Summer Solstice
Greetings from a post-White-Tantric, too-busy-to-be-doing-this-blog yogi. It was a great week up on the mountain and a grueling but beautiful Tantric. The first day of meditation was 12 hours (and yes, I know I'm known for my hyperbole, but this was the real deal). The second day was 9-10 hours, I lost track after a while. But the third day was pure bliss--done by 2pm and I had the best partner ever. 'Walking up the mountain, climbing side by side, walking up the mountain with you.' I'll admit I'm in the midst of a Tantric 'glow', which is kind of fun.
It's sooooo beautiful up on Ram Das Puri and the experience is beyond words. I had this moment of looking out from the Tantric Shelter and wishing my entire family were there with me. I'm going to try to convince some of them to come next year. And to you, my family of friends, ya'll come. Solstice here in New Mexico is tranformational, purifying, and fun! Hope to see you next year up on the mountain.
I participated in the Spirit Voyage Idol Contest and it was great fun. I did my best and it was a great opportunity to perform for so many people. Even if I never sit in front of a microphone again, it was worth those three evenings--to really connect with the audience and have people sing along. Pure bliss. . . . I made it to the finals by the way but lost to the 'teen' vote. Evidently, I was a bit long in the tooth (smile). But it got me back behind the guitar and the harmonium, which I've sorely needed. I've already led the sadhana chants twice since coming down the mountain. My goal in the next few months is to invest in a Mac Powerbook and get some great software and microphones and just start recording and putting music up here on my blog--for you my friends. So if you have any expertise in the area, let me know. I'm all ears (and vocal chords!).
My sister comes on Wednesday and I'm in the middle of a huge project before the Authentic Relationships Course next week. But, nevertheless, we'll take a couple of days and have fun: Ojo Caliente, 10,000 Waves, hiking, walking my dog, see a movie, and of course--eating!
Got to get back to editing. May you all have a beautiful, bountiful, and blissful summer!
Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa
aka Chiara Huddleston
Can I have a witness?
I'm a cynic. I've always been one. I'm from a long line of 'em. I'm also from a long line of idealists, too, and believers. Dreamers who don't just dream but make things happen. Well, it's solstice time here in northern New Mexico and things get intense. You start feeling cooked, on the spit, boiled, baked, braised, bar-b-qued, you name it. At work I'm under a pretty intense deadline, but can't really do much about it. It's all in the hands of other people right now, so I'm just vibrating with it all.
Yesterday the power went out in Abiquiu--a quaint little village north of here where Georgia O'keefe did her master works and where my DVD production company is located. Now this may not sound like a big deal to you, but my reputation is riding on getting their work to Fedex by today. Which at 5:35 on a Friday evening is still yet to happen but they assure me it will. Back to the story: the power goes out, I receive the call, and my boss says--let's meditate. So the whole team gathers in the conference room and does a meditation to prayer for a smooth and successful completion of the project and that the electricity be turned back on--Right Now!
Now, I grew up with praying people. But from as early as I can remember and my mother confirms the story, I have always resisted praying. Don't like it. Maybe never will. But we did it and afterwards my boss asked me to call them and see if the power was back on. I laughed. (I mean are you kidding me? We all feel better but that doesn't mean it actually worked!) But I called. The power wasn't back on, but as we continued talking my engineer (and friend) said, the lights just came on....so, miracles never cease. And I got to witness, once again, my resistance to hope.
On another note, I'm trying out for the Spirit Voyage Idol contest this week. It has a nice prize of a recording contract and budget for an album. Now many of you know that I'm gifted as a singer but blocked as a personality (smile). But I heard something the other day that felt like an omen to me: It's never too late to be the person you could have been. So, I'm going to give it my best shot. Pray for me. Evidently it works!
Happy solstice to everyone, especially you Geminis out there that I know and love.
two months!
Wow, folks, it's been a full two months since I last wrote to you through this metaspace. Alot has happened. I'm FINALLY at my new job as of May 15th so things are a bit more manageable for me. And life is moving right along.
I've hosted a couple of events in the past month at my home which has been fun: A tw0-hour meditation with Rakhe Rakhanhaar which was very powerful and I believe we all had a great experience with it. To give you an idea of how high we all were--my boss was laying on my couch! Relaxing away.
The second event was a langar in my home. Sooo many people. I'm a good cook but I still haven't quite gotten down how to prepare for 50 people! I'm used to 10-15 max.
The Summer Solstice Season is upon us here at Hacienda de Guru Ram Das and it's hectic. I have someone staying with me for six weeks as we prepare for the Authentic Relationships course. My sister comes at the end of the month for a few days and I'm trying to talk one of my closest friends from SEattle to come down and take the course. We'll see.
I've been to the river to swim; the Awakening Museum in Santa Fe--fabulous; and am heading up to Abiqueue this weekend to hike and work on a DVD project I'm involved with at work.
Lots to do! People to see! Movies to watch!
My one recommendation at this point--Water. Beautiful. Wrenching story about the plight of widows in India in the late 30s. Still an issue today it seems. The cinematography is stunning. The sense of place, the sacred-the profane, beautifully done.
That's all for now folks! Apologies for the long absence. I hope some of you still check in every once in while! I'll try to be more regular from now on.
Blessings for the summer season!
Sat Purkh aka Chiara
