After taking over a year's break, I am once again inspired to offer the weekly Radiance Rising Circles, beginning this Saturday, April 21^st, 2012. This time around, the circles will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Center, corner of 4th & C Streets in Ashland, on Saturdays 10:30am - 12noon. As before, the circles will be free of charge and open to everyone each week. The last time around, I offered the weekly circles for 15 months, and because there wasn't any money involved, the circles had a unique purity and sweetness about them. 

I am offering these circles because I really see the benefits of all the spiritual practices I do daily in my own life, and so I feel inspired to share the practices with others. It is very powerful to come together in prayer and meditation. I initially became inspired to offer circles after reading Book of Prayers by Mahatma Gandhi, who led interfaith prayer gatherings morning and evening each day, all throughout his political, revolutionary activities. In the book's introduction, Michael N. Nagler writes, "Squarely in the time-honored tradition of Hindu devotion, Gandhi accepted the validity of all forms of genuine worship. Love of God is love of God. At the same time, he explained, we need forms suited to our culture and even to our personality; since most of the ashramites were Hindu, so are most of the songs."

The simple chants that I lead, in a call-and-response singing format, are mostly Sanskrit chants that call upon Hindu gods and goddesses (primarily Shiva, Durga, Kali, Hanuman, Sita, Rama, Ganesha, and now I am learning a chant to Krishna), since I am a dedicated yogini on the Raja Yoga Path (with Ammachi and Neem Karoli Baba-ji as my Gurus), but I also sometimes lead chants to Green Tara, or chant Hallelujah, or chant for Peace... I am just a beginner at playing the harmonium: I had never played a musical instrument in my life, so I have stickers on the keys with the appropriate letters, and I've just started taking lessons with Krishna Deva (Prema Mayi's son).... so the chanting that happens at these circles is not performance kirtan, but rather it's a co-creation with whoever shows up and sings... and it's great when someone shows up to drum along with me! I always bring a drum and bells, and I welcome people to bring drums as well.... also, if you think you can't sing, don't let that stop you from attending ~ singing from the heart is so beautiful, whether it's perfectly sung on key or not!

Each week, I bring a reading to share after the chanting and silent meditation. In selecting the readings, I tune in to what is most inspiring to me at the time, and also to what I sense might be needed by others. At the circles, we chant mantras with the chakras, going from the root up to the crown at the beginning of the circle, and then chanting back down to the root to close the circles feeling grounded. We also send the healing energies (created by the practices) out for healing and peace wherever they are needed... 

Each person attending these Radiance Rising Circles will be given a free copy of my pocketbook, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living.

Radiant Cheers to the Spiritual Health of the human species on this Sacred Planet Earth!

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Flyer for Radiance Rising Circles designed by Gaelyn Larrick, a bright artistic star shining in our midst! ~ Photo of Teja (on flyer) taken by Britt Magadini, another radiant being shimmering on the river of life!

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People often ask me how I am so grounded and vibrant on a vegan diet. The answer is simply that I prepare healthy foods and I focus on spiritual practices that keep me centered. I choose vegan foods that are grounding such as beans, whole grains, roots, and dark green leafy vegetables, like the collard, arugula, and mizuna greens in this photo. For that meal, I sautéd the collard greens in walnut oil and tossed them with some leftover tempeh and red bell pepper. Then I drizzled organic flax oil over the raw mizuna and arugula.

In addition to simple, tasty greens that are full of iron, calcium, and many other vitamins and minerals, I continue to sit daily in a silent meditation practice that balances my chakras (energy centers in the subtle body) and keeps me centered in my heart. In my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, I describe meditation (and other spiritual practices) in an easy-to-read way that appeals to many people.

Currently, my favorite daily practice is one that I’m calling my “time out of time”, which I enjoy after my morning meditation. For my time-out-of-time practice, I light candles on my coffee table, then sit on the couch with a cup of hot tea. I begin by reading aloud my current vows (which I wrote on January 1^st), and then offering my tea to Neem Karoli Baba. After that, I sip the tea whilst reading spiritual teachings. Recently I have been reading books by Ram Dass. To read the book reviews, please click on the titles: Be Here Now, Be Love Now, and Still Here.

