SPIRITUALITY, ART, NITHYANANDA

My report is - I have more energy in the body.  It is Sunday and I ate last time on Tuesday.  Patterns with late night eating are still present but a little less active.  I feel that food is a great entertainment but if not used appropriately consumes a lof of energy and time. The idea that we need to eat to have energy is a wrong idea I guess. Not sure I understand how people who are not familiar with Nirahara Practice can do  that.  Can they actually do that at all?  I am thinking of course they can but how?  What if they chant their own prayers (whatever their belief system is)?  I hope Swamiji will explain. Enjoying my high awareness state!

It is my second time with  this practice.  I am at the second level which means in a 7 day stretch of no food no hunger meditation. The most interesting and eye opening thing is that I can clearly see the patterns and the proof that when we think we are hungry and must eat it is just a mind pattern not a real thing.  In a pursuit of quick enjoyment mind abuses the body.  Here is why: I have the same amount of liquids throughout the day:  mostly coconut water and vegetable juice (this too is less than a glass, supposed to be diluted too)  so if  my body really needs food  I should be hungry the same way throughout a day but......I felt that I am hungry at night after 7 pm  two days in a row and not in the morning or afternoon.  Interesting,right? The feeling went away after I chanted mantra.

I was at a freinds' house last night.  I needed to be on a landline but my home phone is not  functioning well.  This family has a beautiful house.  The husband showed me the study and invited to settle with my things there.  The study or office is a beautiful room with shiny dark wooden floor, tall book cases, a big, beautiful desk, and of course a big leather couch with a very comfortable chair.  I looked around and said: "Oh, what a beautiful office you have!"  He smiled and said: "It is not mine.  It is everybody's.  We do not have space in the house that is mine or hers or theirs.  Even our  bedroom is a playroom for our children sometimes." What a blessing to have parents like that!   They have a son and a daughter.  These children will not grow up with the idea of superiority towards their spouses and they will never abandon their elders.  They are not just told to do the right thing.  They experience living in this  environment.  And once you exper

I had a great realization today. There are many situations when I give advice.  I feel that the advised action will bring good results to the other person.  The key word in the previous sentence is "I" because I come from my experience only.  By the way more often than not an advice will never be used. Is it ok? Yes.  This is how I got to it. The question is: "Have I given the advice because the person asked me for it?"  Not always. Should I keep giving advice?  No.  Advice is always implies that the person giving an advice knows better.  Do I really know better?  No, of course not!  It is their life and I only have a glimpse of it in one tiny aspect of it. Have you also noticed that people who love giving advice do not ask a lot of questions?  They have an idea that they know.  We all have colds from time to time so most of us will know how to treat it but there are other illnesses that might manifest as colds so when we see the symptoms we should not assume

This is a wonderful, wonderful movie.  Explains a lot and it brings a very meditative experience http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXuTt7c3Jkg  

I am waking up n the morning, sitting down for my puja and meditation. Every day.  I rarely miss  this experience. Why?  Am I afraid that if I am not doing it, something bad will happen?  Well, no.  I know that God is not here to punish us, we do a great job on that ourselves!  As a matter of fact we are so good at that, he needs often to lessen our excellence with creating situations that hurt us. So why then?  Simple.  Inspiration. I was sitting at my meditation today and then a thought came that I am involved in a lot of projects and how awesome I would feel if Swamiji were conducting them and I was just a helper.  The next thought  was "Wait, I am just a helper", then I felt a relief from pressure.  By the end of the meditation I had three different topics for podcasts that I wrote down,   then I finished editing my last podcast which is called "Deprived Generation" and it is only 9 am in the morning.  I have big plans.. Let Him be there and let me never fo

A 4 year old boy asked me the other day :"Ms, Lena, Do you know that God is in everything? Even in my sock?" I said: "Yes, dear, I realize that now." He said:" I keep wondering how I am not smashing God when I put my sock on?"...

