Tribe.net. Local Connections m moon http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#58461e2e-4861-4d10-8263-d9ced3d875e5 2007-01-29T00:33:22Z 2007-01-29T00:33:22Z

".surely it is well to enjoy our lives and abundance when it is there, and also well to share of it and let it go gratefully when it or we disappear!" there it is ...what my words wanted to say an didn't thank you :) recieve enjoy and let go with equal gratitude :)

m moon 2007-01-29T00:33:22Z srihari http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#03e7a1a8-0c5b-4365-b84a-7068322571bb 2007-01-28T09:51:14Z 2007-01-28T09:51:14Z

well i don't know about you, or what is better or worse if there even is such an absolute, but i still desire plenty, tho it seems to be less and less--and the attatchments less distracting and compulsive--as these months pass and i meditate regularly and pray for Amma to take me step by step to the goal...and it seems to me that the law of attraction is true, it's just that Amma suggests and advises that we keep our minds on God all the time...therefore we attract more and more God into our reality! see God in all things, and God becomes all things to our experience (beats a new porsche for me this time around, any 'ol day!)...i think of Jesus being tempted by the "devil" (ego) as he sat in the desert--hissing that he could be king of the earth if only he gave up his quest to be King of Spirit--or Lord Buddha, the temptations of a thousand dancing girls, the most sumptuous foods, all the palaces and riches that assailed him as he sat resolutely under the Bo tree, unshakable, just moments before his Awakening... funny tho, since i started this thread i've been feeling more at peace with who i am and my choices, and profoundly grateful for the material wealth in my life--just more okay with the suchness of things, and of this temporary and pleasant phase of the unending play of Amma's leela...surely it is well to enjoy our lives and abundance when it is there, and also well to share of it and let it go gratefully when it or we disappear!

srihari 2007-01-28T09:51:14Z m moon http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#12f11966-5433-4d92-b010-26414e25ff75 2007-01-25T00:25:03Z 2007-01-25T00:25:03Z

"that if i saw other people suffering lack i was very quick to say "oh well, they must be in poverty consciousness, they are creating their own reality, they will figure it out someday etc." a very hands off and convenient approach," I feel they are stuck there and we need to help them not be so stuck...I see this a seva.....we can all have all we desire.......maybe this is crap...it is much better to desire nothing

m moon 2007-01-25T00:25:03Z Pia http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#3ff29d29-e667-4829-83dd-38f11fd071a6 2007-01-17T23:39:52Z 2007-01-17T23:39:52Z

i had made that list when i was on the north india tour... i had a lot of time to contemplate my discomfort and curse the cold. when you start to get up north, you see all the brahmacharis/inis wearing these "moneky hats" like balaclavas- they are protecting their neck and ears from the wind and it's true, you can get sick if you don't cover up. in pushkar i bought a wool blanket and was still freezing... and having terrible giardia. it's wierd, by the end, you get used to the discomfort, but i swear that the first time you take a hot shower, you will be astounded. i can't even explain it. as miserable as this all sounds, i wish i was going to... heartwood, yes, but like 9-10 years ago. can't beleive it's been that long. jai ma!

Pia 2007-01-17T23:39:52Z srihari http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#80404f1f-8211-4ab8-a8a3-04ab8b431746 2007-01-17T22:15:18Z 2007-01-17T22:15:18Z

wow! thanks sivapriya, you rock! much more comprehensive than the list someone at the ashram sent me. been in india before, but never on a bus with many people for weeks on end, sleeping on concrete floors etc. i see you list heartwood as one of your places, i'll betcha we know a bunch of the same people, i'm up here in humboldt myself...thanks again sweet sister...

srihari 2007-01-17T22:15:18Z Pia http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#bcc5f64a-9911-474f-9a2d-83857c503bc5 2007-01-17T20:04:18Z 2007-01-17T20:04:18Z