The past few mornings, since I am in between books, I’ve been reading the Vegetarian/Vegan Starter Kit (magazine) published by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and I will write a blog article with quotes from that publication once I digest it a little more. As a vegan yogini, when I read about the ill treatment of factory farm animals, I am filled with such a deep sorrow that I feel sick to my stomach and my heart aches. Thus, I feel very inspired to do my part to help raise awareness about this issue. In short, the animals and fish are suffering very much because of the dietary choices made by the human species. And, the choice to no longer eat animal products, but to instead eat a plant-based (vegan) diet, not only reduces the suffering of the animals, but it increases the good health of the humans and dramatically reduces the global greenhouse emissions. So, going vegan is a win-win-win situation: the creatures win, the humans win, and the planet wins!

More on this topic soon.

May all beings, including the cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys, be free to live happy lives.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s vegan dinner by Teja Shankara.

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I snapped this photo of myself on New Year’s Eve, after returning from my true home, the Amma Satsang. It was the perfect way for this yogini to end the year: chanting the Names of God and meditating with a loving sangha (spiritual community). Just the day before I had finished reading Ram Dass’ book, Be Love Now, so I was already feeling quite full of loving spiritual energies.

Be Love Now is truly more than just some papers bound together. Whilst reading about Ram Dass’ experiences with Neem Karoli Baba-ji, I felt as though I received spiritual transmissions, and my daily sitting meditation practice has deepened as a result.

What I loved most about this book is the way the sacred and the mundane are woven together, which is reminiscent of what Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba) taught. Primarily a “householder guru,” who himself was married with children, he spent much time counseling people on the ordinary aspects of householder life. Ram Dass describes the way loving service can transform even the ordinary act of grocery shopping:

“That’s the Hanuman mode, serving through love, opening and opening until you become the Beloved or the Beloved becomes you. You’re absorbed into that consciousness, and the Beloved’s being permeates yours. Then the ego perception shifts to the soul perception, the whole world is radiant, and the grocery store is your temple, full of souls.”

Ram Dass explains that in India “holiness is not confined to celibate sadhus or renunciates.” In fact, Maharaj-ji himself said that one can reach God while fulfilling his or her duties as a householder.

Of course we householders need to be disciplined and committed to our daily spiritual practices, and Ram Dass also offers much in the way of spiritual teaching and inspiration for keeping ourselves dedicated to the path. In one section that really struck a chord in me, Ram Dass points out that attachment is attachment on any plane. In reference to the loving and helpful guides we can access on the astral planes, he writes:

“By acknowledging such immaterial beings and planes as equally real – but not more real – than this immediate reality, you start to free yourself of attachment to any one plane or level of reality. Thinking of them as more real than this physical reality, however, can create more attachment. The attraction to the energies and mysteries of other planes can be a tremendous distraction or side trip from one’s path. Attachment is attachment on any plane.” 

In addition to sharing much about his guru Neem Karoli Baba, Ram Dass (and his co-author, Rameshwar Das) also highlight the incredibly inspiring accounts of many other Indian saints, including Anandamayi Ma, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nityananda, and more. I received darshan (a view or encounter with a holy being) from the photographs of several of these high beings.

And then what it comes down to, when I finished reading the book, is: can I apply these teachings to my daily life? Well, sometimes yes, and sometimes no… So, in the moments when I cannot rise above my own limitations, I am heartened by Ram Dass’ words in Be Love Now: 

“You can only go at the rate you can go…The only thing you can ask is that you keep awakening at the fastest rate at which you’re capable. You can’t go any faster than that…” 

That advice echoes my favorite part of his spiritual classic of several decades ago, Be Here Now, in which he wrote, “You can’t rip the skin off the snake. The snake must moult the skin. That’s the rate it happens.” (See my review of that book: Teja’s Review of Be Here Now by Ram Dass)

Obviously I highly recommend Ram Dass’ new book, Be Love Now. I have so much Gratitude for all the beautiful seva (service) that Ram Dass gives to help raise the consciousness of the human species. May all beings everywhere benefit from his work.

