Reiki Newsletter-April 2017

Dear Friends,

I love April because it means FRANS IS COMING TO TOWN!!!!  This will be the 7^th year, my teacher Frans Stiene is coming to Cincinnati to teach a Reiki event. This year we’re blessed with a 4 day Reiki Meditation Retreat.

Frans is a dedicated practitioner who deepens his own knowledge and experience and reflects it in his teachings. That’s why the same class looks different every year. This is true for the Public Talks too. If you’ve been to his Public talks before, I invite you to come experience it again. I’m sure you’ll get out something different.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1373321709425616/

The Reiki Meditation Retreat will be on April 21- April 24 in Transfiguration Spirituality Center, a secret heaven in Glendale.  The Retreat is open to any serious practitioner; you don’t have to be a Reiki practitioner.  Here is the link for registration:   http://us.ihreiki.com/events/detail/east-coast_usa_4_day_reiki_retreat1  

If you’ve been to a 1 day Retreat or as we call it the Play Day before, multiple it by 4, that’s how much fun it is J

If you can’t make the Retreat, Frans will give 2 free Public talks.

Wednesday  April 19^th  2017 7-9 pm

Reiki Room of Dayton

848 E Franklin St,

Washington Township, OH 45459

Thursday April 20, 2017 7-9 pm

True Freedom Recovery Yoga

4501 Allison Street

Norwood, Ohio 45212

Besides  fun and information,  Frans’ Public talks are an energy experience where you get what you need at that point in your life. So, come back again and bring family, friends, kids, especially if there is anyone who is curious about Reiki and you don’t know how to explain it!

While here Frans will give private healing sessions too. There are only few sessions left. Contact me quickly if you want a private session with him. Sessions will be on Thursday April 20^th and Tuesday April 25^th.

Our next big Reiki event is in May. As you know, we meet twice a year for a fun day to practice together as Reiki practitioners. Next Reiki Day is May 21^st, 9:30 AM - 5 PM in Northside.  Here's a link to more information.  http://www.wherevent.com/detail/Attune-The-Art-CIncinnati-Reiki-Day

Last but not least, there will be a Reiki presentation next weekend at Victory of Light Festival on April 8^th at 5 pm in Sharonville Convention Center. Come join to give Reiki if you’re a practitioner, or invite your loved ones to listen about Reiki and get a short hands-on Reiki experience. Patricia and Sundar will be leading this experience and everyone is invited to take part!

 Hope to see in one of these events (or may be all!),

Love & LIght,

Zeynep

Reiki Newsletter-February 2017

It's been exactly 15 years since I’ve first heard about Reiki. I still remember those first few months that led me to learn Reiki and all the magical things that happened during those months (and many more in following years).

It was the last week of January in 2002. One weekend, my mother-in-law and I were talking on the phone like we do every week. She casually mentioned that she has learned Reiki in a weekend workshop.  I probably wouldn’t believe what I’ve heard if it would have been someone else but I trust my mother-in-law, she is very down to earth and sharp woman. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around how could you touch and heal.  I always believed that some people are born with the ability to heal but those were natural healers, I believed. It’s just that I didn’t think anyone could do it.

Of course I went to internet, googled Reiki and there were lots and lots of information, anywhere from free distant attunements to classes charging $10,000. I lay it to rest for a while.

Couple weeks later, in mid-February, I went to Florida for business. I had 1 hour free time until a business dinner. I was driving back to the hotel when I saw a book store in a strip mall. The rest, I’ll never forget….

 I made a sharp left turn, parked the car in front of the book store. I walked in to the store. I walked right into an aisle on the left. I walked to the end of the book shelf and reach out and grabbed a book, yes…  a Reiki book.

 Even today, when I know where the Health/Alternative healing, etc. books are located in a bookstore I can’t find Reiki books at first try. It was simply a miracle to walk right to a store and pick a book, a Reiki book, without searching or even thinking about it. It was like the book jumped to me.