I talked the other day with a caring person who feels that there is no gratitude towards his actions from his family but at the same time he felt that the family was grateful to God. I thought to myself that if the family felt grateful to God, they surely knew that even that person was a part of God and then how that person could be excluded from their gratitude circle?! This talk left me with a feeling that everyone only sees what they are conditioned to see.  No one can really prove anything unless the other person's mind is programmed to see goodness in others.  Maybe one must have faith in others first and then he or she would be able to see that goodness in the world outside.  I was not able to convey that message in the conversation with that person. I then  thought that kids often feel happy and grateful for no reason.  They do not really need a big proof that they are loved or cared for.   We also do not need much from them,  right?  Just a smile or a hug and we are run

Even before one realizes that everything is Art, one can still look at art as an incredible tool that is  there for you throughout your whole life. The features and the benefits are different but the tool is still the same,  Amazing. 0 -7 y.o.- art is a way of exploring and enjoying everything.  Incredible brain development tool! 7 - 14 y.o. - still is an incredible tool for brain development but now a child creates his or her own tool box or skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives (learning resourcefulness  creating an open-minded personalities, ability to see a big picture, etc). 14 and up - self-therapy, breakthroughs, exploration of yourself, self realizations....

I am so grateful for Nithyananda Ashrams and centers:  "Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam is a public charity formed with an intention of propagating yoga and meditation worldwide. It is not a place of only Hindu worship but a Universal worship place,  where people belonging to all religions, who participate in the yoga and meditation programs do meditation. " They were under attack for this philosophy for a while but it is finally coming to an end. Thank God! http://www.nithyananda.org/news/chennai-high-court-stops-hrce-entering-tiruvannamalai-ashram

How did I meet Swamiji or Pramahamsa Nithyananda   I was attending a "wizard" camp conducted by Peak Potentials Company.  It is a great camp to develop your intuition and learn about different life improving techniques.  It was in 2007, upstate New York, Catskill Mountains. One day was dedicated to meditation.  The speaker had an impressive biography:  first person on the planet Earth who was a guide at the three extreme challenges: Mt. Everest, North and South Pole. At that time I was going to the Buddhist Monastery every week, sometimes for lectures but most of the time to meditate.  Our Bodhi Monastery has a room  where monks meditate early in the morning and after that it is available and open for public.  The energy is great there.  I was new to meditation but I was able to sit for 2 hours in that room.  Amazing. Anyway, his name was Martin Williams.  He started explaining how our mind worked and what chakras or energy centers of the body were.  We practiced meditat

I decided to start a podcast to share my ideas, maybe even create a movement to bring ART back to our schools - and not just any art but high quality art classes because no one needs another "paint by numbers" class! I will be creating and sharing lesson plans, easy techniques that everyone can use at home for themselves or their children or maybe even start Art groups in their communities! My gratitude to those of you who will support this idea by listening, sharing, requesting topics that you are curious about.   To give you an example, a friend of mine and a parent of my school (Have I ever mentioned I have an art and music school ,www.biryukovacademy.com, asked me what I thought about the so called "10,000 hours" rule.  I will do a podcast about that! Please  forgive me if I speak too fast or too slow or whatever.  I have never done this before but I feel I have to share and maybe then someone who can do it outstandingly well will get inspired and the moveme

My very first one was a message from Swamiji.  How awesome it was to get it?  VERY!  This is what it said: "Hello ma. Nithyanandam to you forever. And wish you many more happy returns of this wonderful day ma. And each and every morning while wake up is the day of your birth ma. have a blissful day ma. Bye." I love birthdays and there is that special urge to feel loved by Existence on that day.  Of course if every day is our birth day it gives us so many opportunities to feel that, right? I started the day with puja and meditation.  I have a rose tree, by the name Miss Bliss.  I wrote about it last year.  Believe it or not, it had a rose for me for my birthday again this year and ...some unopen buds too!  I took the rose and cut the branch with unopened buds to put the last ones in the water.  By the way, three days later my unopened bud opened up!  My flower miracles this year also included fresh petunias.   It is the end of October the leaves are almost gone and those

