Thursday, December 28, 2006

 
I have some photos of Winter Solstice. I hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas everyone! My husband and I were travelling home on Christmas day. In the Orlando airport just after security we saw a small chapel where there was Mass. We stopped in to meditate and pray. I really loved being able to do this. Please enjoy this special time of Christmas, New Year... and Guru Gobind Singh's birthday coming up.
During a break in White Tantric Yoga I took a couple of pictures. It is beautiful to see pictures of it while people are actually practising it. For photos like this see: www.3HO.org. I couldn't take pictures because I did all three days. It was incredibly rejuvanating and healing. I feel so incredibly grateful for this science of yoga that the Siri Singh Sahib left us. As you know, on the last leg of the tour I got sick with a flu. After a full year of touring, seven tours total, and recovering from being sick, I felt that White Tantric Yoga healed me mentally, physically and spirtually. After doing it I felt a deep cleanse.... and light and love.
Here is my husband and I during the break... one of those pictures where you're still talking when the click goes off.
There we go...
Here are some good friends of ours... Dharampal Singh and his wife Ardas Kaur. They sat next to us on the first day of White Tantric Yoga.

This is the Gurdwara at Winter Solstice. During Winter Solstice there are morning Gurdwaras every day that are very sweet. There is also an Akaand Paath, or continuous reading of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (our Guru) that takes about three days. Everyone in the camp has an oppourtunity to sign up and read. They have the option of reading in English or in Gurumukhi. There is also a Rainsabhai one of the evenings, which is an all night kirtan. This year there were so many incredible musicians who came to play. I was really blown away. There is also a special Christmas eve Gurdwara which I always love because it feels like a celebration of the completion of three days of White Tantric Yoga.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

 
On the last leg of the Celebrate Peace December 2006 tour we swung through Florida. It felt just like that... swinging... the weather was warm, and filled with moisture. After the cold mountains of North Carolina I felt as if in a dream. Featured in this blog is one of the most beautiful and sacred places on this earth. It is called Kashi Ashram, and was founded by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba. This ashram is nestled in the thick green Florida foliage in Sebastian Florida. Ma has been a long time friend of Yogi Bhajan, so I've known her for about twelve years now. In the nineties she reached out to people with AIDS, giving them love, prayers, and a spiritual connection to God, as many came to her ashram to die and have their ashes put in the beautiful lake, lovingly called the Ganga. She continues her work and service to people by teaching meditation and yoga and offering a beautiful sacred ashram for people to come and visit or live. She is known for lovingly embracing everyone no matter what. Throughout the years that I have known her she has always embraced me with so much love that I have been brought to tears numerous times. The moment we arrived at her ashram I was filled with a deep peace. I had the opportunity on our last morning to take some photos for you. She has dedicated her entire ashram to peace on the planet, as there are shrines to many faiths. Please enjoy these photos, and feel free to check out the Kashi Ashram website for more information. www.kashi.org

This is Neem Karoli Baba. He taught Ma, and also other well known devotees such as Krishna Das, and Ram Das.

A beautiful shrine to Budha.


A breath taking shrine to Jesus Christ.


A shrine dedicated to the Siri Singh Sahib, Yogi Bhajan.


A shrine honoring the Jewish faith with the ten commandments.


Shiva sits in the lake, lovingly called the Ganga.


A beautiful meditation space with Baba Siri Chand, the son of Guru Nanak, and a powerful yogi who served the Sikh Gurus of his time and who still serves all who call upon him.

A statue of Mother Mary stands by the Ganga, caressing the waters with love peace and forgiveness.

Ma built this Guru Hargobind Gurdwara, dedicated to the Sikh faith. As a Sikh I was so deeply touched, it brought me to tears. A beautiful little Gurdwara! Who would have guessed anyone who is not a Sikh would conceive of this. It is a very beautiful gift to Sikhs everywhere.

Here is the inside of the Gurdwara... very sweet and lovely.

I hope you have enjoyed these photos. My husband and I are now attending Winter Solstice. I look forward to sharing photos with you next week from Winter Solstice.

May Peace Prevail On Earth.

Over and Out.



Monday, December 11, 2006

 
Here is Guru Tara Kaur and I. Her name means beautiful star of the Guru. She truly is that. We had a great time together in Virginia Beach where we stayed at her house.

Sat Nam everyone!

Since my last blog entry we had a concert in Winston Salem, a concert and a workshop in Asheville North Carolina, and two concerts in Atlanta Georgia. I found out a couple of things about Winston Salem… that this is where the headquarters is for the cigarette company named after the town, and it is where Oprah Winfrey has one of her homes. We stayed at a Best Western right there in down town and it was beautiful to see the city lights, and much quieter than most cities I’ve ever been too. Unfortunately I made the mistake of telling the hostess at the front desk of the hotel that we would be doing our vocal exercises in the morning and would appreciate relatively isolated rooms as to not disturb any of the other guests. She sent us to an isolated building… where the heat didn’t work. Hence my beautiful cold took birth. That night I slept with my coat on… brrrrrrhhhhh. I had been doing so good. Oh well… sometimes things just happen like that. I have to say that we had an absolutely lovely concert in Winston Salem. It was in an antique gallery which was a renovated warehouse of some type. There was beautiful artwork all over the place and a great Christmas tree. I was envisioning Oprah Winfrey walking into the hall… that would have been cool. Hey if it ever happens I’ll let you know. The best part of the whole evening was that our hosts are from the Hare Krishna tradition, so they served prashaadam, or sacred food to everyone who came to the concert! That has never happened before. It was some of the best food I’ve ever had… real comfort food. I would like to give a big thank you to Arci and Dulal Chandra for hosting us so beautifully. Many people came to our concert who had never seen us before and it was an amazing evening.

