China is great (like the Wall)!

China is great (like the Wall)! Don't know where to start...I am learning Chinese, visiting the Great Wall (aka Asian Incline - my legs are killing me!), inhaling smog, eating yummy (bizarre) food, and using squat toilets. Indeed life is grand (and grander without squat toilets)!

Words can't describe China, it's just well, China. I left Beijing this morning with population of 17 million people. 17 million - the entire state of Colorado has around 5 million. I have a difficult time fathoming that many people, until I see the smog and sit in traffic. Now I'm in a "small" city (meaning fewer than 10 million people) outside of Shanghai. I just got back from a Buddhist pagoda. So far the sightseeing highlights include a pearl factory, Summer Palace of one of Ming Dynasty emperors, and a tour of a 2,000-year old neighborhood.

I love it so far - the people are adorable! I even made an older Chinese man laugh (which can be difficult I've heard) with my Chinese. My tour guide continues to apologize for his "Chinglish," but he speaks it well! Off to dinner and a silk factory! Love you longtime!

Today I'm grateful for tofu, clean Colorado air, and cute Chinese kids!

Wow, Tao

Two (rhyming) words for you - wow, Tao (pronounced "dow," want to ensure you sound intelligent). In honor of my continuing study of the sacred texts of various religions I continue with the Tao to get me excited for my trip to China (I leave today). I love it. It's mysterious, simple, and beautifully written.

Tao can be translated as the way or the path. The book explains it is indefinable and instead has to be experienced to understand it. It's a force of the universe and Taoists goals are to align themselves with the Tao. Reading the book forces the reader to use a part of the brain based on just being and not just logical thinking (something I believe a lot of us have a difficult time doing). It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)"

I love the concept called "wu wei," which means allowing nature to take its course. Other favorite passages include:
-The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
-If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
-If you want to accord with the Tao, do your job, then let go.

The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism make up the three main religions practiced in China. None of these religions believe in an outside deity, which they believe can't be represented as one specific thing. These traditions have intrigued for quite a while because they focus on inner meditation and outside observation.

My first insight into Chinese philosophy was when my mom quoted, "He who live in glass house must dress in basement." (I don't know which is more alarming to me, that someone would have a glass house or that this is how she convinced me to close my windows when I get dressed.)

Today I'm grateful for my trip to China, green smoothies, Chelsea Handler.

Mean, green smoothie drinking machine!

People keep asking me how I've changed since the experience at the ashram. Apparently I'm still just as nerdy and from the outside look exactly the same (besides the beam of white light coming from my forehead of course). It's more of a transformation - nothing has really changed (wow, now I really sound like Landmark).

My transformation was purely based on my priorities and a new way of looking at life and myself. I identify with myself very differently than I did before. My days aren't comprised of to do lists (okay for the most part, old habits die hard), but rather optional activities I can do if I find time between meditating, doing yoga, working and just being present.

If I had to pick something visually that has changed it would be my diet, particularly the green smoothies I make almost every morning. I get excited to put fresh ginger, kale, spinach, mint, and banana into a blender to chug. (Just when I thought my days of chugging were over!?) I feel and look great (if I may say so myself) thanks to these mean, green smoothies! It was the Greens for Life book that significantly impacted my diet. I'm not ready to go completely raw, but I am ready to focus on eating a ton more leafy greens and enjoy it!

Today I'm grateful for blenders, kale, and ginger (can you tell I'm enjoying a smoothie right now).

Can't help falling in love with you, fall

"Ode to Fall" (lyrics by Elvis Presley, adapted by Becky Farrar)

Shall I stay?

Could it be the wind?

For I can't help falling in love with you.

Like the rivers flow, surely we will see;

Fall time, oh it goes;

Some things are meant to be;

Take my land, take my whole life too.

For I can't help, falling in love with you.

Today I'm grateful for Colorado fall days, warm weather, and soymilk hot chocolates.

Overstimulation is an understatement

My second day back in the quote and unquote "real world" (don't know why I typed that, quotation marks are available in written word) and saying I'm overstimulated would be a brash understatement (see photo on left for demonstration). When my cell phone rang for the first time yesterday in a month I couldn't remember what to do. If that isn't scary enough when I drive I appear to be in such a peaceful state I can't get myself to go above 40 mph. How did I ever handle Las Vegas a month ago??

