(not necessarily in that order)
How fun to run across this photo so soon after our recent time in Los Angeles!
It was taken in 2012 or 2013, not long after Ananda’s movie Finding Happiness came out. We were only six of the thirteen ashram residents, plus two guests: Shivani, who lived at the ashram for several months while manifesting the movie; and Brian, who worked on the film as the steadicam operator.
Living in LA wasn’t always easy, but this brings back some real good memories.
Yesterday I spent a fair amount of time tuning into the hurricane and flooding disaster in the Southeast. This afternoon some work being done in the crawlspace of our building resulted in water flooding our bathroom floor.
The propane was already off due to the work being done. Now the water had to be turned off as well. Plus we had to scramble to find enough towels to get it mopped up before leaving for a birthday party.
I was complaining a little bit as we left the house but got ahold of myself pretty quickly. After all, a few hours without propane and water, and a wet bathroom floor is inconvenient, but remembering the situation in western North Carolina helped me put it all back into perspective.
So, when we got home from the birthday party, the bathroom had flooded again, even worse. Still no propane or water. Oh joy.
I needed to laugh, so it was the perfect moment to watch (again) this video of Carol Burnett and the late, great Maggie Smith.
P.S. If you’re like me and can’t figure out what Maggie is saying when we demonstrates “dropping your H’s,” here it is written out (first with the “h’s” added back in, then without them):
“It ain’t only the hurdling and the hopping over the high hedges what hurts the horses’ hooves; it’s the ‘hammer hammer hammer’ on the hard iron road.”
OR
“Tain’t only the ‘urdlin’ ‘n the ‘oppin’ over the ‘igh edges what ‘urts the ‘orses ‘ooves… It’s the ‘ammer ‘ammer ‘ammer on the ‘ard iron road!”
My heart goes out to the millions of people affected by Hurricane Helene and the devastating floods that followed.
This is one of those times when I wish I could do more than just pray.
I completely dropped the ball when it came to taking photos at our Saturday workshop in East LA. Suffice it to say that everything was beautiful and we had a small but enthusiastic group of attendees….singers who also happened to be the choir members, and who spent the second half of the workshop rehearsing songs for Sunday service with us.
Service on Sunday was my first time serving as an “official” Lightbearer; this also went quite well. Then, after a brief rest, Dharana and Pritha drove us to Forest Lawn cemetery, so we could visit Yogananda’s crypt. It was so peaceful and inspiring; I was really glad we made the time to go there.
Finally we arrived back at the ashram, ready to join the residents in some major “relax & have fun” time — namely, pizza and a movie! (I was also finally able to remember to take a few pics.)📷
We had a truly lovely time staying in Palos Verdes with dear friends Padma and Arnab, and their delightful daughter, Ronjini.
The new (to us, anyway) center in Torrance is beautiful; our workshop was well-attended; and a great time was had by all!
My day was spent on the move — starting with my once-a-month blood draw, followed by a vaccine appointment; moving on to our weekly music meeting; then spending the rest of the afternoon responding to never-ending emails.
But then….aahhh!
I finally had a long-awaited foot reflexology appointment, and boy oh boy did it feel good!
This morning was a chance to rest and recover a bit from our busy LA weekend, while the afternoon was spent catching up on organizational details and lots of emails. Then we had choir and ensemble rehearsal in the evening.
Needless to say, finding the time to share more fully about our time in LA is something I’m still looking forward to!
We were only gone a few days, but it somehow seems like it was a long time and far, far away. Maybe because LA is such a different environment, plus the intensity of interacting with so many people.
Whatever the reason, it feels really good to be home.
These days have been full to overflowing with teaching, sharing, singing, connecting, driving, laughing, meditating, and more.
Ramesha and I had been feeling sorry not to be able to sing “Little Kathy” for Sunday service at the Village, but we were extremely well compensated by singing it with the singers from Ananda LA. We rocked it!
Plus the Ananda Village group rocked it as well. All is truly well in my world. 😊
Our workshops last night and this afternoon had some pretty lofty titles: Friday’s was “Music to Awaken Superconsciousness,” while today’s was “Music for Deepening Your Attunement.”
Not surprisingly, in each instance the essence of what came through was joy, harmony, and divine friendship.
We’ve had so much fun sharing and interacting with all the great souls both at Ananda South Bay and Ananda East Los Angeles that I’m once again feeling pretty pooped — and tomorrow morning we give Sunday service!
So, the full report just might have to wait until we get home.