My birthday wishes started coming from  a week before my birthday when I received a present from my mom.   She still lives in Russia and  sent it a bit early to make sure it is here on time.  The day before my birthday some messages started to come through Facebook I want to explain now that in Russia it is considered a sign of bad luck to congratulate anyone on their birthday ahead of time. At first I was trying to say that my birthday would be only the next day but then I had to drop that idea.   Too many messages.  So I said to myself that I was going to ignore them and would look at all these messages the next day. On the day of my birthday in the morning I got this message from Paramahamsa Nithyananda:  " Hello ma. Nithyanandam to you forever. And wish you many more happy returns of this wonderful day ma. And each and every morning while wake up is the day of your birth ma. have a blissful day ma. Bye." Cool or cool?!  Having a message from Swamiji made my heart sin

I wanted to do a short follow up on a previous post.  I feel that the story how I saved $3,00 and won $6,900 is a brilliant demonstration how all my positive thinking was still not able to match what Life had in store for me. I know that we influence our life all the time with our visualizations and imagination and of course it is better to visualize good things and outcomes but...  I feel so strongly now that I have to be in a complete un-clutching mode 24 - 7.  Un-clutching is a technique.  I am enclosing a link at the end of  this post with an explanation of it. That Un-clutching technique brings more value to my life, way more value. I did it the first time in December 2007 and was amazed how simple it was and how much peace of mind I got out of it.  I did it continuously for 11 days.  Now I do it all the time when I experience something that we call "stress" but today I felt that I finally really got "un-clutching".  Got it to the point that it is not a pra

In May of this year I decided to take an MMI course with Peak Potentials Training company.  I was a bit stuck in a bad situation and wanted to create an uplifting change for myself.   I have taken several courses with this company and all of them turned out to be of high quality.  They always offer great discounts at the seminars so my plan was to get a course that is called "An Enlightened  Warrior Training Camp" for my daughter. I took that course in 2006 and it was  truly one of the   life changing, and transforming experiences for me. I even had a budget of $3,000 dollars to spend on that adventure for my daughter..   I was excited to go.   In the morning I  did my success ritual (puja!) and went to the seminar.   We all were given a ticket and people at the registration desk  told me to hold on to that ticket because it will be used as a lottery ticket several times throughout the weekend.   I now have to tell you that I never ever ever ever ever ever (you got the id

Today in the morning I found a little streak of vibhooti on one of the padukas! Nithyanandam.

I feel I can sometimes function effortlessly: meeting right people, making good decisions if I  take “I” out of the picture and maybe even stop regulating my life too much. I just came back from an investment seminar.  There were about 400 people learning about stocks. All kinds of people.  To tell you the truth, I am not that into stocks and that is why I signed up for it. So how funny is that during two lunches and one dinner  I had an opportunity to briefly spend time with a violinist who performed and toured with Fantom, with an artist and a founder of a charter school  with passion towards different educational approach?!

I spent 5 fabulous days at the conference in LA learning marketing.  What made me decided to learn it?  The answer is nothing and I did not decide to do that. I went to another seminar where I happened to win this one. I am grateful beyond grateful for this opportunity.  I will make a list of small and big things that happened here  but this post is not about  that so let me get to the point. The trainers and students were amazing, ideas of what people's missions were truly inspiring. I would call this seminar "marketing new thinking seminar"! Among the students I met two MD psychiatrists and both said that contemporary medical approach  to medications and psychotherapy DOES NOT WORK!!!!!  One said: "You will spend years on my couch before a minor shift happens!"  Another one said: "When it happened to me and I took the antidepressants "...", I started seeing some kind of weird colors and I asked myself "Is it what I am giving to my pati

From Mahavatar Paramahamsa Nithyananda. Existence is taking care of you every moment. Do you think you can be alive even for one moment if Existence does not want you to be alive? The very fact that you are alive proves that Existence wants you here, now, in this form, in this place. this is the ultimate cause for celebration! What more do you want? Existence has provided, is providing and will provide for each and every one of your needs. Your suffering and struggle is only because you don't trust that you are being provided all that you need, because you consider yourself separate from Existence, who you think is your enemy. ---------------------------------------