It was Sandy Leir Shuffrey’s Teach Yourself Reiki and the first sentence of the book was that You cannot teach yourself Reiki! It’s because this book is published by ”Teach Yourself” series, it’s called Teach Yourself Reiki. Anyway, I immediately started to read the book, memorized the hand positions and started doing Reiki to myself. It was amazing that even though I didn’t have the attunements, I was feeling the energy.  I can’t forget the deep restful sleeps I got those first few weeks.

When I returned home I immediately started looking for classes in Cincinnati.

That journey was quite amazing too.  I found couple Reiki Masters and Mira Shukla amongst them who teaches at Tri Health Pavillion. I realized I missed her class by one week and I was going to be out of the country in her next class; and the following class coincided with my sister’s wedding. It was like a curse. Months have passed and I was still chasing a class.

It was September, the schools started and my son’s school had an Open House. There were after school activities accepting registrations during the Open House. My son and his best friend wanted to go to Kumon, an after school reading and math program.  I talked to the Director of Kumon during Open House, and registered my son. I grabbed the Director’s business card and it was Mira Shukla. I walked with the card in my hand and read the name few times. I couldn’t believe it, it was the Reiki Master I was chasing for month. I went back to the desk and asked her if she is the Reiki Master Mira Shukla. We both laughed and I told her that I was chasing her classes for months. She promised to let me know for the next class in October.   That class got cancelled and I was at the end of my patience. I couldn’t wait any longer. I was reading William Rand’s web site and I was even corresponding with one of his Turkish students. I realized there is a class coming up next weekend in Detroit. I called immediately and the associate said the class was full for weeks and someone just called and cancelled. One spot was available and it was mine. I signed up immediately.

The next day I saw Mira at school. She asked me if I got her phone message. No, I didn’t. She said she left me a message that she was going to teach me a private class because I was waiting for so long. I told her that I signed up to William Rand’s class and I am going to Detroit next weekend.

I went home and there was a red light blinking in the answering machine, which neither me or my husband noticed in last 2 days. I played the message. I couldn’t believe it. I rewind it again. It was an empty message with no recording.

I knew I was supposed to go to William to Detroit. 

September 2016-Reiki Newsletter

Reiki and the Five Elements

You may wonder what’s the relationship of Reiki and the 5 Elements and what the practice of 5 Elements could possibly bring to our Reiki practice?

First of all, what I mean by Elements is the building blocks of our “being”. The elements; Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether first defined by ancient Greeks to explain the nature of existence. However similar concepts existed in all ancient cultures around the world. They even say there is also a 6^th element, the mind. In short, what I mean is what constitutes our “human being” as body, mind and soul as well as the qualities that makes us a human being and what makes the Universe.   

In that sense, I see the knowledge and practice of 5 Elements as a great companion to my Reiki practice. For me, the purpose of Reiki practice is to “be the Reiki”, or to recognize that I’m already Reiki (the Great Bright Light). For me, what this means in practical sense,  is to live in a non-dual world with pure consciousness with unconditional happiness and peace, without any anger, fear or worry, with deep gratitude. It means to manifest my highest potential in life, and love my self and all living beings with infinite compassion.  A person who lives in this state of mind is well-balanced, in harmony and peace within and with everything around.

How could the practice of Elements help to achieve this state of mind? I think the practice of Elements does it in 2 ways; first by balancing the Elements, the building blocks; so that the person is in harmony within. A person who is in harmony can’t help but be in good health, and good state of mind and eventually in harmony with everything else (non-judging, accepting, surrendering). On the other hand, the practice of Elements also helps to let go of Elements which eventually helps to rid the Ego, the self, so that what stays behind is the True self.

