Friday…..Day 2, Summer Solstice…..

Friday…..Day 2, Summer Solstice…..

Well had a very rough night’s sleep, the wind was howling. To sleep in these basic conditions, one has to be a hardened camper!! Really not sure how Sangeet did it. She was having the cold shower at 3am when the outside temperature drops to it lowest, I was frozen!

Once I did manage to get up, still feeling like I needed a lot more sleep. I tried out the showers, apparently if you stay in the showers long enough the water is supposed to get warm……this is so untrue, I had my arm under the shower for at least 15 minutes the water remained cold, very cold!! Okay now we have an issue I need at least one warm/hot shower a day, preferably as soon as I awake…I washed my main parts (I will let you figure that out!). Headed over to the main shelter.
Breakfast was being served.

There is a solstice diet, which was designed by Yogi Bhajan (except for lunch).

The Solstice Menu

Breakfast
2 Oranges

2 Bananas

Solstice Potato Soup

Lunch

Hummus
Quinoa
Tabouli

Dinner
Mung Beans and Rice

Beets and Carrots

Solstice Hot Sauce
Golden Milk

Yogi Tea

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Naturally, the lines for the portable restrooms move along quickly!

Golden Milk is milk with turmeric paste dissolved in it, and it is served at night after White Tantric to ease muscles sore from long hours spent in meditation. This is what Yogi Bhajan had to say about turmeric: “There is nothing more effective than turmeric to clean your body and purify it. There is nothing more precious on this earth but turmeric. Turmeric, it solves every problem which cannot be solved.

After breakfast we had the karma sewa meeting. On registration the participants can choose what karma sewa they would like to do.

What is Karma Yoga?

Karma Yoga (also called Seva) is a necessary aspect of Kundalini Yoga. It is based on the law of Karma: “Everything you do, comes back to you tenfold”. This is true for all your negative actions, but also for whatever you do positive and selflessly. Without Karma Yoga, there is a risk that doing yoga just for yourself, instead of slowly dissolving the ego, hardens it and leads to narcissism. Karma Yoga supports the creation of community and leads to friendship, love and group consciousness.

My karma yoga was security, we had to monitor traffic coming in and out of the solstice site, also have a walk around the area making sure people are parking where they should…

At the beginning of the meeting we did the global sardhana meditation.

What is the Spirit Voyage 40 Day Global Sadhanas?

The Spirit Voyage 40 Day Global Sadhanas is an opportunity for you to come together with a global sangat (spiritual community) representing over 75 countries and numbering over 20,000 participants. For 40 days, led by Spirit Voyage, a community comes together to all practice the same Kundalini yoga meditation, mantra or kriya. Participation is free. The Spirit Voyage 40 Day Global Sadhanas are a place for you to come home to yourself, to feel connected to a community no matter where in the world you are, to get the inspiration to stick to practices that you might not otherwise try, and to experience the incredible power of Kundalini yoga for yourself. They are gifts to you from you, and each has its own special gift to unwrap. During the Spirit Voyage 40 Day Global Sadhanas, people from different nationalities, races, faiths, genders, sexual orientations, and walks of life lay all their differences aside and celebrate their similarities as beings of light and as people of love.

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The theme of this years summer solstice was ‘Recognize the Other Person is You’

For your information here is the information on the meditation

Ram Das Puri

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After the meeting we went to Dr Sham Rang Singh Khalsa’slecture on the kara. We first met the Dr in Nevada City. The lecture was very good.

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Due to stomach issues I am unable to eat the solstice food, luckily there was freshly cut watermelon, in this heat it was great to eat that. Temperature during the solstice event was between 90 to 100 degrees F.

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Now time for my security sewa, I was given a radio, which was probably a big mistake. I kept trying to order pizza. Also kept saying there is a taxi waiting for Jesus. As you can tell my security sewa did not last long! Time to find another sewa group!

In the evening there was an international party, this is held by one of the sangat members, they cooked a fantastic dinner, also hosted the party at their home where around 300 solstice members attended. This year we were also blessed by 25 yogis from China and 25 from Taiwan. One of the Chinese ladies gave a demonstration of Kung Fu and Thai Chi.

The party was fantastic. Great music and amazing food.

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For email subscribers
International Party

International Party (2)

Home…..

Home…..

Early start, here in Espanola Sardhana starts at 3:40 am, at 4am there is a Kundalini yoga set, followed at 4:45 with chanting, the Gurdwara programme starts at 6am.