May all beings be happy and free.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Happy Teja on New Year’s Eve with Ram Dass’ book Be Love Now taken by Teja Shankara.

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Each year on January 1^st, I spend some time writing in my new desk calendar and picking an angel card for the year. Spiritual practices like these help keep me grounded and focused here on the earthly plane… As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, for 2011 I picked Release, and the year was indeed filled with much painful release work. So on the evening of December 31^st, 2011, when I had the thought, ‘What if I pick Release again for 2012?” I was filled with a sense of dread, but then I quickly thought, ‘Well, if I pick it again, I’ll just have to approach it with a different attitude!’

I had no idea that those thoughts were a psychic “warning” of what was to come the next day… until the moment when I picked Release again for 2012! When I picked the card, I just sat there staring at it for a long time. It felt like time stood still, like all the gods and goddesses were just waiting to see what this yogini would do with that one! Honestly, at first I just could not grok the information… I sat there bewildered and wondering if I might indulge in a little screaming, crying tantrum yoga fit… but then I remembered that before picking the card I had lit candles and waved incense all around my temple cottage while chanting the Hanuman Chalisa (along with Krishna Das’ CD “Flow of Grace”), and I had asked my Beloved Gurus, Amma and Neem Karoli Baba, to please pick the angel card through me. Remembering that I had asked them to pick the card, I began to see the humor in it all, and I was reminded of something I recently read in Ram Dass’ book Be Love Now (which I will be posting a review of soon):

“If a situation seems full of cosmic irony, that’s probably your guru. If your life seems to be running on crazy coincidences and synchronicity, that’s the guru too. The guru’s a rascal, always playing with you, always showing you where you’re not.”

It sure does seem like a crazy bit of cosmic irony, that I would pick Release again this year, especially since I worked so hard in the month of December to release as much as possible so that I could be “done” with that work. Ha! Good one, Gurus! Guess I’m not done with that work after all… However, I do see the opportunity that this hilarity presents: in 2011, I released a lot through grief and sorrow, and now in 2012 I get to learn how to release in new ways. I intend to learn how to let go with happiness and joy and song and dance and gratitude!

By evening, I was in a very funny mood, so funny that during my sitting meditation time, I kept laughing out loud… I was laughing because I was witnessing the absurdity – after all I’ve been through in the past 8+ years – of the mental fascination that still remains with earthguy lilas and attractions. In my laughter, I saw the first glimmer of what is hopefully to come: boredom and non-interest in earthguy attractions, the same kind of total boredom I feel when people around me have conversations about alcohol. (I haven’t had a drink, not even a glass of wine, in over four years, and now I have no interest whatsoever in alcohol or stories about it.)

In that vision of my future brahmacharini self, I saw that the boredom with alcohol came naturally, and so will the boredom with unreal romantic lilas. I just need to trust and be patient and cultivate the witness in each moment… and I pray that I won’t need to endure any more painful dramas before the boredom comes!

This Year 2012, I intend to lovingly and laughingly release anything and everything that blocks me from being fully Tejaswini, the name that Amma gave me, which means full of Light, Radiant, and Bright.

I pray that my healing release work will ripple out and benefit the Whole. May all beings have food, clothing, shelter, and peaceful sleep this year. May all beings be happy and free. 

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s 2012 Release angel card by Teja Shankara.