I also see lots of similarities between what the Reiki symbols represent and the Elements. If we look one by one:   

Earth element represents groundedness. No wonder one feels safe, secure and free from any fear when grounded. It also reinforces our life purpose. When we ‘re balanced in Earth element, we acknowledge our right to be on this Earth, we recognize our uniqueness and uniqueness of our abilities. Earth element is also nurturing, we nurture our own qualities as well as bringing the best in others. In our body, it’s represented in our bones and muscles.

If we have too much Earth energy, we may be stuck, not flexible and unable to make the next move. Too little Earth energy makes us spacy, not able to make decisions, even angry, agitated and depressed.

Water is about the flow, the flexibility. Water takes the shape of its container, is flexible. Water represents the creativity. Life started in water and even fetus grows in amniotic fluid. Water is represented in our body in all fluids, the blood, the saliva, the recreative systems, kidney and bladder. If we’re balanced in our water element, it gives us the ability to flow with life at ease.

If we have too much water, it’s hard to concentrate and we may lose ourselves in the current of our thoughts and feelings. If we have too little water, we can’t flow to life and dry of creativity.

Fire is the passion. It’s the force behind the action and ambition. Fire is also the power that triggers all of our body systems. It’s represented in our body in digestive system, there is literally a chemical reaction going on, a little fire, in our bodies. The force of fire is transformative, just like it transforms food into energy, it can help to purify us and move to the next stage of our lives.

If we have too much fire, we may burn and deplete ourselves out and may not be tolerant to others. If we have too little fire, we don’t have the ambition to do anything.

 Air is about movement, motion and change. As wind blows, separates the clouds and brings out the sun air element can move unnecessary thoughts and bring clarity to our minds. It has the ability to move freely in a playful way and expand to infinite. Air is subtle but powerful, it hosts the prana, the life force. In our bodies, it’s represented in lungs.

If we have too much air, it may be hard to concentrate, focus or grow roots. If we have too little air, we may resist to life and resist to change.

Ether is what holds all elements together. It enables all elements to exist together. It’s open, inclusive and accommodating. It’s represented in our awareness. Our awareness can shrink or expand as space.

When we have too much space, we may be disconnected. If we have too little space, we are confined and stuck.

If we practice balancing our elements, we find ourselves deeply grounded to the earth, we feel safe, secure without any anger, fear or worry and with a correct life purpose, we flow tru life with ease, we’d have the passion for right action and transformation and a clear mind and expanded awareness.

This is the exact same space the 5 Reiki precepts point out: No anger, No worry, Deep Gratitude, Honest action, and Compassion for self and all.

What are the ways to practice Elements? There is a structure called  a stupa that represent, amongst many other symbolism, 5 Elements in Buddhism . I was very lucky to visit and circumambulate some sacred stupas (Shanti stupa in Ladakh, Boudhanath in Kathmandu as well Dochula pass with 108 stupas in Bhutan). To my experience the practice of 5 Elements gets very easy when you’re at the presence of a sacred stupa. However, we can’t find a stupa in our everyday life, let alone a sacred one. What we can do instead is a visualization of a stupa in our body or reciting the syllables that represent each Element. With this practice of mindfulness, our elements get in order and balanced which brings balance and harmony inside and out.  

Shanti Stupa in Ladakh, India

Boudhanath, Katmandu, Nepal

108 Stupas in Dochula Pass, Bhutan

We’ll practice few of these meditations during the Reiki Day next week. Hope to see you all at Hoffner House in Northside on Sunday September 25^th, 2016. 

Here is the invite: 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1828851080734680

Love & Light,

Zeynep

Reiki Newsletter: May 2016

Dear friends,

I did this few times in the past, like after I was trained with Frans in 2008, I called my past students for a re-training based on my new understanding of Reiki.

It happened again, this time, after reading Robert Fueston’s book; Reiki :The transmission of Light; I realized the mistakes I was making during my classes on history of Reiki and I decided to stop talking about Reiki history and simply refer anyone curious about the evolution of Reiki in the West to Robert’s book.