Afterwards we went back to the house where Shanti phenji had made a very tasty breakfast, it was great to see the whole family taking time out of their busy schedule to eat together. Something we should all take on board.

We then got ready and off to the Gurdwara, it so feels like we have been away on holiday and now come back home to Espanola. The sangat are amazing, so warm and friendly. After the programme where we were fortunate to hear kirtan by Chardi Kala Jatha, we had lungar. It was very nice talking to the sangat, they all came over said Fateh and gave us big hugs.

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The children always participate in the programmesIMAGE_1489.jpeg

For the evening we had planned to go to the cinema with Harijot Singh, to watch superman. Others were mentioning about a drum party. Which also sounded like fun.

As we had a few hours spare we drove to Tesuque village, an upmarket area outside Santa Fe. The houses are all adobe and looked huge.

Sangeet had been finding the desert heat during the day very intense so decided to take it easy at Shanti phenji's house. I met Harijot Singh at the Gurdwara. They were celebrating the birthday of Pritpal Singh. Harijot also mentioned the drum party, we agreed that we can go to the cinema any day. At the drum party we met Gurjot Singh and his wife, it was great to see them.

Later that night I dropped Gurjot and his wife home and Harijot at the Gurdwara. It was great catching up with everybody.

 

Having a wander…..

Whilst Sangeet was having a rest, I had a walked to the shops around Robertson and Pico (areas of LA) It was nice to people watch, also I would stop outside Starbucks to regularly check my emails and iMessages!

When I got back to the house, we headed out to the Gurdwara on Preuss and stayed there for around thirty minutes, it has such a fantastic vibration!

Some history on the Gurdwara/ ashram:

Arriving in Los Angeles in 1968, Yogi Bhajan began his mission to share the teachings of Kundalini Yoga, and to help people live healthy, happy and holy lives. He first established Guru Ram Das Ashram as a yoga center in West Hollywood, and it was here in Los Angeles that Kundalini Yoga in the Western World was born.

In the spring of 1972, we moved to the current location, a former chiropractic and hydrotherapy office, where it was established as a formal Gurdwara.

Yogi Bhajan lived at Guru Ram Das Ashram until the early 1980s. He resided in the small living quarters in the back, joined by his wife, children and staff. In that humble living room countless came for his guidance, the Khalsa Council was born, both spiritual and world leaders have been welcomed and our babies were named.

What is now our gurdwara with marble floors, then served as a sadhana room and gurdwara in the morning, yoga centre by day, and is where Yogi Bhajan, the Siri Singh Sahib, sat and taught classes two nights a week for over 15 years.

He continued to share his teachings with the Sadh Sangat (holy congregation) here for many years until his passing in 2004. Yogi Bhajan said, “I am here to serve anyone who says ‘Sat Nam,’ even once.”

Guru Ram Das Ashram is a sacred place, where for over 35 years people of all walks of life have come to be healed, to meditate, to bow to Guru, and to find peace. The walls of Guru Ram Das Ashram now resonate with the vibration of over 1900 Akhand Paths that have taken place on a weekly basis since those early days, and the chanting, prayer and divine Kirtan from gurdwara services that have been held here 365 days a year since its inception. Countless individuals have come to partake of the Guru’s langar that has been served daily since the mid-1980s.

By Guru’s grace, all of these traditions continue, with daily gurdwara and kirtan, langar, meditation, seva and weekly akhand paths. Literally the birthplace of Sikh Dharma International, Guru Ram Das Ashram in Los Angeles truly is, to us, the “Golden Temple of the West.”

On the way to see Siri Vishnu…..

On the way to see Siri Vishnu…..

We walked over to Siri Vishnu’s office, as he is going go give us a lift go their house. On the way we walked through Madison Square Garden. A nice pleasant park, then we headed towards The Empire State building. Boy that building is tall!

Also met this chap telling me off!

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Ram Das Puri…..

Ram Das Puri…..

We headed back to Espanola around 7pm. Decided to grab a very good friend of ours Deva Singh and head up to Ram
Das Puri to see the stars. Unfortunately it was a cloudy night but after a while the clouds started to disperse. Deva has helped me so much whilst I have been on the course. As well a Sangeet, Deva has been the person I could turn to when I had any issues or just needed to talk.

Deva, thank you so much!!

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