Last weekend I attended a Blessing Way Circle for a friend who will be thirteen years old soon. The invitation had asked us to bring the gift of a single flower, along with words of wisdom and blessings for her future. That morning I walked downtown in the glorious autumn sunshine, stopped by the flower shop, and breathed in gratitude as I hiked along the flowing creek up to the gathering. On the trail, it was wonderful to watch people’s faces light up when they saw the big bright dahlia in my hand. Several people commented on how beautiful it was, and their joy increased my own.

I thought of the words that I had written down to give my friend, and I reflected on how beautiful it was that all of the women who were heading there were bringing words of wisdom from their own life constellations that were unique to them in that moment. I delighted in the passage of time and all of the changes it brings.

After gathering on blankets under some magnificent green trees, we sat in a sacred circle. Holding hands, we invited the spirits of our women ancestors to join us. A candle was lit, and the mother showered blessings on her daughter who will soon emerge from childhood to womanhood. Then we each offered our blessings along with our flowers. Here is what I said to her:

“I celebrate your birth and I offer this intention for your life: That you may be a master of the art of balance between REALLY loving people, places, and things, and not getting attached to those external people, places, and things…. So that you can stay centered in the Bliss of your own Being – so that you always know and love who YOU are! Blessings on being YOU!”

Several of the women echoed my own feelings when they noted how most of us women did not have blessingway ceremonies when we were young, and so attending these circles for the younger generation is a gift for us because it honors that place in ourselves. We all felt so honored and so grateful to be there in that circle.

Towards the end of the circle, one woman shared that any woman (and I would add that the same goes for any man) can call a circle for herself any time she needs to. I love that. I’m visualizing a world in which sacred circles are called regularly in abundance!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of dahlia in hand by Teja Shankara.

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Monday evening, at the Radiance Rising Circle, when we each said our name and a quality that we would like to call into our lives, I said, “Teja, grounded,” and I delighted in hearing the circle repeat that out loud three times. Any time we feel excited, or in love, or spiritually expanded (or all of the above!), we need to make sure we ground all of those ecstatic energies.

At the beginning of the New Year 2010, I wrote a blog entitled, “Getting Grounded in Times of Rapid Change.” I just re-read that article and found it quite useful myself! I especially enjoyed remembering the list of practical things to do for grounding, such as touching a tree or a stone or the earth; soaking feet in hot salt water; and focusing on the breath.

The chakra associated with the earth element is the Muladhara or root chakra, the energy center located at the base of the spine. Tuning in to how the energies feel in that center and visualizing the color red there can help to ground our energies. I also like to imagine that my root chakra is deeply connected down with the crystalline core of the earth.

Before chanting at the Radiance Rising Circles, we first chant the mantras associated with the chakras. We begin with the root chakra and chant up to the crown chakra. Then, after chanting and silently meditating and sharing spiritual teachings, we close the circle by chanting back down the chakras, so that we end the evening’s circle with our attention on the root chakra. Any time we raise our energies and vibrations with spiritual practices, it is good to bring those energies down to the root so that rather than feeling spaced out, we feel calm, centered, and grounded. As one woman pointed out, that is a good thing when you have to drive home after the circle!

The Sanskrit mantras that we sing with the chakras (the energy centers in our subtle bodies), are as follows:

7th Sahasrara (Crown) ~
Bliss of Union with Divine ~ Inner Guru ~ White ~ NG

6th Ajna (Third Eye) ~
Intuition ~ Purple ~ Om (or Aum)

5th Vishuddha (Throat) ~
Expression of Truth ~ Blue ~ Ham

4th Anahata (Heart, center of chest) ~
Love and Balance ~ Green ~ Yam

3rd Manipura (Solar Plexus, above navel) ~
Will ~ Yellow ~ Ram

2nd Svadhisthana (Belly, below navel) ~
Sensuality and Creativity ~ Orange ~ Vam

1st Muladhara (Root at base of spine) ~
Sense of belonging on Earth ~ Red ~ Lam

As the seasons change, there can be a tendency to feel restless and excited. When we witness ourselves feeling ungrounded, there are many ways to come back to our centers, including focusing our attention on our root chakra energies.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of leaves on ground and Teja by Teja Shankara.

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Cultivating gratitude is such an important spiritual practice. The next time you feel funky or sad, tune in to all of the things that you are grateful for, and see if that helps to transform your state. Lately I’ve seen the phrase “attitude of gratitude,” and I think that is a wonderful intention for life.