Sivapriya's North India Tour packing List: okay, you asked for it. and i will preface that it is always better to travel light...but this is the list! some of this you can get in india, a lot you'll need to bring from home. luggage: travel wallet, luggage locks, a "fanny" pack, a day trip bag like a small bacpack, a backpackers backpack or a rolling suitcase although you may not get to roll it very often..., sturdy and invincible for throwing onto the top of buses and onto the ground. don't bring a huge suitcase, two smaller luggage items are always better than one big. bedding: inflatable thermarest, a straw mat or yoga mat to put under the thermarest, a twin sheet, a lightweight sleeping bag that packs small, a travel pillow with washable cover, alarm clock., and bungee cords (always handy). clothing (aside from ashram whites): warm hat with earflaps or a good scarf, hooded fleece (dries faster) sweatshirt, long johns (really), pajamas, pair of fleece socks, beige underwear (it' all coming back that color anyway...from the brown water!!!), wool prayer shawl, a pair of tevas or chacos that you will guard with your life (some like birkenstocks), flip flops (you can buy these in India through they are of varying comfort- if you are picky, bring 2 pairs of your own), swim trunks for boys/ swim dress for girls, a few tshirts, khaki travel style slacks for boys and a long colored ashram-style skirt for girls, a compcat rain poncho to bring to programs in case it pours because amma never stops! WRITE YOUR NAME ON EVERYTHING WITH A SHARPIE PEN. miscellaneous: walkman or ipod and music, journal, respiration mask (like for sheetrock) for pollution in big cities (seriously), camera, bug repellant, small pocket knife, watch, straw asana for sitting on dirt, flashlight/head lamp, earplugs, ziplock bags, travel kleenex, safety pins, sewing kit for white stuff, neck pillow for bus rides, food type things/ pharmacy: green food supplement, waterbottle with shoulder strap, little bottle of dish soap to wash your tiffen that you'll buy at the ashram, emergen-cs, laxatives, diarrhea pills, curing pills, ibuprofen, charcoal tablets, vitamins, acidophilis pills, protein powder/ bars, motion sickness homeopathic, sugarless gum if you are like me, small first aid kit, and whatever prescription drugs you need...especially psychiatric meds... kidding, but not really. i am a nurse, so this pharmacy list could go on... just find out who the nurses are and you will be fine and learn to go to the pharmacy when you get the chance. toiletries: the stuff you like to use everydays, plus... vaseline, sunblock, lip balm, body butter for your feet, essential oils if you like, nailclippers, a poof sponge to take a bath, 2-3 indian bath towels. laundry: folding bucket from rei, little bottle stain remover, laundry soap, a little laundry line from rei that comes with laundry pins. right before you go: get a haircut, eat a steak, sleep in as much as you can in your cozy bed, and make sure someone is watering your plants. rei is your friend, packing for north india tour is a little more like packing for trekking in the himalyas than you might realize. i hear it is a different than when i went 6 years ago. more snack and pee stops and sadly, less amma sightings. but i hear it is still the real deal, so enjoy!

Pia 2007-01-17T20:04:18Z srihari http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#40e93bbf-753e-4efa-a24c-a404608db33c 2007-01-17T19:04:17Z 2007-01-17T19:04:17Z

thanks amigo--for your compassion, and the reminder that in many ways this is IT! for many! learning to experience and live in trust and surrender to the real rather than the unreal, it is the crux of everything in a way... flying to India on feb 3, 37 hours arcata to trivandrum! through dubai! i get there in time to be there for the last couple tour dates in s. india, plus Amma returns to amritapuri for four days before the N. india tour starts on i believe feb 19 or 20. will definitely post here and relate some of my experiences, i am giving many thanks...

srihari 2007-01-17T19:04:17Z Jamie http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#a708620f-281a-42f7-b7f5-d98e65a6566f 2007-01-17T13:02:46Z 2007-01-17T13:02:46Z

"...and yet not feeling myself ready to go the full brahmachari path, cause i still am fascinated at some level by stuff..." i know exactly how you feel sri.. i think a lot of people go through.. have gone through.. are going through that exact same struggle.. it's a tough one.. i'm smack dad in the middle of it myself :) having big time vicarious pleasure thinking of you spending time with Amma at the ashram and on the N. India tour.. when do you leave? Ommm Namah Shivaya

