Reconnecting with Lord Rama

On April 1, 1974, I had an experience that made a huge impact on me and remains in my memory as a turning point in my devotional life. Over the years since then, I have sometimes heard about devotees shedding tears of ecstasy, and while proof-reading the Caitanya-caritamrta, I ran across descriptions of Lord Caitanya displaying ecstatic symptoms which included profuse expulsions of tears of love for Lord Jagannatha. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would also exhibit ecstatic symptoms in which he shed tears. We all remember the pastime that Mohanananda Prabhu shared which was quoted in Vaiyasaki Prabhu's book Radha-Damodara Vilasa:


Mohanänanda: Prabhupäda’s room was just off the temple room in La Cienega, and Visnujana and I sneaked back to see him one time. I was a new devotee and I was just following Visnujana. I would have followed him absolutely, anything he did. We could see light coming out of Prabhupäda’s room as if there were some kind of spotlight. We actually thought it was a spotlight. There was this effulgent light coming out through the cracks of the door. It was a long room with a long hallway. So we crept in. It looked as if someone was shooting a movie under a high halogen lamp. Prabhupäda was sitting at the end of the hallway on his pillow. He looked absolutely effulgent. Brahmajyoti. The spiritual sky. It was pure, bright yellow light, like an aura, with Prabhupäda at the center of it. Tears were just flying out of his eyes, across his desk, across the room. I was amazed. Tears literally flew out of his eyes. It was a remarkable thing to see his tears.
Visnujana turned to me and just said, “He’s talking to Krsna.” I was dumb struck. I thought this was an incredible experience, because it was one of the first rare visions of personalism that I had been given. We were absolutely awestruck. We just hit the floor and backed out. Prabhupäda never acknowledged us.

This pastime, as well as the numerous references Srila Prabhupada has given in his books of devotees crying in ecstasy gave me the understanding of what took place that evening.

It was Rama-navami. I didn't know what day it was, and even if I had heard the words "Rama-navami" I would not have understood what they meant. I was a new devotee and had no idea who Lord Ramacandra was, nor whose arms the two green arms holding arrows and a bow represented on the painting of Sad-bhuja which hung on the wall of the temple room were, nor had I heard anything about this holy day of Lord Rama's appearance on this planet. But when I first heard the devotees in the little Watseka Avenue temple room with its bright yellow walls and pink lacey curtains singing "Sita-Rama jaya Sita-Rama, Sita-Rama jaya Sita-Rama, Raghupati Raghava Raja Rama, patita-pavana Sita Rama" I felt a thrill that I had not known before. I stood at the double-doors of the temple room for a few moments before entering. I had never heard such a beautiful melody nor such captivating, soul-attracting lyrics. I entered the temple room quietly and stood to the right of the door, against the wall, feeling a little shy and not wanting to be seen. There were other devotees standing to the right and left of me. I don't know who they were nor why they were standing against the wall, but I nestled in between them to behold the wondrous spectacle before my eyes. I watched and listened with great interest as the chanting of "Sita-Rama" permeated every fiber of my being. The dancing devotees in their saris and dhotis appeared to be celestial angels glorifying the Lord with heavenly hymns. The devotees were all dancing in unison, moving as if they were floating, back and forth, facing the Deities. Luckily, they seemed oblivious to my presence.

Suddenly, without warning, without any preliminary premonition in my physical body that would have given me an idea that something strange was about to happen to me, my eyes began to shoot tears like two fire hoses with powerful spray nozzles. I didn't feel sadness or anger or any other emotion that in the past would have brought me to tears, nor had I ever had an experience of tears doing anything other than rolling down my cheeks. I felt at the time an unknown emotion which I would now call "ecstasy," although at the time I had no idea what that word meant. It was the first time in my life that I had ever cried cold tears. All the tears I had cried in the past had been hot tears that burned my eyes. But these tears felt good. I was not embarrassed because I was mesmerized by the chanting and in too much of an emotional state of happiness to let anything bother me. The devotees on either side of me might have known what was happening, but I didn't because I was too new to the movement and hadn't learned about ecstatic symptoms yet. The tears kept shooting out of my eyes for some time. No one complained, "You're making a mess on the floor! Clean up those puddles!" I don't remember when the crying stopped, or seeing puddles on the floor in front of me. I just remember the painless, ecstatic experience of projectile tears exploding from my eyes upon hearing the names of Sita and Rama. I realize now as I look back on that evening that at that moment, by Srila Prabhupada's causeless mercy and grace, I was reunited with the Lord of my heart, Lord Sri Raghunatha.