Robert Fueston is one of the pioneer Reiki researchers, and we’re very lucky to have him talk to us on Cincinnati Reiki Day this Sunday, May 22^nd.

First of all, I’m fascinated by the effort Robert has spent to find and train with Mrs. Takata’s original masters or their senior students. Robert has compiled and classified how Mrs. Takata’s teachings evolved, including evolution of attunements and he provides a list of practices that are originally taught by Mrs. Takata vs. non-traditional practices adapted later into the system of Reiki.

Oh and the mistakes I was making….I realized that Iris Ishikuro is not Mrs. Takata’s cousin but one of her Master students. Just because I heard this story from my first Reiki Master, I continued the misinformation. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Mrs. Takata gave priority to spirituality aspect of Reiki and then the physical aspect, and that she allowed her teachings to be taped and it’s not all oral teaching tradition after all. In fact Mrs. Takata was working on a book herself. You may discover many other facts about history of Reiki form Robert’s book.

http://www.amazon.com/History-System-Shiki-Reiki-Ryoho/dp/0997026804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463671128&sr=8-1&keywords=robert+fueston

It’s an incredible opportunity to hear his research first hand from Robert. I can’t wait to listen to him on Sunday. Hope you all can make it. The morning session is for Reiki Masters from 9:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M $10 (cash only.

Potluck Lunch 12:30-1:30 everyone is invited!
The afternoon session is open for all levels of Reiki practitioners from 1:30-5:00. $10 (cash only)

Please RSVP to Maria Kammerer at attunecincinnati@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/453000971564213

Love & Light,

Zeynep

Living with 100 things challenge

I’ve been doing an adopted version of the “Living with 100 Things” challenge for a couple of years now. The best thing about this challenge is that you can make up your own rules and goals; and I shamelessly made up mine. I don’t think I could ever do the whole challenge, nor I would want to; but there are people out there who can do it and that’s very inspiring. I bow to them!

One problem with my challenge was my tracking. I didn’t have a good base and I changed my rules along the way a little bit. Hey! I’m doing this for fun (and to raise awareness and to help Mother Earth) and I’m the queen of my rules. Yet, I wish I had a more accurate measuring system at the beginning. When I first started, I knew I wanted to limit this challenge to my clothing items only and even within that, I had some rules: No outerwear, no underwear, no socks, no shoes, no scarfs (I have a serious problem there!) and gift items don’t count.  It was simply an effort to reduce my everyday clothing, and I stick to this rule to this day. It’s just that I missed to count some items  at the beginning, oooops  L  With that, I know I still had well over 300 items when I started. Well, that shocked me, but don’t judge me until you take a count of your inventory J

Over the years, I made a twist to my goals but I didn’t change the overall goal of coming down to 100 clothing items. The twist I made was to have an additional goal that min 50% of my total clothing inventory will be previously owned items.

Drum roll please….. As of Friday  May 13^th 2016, I have a total of 163 clothing items vs over 300 items when I first started (that’s 54% reduction) and 47% of this (77 items) are previously-owned . That means even though I’m still 60% over my ultimate goal (163 items vs. 100 items), I’m about to reach to my 2^nd goal of having 50% previously owned items.

That’s enough math, let me talk little bit about why I still have this inventory.

The root cause, of course, is the attachments. Attachments to clothes that I didn’t even wear for 10 years;  clothes I got from India (that I wore not more than couple times), sentimental clothes (I still have old Cincinnati Yoga School t-shirts, the school closed 10 years ago),  some well-kept, classical, night/holiday wear (that I don’t wear more than once a year). Also I notice more than 70% of my inventory is summer clothes, just too many t-shirts and tank tops. May be I need to do a detachment ceremony to part from my beloved items.  This gives me enough thought until next year!

 If you ever inclined to do this, my advice would be:

-          Define your rules and decide what you want to include and exclude early on

-          Decide your tracking/measurement base

-          Just have fun!

In the meantime, thanks to the pioneers of this movement!