Jamie 2007-01-17T13:02:46Z srihari http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#242adbf4-abe1-4c56-8752-9327fc8cc295 2007-01-17T09:12:38Z 2007-01-17T09:12:38Z

oh my i am feeling most grateful right now, to be part of this network, to be seen and heard and responded to so quickly and thoughtfully by my spirit family out there...amulya i think yer right, 'bout doing the best we can and being grateful for what we do have, surely the suffering doesn't come from me doing my best to follow Amma's teachings but from some insidious tendency to kick my own ass no matter how hard i try! have to add that one to my prayers for help... also, would like to share that while the wealth and comfort we enjoy may be karmicly determined, as Amma says, if we see someone who has fallen into a hole, is it not our karma to help them out?! before this summer, and the opening with Amma i experienced (which made me want to open my mind to her words instead of conveniently ignore them as principles that just didn't sound so fun), largely i believed that we are all Gods and Goddesses with the freedom to create all the pleasure and joy and goodies for ourselves that we wish (i have noticed that Amma NEVER advises us to follow this philosophy, rather she stresses self-less service, humility, renunciation, devotion, faith, surrender--most un-New Age, isn't it?), and that if i saw other people suffering lack i was very quick to say "oh well, they must be in poverty consciousness, they are creating their own reality, they will figure it out someday etc." a very hands off and convenient approach, and while i did not feel so at the time i now detect a certain priveleged arrogance in myself around the way i was thinking about it...imagine if Amma saw all her suffering children and said to Herself "oh well, nothing i can do about it!" too bad for us, right, or the millions upon millions who have been spiritually and physically served by Her? and she beseeches, IMPLORS us to work harder, awaken quickly and soon, because She needs our help. sometimes i think that when we meet someone who seems really lovely, really wise and giving, maybe someone many people would call an "old soul", that is a person that is actually focusing like 10 or 15 percent of their daily energy on selflessly loving and serving others, as compared to so many people who give like zero to five percent of themselves...contrast all of this with Amma, who is at once the most blissfull, spontaneous, joyful, charming, fun being i have ever encountered, and who also gives 1000 percent of herself to serving others--Amma needs no space, no comfort, no yummy food, has no need for personal boundaries, gets no days off, you all know the story...and we flock to her like moths to the flame because it is the purest, most lovely thing we have ever felt or seen...hey i think i just got it...Amma is fully joyfull doing what she does, i on the other hand would be miserable and probably dead soon if i attempted to do what she does, because She is in her dharma and i am in mine, and right now my dharma is in the world and it's okay to have some fancy things in this world because Maya is all pervading and on some level it still seems to sort of make me happy. maybe someday i can even consider myself as one of those 10 or 15 percent old souls (sometimes i do), and let myself off the hook for not being a 1000 percent Avatar! most important, do my best, live in the attitude of gratitude, follow Mothers guidance best i can, and trust that Amma indeed is, as i pray to her each day, taking me STEP BY STEP to the goal! note to self--remember this next time i'm bugging out! by the way Pia, i am full on there for the North India tour! have you gone? any tips as in oh my god i wish i had brought my ???? with me? i'm so stoked, i've heard stories of the busses stopping at rivers for swims with the Holy Mother, roadside dinners where She pops up and helps with the cooking etc. c'mon lets be honest, we all dream of having Amma to ourselves for a little while, don't we?! roadtripping with the Divine Mother, yeeeeehaaaawwwww! another chapter in my freakball philosophizing, thanks fer reading... aye maharani mata amritanandamayi saranam amma abayam amma!

srihari 2007-01-17T09:12:38Z Pia http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#c40a07d1-a861-4ec1-8f60-d2ca3a206ae0 2007-01-17T06:36:02Z 2007-01-17T06:36:02Z

good for you sri hari! i am excited for you and this adventure to amritapuri- you should do at least one of the indian tours while you are there. blessings to you! seems like so many people are diving deep lately into amma's heart; realizing she is the one for them, the one and only love. sigh... on the materialistic note, you can never go wrong improving or investing in your real estate! however, i know what you mean about buying stuff. kali mantras and yantras will do that to you and make you feel like walking through a fire for God, so to speak.

Pia 2007-01-17T06:36:02Z kat http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#981045d8-211e-4a0d-b902-5fef89b47202 2007-01-17T05:33:02Z 2007-01-17T05:33:02Z

amulya what a great soundtrack. i love it :)

kat 2007-01-17T05:33:02Z Amulya http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#d6a9450e-2f2a-4e4e-8cb6-17ebaa518ee9 2007-01-17T04:49:31Z 2007-01-17T04:49:31Z

So I was listening to Jesus Christ Superstar the other day and this line came up when I read your post about "rich" westerners: (Jesus); "There will be poor always, pathetically struggling, look at the good things you got....." So I was reflecting, well this is a western rock musical, but anyway, life is unjust and I suppose that karma has a lot to do with how "rich" we are....it will probably never really make sense until you are enlightened so just do the best that you can in every moment. Have a fabulous trip to India! Kali Mata Ki Jai!