Later in my devotional childhood, someone explained to me that happy tears are cold, not hot like tears of anger and sadness. Those cold, happy tears that came from my eyes like water from a fire-hydrant are now a sweet reminder of how Srila Prabhupada revealed to me on that delicious evening of April 1, 1974, that I am the eternal servant of Lord Ramacandra.

Someone remarked recently how each and every devotee sees Krsna according to his or her own personal relationship with Krsna in service and love. My personal experience has been that often, when I read Srila Prabhupada's words, he mentions Lord Rama or Hanuman or some topic connected with the pastimes of the Ramayana. This to me is evidence that Srila Prabhupada is always with me, encouraging me in my attachment for Lord Sri Ramacandra. To me, the fact that Srila Prabhupada frequently mentions Lord Rama in the pages of his books and allows me to see these nectarean anecdotes in his books and teachings is further evidence of the truth of my eternal attachment to Lord Rama, realized through the causeless mercy of my beloved spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 

A Hard Sell

By His Grace Swarup Hebel, My Godbrother

At a time when the Vietnam War was raging and the peace movement was growing with mass protests and marches, Srila Prabhupada arrived in America and presented Bhagavad-gita As It Is, a scripture in which Krishna chastises Arjuna for being a pacifist and tells him to get onto the battlefield, do his duty as a warrior and kill.

At the height of the Civil Rights movement and a time when feminism was on the rise, Srila Prabhupada came to teach that spiritually we are all equal but on the bodily platform it just isn't so.

When an entire generation was turning into bohemian hedonists with slogans like, "if it feels good, do it" and "turn on, tune in, drop out" and the battle cry was "sex, drugs and rock n' roll" Srila Prabhupada introduced bhakti-yoga, a discipline that required followers to give up illicit sex, intoxication, meat eating and gambling.

When growing long hair was so in that the musical "Hair" became a nationwide sensation, Srila Prabhupada instructed his male disciples to shave their heads and female disciples to cover their heads.

When other swamis, yogis and gurus were coming from India to the West preaching peace and love and telling their followers that we are all one and that we are all God, Srila Prabhupada called them cheaters, rascals and crows.

When the book "I'm ok, You're ok" came out, Srila Prabhupada remarked, "We say that we are ok, you are not ok."

To say the least, Srila Prabhupada's message was a hard sell given the time, place and circumstances. He was strongly advised that if he tried to impose such strict rules and regulations onto Westerners nobody would listen, he'd attract zero followers and we would tell him to go back to India.

Srila Prabhupada saw through all the superficiality and he clearly observed that young people were feeling dissatisfied and disgusted with the hypocrisy of our leaders and the materialistic society around us. We demanded change. All the experimenting with communes, drugs and sex and all the protesting and rebelling was due to deep feelings of frustration and hopelessness. He told us that we were intelligent to want something better, to want happiness and peace, but we didn't know how to achieve it. He said "I have come to give you the positive alternative."

Srila Prabhupada never compromised. He was innovative and creative and made some adjustments to accommodate and achieve success in the matter of teaching Krishna consciousness but he never compromised. He didn't have to. His genuine purity, compassion and love was the force behind the message and which attracted all of us like iron filings to a magnet. We gladly let him turn us hippies into happies with (as he would describe) shining and bright faces.