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I just can’t stop writing blog articles about my last pilgrimage to Mt. Shasta! You know when you have one of those peak experiences in life, and you just want to keep talking about it? Well, that’s how it is for me now with that sacred time on that holy mountain. In this photo, I am sitting at Bunny Flat, meditating on the majesty of Mt. Shasta, and relaxing my left knee which I had injured on my hike to Southgate Meadows the day before.  On that hike (see “A Vegan Yogini’s Radiant Shiva Bliss on Mt. Shasta!”), my left knee felt a little funny as I hiked into the meadows, but I ignored that funny feeling because I was so elated with the scenery. Well, when I stood up to hike back out (after lunching on the rocks at the top of the rushing waters), I was surprised at how much pain I suddenly felt in my left knee. As I began the long hike back to my car, I prayed to my Gurus (Ammachi and Neem Karoli Baba-ji), and I asked the Reiki Guides to send Reiki healing energies into my knee as I hobbled along… And, every few steps I leaned down and “iced” my knee in the rushing waters!

When I returned to my friends’ home for the Amma Satsang, I was surprised that my knee didn’t hurt anymore… And it didn’t hurt again until I got up to Bunny Flat the next day. As I sat there gazing at the mountain, I reflected on the strangeness of it all. You see, I had never had any problems with my left knee before those two days!

And now as I sit here typing, with a left knee that has been just fine since I returned home, I am delighting in the strange mysteries of life, especially the magical mysteries of that Sacred Shiva Mountain!

May all beings everywhere experience Delight in the Great Mystery. May all beings know the Happiness that arises from a Grateful Heart.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja by Mt. Shasta by Teja Shankara.

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This article is a continuation of the blog article posted on September 9^th, “A Vegan Yogini’s Radiant Shiva Bliss on Mt. Shasta!” As I shared in that blog, while hiking on Sacred Mt. Shasta (on September 4^th), I prayed to the mountain (and to my beloved Gurus, Ammachi and Neem Karoli Baba-ji) about my financial situation. Even though I have grown skeptical about the process of manifesting intentions (see “Manifesting Intentions”: a workable process in this decade?”), I said the following out loud to the mountain: “Please help me with my financial situation by September 16^th!”

In the “manifesting intentions” world, it is important to think positive thoughts and keep visualizing what you intend to manifest. Well, despite my growing worries (and despairing, negative thoughts) about finances, suddenly (and magically), over this past week quite a few job opportunities started coming my way! The most exciting one, which I was offered (and happily accepted) yesterday (September 15^th), is a part-time position of medical assistant at Morningstar Healing Arts. And, tonight I am going to give a Reiki session in someone’s home, since I now “have table, will travel” with my new business, Radiance Rising Reiki. So my financial situation is coming together, and today is September 16^th, the very date I asked for! 

I am filled with a Gratitude that is beyond words. I bow to the Great Mystery that is filled with a Magic which we cannot possibly understand with our little human brains.

May Divine Grace help all beings to have food, clothing, shelter, and peaceful sleep. May all beings know the Happiness that arises from a Grateful Heart.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Teja Bright in Lush Green Southgate Meadows (on Mt. Shasta), and of Teja’s feet by flowing waters in the meadow, taken by Teja Shankara.

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O Sacred Mt. Shasta,
I am praying for Divine Grace!

May all the beings in all the worlds be happy and at peace.

Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Mt. Shasta and Teja’s barefeet on Shasta taken by Teja Shankara.

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LIVE STREAMING AUDIO & VIDEO of the HANUMAN CHALEESAS BEING CHANTED FROM THE NEEM KAROLI BABA TEMPLE IN TAOS---

HAPPENING NOW UNTIL 1:08 pm Saturday September 10th US Mountain Time.

GO TO THE FRONT PAGE OF THE WEBSITE www.nkbashram.org AND SCROLL DOWN TO "WHAT'S NEW" AND CLICK ON THE LIVE STREAMING.

Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram

(From Yogini Tejaswini: I’ve been chanting along and it’s amazing!!! So much Gratitude!)

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Last weekend I continued my Mt. Shasta pilgrimages with a solo hike to Southgate Meadows. With bells on my ankles, and a cheery yellow dress, I felt like a sweet honeybee singing to the mountain spirits!

