Tuesday, January 30, 2007

 
Sat Nam.

Today's blog entry is a prayer... a prayer that I have been saying for myself. If you wish to say it for yourself please do so as well.

May the pure vibration of my soul
Attract all events in my life
So that I may vibrate in the purity of my soul's radiance.
May the Guru's feet be on my forehead
That I may always remember
That He is with me.
May each day, each breath
Be a celebration of God
And let God manifest through me.

Let Thy Will be done.

Sat Nam.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

 
Raag Study.

This weekend was a life transformational weekend for me. We had a three day course in Raag with Professor Paramjeet Singh. When GuruGanesha and I were traveling in Canada this past summer we met the Professor, who is teaching Indian Classical music as it applies to the hymns of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. He is seen above with GuruGanesha and I, my husband is sitting behind us along with the Professor's friend.

For those of you who don't know, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is our living Guru for Sikhs. It is a treasury of hymns written by the Sikh Gurus and saints of other faiths. As Sikhs we don't bow to any human being as our Guru, we bow to this sacred text. For me on a personal level I have always looked to the Siri Guru Granth Sahib for guidance. In times of hardship and celebration the Guru is with me. Here in Espanola and in many Sikh communities we have a weekly Akhand Paath which is a continuous reading of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. I have found that whenever an Akhand Paath happens there is a radiation of love and peace that I seem to feel in my own heart and that seems to even radiate out for miles around. In the time of our Gurus, which was roughly between the 14th and 17th centuries in India, what we call Classical Indian music was an essential tool of communication. Classical Indian music has roots back thousands of years in India. Raags and Thaals were developed. A Raag is a collection of notes, or a particular scale that induces a feeling, or allows you to express a feeling through music. There are Raags for each time of time of day ,and these Raags are a very powerful tool for communicating from the soul to the Creator. (ok... that line is my opinion... in any case...here we go.) A Thaal is a rhythm, and between the interweaving of rhythm and music.... the result is pure ecstacy. Each of the hymns in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib was assigned a Raag. This was done by our Guru, to give us a clear tool to experience the ecstacy of the poetry. So, yes, I knew about all of this... but I didn't really know. This weekend was an eye opener.

I spent three full days completely emmersed in the study and practise of Raag. There were times in the voice excersizes where we were singing so low that I didn't sound much better then a frog, and times when we were singing so high that I couldn't even believe it. It was scary, and humbling all at the same time. But, all of those voice excersizes really opened my voice up and I feel really strengthened by them. I think its really going to help me have stamina while on tour. But the real joy was when I experienced a Raag for the first time, really experienced it. One of the most memorable times this weekend was when we sang Siri Raag. This Raag is an evening Raag, and as we sang it the dusk was turning to night. It was a beautiful, complete, deep, completely strong warrior, yet open heart experience. I felt taken over by the joy and the sound.


I knew that Raag was something special when I heard the Chardi Kalaa Jatha for the first time. (Please see: www.ckjatha.com for more information.) When I heard them sing I felt completely taken into the Raag, taken on a journey of devotion. There was no question about the destination, it was straight to God. Their voices were so powerful I couldn't even believe it. I was sitting behind them, and although the microphones were in front of their mouths as they sang, they seemed to have amplification coming out of their bodies; pure power. I always was so amazed by them, and longed for that same kind of inner strength and experience of Raag. I am happy to say that I have begun the long awaited journey into Raag and I look forward to sharing with you my experiences along the way.


May Peace Prevail On Earth.

Over and Out

Monday, January 15, 2007

 
Getting to know Espanola....



This Saturday Sopurkh and I participated in a prayer service for all of the soldiers serving in the army, and for peace on the planet. The names of soldiers from the Espanola Valley who are serving were read off in the beginning. It happens every Saturday and is a very beautiful and simple service. If you are interested in coming it is held at St. Steven's Episcapol Church across the street from the Espanola Plaza at 11 am to 11:30 am.

A miracle happened! Usually I order my shoes off of the internet because I wear a size five. I've gotten pretty tired of walking in and out of one shoe store after the other only to find that the shoes that I kind of liked were not and will never be carried in my size at that shoe store. When my husband and I first got married, I must have been overcome with the joy of marriage because I completely forgot about this phenomenon and unfortunately took him shoe shopping. After about five stores both of us were just plain sad. After that I only ordered on line. Well, this Saturday after the prayer service we were driving down the streets of Espanola, and I saw this shoe shop, Borrego's Bootery.... and just for fun we decided to stop. I couldn't imagaine what kind of shoes would be in there... I was more in the mood for exploration... and maybe finding something funny about Espanola to talk about. Well wouldn't you know it, we walked in that "bootery" and there were stacks and stacks of shoes, and tons in my size!!!! Who knew! I bought two pairs of shoes. What fun!


My husband and I took a walk just above Santa Fe. We were in a kind of forest wonderland. The snow created a quiet white engulfed reality... nothing but the sound of our foot steps. Very beautiful.

Let's just say... I made some good discoveries this weekend... its nice around here....

Espanola....

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Over and Out.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

 
Happy New Year! May we take each breath in gratitude, may we live in our center, may we be filled with the Divine Sound Current of God's Name, may our hearts be full and our gifts plenty.

I am enjoying some time off here in New Mexico. As you may know we have had alot of snow. It is unbelievably beautiful. The other day I took some pictures to document this absolutely amazing natural wonder. I hope you enjoy....

Here is my husband Sopurkh Singh after shoveling snow off of our roof. I had seen snow shovels before... but never really appreciated them until now. Its alot of hard work and it really helps to have a wide shovel like this.
Sopurkh and I took a walk on the beautiful snow covered desert plane near our house. It is just before sun set. You can see the beautiful moon in the sky, and our two shadows in the snow.

Here is the sun setting over the Black Mesa, a sacred site for the local Native Americans.

This series of pictures reminds me of a quote I just heard from Yogi Bhajan that went something like this... " As a spirtual teacher I am the setting sun, and you are the rising sun. That's why I have to tell you to rise, to keep up... its a law of nature."



And so the sun has set on last year and we begin our journey into 2007. May we journey on the road of love, light, truth, and purity.


Happy New Year!


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