I heard many times that music is a higher form among all arts. I thought a lot about it.  I was mostly interested where this kind of thinking might have started. I had a realization recently.  Not sure if it is right though. ...We can not really hear the majority of the sounds the universe is creating.  Maybe the frequency of the sound is not detectable by a human ear or our senses are muted.  Music has no reference point.  Music that we love is created by people.   God's music is not heard by most of people.   Our senses do not allow us to hear Angels singing  However, world around us is a huge God's canvas.  We can enjoy God's Art in bodies, faces, landscapes, still lives, stories etc.  The most successful pieces of art are the copies of the Divine canvas/movie theater so since we are actually seeing the Divine canvas all the time but we do not hear Divine music all the time,  people started thinking that music is a higher form of art. I feel that when we create fro

Couple of weeks ago I went to visit my girlfriend and we decided to have an ART weekend.  We have been friends for a long  time, we both love art, it is easy for us to spend time together.  I am also blessed with her mom's friendship so this whole thing was very promising. We planned a visit to a museum, a visit to a sculpture garden (it is called Grounds for sculpture), a painting session and a movie of course.  We ended up watching Woody Allen's "To Rome with Love".  Who would ever argue that Woody Allen isn't ART itself! It was all awesome but the best part happened in Grounds For Sculptures park. This park reminded me of a park in Bangalore, India.  I remember seeing a group of women talking in the park and only when I came close enough I realized that they were sculptures.  And same here, some of the sculptures are so real that until you get closer to them you do not realize that you are looking at the sculptures Wonderful surprise was waiting for us the

Yesterday my daughter, her friend and I went to visit our friend's son in his acting camp. The area is beautiful.  Catskill Mountains, New York.  I have a lot of sweet memories there.  Many years ago our friends lived there.  We went to visit them almost every weekend.  It was the time full of hopes for our brighter and of course better future.   Now looking from that future back into that time I can still feel how excited I was going there.  Anyway, the acting camp we were going to was something like a performance boot camp with multiple theaters and a lot of plays that were going on at the same time. I loved the choices for the plays. Our friend's son was in  The Conference of the Birds.   ( Persian :  منطق الطیر ‎,  Mantiqu 't-Tayr , 1177)  which is a book of poems in  Persian  by  Farid ud-Din Attar  of approximately 4500 lines.    In the poem, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their king, as they have none. The  hoopoe , the wisest of them all,

This post is about the changes I noticed so far after this experience. I can say I am still overwhelmed that it was possible.  I remember how difficult any food limitations or rules were for me.  The same moment something was declared not good and had to be taken out of the diet, I would be craving it all the time.  Quite torturous    This probably applies to any kind of rules.  Just kidding. Anyway, here I was.  The puja was done and I was allowed to eat now. I was concerned if my stomach would take food in a normal way or it will need some adjustments.  I remember that Paaramahamsa Nithyananda said that we needed to drink something acidic so I had grapefruit juice and it felt really really good. I was breaking the fast at my girlfriend's house and she prepared a real treat with organic products and nice recipes.  I felt great.  Actually I felt that I never really stopped eating at all. So these are the things that I noticed. 1. A much more sensible palette that allows you

In my recent conversation with mom, she said something like: "Well, you, Lena should have been focusing on having a regular job.  I always worked and see you are fine." I kept thinking about it because it is an endless debate about what a woman's role is, does she have to work, does she have to stay home and focus on the kids. Is every single woman able to give her kids what  they need or in some cases it is better that a mother works?  What would I have become if my mom had been focused on me? I do not feel that any solution except "whatever works for your family" has been ever found. I personally experienced both:  I had to start working when my son was 2 y.o. and I created a job for myself  that allows me to be home for my 13 year old daughter almost all the time.  I love the second way so much more.  I feel happy and grateful that I am around for her. I also keep wondering what if I had a higher consciousness guiding me through childhood and teenage y

