I Am So Blessed. – 6 November 2008

These are the words I uttered to myself as I entered my room just now. I was woken this morning by a phone call from Swamiji after spending a night sleeping propped up, having bad dreams and feeling like an elephant was on my chest. Yesterday morning, I developed a scratchy throat and unproductive cough that had bloomed into a full blown sore throat and cough by evening.

Swamiji told me he’d be at his kutir for a few hours, and invited me to come, so I got up and got dressed. I was a bit light headed and clammy, so I suspect I was a bit feverish. I asked within about going out and walking the wall and boulder field to get to the kutir and I got a resounding YES, so I went. I didn’t eat breakfast, since it was already so late and it took me forever just to get dressed. I wasn’t really hungry anyway and the thought of sitting and waiting for food somewhere was totally unappealing.

I got to Swamiji’s kutir just has he was getting ready to do his sadhana (daily practice) consisting of a bath, meditation and yoga. I spread out my sarong away from the river bank and settled in to listen to my Kundalini sessions to give him some privacy. When he was done down in the river, I went down and continued to listen to my session, meditated and then swam. I can feel the seasons changing. Each day is cooler and the angle of the sun is sharper. The nights are very cool now and that water is cold! It comes from snowmelt higher in the Himalayas and is fairly cold even at the height of summer.

Sitting in the forest and on the boulders at the edge of Ma Ganga is so healing for me. Just being with Swamiji is nourishing, we don’t even have to speak. While in the river, I had a conversation with Her about this “illness” and did a prayer treatment to restore my body to full health. It’s so easy to do the first two stages of treatment sitting in Ma Ganga’s lap. God is everywhere; there is nowhere It is not. Since that is true, then God is within me and I am not separate. The sunlight shimmering on the swift current as it rolled through the rapids seemed to speak directly to me. I felt at peace and that there is nowhere else on the planet I should be.

Yesterday and this morning each time I awoke, I would wonder when I should leave Rishikesh. Is this sickness enforcing a rest period? Should I leave and go to parts unknown and risk getting sicker where I don’t know anyone? What should I do? How will I know? I don’t seem to be doing anything here, just getting restless, perhaps it *is* time to go. Lather, rinse and repeat ad nauseam.

After I climbed out of the water and changed back into dry clothes, Swamiji said he still had 20 minutes of yoga to do. I read my new Kundalini Yoga book, basking in the sun and listening to the rapids. After about 40 minutes, I packed my pack and he came down from his sitting area. We agreed earlier that I would treat him to lunch at his favourite Germany Bakery restaurant. We walked a much kinder path to get to the road this time. I told him I couldn’t take that last path any more; I spent two days in bed after it the last time.

As we walked, we traversed a rock field under a temple on the shore of Ganga Ma. I couldn’t help but giggle, as a month ago, I was at that very temple with Jennifer and was wishing very hard I could get down the last 7 or 8 levels to the rock field beach below. Here I was today, on that beach looking up at the temple. I really am becoming good at manifestation *grin*

So we get to the bakery and it’s full to overflowing with the Hari Krishnas. I recognized them from the ghat the other night. They always look so blissed out. We would have stayed, but there was no room. We went higher up the hill to the owner’s second restaurant, which we had mostly to ourselves. We talked, read news reports of Obama’s win, laughed, listened to Eckhart Tolle on his phone and ate. The meal lasted over two hours. When we asked where our waiter was to clear the table for dessert, we were told he was sleeping. Such is India *smile* We discussed where I should go for the duration of my trip and how best to get there. We made plans to spend a day in Dehra Dun visiting his Guruji, whom I adore. The Santa Claus Saint!!! w00t!!!

I am nearly recovered. I don’t feel feverish in the least and I’m coughing very little. My body feels lighter and so does my soul. I don’t know why, all I can say is that it’s Grace. I’m on my way to the Internet café to plot out the rest of my journey. When I let myself in my room to pick up this laptop, I felt vastly different from when I left this morning. My whole being was flooded with, I Am So Blessed.