Hi my Dear Friends and Family! I hope the holidays are filled with the Light that is birthed and rebirthed each time we remember to Love One Another and I hope each of you finds the Great Peace we are all seeking!
I think of India as a great Mother for me - there have been so many blessings each day! I am teaching a simple yoga/stretching class with meditation to the nuns at my nunnery on Monday mornings at 7 am and we are having so much fun! It can be tricky for some of the poses in a robes! But we are filled with smiles and this being our "holiday" and day off, it is a great way to let go of the stress of so much practice and work. from the wek before.
Our day begins early here and the nunnery is filled with the sounds of cymbals and horns for the 5 am puja in the temple, while some are in the kitchen preparing our breakfast. Mine, at 6 am, is simply tea and tsampa - a very Tibetan meal that I have come to look forward to for I am usually alone and the sun begins to rise behind the mountains and the dawn is always renewing and reminds us that we have the grace to begin again each day with devotion and dedication to our path of awakening!
My room is so very simple, for as you know, I have nothing but the things I brought in the big suitcase and this letting go of so much stuff was such a relief! Not mch to worry about. I am in the center of things here with my room close to the main gate and if you think it is all quiet and silence, think again! There is the Hindu chants and the call to prayers from the Muslims and the drums and cymbals of the monastery and the workers who come and go and the vegetable sellers who push their carts up the long road from the Tibetan colony and the coming and goings of the cows who outsmart us waiting for the first one to forget to lock the big gate! I, who used to be so attached to quiet , am in the middle of noise but it is not chaotic and I am not complaining, for this has been the gift of my practice and just another way to let go of my own expectations of how the world should be so that I can meditate!
In fact, I have to laugh at the past intolerance I have felt when I wanted the situations around me to change so that I could have peace of mind. Now, I can meditate anywhere and those of you who know me must realize that I have been so attached to quiet that to find quiet in this noisy world is the practice of finding PEACE within your own mind and that is freedom!
Don't get me wrong, there is also great peace here and I love these monks and nuns who so generously invite me into their lives whether I can teach English well or not!
One day, on the most crowded bus I have ever imagined, I looked out to the streets of dust, cars, scooters, people, cows and beggars and was overwhelmed with a desire to just embrace each and every individual and to tell each one that this embrace represents the embrace of Compassion and Love itself - to let each person know, they are not abandoned in this dream of suffering. All of a sudden, I knew I COULD embrace each one - and my heart - it opened - as if physically and I experience an unlimited space that could hold all beings - each and every one - wtihout exception. I was so joyful.
Love one another as I have loved you, says Jesus. Have compassion for all beings without exception, the Buddha; there is no God, but God, says the Muslim. Whatever language, whatever path, may we each find this embrace and extend this to others, now and always. May you know how much I love and appreciate your support of my journey. Thanks, Kay, for forwarding ths!
I am already making plans for the summer and will forward this to you within a few weeeks. Be well and at Peace- it is the true nature of your own mind!
Love, Nellie
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Here is the new Nellie In India Blog. I will be adding Nellie's emails as she sends them. You can comment to her on the email; send your well wishes etc. Notice at the top is the mailing address if you want to send anything to Nellie directly. She may not be able to respond directly to you but you can send to her. Remember this is all public information and everyone can see and read your comments.
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