As I hiked through rocks and trees, chanting Om Namah Shivaya, my bare feet delighted in connecting directly with the sacred earth. I felt incredible Gratitude to be communing with such a holy power spot, and when I reached the meadows, the lush greenery and rushing water in all directions made me gasp with Pure Joy!

When I reached the upper meadows, I sat on the rocks next to a big patch of snow, silently eating my vegan tempeh sandwich and praying to my Gurus (Ammachi and Neem Karoli Baba-ji). After lunch I prayed to the Mountain about my financial situation. Although I am bright, intelligent, creative, compassionate, and well-intentioned, I have not yet secured the income I need for my basic living expenses. So I am praying, praying, praying for Divine Grace to help me! (And, if you know of any beings who have some abundance to share, please direct them towards the Donate button on this website’s Store!)

I took the photo above as I hiked back out… the lush green meadows were far behind me, and my heart was full of the Radiance of the sunshine, and of the Bliss of my beloved husband, Lord Shiva. A friend later told me that Mt. Shasta is considered to be a Shiva mountain… Indeed!

Jai Shiva Shankara! ~ Victory to Lord Shiva, who is Pure Consciousness and Pure Bliss!

May all beings everywhere know Radiant Bliss and Deep Gratitude. 

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Teja~Shiva~Shasta~Radiance, and of Teja’s happy bare feet (with hiking bells) taken by Teja Shankara.

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Recently I’ve been hearing rave reviews about Ram Dass’ new book Be Love Now, so it’s on my “to read” list, but before reading it, I thought I should read his first spiritual classic Be Here Now, which was initially published in 1971, the year after I was born! In this photo, I am reading Be Here Now up at the Panther Meadows campground on Mt. Shasta.

This morning I finished reading the book, and I’ll share a few highlights with you here ~

~ “The cateriller doesn’t say: “Well now. I’m going to climb into this cocoon and come out a butterfly.” It’s just an inevitable process….It’s only when caterpillerness is done that one starts to be a butterfly and that again is part of this paradox. You cannot rip away caterpillerness. The whole trip occurs in an unfolding process under which you have no control. Well: That’s a hard one!”

~ “At last I had to confront myself and see where I wasn’t. You’ve got to go at the rate you can go. You wake up at the rate you wake up. You’re finished with your desires at the rate you finish with your desires. The disequilibrium comes into harmony at the rate it comes into harmony. You can’t rip the skin off the snake. The snake must moult the skin. That’s the rate it happens.”

Well, obviously this yogini is needing to call in some Patience! My two favorite passages in Be Here Now (above) say that you cannot rip away caterpillerness (love that word!) and you cannot rip the skin off the snake!

So, what can we do about our present “predicament” – a word that Ram Dass uses throughout Be Here Now – while we are being patient? The answer, as usual, is daily sadhana, which means regular spiritual practice. Be Here Now is an excellent guide for spiritual practices, or if you’d like a more condensed version of similar information, then check out my pocket book, Radiance Rising: Spiritual Practices for Daily Living, available in both print and e-book versions on this website store.

In the section about mantras, Ram Dass describes Lord Rama in such a beautiful way. Ram’s life story is told in the ancient epic, the Ramayana. Ram was an Avatar who lived in India thousands of years before Lord Krishna (who incarnated about 5,000 years ago). Ram Dass writes:

“He is a beautiful dark being of great light, love and compassion, wisdom and power – in perfect harmony. Ram is the essence of who you are when you realize your true Self… Like the sun, he emits light and warmth and life force…. Keep realizing that God is It All… and therefore everything you look at is part of Ram. Everyone you meet is Ram who has come to teach you something.”

As a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba-ji, I deeply appreciated reading this book by Ram Dass. I am filled with Gratitude for all of the wonderful teachers and books along the way.

May all beings everywhere experience the Inner Light shining through the external darkness.

Om Shanti (Peace), 

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja reading Be Here Now taken by Jill Rothman.

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