Yes, Prabhupada's message was a hard sell and he came alone, almost 70 years of age to a strange hostile environment to distribute the message of Lord Caitanya as ordered by his guru maharaja. Against all odds he captured our hearts and minds and did so without ever compromising the purity and potency of the message he came to deliver.

Remembering Srila Prabhupada

As I publish this post, it is now November 13, 2018. We just celebrated Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day festival two days ago. In honor of the 41st Disappearance Day of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I want to share with you my memory of the day Srila Prabhupada disappeared from this planet.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

It was the fall of 1977. Srila Prabhupada had been sick for several months. He had given us permission to pray for him, and had taught us the prayer, "My dear Lord Krsna, if You so desire, please cure Srila Prabhupada." We prayed that prayer day and night as we did our various services. At one point, we began directing the prayer to Lord Nrsimhadeva. "My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, if You so desire, please cure Srila Prabhupada." At the time when Srila Prabhupada was sick, I was on a traveling book distribution party with a group of ladies in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our party had at the time just returned to New Dvaraka to pick up more books and to have a change of pace for a few weeks. While in New Dvaraka, we received a summons one morning to gather in the temple. We all went, curious to know what would be the subject of the istha-gosthi. When everyone had settled--every devotee in the community who was able to come had come, so the temple room was packed--we listened carefully as Ramesvara Swami made the announcement that Srila Prabhupada had left his body. I don't remember anything else that was said. I just remember thinking I want to be with Srila Prabhupada at every moment and the best way I know to remain always with him is by distributing his books. So I paid my obeisances, left the temple room, went to my ashrama, changed into my pantsuit, grabbed my bookbag and a box of books, and caught a ride to the airport. On the way into the terminal, I saw a Godsister of mine who had been threatening to bloop for some time. I asked her, "Did you hear what happened? Prabhupada left his body." She looked bewildered. I moved on and started distributing books with all my heart. I wanted Prabhupada to be with me, to use me as his instrument and to see that I was eager to keep him in my heart by blessing as many suffering souls as possible with his transcendental literatures.

I continued going out and distributing books for several years, traveling around the US with different traveling parties. I was never chosen by the temple authorities to be a party leader, but was always one of the book distributors who were members of the party. Once, though, our sankirtana leader Sanatani had to go back to L.A. for some medical care. She asked me to take care of the rest of the girls on the party while she was gone. I accepted the baton. I wanted so badly to please Srila Prabhupada and feel his presence. I hadn't actually felt separation from him since he had left the planet, because I was consciously choosing to keep him in my heart and to keep him always with me by distributing his books with enthusiasm. So I hadn't grieved, nor had I felt separation, at least not consciously.

We hit the Fresno County Fair like an atomic bomb. I told the girls, "Let's distribute books like we've never distributed books before!" We packed up loads of book boxes and peppermint candies and parked our van early. We worked hard from the time the fair opened in the morning to the time it closed at night. I don't remember if we even stopped to have lunch. We passed out so many small books that day that we almost passed out. We were fainting from heat-stroke and cross-eyed at the end of the day. We laughed as we dragged ourselves to the van on our sore feet, carrying empty boxes and joyfully talking about our experiences.

The devotees had to practically carry me to the motel room. I had been hit hard by heat stroke and was fighting dizziness and the urge to pass out. I couldn't stay awake for anything, so the girls made me drink lots of water and they put me to bed right away. 