Today I am feeling incredible Gratitude for so many things. A few examples from my gratitude list: this cup of hot banch tea with maple syrup that I’m sipping as I type, the new flower clip I’m wearing in my headband (from Cute as a Button Design), the sun shining on the pine tree outside, the Reiki energy healings that I gave this morning, my bright sons, and the abundance of produce I bought at the farmers’ market yesterday. I could go on and on and on and on, and… ON!

From this state of gratitude I plan to pour pure organic pomegranate juice for my sons and me tonight, so we can raise our glasses high at the Fall Equinox at 8:08pm (PST). And while we sleep tonight, the Harvest Moon will bless this land with its Light.

I also give thanks today for all of you who read this Teja Blog. I write these articles with the intention to spread Light. Recently several people have expressed their gratitude for this blog, and for that I bow down with Gratitude.

Happy Harvest Moon to you all.

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photos of Fall Abundance and Autumn Teja by Teja Shankara.

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Yesterday my dear friend Judy and I attended a World Peace Prayer circle. It was a very nice gathering, and afterwards she joined me for a little kirtan (call-and-response singing) at my temple cottage. I played harmonium and sang “Shiva~Parvati, Namo Namah” and she sang the same back to me while playing a drum. We ended our chant session with a sweet chant to Sita~Ram. I could feel the healing sound vibrations buzzing in the room after she left, and I felt so grateful that my life is now filled with so much God.

I turned on my new Reiki CD, “Reiki healing WAVES” by Parijat, and enjoyed cooking myself a tasty vegan dinner. When the food was ready, I said out lout, “Dinner’s ready, honey,” and then I answered myself out loud, “Okay, honey!” Do you ever joke out loud with yourself like that?

When I sat down to eat, I was delighted by the taste sensations, so I took a photo and planned to write out the recipe, but then I got distracted by a 3-hour skype video call with my dearest soul sister Ananda. This morning I don’t recall the exact amounts of the ingredients, so I will just share how I made the vegan tempeh dinner, and you can adjust the amounts to suit your tastes.

First, if you remember to marinate the tempeh earlier in the day, it tastes better, but if not, then just marinate it while you’re cutting the onions. Tempeh is a fermented soybean food, and I have read that it is a healthier option than tofu. It has a really wonderful nutty flavor, too.

Sauté two small sweet onions (chopped in strips) in toasted sesame oil. Once the onions soften, add the tempeh (cut in strips), along with its marinade (toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a little water, garlic powder, ginger powder, black pepper, orange zest). Cover and let cook for ten minutes, then turn tempeh strips over and put chopped kale on top with the juice of about one-fourth of the orange. I put about 4 big Russian kale leaves and stems. Cover and let cook for about ten more minutes. Serve with rice. I made a combination of brown and wild rice that was really delicious with this vegan tempeh dinner.

Let me know how your version turns out!

May all beings have food to eat each day.

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja’s vegan tempeh dinner by Teja Shankara.

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Photo by Ashley Marie - CC license

We create our realities with our thoughts. Cultivating the witness, that part of our minds that objectively watches everything we are, allows us to clearly see all of our thoughts. Through the power of watching our thoughts, we gradually change the way we perceive the world. We shift from viewing the world as a serious court of justice to seeing this universe as a joyous playground. Like gleeful children, we get to play and celebrate during this lifetime we've been given. On the playground we enjoy ourselves fully, even if sometimes we scrape our knees or get our hearts broken! No matter what pains we go through, we can't let the heartbreaks keep us from opening up and having a good time on the playground.

Here is a bit of news from the fun I'm having lately on the Tejaswini Playground ~

~ By far, the most fun I’ve had lately was collaborating with my sons to create a video. One Sunday afternoon we transformed our temple cottage into a video production studio, and many hours (and much chocolate) later, we uploaded our video to YouTube. It is my yogini version of pop-star P!nk’s song “So What.” Dedicated to all broken-hearted beings out there, it is short, sweet, and delightfully uplifting. Please enjoy it by clicking on this link: Yogini Tejaswini's Parody of P!nk's "So What."

~ I also wrote a short blog article about the video: "Parody Video of P!nk's Song So What"

~ My most exciting news is that I am now offering Reiki sessions two half-days each week at Ashland Holistic Health, office of acupuncturist Jenn Collins. The space is warm and calm, and the energy feels great. I am filled with Gratitude for how easily and effortlessly it lined up for me to be there. With each session I give, the Reiki energy is getting stronger, and I am experiencing the preciousness of each human body. I feel so blessed to be a Reiki practitioner.