I feel like the peacefulness in the eye of a storm, but am not sure it's serving me well right now. Particularly in the clothing department. When I met my mom for lunch yesterday (which was Monday, at least I understand the days of the week still) I showed up wearing sweatpants, Birkenstocks with socks (yes, awful I know) and a peacoat. Ugh and more ugh, thank goodness I pulled my mind together to get dressed for meeting my sister for dinner or I wouldn't have heard the end of it.

My body doesn't seem to be adjusting well to the foods I used to eat, although healthy not as healthy as food blessed by yogis everyday. On a positive note, my meditation practice has become much stronger and I crave it instead of it being something to check off my to-do list.

My name is Becky and I'm an overstimulator, but excited to be here. =)

Today I'm grateful for my Eckhardt Tolle CDs, Garden of the Gods, and organic blueberry muffins.

Hari Om Yogaville!

I head home tomorrow from Yogaville with mixed emotions. When I return please I request you call me by my new spiritual name "Saraswati" after the goddess of wisdom. I arrive back to Colorado on Sunday, October 12 and plan to dedicate my life from this moment forward to my pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom.

Just kidding, wanted to make you a tad nervous about any new hippie tendencies (don't worry I still have plenty to spread around)!

I've had quite a learning experience here and value this opportunity. I encourage anyone to spend time at an ashram. Even if you're not into Hindu or Yogic traditions this ashram really celebrates the wonderfulness of any and all spiritual practices. If you're not into spiritual practices, well...come enjoy the food and good company.

Perfect cleanse of body and soul - nutritious foods, lots of quiet, and yoga. Great test of any practice (spiritual or otherwise) is to see what happens without the structure and rely on my own self-discipline. I'm excited to come back to Colorado and don't know if Yogaville is in my future or not (depends mostly on if they change the name). ;)

Highlights of my stay at the ashram:
-Becoming so handy with a kitchen knife (she says with an evil grin)
-Flexibility (in spirit and body)
-Checking my email less frequently
-Meeting NNB (New Nutty Buddy) Sam
-Wearing pajama-like clothing everyday
-Saying the Sanskrit term "Hari Om" as if it's as common as the word "and"
-Small talk that includes discussing tuning forks, cosmic tents, and food combining
-Befriending spiders

What I look forward to most about being back:
-Seeing my family and friends
-Hugging my dog
-Eating ice cream
-Doing "normal" things such as going to a movie or eating out
-Making more to-do lists
-Eating fish

Today I'm grateful for yogurt with cinnamon, changing leaves, and my beach-scene flipflops.

Navaratri = Nine Nights

As I'm typing this a group of adorable children are chanting and walking through the ashram blessing it will holy water. Yes, another day in the life of a wannabe Yogi in an ashram in the middle of nowhere.

The celebration (can't get enough of them) completes the Hindu Navaratri (Nine Nights). Every three nights the Hindu tradition honors God in female form. Each night the ashram has a puja or offering ceremony to that particular goddess (Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarawasiti - pardon my spelling, I'm too distracted by the chanting to look it up). I enjoy the chanting and singing, but most of all the prasad (something sweet) after the ceremony. Even more entertaining to me is that the male form of God only has a one night in his honor.

Honoring the feminine traits in all of us, the nights are about each part of a Divine Mother who creates obstacles, then shows us the way is not about desire, finally brings us to wisdom. Durga rides a lion and is the "Destroyer/Warrior/just plain tough" and sticks her tongue out as a sign of her toughness. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and my most inspired form is Saraswati - goddess of wisdom and the arts (apparently I'm a reincarnate of her - or so I tell myself). ;) My favorite by far has been the motherly advice every few nights on what to focus on. They've been real doozies - my last one was "To use the lessons learned here to transform my spirituality through practice in life." Um yes, thank you. ;)

Although I would enjoy the ceremonies a bit more if we could stop singing the names of the goddesses after the 4,576th time instead of 7,988th time. No matter, as long as I get my prasad I consider it a wonderful Nine Nights.

Today I'm grateful for homemade banana bread, chocolate, and my journal.

Mourning mouna

In the Yogic tradition many yogis (including myself now) practice mouna, or silence. Today I took the day for quiet reflection and heard a lot. We expend so much energy talking to others and communicating it doesn't leave as much prana (life force) for when we need it. Enter stage right - the mouna.