This is the blog of the original father of this concept: http://davidmichaelbruno.com/

I like Miss Minimalist’ blog : http://www.missminimalist.com/

Here are the 6 people who did this: http://www.ticoandtina.com/6-people-who-own-100-things-less-voluntarily-counting

Love & Light,

Zeynep

Reiki Newsletter-April 2016

Dear Friends,

There is so much going, I want to share it all with you.

We are thrilled to welcome Frans Stiene back to Cincinnati for another Shinpiden (Reiki Master/Teacher) class. Frans is my awesome Reiki teacher and he visits us from Australia every year. Frans teaches Reiki from a traditional Japanese perspective as a way to find the True Self. Being Reiki is Finding the True self. How do we become Reiki? That’s what Frans teaches based on Mikao Usui’s teachings.

This will be the largest class ever. We have 30 people on the Intensive day and over 25 people for the Shinpiden class. I forgot how many times I took this class before. If you’re curious why I took this class many times, read this article:

http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/article/why_i_keep_coming_back_to_shinpiden

Hope you can join us in one or all of these events.

There is one event, you don’t want to miss, that’s the Public Talk. Frans graciously offers a free public talk every year. His talks are always enlightening, engaging and fun. This is your chance to meet him and listen to Japanese Art of Reiki. This year, there will be a book signing for Frans’ latest book: The Inner Heart of Reiki. It’s an amazing book that takes you deeper into your practice and teachings of Reiki.

REIKI AT VICTORY OF LIGHT

Come join us this Saturday April 9^th at 5 pm in Sharonville Convention Center for a Reiki presentation and healing experience during Victory of Light Festival.  Invite anyone who may want to learn about Reiki, or if you’re a practitioner, come to share Reiki. Everyone will get Reiki experience, everyone!

Http://www.victoryoflight.com/pages/index.cgi/201604_festival?disp=Welcome

FREE REIKI PUBLIC TALK WITH FRANS STIENE

Wednesday April 20^th 7pm-9pm

Clifton Cultural Arts Center

Herrick Gallery

3711 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45220

https://www.facebook.com/events/1714917725406048

There is free parking at the Recreation Center behind CCAC or at McAlpin street.

SHINPIDEN/REIKI MASTER TEACHER TRAINING WITH FRANS STIENE
April 22-23-24, 2016

http://us.ihreiki.com/courses/detail/cincinnati_shinpiden_reiki_iii_April

1 day INTENSIVE (for those who has taken Shinpiden before)

Thursday April 21, 2016

http://us.ihreiki.com/courses/detail/cincinnati_1_day_student_intensive

 Sorry all individual sessions with Frans are already  full!

CINCINNATI REIKI DAY IS COMING!!!!

May 22, 2016

9:30AM-5PM

Hoffner Lodge, Northside

https://www.facebook.com/events/453000971564213

This year we will have a special guest joining us for Cincinnati Reiki Day. Robert Fueston founder of The Reiki Preservation Society and author of, Reiki: Transmissions of Light, Volume 1 The History and System of Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho.

It will be a unique opportunity to learn about the history of Reiki, Mrs. Takata's teachings, and the growth of Reiki in the West, from a top Reiki researcher. Robert is a librarian and an avid researcher. He has trained directly with some of the masters of Reiki, including Mrs. Takata's students and with Japanese teachers.

You can find his book on amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0997026804/ please buy the one being sold by The Reiki Preservation Society. This book is a must read for any serious Reiki practitioner or Teacher. There will be a book signing at Cinci Reiki Day.

RSVP for Reiki Day to Maria Kammerer at attunecincinnati@gmail.com

HEALING CO.

Are you are experiencing stress, are you struggling with challenging life situations, are you dealing with serious pain from chronic conditions? Do you want to heal yourself? If so, my good friend Sundar has started a new initiative and you are a prime candidate for his Healing Club.  