That night, Srila Prabhupada appeared to me in a dream. In the dream, he was seated at the top of a flight of wooden stairs. He was in the form of a life-size murti, a murti like the ones we see in almost all ISKCON temples nowadays. I was at the bottom of the stairs. I climbed the stairs, stopping just below Srila Prabhupada to pay my obeisances. As I was uttering his pranam mantras, I heard a thud. It sounded like something had hit the step just above me. I looked up, horrified to see that Srila Prabhupada had fallen over! I rushed up, realizing that he had left his body. I buried my face in his lap, bawling like a baby who had lost his mother. As I cried in Srila Prabhupada's lap, I felt his dhoti getting wet from my tears. Then I felt something else. I felt a hand stroking my head and down my back, slowly and gently, with great love, several times. I remembered that loving stroke down my head and back from another dream years before. I looked up, and Srila Prabhupada was sitting up again! I said, "Srila Prabhupada, are you all right?" and Srila Prabhupada's eyes got big and round. He asked, "Are you all right?" I replied, "Srila Prabhupada, without you, I'm nothing!" and Prabhupada smiled. Out of his pure, causeless mercy, he affectionately encouraged me, "I always knew you would turn out to be a good devotee." At that moment, I woke up and remembered the dream with intense gratitude and a thrill of ecstatic separation from Srila Prabhupada like nothing I had ever experienced. I realized that Srila Prabhupada had shown me through that dream that I actually did feel separation from him--I did miss him--and that missing, that separation, was and forever has been since then, my greatest ecstasy. 

That is my personal story. If you have a memory of Srila Prabhupada that you'd like to share with me, I would love to hear it. Please write to me at phalini@gmail.com. Thank you for reading this. Hare Krishna. Jai Srila Prabhupada!

Stress Reduction

Life in the material world can be really stressful. What are some of your stress-reducing tactics? I have a few strategies I use to calm down and de-stress.

1. Brew a cup of chamomile tea. Sweeten it with misri, also known as sakar, which is crystallized sugarcane juice. You can find it at Indian groceries. Sakar cools the body and chamomile is soothing to the nerves.

2. Take a few drops of Rescue Remedy. Just drop them on your tongue. Amazing stuff.

3. Do pranayama. Breathe in through your nose and hold it for several seconds. Then slowly blow out through pursed lips. Do this as many times as you need to feel relaxed. You can also breathe in through your left nostril while closing up the right side of your nose with your right thumb. Fill up your lungs to capacity, then hold your breath for a few seconds. Now exhale through your right nostril while holding the left side of your nose closed with your right pinkie and ring finger. The other two fingers are bent during this process so that they stay out of the way. Now inhale through your right nostril, hold your breath while pressing both sides of your nose, then exhale through your left nostril as you press your right thumb against your right nostril. Do this a few times until you feel relaxed.

4. Pray for the ability to control your mind. The mind can either be one's friend or one's enemy. If one wants his mind to be his friend, he has to train it. He has to learn to control it by practicing to keep it fixed on Krishna (God). The most highly recommended method for fixing one's mind on God in this day and age is to chant the holy names of God: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that He is the ability in man--paurusam nrsu. 

5. Soak up some moonlight. The moon offers cooling, soothing rays to calm our minds.

6. Do yoga. Along with the stretches and asanas, do more deep-breathing.

7. Meditate. Chanting the holy names of God is the most powerful method of meditation. I chant the maha-mantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. (The Hare part is pronounced Huh-Ray, and the Rama part is pronounced RAH-ma.) As living spirit souls, we are tiny sparks of the spiritual energy of Krishna, and when we are disconnected from Him, we feel disconnected. Krishna is the reservoir of all happiness. When we connect with Krishna, we feel our natural happiness. The best way to remain connected to the happiness of Krishna and experience our own natural happiness is by chanting God's holy names. That's how we can again feel connected and happy. When we chant Krishna's holy names with love and a desire to serve Him, we become reconnected to Him. God, or Krishna, is known as sat-cit-ananda-vigraha, or the eternal form of all knowledge and bliss (happiness). Because when we chant His holy names we become reconnected, we associate with Lord Krishna who is the source of all happiness. When we chant His holy names, we gradually begin to feel our own natural, constitutional happiness, or ananda, which is one of the inherent qualities of the soul.

8. Go for a walk, preferably in a natural setting, and if possible, make sure there's a body of water close by. Water is healing, especially the water of rivers and of the ocean. Go swimming or dangle your legs in the water. Do some more deep-breathing while you're soothing your nerves with the cooling movement of the waters and drinking in the beauty of Mother Nature.

