going. I am interested in going another year.

This entry was posted on February 3, 2010 at 8:57 PM and has received 1593 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Deva Premal and Krishna Das will be performing “An Evening of Sacred Song and Kirtan” together in DC April 8th.  I heard Deva Premal, Mitten and Monose in concert in DC in the Fall and it was a magical experience. I have lots of their CDs and plenty of Krishna Das CDs too, you can see if they are visiting your city in March and April at Deva Premal's website event calendar. Places include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, and Dallas.

Deva Premal and Krishna Das have been recording much-loved albums of kirtan and mantra since the mid-90s.Their CDs are the sound track for workouts in yoga studios around the world, and their concerts have attracted ever larger global audiences with the sense of joy and well being they offer.

Yoga Journal has dubbed Deva & Miten the “Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash of Chant.” Krishna Das has been called the “Chant Master of American Yoga” by the New York Times.

This entry was posted on February 2, 2010 at 12:47 AM and has received 1146 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

A newspaper in Amish country focuses on positive news. Although this article about Die Botschaft Amish newspaper initially appears critical of it's focus on positive news, even to avoid dwelling on local murders, I read further to see that for the paper's readers there are benefits to not getting a daily dose of negative hard news.

"There are facts that we really don't want to repeat.

It was hard to disagree with him. Three days after the murders, the facts of the case had already been repeated to numbness. There seemed nothing more to say about Roberts' malignance, or about the vulnerability of 10 small girls in pinafores, lined up for execution. And yet the reports kept going out from Nickel Mines, in gory detail, beaming out to every corner of the world. Once heard, the details of the crime stick in the head and are hard to banish.

This entry was posted on February 2, 2010 at 12:06 AM and has received 520 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Interested in a new guru? A friend checking out a cult? Then see Sarios guru rating service which gives ratings and notes on many gurus. Plus links to both their pro and anti websites. In a more critical vein deprogrammer  Rick Ross gathers thousands of articles on cults and controversial groups. Ranging from the Amish, Burning Man, 3HO, The Forum, Jews for Jesus, KKK, LifeSpring, Landmark, The Mankind Project, Mormons, Osho, People Unlimited, Rainbow Gathering, Ramtha, Rebirthing, Transendental Meditation, UFOs, Waco Davidians, Wicca, Yogaville.

This entry was posted on February 1, 2010 at 11:18 PM and has received 607 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This entry was posted on January 26, 2010 at 8:28 PM and has received 1195 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we listen to long time Sandboxer Milliie Knox read from her book "Crafting with Nana." A book about the four summers she spent with her grandmother learning about healing, mother earth, the Sun Lord and Moon Goddess, Full Moon ritual, and coming into being loved and nurtured. I read it over the summer and it is a touching and playful read that brings back the joy, innocence and magic of childhood.

"I looked out the window of the bus and there was Nana standing on the platform with her hands on her hips. Nana was short compared to everyone else but me, about five foot two. She stood like she was ten feet tall, with her steel gray eyes flashing a warning to all who would meet her gaze.  I felt very protected when I was around her.  Nana didn’t have much use for children. She thought they were a bother. She didn’t have much use for most adults either, but she picked me to teach and for that I am truly grateful.
 
Learning things from Nana was different from anything else. She gently guided me into a world where magic was as simple and commonplace as sitting down to a meal, enjoying a gentle breeze in the afternoon, or bathing in the dancing light of an evening fire. She led me on a journey where I found that the wonders of  the “Old Ways” opened my life and granted me gifts to powers beyond my wildest imagination. 

Here is what David Hollies had to say about it

I just finished reading Millie’s book “Crafting with Nana.”  And I really enjoyed it.  I mostly bought the book as an expression of my general appreciation of Millie.  I read the book with the hope of getting to know Millie better.  She is one of the most intriguing people I have ever known, so delving into the world of her childhood memories and introduction to things wiccan seemed quite inviting to me.  At first I found the pace slow and wondered if the book would be a chore.  But the book drew me in and I found that the pace of the story was part of the story.  Before long I was recalling the timeless adventuring of childhood.   The book stopped being about Millie and became an invitation to a state of mind that I’d all but forgotten.  It took me back to a time in life where I had so much less knowledge and yet was so much more immersed in the magic of the forest.   I’ve grown in the reading, becoming aware of the ways I’ve fallen out of awareness of the wonder that is all around me.  Thanks, Mille, for giving me back some of the kid in me.

The reading begins after dinner at 8pm.  I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.

This entry was posted on January 26, 2010 at 6:00 PM and has received 1238 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

If you like chanting and Kundalini yoga then check out the first Spirit Fest 9/17-9/19/10 in the mountains of West Virginia. Three days chanting, singing, dancing and practicing Kundalini Yoga. With morning Sadhana it is like a mini Solstice nearer to DC!

http://www.spiritvoyage.com/musicfestival/

Music Performers and Yoga teachers include

•     Snatam Kaur
•     Gurmukh
•     GuruGanesha Singh
•     Nirinjan Kaur
•     Sada Sat Kaur
•     Gurunam Singh
•     Sat Kartar
•     Satkirin Kaur Khalsa

This entry was posted on January 26, 2010 at 4:22 PM and has received 1173 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

I went to Kundalini yoga Winter Solstice in December - amazing time with about 500 yogis and yoginis attending. We got up at 3am for meditation and yoga each day and I did a lot of clearing of subconscious blocks. I took the auto-train to Florida with Dana and we drive by via the Hostel in the Forest in Georgia - staying in a tree house! Dana taught some Kundalin yoga to the other guests. It is a center which promotes and teaches environmental sustainability, and is also a spiritual retreat. It show cases a sustainable lifestyle - self building houses, free range chickens and outdoor shower in the forest. More photos of the hostel here.

Sort of like the Earthships I saw in Taos NM in the summer. After Solstice I am doing a 40 day meditation for self-esteem that I learned at Solstice - so far so good!

This entry was posted on January 15, 2010 at 9:18 PM and has received 2957 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

Interesting blog by a friend of mine called Tom who is living at Amma's ashram in Kerela, India. How he is being coming more mindful and noticing his own reactivity.

This entry was posted on January 14, 2010 at 6:29 PM and has received 596 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.

This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we look at Clearing Fear from our lives. Where in your life is there constriction and tightness? When is your breath shallow and tummy tense? For some fear comes in at work, others in relationships and others in dis-ease in their bodies and minds. Fear is the little death, the mind killer that can seep into our lives over the years and then grow around our hearts like a vine, constricting our joy of life until there is none left.

Living without Fear.  What are the benefits and are there any downsides? Finally we will look at how can I live with an without fear independent of external circumstances. This part is especially important in the current shifts that are manifesting on our planet. Staying in heart space can be hard when others are in fear and the news is filled with panic. However I think it is vital for our health, happiness and in some cases our very survival!

We will learn some methods for moving our consciousness into a heart space of love, including a beautiful relaxing Shamballa meditation. And practice some ways to stay in our heart when others are not.

The workshop begins after dinner at 8pm.  I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.

This entry was posted on January 5, 2010 at 2:30 PM and has received 607 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.