Swami G (actually spelled Swamiji - but sounds funny thinking about it this way) says, "Silence is in your nature, don't disturb it." Reminds us that when we listen to the silence we can hear ourselves, others and the universe. That's just what I did today.

As predicted my senses were greatly heightened and I became more mindful of everything. My usual plain yogurt with cinnamon was delectable today instead of sweet with a hint of sour. On my run today I heard at least 10 different birds. I didn't sing in the shower and instead actually felt the water on my skin for the first time in years. My meditations were easeful and a piece of chocolate was heaven. Even walking was practically orgasmic (exaggeration). I counted 7,652 leaves visible from one of the dining room tables (estimation) and didn't chant today and heard how lovely everyone's voices blend together.

I was exhausted last week and attribute a lot of it to being overstimulated - imagine that, at an ashram. I now have two roommates, more shifts, and wanting to fit in all of my requirements. I'm a whiz at stressing myself out, I seem so desperate to disturb peace. I found myself wanting to crack some lame joke or say hello and instead I smiled politely and nodded my head. A friend of mine left the ashram today and it was even more wonderful to smile and hug without saying a word - those motions said everything I needed to say.

Last time I did a day of silence was during a Zen Buddhism retreat several years ago. I vowed to do one once a month - even living alone it was difficult. Always a plant or my phone ringing to distract me from not talking. Today the silence came naturally and I'm not ever mourning mouna again!?

Today I'm grateful for my "observing silence sign", metta meditation books, and packages.

Entomologists bug me

I'm bugged here at Yogaville. There are more bugs/spiders/creeper crawlers here than I know what to do with. This morning I showered with three spiders while a third watched on (kinky and creepy at the same time). Another reason to love Colorado - we don't have many insects.

Praying mantises (not sure of plural form) take over the grounds here. Lovely critters and it seems very appropriate for them to be here. On top of the "praying" aspect I find an odd sense of pleasure in the fact that the females eat the males after mating (apparently I'm not as into non-violence as I thought). I saw my first one on the window of a temple on my first day. Since then I can't get enough of them and am considering "mantis worship" as a form of spirituality. (Okay, that's a bit dramatic.)

Found out yesterday that many entomologists come to Virginia and in particular this area to study bugs. Information that would have been useful before I booked my plane ticket and found out I would be living with peeping Tom spiders and beetles (there's one who sits near my nightstand I swear watches me undress).

I don't of course never kill any of them (not even the spiders), that's really the best part - they run free inside here because no one kills any of them. Makes me smile that the entire stairwell to my room has a succession of spiderwebs that are more intricate than the food I eat.

As I type this there is a Daddylong legs above me on a web and an odd crab shaped bug near my feet. (They both say hi by the way.) I'm learning to adapt to this new kingdom and have a new appreciation for the reminder they bring to my connection with something larger than myself - however, on occasion they still bug me.

Today I'm grateful for praying mantises (of course), my new raw diet, and phone calls with Samuel.

Key to peace

As I've mentioned now approximately 792 times, my favorite part of being here are the scripture classes. In the Sutras of Patanjali (notice the translation is done by the guru who founded Yogaville - had to brag) Book One, Verse 33 it explains there being only four locks in life and four keys to open them. By keeping the four keys always with you when you come across any of the four locks you will have the proper means to open it and maintain your peace of mind.

One of the premises of yoga is using your prana, or life force, efficiently. When someone disrupts your peace of mind that energy no longer has as much power. This sutra has been particularly useful to me here because I tend to be really sensitive and allow others' attitudes and behaviors to affect me more than could be considered healthy.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness towards the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.

• The first key is friendliness towards happy people. Sometimes our natural tendency become jealousy or competition. Using friendliness allows us to become friends.
• The second key is compassion towards unhappy. This allows us to provide empathy and offer help if they need it.
• The third key is delight/gracious towards virtuous people. Acknowledge we can learn from them and appreciate their qualities.
• The fourth key is disregard/indifference towards wicked/small-minded people. Don't try to advise them remember instead there was a time when we could have been that way and remain calm.

So there you have it, the four locks and keys of the Sutras.

Today I'm grateful for Dove Promises, walks to the Lotus shrine alone, and yummy salads.