9. Buy a journal that is especially for you. Choose a color of ink that you like. Write in your journal. Write about what is stressing you out. It's like telling a friend.

10. Tell a friend.

11. Laugh. Find something that tickles your funny bone and enjoy a good laugh once in a while. Laughter is healing because it lifts your spirits.

12. Create something beautiful. Dig deep into your heart and express what you're feeling in an artistic way. Share it with others so that others can benefit from experiencing your lovely creation. My Spiritual Master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada used to say that the mind becomes peaceful by thinking of the welfare of others. So create something from your heart for the pleasure of Krishna, and other souls will be inspired. It will help you, too.

13. Forgive. If there's anyone who has wronged you, pray to be able to forgive them. Forgive yourself as well, if you have hurt someone else. If there's anyone you owe an apology to, seek them out, apologize, and leave the rest in Krishna's hands. Whether they accept your apology or not is not your business.

14. Go to bed early and rise early. "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Dedicate the last two hours before sunrise to meditation and prayer.

15. Read something inspiring. I read the books written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, like Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya-Caritamrta, The Nectar of Devotion, The Science of Self-Realization and Sri Isopanisad. Books by his disciples also inspire me. I just finished The Glorious Life of Narottama Dasa Thakur by Sitala Harrison. Wonderful book. I also recently read Blazing Sadhus by Acyutananda Dasa, Alien Identities by Richard L Thompson, Chasing Rhinos with the Swami by Shyamasundar Dasa, and I am currently reading Miracle on Second Avenue by His Holiness Mukunda Goswami. Blazing Sadhus made me laugh on almost every page, Alien Identities satisfied my desire for a scientific perspective on UFOs, Chasing Rhinos was a phenomenal reading experience, presented in two volumes and Miracle is hard to put down.

16. Join a kirtan. Kirtan is the chanting of God's holy names in song, and Sankirtan is the congregational chanting of God's holy names. You can usually find out the times and locations of kirtans and sankirtans by looking on the internet for Hare Krishna temples or Bhakti-vriksha programs near you.

17. Cook something delicious and offer it to God. Krishna is a name for God that means "all-attractive." Krishna likes pure vegetarian food cooked with love and devotion and offered to Him before it's tasted by anyone else, even by the cook. So make sure when you cook for Krishna that the food is vegetarian, and refrain from tasting it until after Krishna has tasted it! If you have a picture of Krishna, you can offer what you cooked to Him in His picture, or you can offer it to Him in your mind. After offering, it's called "prasadam" which means "the mercy of the Lord" and you can then honor His remnants by tasting them. 

18. Personal strategy: When I'm really, really stressed, I cook something sweet to offer to Krishna and then I eat His remnants.

Please share your own stress-reducing strategies with me. 

Mahaprabhu Delivers Critics

“When He [Lord Caitanya] had been spreading the saìkértana movement as a family man, many Mäyävädé sannyäsés did not take His movement very seriously, but after the Lord accepted the sannyäsa order of life, He delivered speculative students, atheists and those who are attached to fruitive activities and unnecessary criticism. The Lord was so kind that He accepted all these people and delivered to them the most important factor in life: love of God.” (TLC Ch 17) Note how Srila Prabhupada mentions that Lord Caitanya delivered people who were “attached to unnecessary criticism.” In ISKCON today, we find too many devotees who are attached to unnecessarily criticizing other devotees, criticizing transcendental quotes that others post on Facebook, criticizing things that Srila Prabhupada wrote in his books, and even criticizing God Himself. Lord Caitanya, being the most merciful incarnation of God, can save those miserable souls from further degradation due to their making unlimited offenses toward the Vaisnavas and the Lord, but they need to desire to be saved. Only Krishna can award them the desire to be cured of the disease of being unnecessarily critical. Please pray with me for such people to be inspired within their hearts to want to stop being unnecessarily critical. If Krishna blesses them with the desire to stop unnecessarily finding fault, Lord Caitanya will take compassion on them and help them come out of their overly critical mentalities which are currently giving themselves as well as others pain. "My Dear Lord Krishna, if You so desire, please help these devotees desire to stop being unnecessarily faultfinding toward other devotees, of Srila Prabhupada's words, and of You, dear Lord."