My daughter came back from her trip with dad yesterday. The house right away was filled with her intense energy.  We looked at the photos, she told me all sorts of details: and hiking, and riding a horse and catching crabs. She also got a chance to see a daughter of our friends.  She described it as an inspirational experience and meeting with an inspirational person.  I asked her how so and she said that she remembered that girl being kind of goth, dark, withdrawn.  My daughter said that she took herself out of it.  Now she is an open, smart, healthy, extremely bright young lady.  She is older than my daughter by 2 years.  Alice said that she had never seen that happened in her school.  Once kids withdrew themselves, they do not go back. I was so happy for my daughter!  She met a new and wonderful friend and she can see and understand things way beyond what I could understand at 13 (maybe even later.) Anyway, we laughed and giggled and she looked me in the eyes and said :"Mo

Friendship: maybe different colors but similar inner art.

By Virgil With love my song begins Of love all things are Father makes the earth fruitful He cares for my verses I hope I remembered this correctly.   Imagine if every artist feels just that.

I now fully realize what my step father and uncle were talking about when saying  that you have to travel if you an artist.  It is an expansion from the work in the studio. Of course you continue working on your skills when you paint in plain air but this is not my point. I noticed that when I come to a different place I have absolutely different ideas on what to pain, what media to use.  I think the inspiration comes from the place itself.  That new place asks you  to express itself through you. So bottom line - My lesson is: Travel, and travel a lot.  Do not get settled in one place and work from there.  Pictures, however beautiful , are still already a second hand look at the creation.  Get the first hand.  Express YOUR experience.

Last day has started.  Tomorrow at 9:30 pm I will break the fast. Total of 20 days of No Hunger Meditation.  I only drank coconut water and water, no food, Discoveries for me: - We really do not need food as much as we think we do.  It is all just programmed in us.  - Food equals love.  Really true.  When I was fasting and only taking water I was still cooking for my son with such pleasure and creativity that I felt that truth inside my body.  It was a  very enjoyable experience. - I became more sensible to sugars.  I could not drink coconut water for the last 5 days of the fast.  Felt too sweet.  I diluted it but now just stick to water. - Body feels really really light.  If you can imagine that you lightheaded but that feeling is in your whole body.  I feel I walk lighter, I feel lighter.  I am able to focus really easily though. - Food is entertainment and as with any form of entertainment, it needs to be enjoyed with a lot of awareness. - When and if while cookin

Big click for me today came from Nithyananda's talk.  I spent a day at a spa with my girlfriend and  we talked a lot about different sufferings that we experience.  We comforted each other as  best as we could (she is good  in comforting!). And then at night Swamiji said that No suffering is worth a second of your time.  At the end, when you die and wake up, you will look at all these sufferings the same way you look now at the nightmares you have from time to time.  You will think that it is all big BS and was not worth any of your time. Seems better not to wait until we die to decide not to suffer...

My observations: 1. Do not want to talk.  Feeling silence inside. 2. Energy level is the same, no drop.  Body feels light. 3. I did not like the taste of coconut water today.  It seemed too sweet so I diluted it and my total intake was probably one forth of the glass. Three more days for this third level.  So far total without food these three weeks - 17 days.

I was looking for the post about this event and could not find it so I am going to describe it again not to forget. Last year in August of 2011 we went on an unforgettable trip to Israel, Greece and Italy on a cruise and with friends too!   There was an incredible amount of things to see, remember, enjoy and of course eat.  I would like to describe this one experience in Israel.  Overall I felt this area as a navel center of the planet.  It needs to be healed!  It needs to be transformed so that the heart energy will make it possible to resolve the situation.  I wish we spent more time learning about the history there but even a glimpse into it  made a huge impact on all of us. Anyway, when we came to the place where Jesus's tomb and the cave was our guide suggested we go to the place where Greek orthodox church had a small temple because the crowd from the main entrance was huge and  the waiting line was long. We did go but then I thought that there was no way I was going to

"Time is a painting done on a canvas of life."

