“Remember this: When I am gone, only love can take my place. Be absorbed night and day in the love of God, and give that love to all.” — Paramhansa Yogananda
Remembering the guru with love
Ananda Music has an app!
Yep, this morning Ananda India launched the brand new Ananda Music App! If you love Swami Kriyananda’s music and would like to listen to more of it, this app is for you!
Since the launch in India happened at 6:30am Pacific time, we’ll do another one for the USA and Europe very soon. In the meantime, everyone is welcome to download and try the app out right away. The first 60 days are free; after that there will be a small annual fee, with the proceeds being funneled back into further developing and improving the app.
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ananda.music
For iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ananda-music/id1658814958?platform=iphone
The India launch of the app was very inspiring, with Nayaswami Jaya and Nayaswami Dhyana (the directors of Ananda India) sharing about their experiences with Swami Kriyananda as he was writing the music, and the impact it has had on their lives. There’s also a short demo of the app itself. Here’s where you can view the video.
I love the fact that we can now say, “Ananda Music? There’s an app for that!”
A moment of beauty
Sharing this beautiful photo of a ranunculus because I don’t really have anything to share tonight, other than that my mind and heart are full.
Eating without thinking
One of my “homework” assignments this week has been to read a little book by Thich Nhat Hanh, called “How to Eat”. It’s small but powerful.
I was particularly struck by this chapter:
When we eat we usually think. We can enjoy our eating a lot more if we practice not thinking when we eat. We can just be aware of the food. Sometimes we eat and we’re not aware that we’re eating. Our mind isn’t there. When our mind isn’t present, we look but we don’t see, we listen but we don’t hear, we eat but we don’t know the flavor of the food. This is a state of forgetfulness, the lack of mindfulness. To be truly present we have to stop our thinking. This is the secret of success.
There’s much food for thought is this little book.
So many new experiences
Today I received an ayurvedic treatment for the heart chakra, called “Hrid Basti”.
My eyes were closed, so I couldn’t actually see the shape of the dough container, but the photo gives you the idea.
I must say, having warm scented oil poured over my heart was a profoundly comforting experience.
Highly recommended!
Meanwhile at Ananda Village…
I know there are parts of California with way more snow than this; nevertheless, it’s a ton of snow for Ananda Village. I’m finding it somewhat disorienting to be away from home during such a major weather event.
With still more snow in the forecast, it’s also a bit of a challenge to stay focused in the present and enjoy my retreat without worrying about whether I’ll be able to get home when the time comes.
Silence and stillness and…SUN
Doing a lot of “just being” in these days.
Enjoying the stillness, the quiet, and (finally) some sun!
At some point I’ll be able to share about the process and experience of this retreat. But not yet. 😊
Beautiful and serene…and COLD
First full day completed and loving every moment so far.
It’s time for dinner, then some quiet reading, followed by meditation and bed.
I could get used to this!
Made it
It was a push to wrap things up and get here.
It was disorienting to do so while a veritable blizzard was raging outside.
It was rather exciting negotiating the snowy, icy roads to reach here (thank you, Tim, for getting me here safely).
Now to relax and immerse myself in this new adventure.
Happy birthday to my love
I leave for my weeklong ayurvedic retreat tomorrow and will miss Ramesha’s actual birthday next week.
So, tonight we had a simple celebration at home — just the two of us. No candles (the photo is just for fun), but a deliciously healthy pasta dinner followed by a super chocolatey cupcake for dessert.
It’s bittersweet, because this is the first time in nineteen years that I won’t be celebrating with him on his special day. But it’s for a good cause!