Fighting Alone

For many of us, it feels like we are fighting this fight alone. It feels like we are carrying our family members on our shoulders because they are either not interested in devoting their lives to the service of God or they are temporarily in a spiritual slump, and that slump can be incessant, lasting in some cases for many years or even a lifetime. Or it can be intermittent, fluctuating with times of spiritual inspiration, but those times of spiritual inspiration for many souls are shortlived and temporary, and again we find ourselves the only one in the family who is chanting japa or going to the temple or reading Srila Prabhupada’s books or singing Hare Krishna in the house. Fear not. This too shall pass. And remember, you are never alone. Krsna is always with you. He’s in your heart. And He is aware of everything. He understands what you are going through and how heavy your burdens are. Take His help. Cry out to Him when you are chanting your japa. Ask Him to take over, because you have no strength on your own to carry yourself and your family members back home, back to Godhead. Pray for yourself. Pray for your family. Pray for others outside your family. Remember: “The mind becomes peaceful by thinking of the welfare of others.” And always, always, try to do your very best for the pleasure and service of the Lord. This will help your mind become peaceful. 

Self-Care

The chanting and hearing of Krishna's holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is the ultimate self-care. Self-care, after all, really ultimately means doing good to yourself. The highest good is to give Krishna consciousness to others, but also to yourself. So saving yourself first is how Srila Prabhupada coined the concept of giving oneself the ultimate good--Krishna consciousness. My Godbrother Patita-Pavana dasa heard from Srila Prabhupada personally that we must save ourselves first. 

Srila Prabhupada often wrote to complaining devotees that they should increase their chanting. This is always good advice. A million dollars solves all of our one hundred dollar problems. When we increase our hearing and chanting, all our petty problems become cast in a philosophical perspective so that we are able to see things as they are and avoid getting caught up in the emotions of "how could he/she do this to me?" or "why did that happen?" or "why do I feel so rotten inside?"

BUT...sometimes chanting is difficult. Sometimes we just don't feel like chanting. Some days are like, "Chanting is the last thing I feel like doing right now." So what to do? We try to chant, and due to offenses or whatever, we just lose interest and our enthusiasm wanes like a melting popsicle.

But we don't give up. We keep on keepin' on. We pick up our beads and continue trying to chant. Eventually, Krishna helps us get back on track. If we give up and give in to the laziness or apathy or impersonalism or vindictiveness that we are feeling, then we fall off the waterfall. But if we keep trying to swim upstream against all odds, all setbacks, all challenges, then Krishna eventually makes us victorious.

Give Yourself a Lift

Sometimes, if we've been in a spiritual sadhana slump for a while, it may seem too hard to suddenly transition back into enthusiastic, regulated chanting. We may not have enough of a taste. In times like these, it sometimes helps to give ourselves a little lift. Some examples from my personal life might help to illustrate what I mean. 

If I'm suffering from too much dis-ease due to negative thought patterns, I take myself to a doctor or health practitioner that takes a holistic approach to healing. That's a big step toward self-care. I recently made a decision to treat myself to a real homeopathic practitioner who is classically trained. A little pricey, but worth it. 

I also treated myself to some quality time with a dear friend. Talking with a trusted friend can do wonders for our attitude. Our whole outlook can brighten up a hundred times just with one heart-to-heart conversation.

Another good thing I like to do is write. Writing helps me vent when I need to vent, but in private. And if it's negative stuff, I write it on paper and then crumple it up and burn it.

Writing also provides a vehicle for my creative impulses, for my need to express myself creatively. Whether poetry or prose, my writings are my own, and they express my inner feelings. I save them. I read them later. It's therapeutic. You can try it too, if you like. It can be healing to read your old writings and see how you and your life have transformed.

