ashram schedule from ancient time. inner pandora. 38m + 10m

i say to my spiritual practice buddies, i described to swamiji what we do here, hymn to kundalini, hymn to rudra, omming, meditating, and so on and so forth, and swamiji says, this is ashram schedule from ancient time.

amidst everybody's hearty laughter shivaa says, did you tell her eating is the main thing?


she is right. the food shivaa prepared are out of this world. she has absolutely turned our eating into a major spiritual practice in our bi-weekly gathering. for instance, this fava bean soup. the foundation broth is from shittake mushroom stalks. i always have a bag of them in the freezer because they can turn a plain peasant soup into one fit for paradise. once blended in with coconut milk, parsnip, carrot, some special pepper whose name i forget at the moment, it is a meal on its own, quieting hunger on all levels.

in fact, as i am chewing soup it i see something marvelous i didn't see before in all these years of chanting the sanskrit hymns. here it goes. more than often the end of a line ends on a short vowel and then 'm,' like 'tam,' 'dam.' i never quite knew what to do with it and so i would just sort of skip it or mumble through it. but as the rich, complex flavors permeate my consciousness and i hear all this appreciating hmmm around me it dawns on me that these tam and dam help me grow the sacred buzz within.

so i sing the hymn to shiva with this understanding. the difference is immediate. with every tam or dam i can feel the resonance within extending and expanding a little more. at some point i experience this lovely throb swirling in the crown of head in a steady and soothing rhythm. i recognize it's a flying sensation.

there is something extra special about this group omming session. several times, without conscious co-ordination, everybody's aum end at the same time. a brief pause ensues. the silence is alive. it lifts us a little higher as we launch into the next round. i am absorbed in the delight of it all, in awe of the power in the joy pouring forth from the group heart into my own heart.

i am truly fortunate to be around such dedicated yogis. hey, i don't have to look for pandora out there. i am in it already. as a matter of fact, i say my inner universe holds one hundred billion galaxies which twinkle and sparkle with countless pandora and so much more. thank you, shivaa. thank you, neil. thank you, vito. thank you, shu lin. thank you, shrileka.