A lot of things about us can be revealed when you see how we paint. To give a personal example I often look at things from right/wrong stand point.  I also often paint with colors that I either mix straight on the canvas or  layer them next to each other. Two practices can be done here for artists like myself if we wish to expand:  One is practicing patience and working slowly with no rush, enjoying small and subtle changes.  Another one is seeing the  transformation of colors on the palette and enjoying that transformation noticing the process .   Soon the realization of how one thing giv es birth to another, or this new color or shade of the color comes to life.  How the old colors or things are still a part of this new one!  How everything transforms!  Maybe eventually less right/wrong attitude too...

It is a great exercise in awareness for beginner arttists. Place an object above the eye level, at the eye level and below the eye level.   Ask yourself how you feel about the object, what angle is the most comfortable?  You have to be fully present to do this exercise if you are new in drawing because your mental files/pictures about things will not help you.  You need to see... Deliberately  confuse your mind with the placement of the object.  Tell your mind that at this point you need to see as much as possible, tell it not to give you ideas or common knowledge like that table legs are straight, etc.    Tell over and over: "I want to see."  Eventually your mind will cooperate. Art has a lot of training opportunities in mindfulness.

When you do a close up of anything, everything else disappears.  Pay attention what you are zooming in... 

Last final touches are the ones  that make great paintings.  Finishing things that you started with grace and responsibility will bring joy and satisfaction in life. Starting something but then dropping it before it is truly finished will lead to disappointment and regrets later in life.  Unfinished paintings remind me of unfinished promises. Figure out what does not work right before you drop the painting.  Take another look at the moment when you decided it was not good.  Figure out what exactly was not working and before you move on  either fix it or drop it or better fix it and then drop it!

White or Light is the absence of  black/dark. Only after you bring light into a room you can paint.  Only after you bring light or spirituality into your life you can live... Inside the intense light you need a different pair of eyes,  j ust like when you look at the solar eclipse you need a dark tinted glass to be able to see. Enlightenment vision is different from ours.  Maybe it does not require a tinted dark glass to see?

- What happening on the planet would impress you the most in 50 years?, I asked my students. - All countries united under one flag!, said one of the high school students.

In one of his discourses Nithyananda said that we need to get "comfortable with our most insecure imaginations".    What if these imaginations are not imaginations any more? Today one of my relations said some mean words.  My reaction was pouring tears. I kept thinking asking myself what triggered such a deep depression and hurt.  My son came downstairs and comforted me.  I am always amazed by his insights. Anyway, w hile  talking  to him I figured this out:  I have been trying to build a family, community in which people would not call each other bad names when they are upset.  I have to say that I have failed because ...wrong goal.  There is no way I can protect myself from bad words or mean actions.  I do need to develop a thicker skin and un-clutch faster.   It is my most insecure imagination that I am called names and unloved by people whom I love.  It is happening, it is not even imagination so do I have enough un-clutching in me to live through that?

I love Osho's Tarot readings.  They speak a lot to me. I went on the site and got the reading.  The card read Exhaustion!  Then there was this:  " Some of the Commentary: This is the portrait of one who...... has been so busy "keeping it all together" and "making sure everything runs smoothly", that he has forgotten to really rest. No doubt he can't allow himself to be playful. To abandon his duty for a trip to the beach could mean the whole structure might come tumbling down. The message of this card is not just about being a workaholic, though. It is about all the ways in which we set up safe but unnatural routines for ourselves and, by doing so, keep the chaotic and spontaneous away from our doors. Life isn't a business to be managed, it's a mystery to be lived. It's time to tear up the time-card, break out of the factory, and take a little trip into the uncharted. Your work can flow more smoothly from a relaxed state of mind. W