If writing seems like it's a bit too hard to do, like it's not really your thing, that's okay. But you may be surprised how transformative writing can be if you just pick up a pen and start. Did you ever write a stream-of-consciousness paper? Here's how you do it. You grab a pen (writing with your favorite color of ink is a cool idea--purple is my fave) and some paper or a journal. Set a timer for five or ten minutes. Write whatever comes to your mind for those few minutes until the timer goes off. Don't go back and correct spelling or grammar, just write as fast as the thoughts come. Then, when the timer goes off, stop. Leave it alone for a few hours or a few days or a few months, and then go back and read it. Stream-of-consciousness writing is very healing to the soul and can be indulged in at any time.

Bucket List

One of my favorite exercises to get my thinking clear and my understanding in perspective is to ask myself two questions:

1. If I had only six months left to live, what would I want to accomplish before I leave my body?

and

2. If I had plenty of money to spend, what would I want to accomplish before I leave my body?

If you like, you can ask yourself these two questions. I usually make a list of at least six items as answers to each question, and then I compare the answers. If there is an answer on one list that matches an answer on the other list, then I know that this is something that is very important to me. It's okay to let the list grow, too. I like to keep adding to my lists as new desires come up. The lists grow as I think of more cool things I would like to accomplish during my life. I find this exercise healing and clarifying, inspiring and motivating. In fact, after I make my lists, I like to transform them into positive affirmations! Positive affirmations are the next step toward realizing the goals you have written.

Put It Out There

Have you ever heard someone say, "Put it out there in the universe and it will happen"? I have. And I've experienced this phenomenon.

I love to play piano. Playing the piano affords me a vehicle through which I can express my deepest emotions. But I am currently in a situation where I can't own one. Three years ago, we sold our house in North Carolina. In the process of moving, we sold our piano. I have missed my piano ever since. I am now visiting my daughter's family in Houston, but we're in an upstairs apartment, and a piano wouldn't fit. Recently, I "put it out there" that I want to play a piano. I looked up piano rentals. I called piano stores and inquired about rehearsal rooms. I asked around the neighborhood if anybody has a piano. I was expressing my desire, and leaving it up to Krishna to make whatever arrangements He would so choose, if He so desired. Last weekend, I flew up to Detroit for a friend's wedding. On my way, I had a connecting flight in Chicago. As I walked through the terminal to catch my connecting flight, I saw a piano in a restaurant. I asked the manager if I could play. He gave me permission and I sat down and played a couple of instrumentals. It was deeply satisfying and I walked away on Cloud 9. So even though I am currently unable to own a piano, I am being blessed with the opportunity to play pianos whenever I travel!

Five years have passed since I wrote the above paragraph. I put it out there, and a friend just gifted me a beautiful piano. I am so, so grateful. I had to wait for Krishna's perfect timing, but He made the most wonderful arrangement for me to receive a beautiful piano that I can now play for His pleasure. 

Commune with Nature

Get outside and commune with nature. Go swimming. Get near water. Get in the water. Find a secret place where you can lie down on the bare earth and feel her coolness. Look up at the sky. Watch the clouds drift slowly by. Listen to the trees sway in the wind. Listen to the birds. Breathe deeply. Take a walk and drink in the beauty of the earth, trees, grass, flowers and water. Go outside at night and feel the cool air and gaze at the moon. The moon is healing. Water is healing. Nature is healing. Indulge yourself.

Pray for Yourself

Again, we must save ourselves first. Chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Always stay in the watchful mood of making sure you are serving Krishna at every moment. Read Srila Prabhupada's books. Pray for yourself. Ask Krishna to help you grow spiritually and stay tightly attached to His lotus feet. Ask Him to help you chant and hear His holy names. Ask Krishna to help you help yourself stay enthused and encouraged on your devotional path.

Krishna wants us to come back home more than we want to go back home. We can't do anything without Krishna's help, so ask Him to help you. He will.