Anyway, we made our way to Asheville. Folks… that town is up in the mountains. Holy moly, it’s snowed….wind… ice… the works. Growing up in the West Coast I was not prepared. The next time I visit Asheville in December, you can bet I’ll have long johns on even before we arrive. That’s when my cold got real comfortable and took up residence in my throat. We found ourselves in another Best Western… this time the heat worked. So I bundled up and drank tea and did every thing I could to get better. We had an absolutely beautiful concert. People really chant up there in Asheville. I’m very grateful to Namaste Yoga for hosting us.

By the time we made it to Atlanta I did one concert at the Kashi Ashram… and that was it. I sounded like a frog. We considered all sorts of options like having GuruGanesha sing for me while I lip synced. Just kidding… We thought about canceling the concert… but that didn’t sit too well with anyone. Finally we decided that GuruGanesha should take the lead and take the jatha (band) with him. GuruGanesha went to a local Gurdwara and did an arousing version of Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru and the Mul Mantra. I heard people really enjoyed it. For the concert that evening everyone who came to the concert was told that I wasn’t going to make it… that they could have their money back if they wanted it…. Or they could stay for the whole thing and get 50% off at the end if they wanted it. Well… everyone stayed and they had a great concert. I knew that GuruGanesha and the band would have no problem delivering a beautiful evening. I couldn’t really go to sleep because all I was thinking about was the concert. It was really odd being home. So, I stayed up until they came back. When GuruGanesha walked through the front door I knew by the look on his face that it had been a great evening.

Anyway…how about a moral to this story? God is everywhere, in charge of everything… and the music goes on…especially when it is dedicated to peace.

Peace Ya’all. (That’s what they say down here in the south).

PS. I'll be at Winter Solstice soon. I'm really looking forward to seeing my sweet husband. He's coming for our concert in Altamonte Springs and we are doing Winter Solstice together. Winter Solstice is a gathering sponsored by 3HO that takes place outside of Orlando Florida with three days of White Tantric Yoga, two days of amazing yoga and meditation classes, morning meditation, evening music at the Yogi Tea Cafe... lots of fun. If you are interested in learning more visit: www.3HO.org. Safe travels to everyone going to Winter Solstice and to the many other places of travel during this holiday season.

Monday, December 04, 2006

 
Here's a beatiful little girl named Ava from the Singh family. She came up on stage to help us out with our children's section of the concert. We are very grateful to the Singh family for helping us to get the word out about our weekend in the Virginia Beach area, and for hosting a beautiful Gurdwara program at their home.
Here's a picture of us at the concert at the A.R.E. center. I know that you've seen enough of me.... just putting it in here so that my husband can see how I look. Sometimes the tour is so transformational, I joke around with my husband that when I get home and he's picking me up at the airport I'll be six feet tall.
Here's Guru Bandha Singh, and his mom Atma Kaur, with his sister Guru Tara Kaur. We are staying with them and totally enjoying all of the good food, good yogi tea, and pure coziness and positivity.


We started off our tour in the Virginia Beach area which is in the southeast corner of Virginia… in the United States, and on the planet earth… in case you were wondering where we are. If you really want details, I’m sitting in a Panera’s restaurant writing this blog, catching up on emails, and having “Oh my God… you won’t believe this email” conversations with the rest of the guys in the band. Everyone’s got their little spot. I think GuruGanesha and Krishan have both already ordered two meals here. I’ve had a cup of tea and an apple. Our host, Atma Kaur is making a wonderful meal tonight. I’ve got a small appetite… and really want to eat her good food. I know that the guys will have no problem. They can eat!

Anyway…

I’d like to share a little bit about this weekend. We had our concert and two workshops at a center called A.R.E… which stands for the Association for Research and Enlightenment. The founder of this association is Edgar Casey. Edgar Casey was able to do “readings”… essentially he would go into a trance like state and give readings to people in this state, addressing everything from health questions to the meaning of life questions. In the readings he would give people treatments and gave them many of the wholistic health care concepts that were unheard of at that time, but are more widely practiced now by medical doctors. He saved many lives. He also talked about reincarnation and a person’s Akashic record. The Akashic record is well known in Indian yogic traditions, but he just tapped into it from his own awareness. I really find this fascinating and cool. For those of you who have never heard of the Akashic record, I will do my best to give a brief explanation. The Akashic record is recorded for each human being. It records every thought and action, and it also tells every future action and a person’s destiny. You can access the Akashic records by going into a deep meditative state. Very few people on this planet have that capacity to see the Akashic record, but it is well known in many yogic traditions of India. Edgar Casey was able to access the Akashic record and in this way he was able to treat people of physical, mental, or even spiritual disease. Many of his readings have been saved. The readings that really speak to a universal experience are available in books for the public. Also Edgar Casey really taught about the importance of love and respect for all faiths. So at the A.R.E. there is the world’s second largest metaphysical library, offering books from many different faiths.

Edgar Casey was so dedicated to the mission of service that he often wouldn’t charge anything for these readings. At times he and his wife lived in poverty. There is a flourishing organization that continues his work.

Anyway, pretty cool stuff. If you are interested in learning more you can check out the following web address.

http://www.edgarcayce.org/

I would like to give a very special thank you to Tracy, Atma Singh and Atma Kaur who organized a very magical weekend for us.

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?