We live in a fast, fast world. Our daily to do lists are probably what our mothers would consider a nice list for a month. Maybe I am exaggerating, maybe not.  The point is we are busy.  I personally love that and I also love all my projects and all my friends and I do not want to give up anything!  Do you feel the same? At the same time, I do want to stay healthy so where do I find time to exercise? Of course when you love something, you can always make time but I do not really like to exercise.   So ..yoga it is.  It hit me that it is in fact the best solution.  You work on everything: muscles, flexibility, internal organs, mind at the same  time!     How can you be more efficient than that? A friend of mine who always says that he can not really do yoga because of the bad knees should come to the class and look at the 60 year old man in a knee brace.  He came to yoga to fix his knee!  As one of the  instructors  said a lot of yoga teachers start as teachers because they had an

The experiment that I wanted to do for some  time is to be painting, writing non-stop for 48 hours: no food, no sleep, basically nothing else.  I wanted to do longer but decided to start with just a little bit. I am so busy all year teaching. learning, family, etc that I do not have that much time to relax and just paint and go deeper with the Art.  It is always in  between other things.  Not that I am complaining but now I have that opportunity to do that, go deeper. Anyway, t he food part is easy due  to Samyama so I am debating if I should  go to yoga or not.   Probably I will still do yoga.  No sleep though.  If completely tired then maybe a nap. Maybe Saraswati will come to visit?

Yesterday, Nithyananda initiated us in a third level of Nirahara Samyama which is awakening of the power of getting energy (prana) directly from space (ether) in our bio memory and  Kundalini awakening.   The meditation was very powerful.  He reminded us again that there is no need to struggle and if we experience hunger we should stop and go back to regular diet because ...here comes the best part...If Samyama works correctly,  you will not experience hunger! I was about to leave my friend's house  with whom we meditate every evening when she said: "Well, it is just 11 days, not our whole life."  True, I thought.           Long time ago, on my first ever visit to the United States I came as an interpreter for a Russian  folk artist who was scheduled to perform at Blue Grass Festival in Alabama.  The crowd was expected to be about 2000 people and I was really uncomfortable with being in front of that big crowd on a stage translating.  My childhood friend looked at me

1.  My son calls from work with a question about dinner.  I started naming:  vegetarian pizza, rice with vegetables, pancakes with homemade peach marmalade... Before I could finish he said: "Mom, did we have company?"  "No, I said,  I just had a break in my yoga practice and could eat today.".... 2. During satsang Swamiji was explaining that average flow of an enlighten being is a miracle for a conscious person.  I remembered how in 2008 there was a girl in India who kept getting candy from Swamiji's photo.  For some reason I felt it was such a special story (I am thinking now because it was food related) that I decided to tell it to my friends at the satsang.  At the end of the story I proudly said that I do have that picture at home.  My friend's husband looked at me smiling and said : "Do you  get candy?" I thought a little and said: "No, I get only Nirahara Samyama!" **Samyama is awakening of the powers in your biomemory and Nir

As a very supportive parent I had to learn a lot of new things.  This is normal for almost all parents of course. I think I took it to the next level when my daughter started writing songs and I faced the reality that I had no connections in the music industry. I also have no knowledge of marketing the music, legalities of music industry. It is really a long list.  I feel I know so  little that I do not even know what I do not know. Anyhow, What to do as Swamiji says.  After brainstorming  i started thinking who can help. Turned out that I do not have connections to any famous people but I do have friends who are young musicians.  I got to know them through my son and I love their music,  personalities.  Also most of them are multi talented and love to take pictures, make videos, etc.  T he journey started. First clip was Beautiful,. The day started slow.  Alice was warming up to them.  After an hour and a half all three of them were running around fully involved in the process of

I was thinking for the longest time that  I wanted to describe my art experiences and I kept postponing writing about them because I thought I need a separate place and a good plan (I am a planner !) for these thoughts.  Today I realized I really do not need a separate place because a lot of them can in fact qualify as deep spiritual experiences and if I ever need  to compile all art post I would just copy and paste from here.  So there, no more dilemma. It is amazing how procrastination and trying to make  this "best possible decision" takes away from the actual doing.  I could have started this at least a year ago but I was figuring out the right way. The Universe probably was laughing hard and saying "the right way?  Start already, enough. When was that last time when you actually figured out a perfect plan or started the "right away.  Yup.  No one remembers." Funny.  The thought of doing something right prevents you from doing.  This thought can be both:

Today I am starting Level 3 of Nirahara Samyama or No Hunger meditation with Nithyananda.   So far I was able to do 8 days with a break.   No hunger, a lot of awareness and a lot of lightness in the body.   Such difficult spiritual practice was made so easy for all of us!  At this point there are about 300 people all over the world following it. I was talking to a friend of mine and when she heard that I was planning to do level 3 she immediately responded:”This is crazy!”.   I did not feel that she was admiring my plan, rather that it is something scary and weird and not necessarily right. I thought about it a little It does sound crazy.  But the craziest part is  that person who is a mother, an artist, a friend, a volunteer, a business owner can do such a thing without stopping any of her activities, staying blissful and happy.  Our old ideas about the world and how things work are falling apart fast, aren’t they?

Amma, the hugging saint from Inida spent three days in New York.  I went to get her darshan for the first time.   I heard about her from a lot of my friends and everyone was describing meeting her as a special experience, comparing to meeting a Mother.   I did my Guru Puja in the morning, asked Swamiji’s blessings to have a great experience and went to NYC. The hall was full of people.  As always in NY the crowd is beautifully unique: a typical Indian family in a traditional dress was sitting right next to an executive in a white shirt, expensive suit and a great haircut.  I am mentioning the haircut because the next person was with a hair tough to describe but probably rarely this hair experienced soap and water, forget the haircut itself .  I saw bare feet saddhus that looked so similar to their Himalayan brothers.  Really all walks of life manifested… Enjoying this colorful scenery I was patiently waiting for the program.  The line was long.  Finally I got my token tha

Today Swamiji confirmed my long time guess that He is only a mirror of what or who we are. This idea came to me when I noticed that when a person with a very strong ego looks at Nithyananda they always say: "Look, He is just full of himself."   When a humble person looks at him they say : "Look, He is so great but so simple."  When a person who really loves the idea of God as Krishna looks at him he or she says: "He is Krishna.  No doubt.  Look at him laughing!"  When a person who loves Shiva looks at him, they say: "He is Shiva himself, he will destroy your ego, don't ever doubt that!" I have met a Christian minister who was convinced that Nithyananda was Jesus who came back as he promised to create a new world. I am  not describing something in general, or some phenomena that I witness from a distance. All these impressions and conversations happened with closest to me people,: friends, relatives, coworkers! Just like he said today:  &

My friend and I started doing a special yoga practice to release samskaras with food.  We first had to fast 48 hours (level 1)  then a break and then 7 days then a break and 11 days then a break and 21 days but the last one I guess should be with Swamiji himself.   We only finished 48 hours as of now and we will see if we last.  That would be so awesome if we actually finished the whole thing. Anyway, I was thrilled to have a two way connection with Swamiji (it is required for this) and also I am thrilled to do a practice like that with someone else.  Her whole family is supportive of what she is doing so it is a wonderful atmosphere in her house: warm and sweet. Well, today another wonderful surprise greeted me.  When I walked into the room I saw my own daughter on the screen!  She was giving the interview about the program she attended in India last year.  I have never seen it.  I knew she was interviewed but I have never seen it. It was amazing.  She was so sweet and smart and s

My daughter was asked to babysit for the first time in her life.  She is thirteen and impressed me with the ability to create trust in other adults  to take care of their daughter.  They are friends on mine and they do know Alice of course but still. She planned the whole day, 5 hours to be exact.  She negotiated her pay and was making sure that under no circumstances I would be supervising.  She is a big person now, she can handle a job.  I was so happy for her.  She packed and asked me one more time not to get involved.   I  did not.  The only thing I did was not to give her a swim suit right away, I told her that I would drop it off later when they are ready for the  beach.  I wanted to take a peak.. It was an amazing day. They spent some time on a trampoline, played with Barbie dolls and then went to the beach.  This family lives close to a beautiful beach on top of the mountain with a waterfall.  She swam with her little friend  to the deck in the middle of a lake, read