~ The Monday evening Radiance Rising Circles are ever evolving, as those who attend help shape what I offer. It is a co-creative, spontaneous arising of shared spiritual practices. Lately the format has shifted to chanting first, then silent meditation, and then more chanting. It was predicted ages and ages ago, that during this age the practice of kirtan (call-and-response singing) would spread to every village on earth… the reason being that during this age of hypocrisy, density, and greed, singing is the easiest way for us to connect with the Divine. That certainly is my personal experience!

~ I continue to enjoy blogging so much. Please enjoy my recent articles on Reiki: “Reiki Meditation on Mt. Shasta”  and “Reiki by the River”  as well as my latest article on veganism, entitled “Why Eat Vegan?”

~ After I wrote “Why Eat Vegan?” I sent the following message to our local food co-op, and asked them to print it in their next newsletter:

Greetings! I've been an Ashland Co-op shopper since 1993 when I moved to town. I have been a vegetarian for many years, and one year ago I shifted to eating a vegan diet. There are many reasons to go vegan, a few of which I outline in my blog article “Why Eat Vegan?”

Did you know that livestock production contributes more to global warming than all of the cars and trucks combined? And do you know that eating meat causes unnecessary suffering to the creatures? No matter how "humanely" or organically the meat is produced, the creatures still suffer.

Sometimes when I enter the Co-op, I am so offended by the smell of dead animals cooking, that I have to go straight to the aromatherapy oils and put them under my nose. I would love to see the Co-op, at the very least, join Paul McCartney's Meat Free Monday campaign.

~ By choice (and by destiny, if there is a difference!), I spend a lot of time alone: doing spiritual practices, studying, writing, and so on… during all that time on my “contemplative playground,” all sorts of reflections and realizations pass through me, and I love posting them on facebook and then reading people’s comments. This facebook post is my favorite:

"We create our realities with our thoughts, so we should always think positively, but sometimes our karmas, emotions, and hormones take over, making positive thinking a challenge, at best. During those times i witness my unpleasant thoughts, hold onto the Lotus Feet of God through chanting the Names, and read people's inspiring facebook posts... until things shift... and sometimes i drink some coffee too..."

~ My last bit of news is I finally found resolution with Rama! To read that story, go to the blog article called "Back in Rama Bhakti."

~ I'll end this newsletter with a quote from the Bhagavad Gita, 2:40:

"On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure.
Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear."

May you each enjoy the playground of your life!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

http://www.facebook.com/tejashankara

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About a month ago my older son showed me a really hilarious break-up video by a pop star named P!nk. Click here on the song title to view that video: “So What”

I could SO relate to the feelings that P!nk portrays in that video. I love how she uses humor (and even some crudeness) to act out the anger, despair, and sorrow that often come with the pain of a broken heart.

After watching that video several times, and laughing heartily each time, I couldn’t get the song and the images out of my mind. Gradually a plan developed for my sons and me to produce a parody video of that song.

So, this past Sunday we converted our temple cottage into a video production studio, and many hours later we uploaded our video to YouTube. Click here on the video title to view: Yogini Tejaswini’s Parody of P!nk’s So What.

Deep gratitude to my sons, Zak and Gabe, for accompanying me on instruments and for filming and mixing… I couldn’t have made this video without their help. They are amazingly bright and talented beings, and I bow to them.

I dedicate this video to all the broken-hearted beings out there. The sorrow of longing for that which cannot be is one of the most difficult emotions to bear. When I am in the depths of that grief, I tell myself (over and over), “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” (Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet) I also just keep chanting the Names of God, knowing that in due time the sorrow state will shift and I will then shine the Light even brighter than before. As I sing in the video, “Om Namah Shivaya. I wanna spread the Light!”

May all beings everywhere know Joy, even amidst the sorrows of life.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja playing harmonium (for So What (P!nk) Parody video) by Gabe Bendat.

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Last night my older son had an interesting dream, in which we were in a boat on the ocean, and a woman was offering us fish and butter. Due to my vegan diet, I said no, and then suggested to the boys that we dive down and find some seaweed to eat instead!

Why do I choose to eat a vegan diet? I choose to not eat meat, fish, eggs, and dairy for many reasons: because I care about the suffering of the creatures, because I care about the environment of this Beloved Mother Earth, and because I care about the health of my body.

