Ja-me. Ja-you. Jammu!

I have arrived by train (after a very life-experiencey-type saga) in Jammu & Kashmir.

I am enjoying the time staying with Banita's family and trying to see some of the sights!

We visited a temple this morning (really early to beat the rush and the funny part was we did... because it wasn't QUITE open yet - but it was lovely to see in the sunrise only about half of the shrines... and I did get to witness and join in on a "Temple Opening Puja Ceremony" (not the official name, I'm sure). Also hit up the Bazaar and found some nice stuff - including some traditional fabric with hand-done stitch work that I'm having made into a suit. Should be awesome!

Today I will be heading out to the Vaishno devi Temple (near Katra at almost 5200 feet) for an all-night walking yantra (or "journey" which is 14km each way) in celebration of the twice annual festival to the goddess.

Here we go!

(and then back in time to sleep... and then catch a bus to Dharmsala/Mcleod Ganj where I think I've been accepted to a Tushita meditation course!)

Report Card for a Month at Doon

(as a final reflection on what I've learned while at the Doon School in Dehradun I composed this article to share my experience and gratitude with the people of Doon - April 3, 2011)

Report Card for a Month at Doon

When I came to Doon School at the beginning of March I had signed up to teach but also planned to learn as much as I could. At the end of this short term I felt I should assess myself, a report card of sorts. I expected to have a grade in Teaching Yoga to Youth and Social Service in India. The unofficial course descriptions for these two classes being "adapting the instruction of yoga asana for a class of teen-aged students" and "supervising students and participating in a variety of social justice projects" respectively. While assigning myself a grade for how well I taught yoga doesn’t seem proper I can evaluate how much I've learned. From class structure and planning to the excellent questions asked by the C-Formers, my perception of yoga warrants 70%. For Social Service my "assignments" were varied and three had substantial impact: the Bindal School, the John Martyn Memorial School and the trip with O and T House A-Formers to the Almora area. It impressed me to see the Doscos who served the Bindal students; inspired me to experience how the John Martyn School embraced education; and the expedition to Almora-area villages and the A-Formers with whom I explored provoked a deep inquiry and motivation about how to contribute meaningfully to society. Those four words (as both revelation and complication): impressed, inspired, inquiry and motivation were precisely what I needed for my own future endeavors: 96%.

That is where I expected my evaluation to end. However, I came to realize I had also attended two "unregistered" classes the first being Foreign Languages. As it turned out Hindi was not the primary language I was learning and I'm sure I picked up more in both "Body Language" and "Doon School." The latter unexpected language learning came quickly as I navigated new (to me) definitions and concepts like "passing out," "forms" and "cricket" (which I formerly only understood as 'fainting,' 'paper questionnaires' and 'small chirping bugs with wings' - actually, I had heard of the sport of Cricket before, but had never seen it played, let alone watched World Cup matches on T.V.). My effort in Hindi was a lot less impressive than I expected so I can only grade myself 50%.

My final course? It would have to be entitled something like Practicum in Excessive-Control Prevention. I knew I had a great deal to learn on the subject - with my background in event planning, organizational management and even post-secondary studies all the drives to schedule and over-plan are in overdrive while the ability to allow for flexibility and spontaneity is in sore disuse. I must admit I did not expect to have the experience of allowing life to unfold of its own accord in the midst of a well-structured and disciplined environment of a high-caliber residential school. Perhaps it was because of this that I could allow myself to enjoy what life had to offer from yoga lessons and art projects to dancing the jhoda, playing Holi and accompanying American exchange students – I was continually reminded to relinquish the impulse for meticulous over-management and enjoy every moment. Even though I have a lot more to learn, these life-lessons were revolutionary and worthy of an 97%.

It was a month of learning I won't soon forget. The lessons, the exercises and the classes were, of course, critical but were it not for all the people here at Doon - their creativity, cleverness and camaraderie - I doubt I would have learned nearly as much. So to all of you, my teachers, I extend my gratitude.

Contentment Study

I keep mixing up the words "compassion" and "contentment."  This is especially odd because they are ENGLISH words and not things like "shaucha" and "santosha" or "dharana" and "dhyana" (which I am having little to know problem keeping straight (when I remember them at all...)

But now I know that santosha and contentment are one in the same. Well, okay I kind of knew that already... at least I did as of a few weeks ago. That's when I decided (even while still at home in the throws of moving and winter and job-ending and life upheaval) that I would be writing my paper/giving my yoga-talk on the yoga sutra* 2.42 - Contentment leads to unsurpassed joy.

I'm now on the search for contentment... intellectually and philosophically by next week, but practically for every moment... my whole life. But it's a tough one to realize. To actually, fully be content. No matter what.

Yeah, some things are easy "contenement points" a Saturday afternoon in summer when the yard work is done and you've got nothing in between you and your favourite book (except maybe the most delicious chilled glass of iced tea in the county). That's the kind of contentment you only need to acknowledge. It's the bleak-day, nothing-special assignment with cold coffee and a hang nail kinda days that "contentment" gets a lot harder. So that's why I picked it. It's actually something I look forward to learning more about and practicing.

Two things on this Contentment Study I've already learned. Gratitude is a big part of it (more on that later). And the more I get to look at amazing Indian bookstores & libraries to find sources and inspiration for this study the more content I'll be! I've got 6 new purchases including a couple books of poems so I'm pretty much delighted, never mind content!


*Patanjali's yoga sutras have been translated a great many times but a great many people. This one is just one take on it but the concept of contentment as translated from santosha is fairly consistent.