Happy to be vaxxed

Free illustrations of Nurse

This photo is pretty representative of just how happy I was to get my first post-transplant vaccinations today.

After spending four months with a “newborn” immune system, it’s great to once again have some little protection against the viruses currently making the rounds.

My astrological bangle: as good as new

My beautiful “like new” bangle!

The great Indian master, Paramhansa Yogananda, recommended the wearing of an astrological bangle to strengthen one’s aura and deflect or mitigate negative karma.

In Autobiography of a Yogi he wrote: “Just as a house may be fitted with a copper rod to absorb the shock of lightning, so can the bodily temple be protected in certain ways.

When I first found Ananda, all my new devotee friends were wearing bangles, but I figured it would take me years to save up in order to buy one for myself. After all, the bangle is made of gold, silver, and copper, and — even back in 1999 — new ones cost a pretty penny indeed!

What I didn’t know (but was about to learn) is that Divine Mother will sometimes fulfill our need before we’re even aware we have it.

I had accepted a job as school secretary for Ananda’s Living Wisdom School, which was kind of crazy to start with, considering that I knew almost nothing about the areas I was now responsible for!

The school was in the same building as the Ananda church offices, so one afternoon as I was passing through the boutique my friend who was the the office manager, called me over and introduced me to a former church member.

Turns out this woman had come in because she was no longer using her astrological bangle and wanted to sell it. My friend, Stephanie, asked her how much she was selling it for and the answer was $500. Then Stephanie turned to me and asked if I was interested. Of course I was, but I didn’t have $500!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Stephanie turned back to the woman and asked whether she would be willing to take payments of $50 a month. Again the answer was yes, so Stephanie’s next question to me was whether I could handle that.

And in the space of about ten minutes I had my own bangle which was completely paid off within ten months!

Here’s the kicker: only a few weeks later the school experienced a major upheaval; a time of severe stress involving all the teachers and staff. I was still very new — not just to the job, but also on the spiritual path — and the drama of it all really threw me for a loop. But at least I had the energetic support of my astrological bangle!

In retrospect I understood that Stephanie had served as Divine Mother’s channel to make sure I was protected.

As the time grows closer for Ramesha and I to relocate to Sacramento for my bone marrow transplant, I started feeling like it was time to get my bangle checked out and cleaned, which I hadn’t done for probably fifteen years.

I finally contacted Bhima of astrologicalbangles.com just a few days ago, and after replacement of the silver and copper, cleaning, annealing, and polishing, my bangle is as good as new — ready to support and protect me through these upcoming challenges.

Grateful for increased protection

Today I received an injection of Evusheld, a preventative medication for those who have significant immune disorders or, like me, are undergoing chemotherapy or other treatments that suppress the immune system.

The medication keeps the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 from entering the cells of the body, preventing illness.

I feel a lot more comfortable about interacting in the world having taken this step.

Also feeling very grateful.