Tag: gifts

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Gifts from Swamiji

Ramesha and I just completed a special project for our May Patreon video (a little behind schedule due to illness).

As part of it I got to talk about a gift that Swamiji gave me back when we stilled lived in Switzerland (the full story is part of the video).

But it gave me a reason to remember and reflect on other special items I’ve received from Swami.

In September of 2003 Swami went to Milan and Como for book release events and I traveled by train from Assisi in order to participate (it’s a long story, involving a suitcase full of books; missed train connections; an impromptu “choir;” fabulous meals; deep inspiration; and getting to know a crazy young guy named Fabio — I’ll have to write a full blog about it sometime).

It was definitely an eventful weekend, made even more intense by the fact that I stayed in the apartment of two devotees from Milan who I didn’t really know and who spoke virtually no English. It really was quite uncomfortable and awkward.

At the conclusion of the weekend I was supposed to take the train back to Assisi, but was invited to join the group at Swamiji’s hotel for breakfast first. This somehow got communicated to my host who dropped me off near the hotel on his way to work.

As I walked up to the entrance I suddenly heard a “hello” from up above. It was Swamiji, calling to me from a window on the second floor. He said he had something for me and would be right down.

I met him in the lobby and he handed me the little Krishna that you see in the photo. A unexpected and precious moment I’ll never forget.

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Racial healing (part 4)

It’s taken a full five days, but the dust is settling a bit in terms of my personal upset and process. There are a few things that I’m now seeing with more clarity:

The Gift
Growing up without having to confront constant, overt racism meant that my sense of self was largely free from identification with the issue of racism. I’m deeply grateful for this.

The Work
But because I wasn’t constantly confronted with overt racism, I was largely able to avoid facing up to it. These past few days have helped me understand how important it is that I let myself see how much I was affected by racism, and allow myself to feel the collective pain.

The Sad Reality
One of the most helpful things I’ve learned at Ananda is the concept that reason follows feeling. Which means that logic becomes irrelevant when feelings are fully engaged and passions run high. Which leads to…

The Impossibility
Having my sun in Gemini means that “communication” is BIG for me. There’s a part of me that really does believe that if “they“ just got to know me and we could just talk, then I could make “them” understand! But that’s the very definition of prejudice, isn’t it? Who I am is irrelevant; I’m never going to convince a true bigot that I’m worth knowing.

So another helpful thing I’ve learned at Ananda is the importance of focusing one’s energies on those who are positive and open and willing, while ignoring — whenever possible — those who are negative and derogatory (obviously, if someone is not just negative but threatening, you can’t ignore them!).

There are many people who want to understand, who want to help, who want to be part of the solution. If we focus our energy and resources on strengthening and nurturing these connections, we’ll increase our magnetism and build the momentum…and I have faith that change will happen as a result.