Amulya 2007-01-17T04:49:31Z srihari http://Ammachi.tribe.net/thread/ea2c7301-25b4-4797-b2f2-3a09af2890c1#786d1e68-bced-40da-bc3e-bfd33dca7a8a 2007-01-17T02:23:49Z 2007-01-17T02:23:49Z

oh what a joy to feel into and read the sharings of my beautiful sangha out there...many thanks to all who shared so heartfully and authentically about their experiences around the Holy Mother, at Amritapuri and other places...i was there (amritapuri) six years ago, just kinda checking it out, recieved a mantra from Amma there, no one actually told me that that meant i was taking Amma as my guru for life, funny, over the years that caused me to doubt, as in "gee maybe Amma is not really omniscient because it doesn't actually feel like she is my one and only," only the joke was on me, because as of a moment (THE MOMENT!) this summer at San Ramon when Amma looked into my soul, seared my mind, invited me into her everlasting, unending love, and to trust, trust, trust Her (God), well, i think of Amma all the time now! have NO doubts that she is my Guru anymore! sometimes i doubt my own efforts (thanks to Pia for her devi bhava story to adress that!), but of Amma's side i am certain. here is a good story. at the detroit programs i was working at the puja table in the bookstore for a while, and my eyes were continually drawn to a little laminated kali yantra. never really felt that attracted to or interested in kali energy before, anyway i bought this yantra and brought it home. during this time also, i fell in love with the bhajan Jhilan Jhilam from the CD remembrance, in which Amma fully blisses and freaks out more than any other recording i have heard, like she is falling off her chair with ecstacy as she cry's out with nothing but joy and gratitude, "OM KALI!", uber-beautiful really. well i'm playing this bhajan on my ipod one night, waiting for some friends to come over for bhajan practice, and my friend moksha who is an amazing artist knocks on the door--he had asked me if i wanted to babysit some of his art while he went to asia this winter, i said yes not knowing which art he would bring--so i'm listening to Jhilam Jhilan and he walks in with this large, dark, comepletely gorgeous picture he painted of a smiling Kali sitting on top of a much huger version of the yantra that i had brought back with me from detroit! there is no doubt that this is a Kali winter for me...(if anyone is interested, would happily post the translation of Jhilam Jhilan, Amma's energy and the words helped me to feel Kali at a level i never grokked before!) maybe some of you can relate, I feel like my worldly self little by little is "dying" so to speak, not dead enough to catapult me into endless desirelessness, trust, and bliss, but kinda kicking a screaming...the full knowledge that pursuit of stuff, or sex, or "love" from a woman, is not gonna bring me lasting happiness, and yet not feeling myself ready to go the full brahmachari path, cause i still am fascinated at some level by stuff, and sex, and women etc. but sometimes i feel like anything i buy for myself, or everytime i make a purchase to make my already comfortable life even more comfortable...well it feels like a failure to me, when i spend four grand on new windows for my house when i know that will buy two houses for my brothers and sisters in India...feel like i would like to ask Amma Herself about this sometime, for i read and listen to Her all the time, and she alternately advises us to enjoy worldly pleasures in an unattatched way, and also advises us that sensory pleasures can and should be seen as a poison that distracts us from our true self! any reflections on this out there? i always marvel when i go to San Ramon, all these devotees pulling up in 40 thousand dollar cars, are we missing the boat? i know Amma never puts any heavy trips on us about right and wrong, i feel like she does gently urge us to consider our selfish tendencies all the time! feel like i'm consistently suffering with some confusion over matters such as these...think i need to pray to Ma for help on this one! anyway, have the great good fortune to be off to India for the North India tour sandwhiched between a couple weeks at Amritapuri at either end, no doubt the suffering i feel now is my "pus" coming to the surface to be lanced by the Holy of Holies, i am giving so much thanks for all of it! if you made it this far, thank you for your ear and your heart... om amriteshwaryai namahah srihari

srihari 2007-01-17T02:23:49Z