 For eight weeks, on a weekend day to be finalized, you will need to volunteer an hour of your time, and join the free online live cast. Each week, you have to fill out a short feedback form to help track your progress in healing. Send an email to reiki@presevo.com, and you’ll have a one-time free access to this 8 week trial. Be quick, iIt’s starting on April 15^th.

SUBMIT YOUR REIKI HEALING STORIES

 As a Reiki practitioner, you’ve no doubt experienced healing and other miracles. Now there is a way you can share these stories. Check out the flyer to submit your stories to share them with the world!

 http://ReikiHealingStories.com

SUPPORT YOUR SPRITUAL JOURNEY WITH REIKI- A YEAR LONG PROGRAM

Sundar is about to start another class to help aspired practitioners to deepen their spiritual journey through Reiki. This is a yearlong experiential program, where participants meet every other week.  I’ve been attending these classes for over a year and they’re AWESOME!  I’d strongly recommend this program. Send a message to reiki@presevo.com, or check out the attached flyer for more info.

ANIMAL REIKI ANYONE?

Another great news is for Animal Reiki practitioners! Kathleen Prasad, the author of many Animal Reiki books is coming to Michigan. Kathleen will teach a Reiki III / Animal Reiki Teacher training in August in Ann Arbor, Michigan. You can find event info in: http://annarborshinpiden.com

ON THE PERSONAL FRONT

So many people have been asking me what I’ve been doing to heal myself and how I’m doing. As most of you know, I was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago. I’m compiling all the Complementary and Alternative therapies I’ve been doing in a Handbook. If you know anyone who’s impacted by cancer or any other serious chronic disease, or anyone under stress due to their health condition, please feel free to share my e-mail and I can share all these stress reduction and healing tools and techniques I have compiled. So, We all can heal ourselves!. turquoizen@yahoo.com

Reiki Hugs,

Love & Light,

Zeynep Premdasi Yilmaz

India Trip Notes-Rishikesh

Rishikesh and the morning dew (from Daya's camera)

On our way to Rishikesh, we stopped to meditate in a cave, said to have been  Vashishta’s. Vasistha is known as the first sage of Vedanta philosophy and had Lord Rama as his disciple. Yoga Vasistha, one of my favorite texts, is the discourse documented between Vasistha and Lord Rama. I read it 10 years ago and this was a reminder for me to go back and read this masterpiece again.

Vasishta's cave

Located on the banks of Ganges and gateway to the Himalayas, Rishikesh is the unofficial yoga capital of the world. I loved it 10 years ago and I fell in love with it again. I felt safe, secure, and a sense of belonging 10 years ago and I felt exactly the same now. I’ve heard many times people talk about Rishikesh as “spiritual” and it’s twin sister Haridwar as “religious”. Surprisingly it feels exactly like that, I feel the heavy dogma at Haridwar and that’s exactly why I like Riskesh better. Rishikesh is light, Rishikesh flows, Rishikesh doesn’t care about your religion.

Ram Jula 

There is an ashram in every corner and the yoga classes and yoga teacher trainings mushroomed across the city. Beyond yoga, I was surprised how outdoor adventure activities like rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, even zip lining multiplied.  Now you come across a 4x4 trucks with rafts everywhere and lots of Westerners come here for outdoor sports.

We visited Sivananda ashram every morning and had our morning meditation there.

Swami Sivananda in 1930's

 Swami Sivananda came to Rishikesh in the 1930’s and popularized meditation and yoga. We visited his cottage on the river, the temple where “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama” has been chanted non-stop since 1942.We had a very nice surprise at the Divine Life Society where the current president Swami Vimalananda has invited us to his daily discourse and even chanted  “Oh God Beautiful” for us. He is 84 years old and giving discourses every day!  It was unbelievable to sit at his foot, get his blessed food and listen to his satsang.

receiving prasad from Swami Vimalananda

At sunset, there is one location to go in Rishikesh: Parmarth Niketan ashram. Founded by Swami Chidanand Saraswati, it’s the largest institution in Rishikesh. 

