Tag: getting started

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We got started!

At our Assisi wedding (July 18, 2004)

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” ~ Walt Disney

I was thrilled to see this quote on my Momentum Dash this afternoon, because it was completely aligned with today’s reality.

That fact is that Ramesha and I have been talking about a particular (and very special) project for over a year, but today the talking was over and we did something about it!

The “something” is our new Patreon account: “Bhagavati & Ramesha”, which we just launched!

This morning we recorded our Patreon intro video, as well as one of our earliest Harmony Duo song arrangements (which we hadn’t performed in probably ten years).

The intro video is not published yet, although you can see a sneak preview by clicking here.

There’s a lot I’d like to say about Patreon, why we’re doing it, the process of getting to this point, and how cancer proved to be a clarifying factor…but these are topics that will have to wait for a future blog post.

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Gathering my stories of Swamiji

Swamiji listening while Dharmini Iyer and I performed with Jeannie Tschantz (not pictured) during Spiritual Renewal Week (probably 2008 or so).

The stories that came up during last night’s satsang with Jyotish and Devi rekindled my determination to capture in writing my various experiences and time spent with Swami Kriyananda over the years.

I’ve been saying I’m going to do it ever since he passed away in 2013, but it’s starting to grow in urgency.

So, in order to simply get started and move some energy, I’ve decided to devote some of my daily blog posts to this process.

The idea is to begin by outlining things chronologically, then gradually flesh out the different categories as I go along. We’ll see if this strategy enables me to finally make some progress.

Well, here goes nothin’! 😄
1. My first experiences of Ananda and the music
2. Becoming part of Ananda Palo Alto
3. My first “meetings” with Swamiji
4. Oratorio choir tour to Italy
5. Moving to Italy and then Switzerland
6. The one year leave-of-absence that’s lasted fifteen years
7. Ananda Village (1)
8. Los Angeles
9. Ananda Village (2)

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Done is better than perfect.

I recently experienced the truth of this yet again.

Last spring I reached out to a housecleaner we had used a few years ago. The months flew by and I never managed to schedule a time.

I was finally desperate. You see, I’m one of those people who “sees” everything, but (#1) I dislike cleaning house, and (#2) when I do clean I take for-ever, because — yeah — I see every little thing!

So, we were going out of town and I decided to have the cleaner come any day during the week we were gone. It was last minute. There were piles of stuff all over. But I didn’t care. It just needed to get done!

And, sure enough, done was better than perfect. In fact, done was WAY better than perfect.

You see, my idea was that I would put away all the clutter; sort through all the old photos; and find a place for everything. Then and only then would I have someone clean.

But the truth is that getting started moves energy! So, three weeks later I had the cleaner come in again. This time I managed to clear some clutter; put away some photos; and find out-of-sight/out-of-the-way places for stuff to go.

And we’re loving our space. It looks and feels so much better. And now that we have that momentum, it’s much easier for us to keep it that way.

Done.