Swami Chittanand Saraswati

I have fond memories from my previous trip. I especially owe gratitude to Swamiji because after reading his book, A drop of Nectar that he gave us during our satsang in 2005, I decided to quit eating meat. Also that book planted the seeds for environmental awareness and sustainability for me.

Parmarth Niketan ashram

Parmarth Niketan holds a beautiful aarti ceremony every evening and is definitely a popular destination for tourists as well as locals. We participated the aarati right on the water and released our wishes to the river. My wish was, again, to let go of anything that is not in harmony with my true self, let go of any past karma and its manifestations in this life and past.

The next day, we visited and meditated in the beautiful domed Kriya Yoga Ashram. They kept the main meditation hall pitch dark, away from any sensual distraction, perfect to pull all attention, just like the caves we visited. One evening we were invited to the ashram of a modern spiritual teacher, Sri Vanamali Devi, and had a satsang together. She allowed us to see her meditation room, which I’m eternally grateful for. The energy was extraordinary.

Mataji Vanamali Devi

For me, the highlight of our Rishikesh visit was our purification ceremony in Ganges. We went to a beach up the river which is way more quiet (and clean) than the banks in Rishikesh. As part of the purification ceremony, we wrote our wishes to leaves and released them to the river. My wish, as usual, was to release and to let go of any karma and its manifestations and anything that is not in harmony with my true self. In India, modesty is important. You cannot wear swim suits to swim in the river. We all had extra cloths to cover up. It was so much fun to hold hands with girl friends and dip ourselves into the refreshing waters of Ganges. As tradition, we dipped 3 times. If there was one moment in life where I felt totally pure, almost transparent, without any burden or identity, it was after the dip in Ganges. I literally felt the Ganges washed away all that is not needed, which I am eternally grateful for.

1-2-3- Dip

We also had free time for sightseeing and shopping. It’s hard to resist to buy books in India, it’s so cheap. Even though I was determined not to, I ended up buying few books, Babaji and 18 Siddha Kriya Traditions among them. I also visited the organic super store of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Now both Baba Ram Dev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar are into organic /ayurvedic products in India. Times are changing! Guru’s are getting into business (for good reason though!!).

On our last day, we had free time in the morning and I visited Swami Dayananda’s ashram, the ashram we stayed in 10 years ago. To my sadness, I learned that Swami Dayananda had passed away 2 weeks prior. He was an incredible Vedanta teacher which I loved reading his books and commentaries in Vedanta. Swami was also the Guru of India’s current Prime minister Narendra Modi. Deep bow to Swamiji!

That same morning a couple people from our group went to visit a charity school founded by Shahla Ettefagh. Shahla is an incredible person who came to India as a tourist, stricken by the poverty she witnessed, started a non-profit school (Mother Miracle) for under privileged kids. She expanded her operations to empower girls and young women as well as to provide nutrition and vocational education to youth. Hats down to Shahla!  She helps me have hope for the future of humanity.

Mother Miracle School

Anandamayee Ma's ashram in Haridwar

Anandamayee Ma-The Bliss Permeated Mother

That same afternoon we took a 45 minute bus to Haridwar. Haridwar is also known as the town that hosts Kumbha Mela gathering in every 12 years. We’ll visited the ashram of Swami Keshabananda, which contains the ashes of Lahiri Mahasaya. Then we went  to the ashram of Anandamayee Ma, the “Joy-Permeated Mother.” Her ashes are kept here in a special shrine, and the house where she lived is preserved. It’s so easy to feel the love permeated from this lovely being. Her love is still palpable. 

Lastly, this trip would not be possible without the selfless efforts, pure spiritual intentions and deep devotion of our Ananda tour leaders. They relentlessly worked for each one of us to get the most out of our experience and deepen our spiritual connections. 

Deep bow to them all!

Rishikesh Ghats Farewell until next time...