There is no denying that the creatures suffer. No matter how “humanely” or organically the animal products are produced, the creatures still suffer. More than doing a lot of research (and there is plenty of information available for the scientific types), I turned inward and meditated on the fish and animals, and then I could no longer find any justification for eating animal products.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.” And Dexter Scott King, son of Martin Luther King, Jr., said the following: "Veganism has given me a higher level of awareness and spirituality." (Vegetarian Times, 10/95) I have found this to be true as well. Since I shifted to a vegan diet, my meditation practice has deepened and I feel more mentally clear and more spiritually awake. Now I more keenly sense the interconnectedness of all things.

Regarding the environment, I recently joined a page on Facebook, called The Green Club, which has very good information, including the fact that livestock production contributes more to global warming than all of the cars and trucks combined. For that reason, a town in Belgium has declared Thursdays to be meat and fish free days, and Paul McCartney has started a major campaign called Meat Free Monday.

There are also many studies indicating that vegans enjoy improved physical health. I feel so much bliss in my being when I am cooking organic vegan foods, and that bliss vibration goes into the food and then into the beings who eat the food. I am grateful that my son dreamt that I was suggesting we dive for seaweed instead of eating fish and butter. I see that as a positive sign, that he is integrating my vegan ethics into his being.

May all beings have food to eat each day. May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of organic produce from farmers’ market by Teja Shankara.

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A few days ago I posted a blog article about my potent Mt. Shasta meditation. While sitting on the mountain, I charged up the Reiki healing energies within my being, and I offered deep gratitude to the Universe. I was feeling especially grateful that day, because during our picnic lunch my brother and his wife announced that they are going to have a baby. This was really big news, since they had been trying to get pregnant for two years!

Of course we couldn’t help but wonder if the Reiki energy healing sessions had helped her get pregnant. We probably won’t ever know for sure, but it seems likely that the Reiki may have helped, because I gave her Reiki healings during the two-day ovulation period this time, and this time she got pregnant!

The day after our hike on Mt. Shasta, we took a picnic lunch to Mill Creek Campground, where I gave a Reiki healing session to Kasey again. That was one of the most special moments of my life, and my eyes are filling with tears as I type this. It was so amazing to put my hands on her belly, knowing that my niece or nephew is growing inside. I am so happy for Nathaniel and Kasey, and so grateful that I can be a part of this experience, both as a Reiki Practitioner and as Auntie Teja!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja giving Reiki energy healing to Kasey (at Mill Creek Campground) by Teja’s Mom.

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On August 11^th I posted a blog called “Issues with Rama,” in which I outlined the things that bothered me when I read The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon (North Point Press, New York, 2001, 2003). I posted the blog link on Facebook and received a few comments, but they did not help me resolve my issues with Rama. For the past four weeks I have felt an underlying distress at my inability to get back into devotion to Rama. During that time, I journaled, prayed, worried, and waited.

Earlier today, a thought passed through that did not seem to be part of my regular thinking mind. Rather, this thought kind of floated by, as if out on a screen somewhere beyond me. The thought was, ‘Couldn’t you just start chanting to Ram again, and just forget about all that?’ My rational mind quickly answered, ‘Nope – I gotta find true resolution in my own heart. I can’t just brush it aside and pretend to be resolved.’

So then, this evening, while cooking a pot of curried lentils and chanting along with my Mukti CD, I suddenly felt inspired to turn on a Krishna Das chant to Ram, “Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.” (I searched YouTube, and couldn’t find the exact chant from his “Heart Full of Soul” CD, but I did find a video of him singing to Ram with beautiful illustrations from the Ramayana. To view, click here on Shri Ram Jai Ram.) As soon as I started chanting along with those beloved syllables, I fell on the kitchen floor sobbing.

There was no grand intellectual resolution in which I suddenly understood everything that Rama did. Rather, there was one instant of feeling the Pure Love that is Ram. It really was as simple as just chanting Ramanama, the holy Name of Lord Ram. From the depths of my heart I wept, feeling the sweetness of that Reunion.

The funny thing is, about an hour before falling on the floor sobbing, I took this photo of myself, and I named it “teja_bhakti.” At the time, I didn’t understand why I named the photo that, since I wasn’t feeling any more devotional than usual, but once I fell into Love with Rama again, I realized the significance of the photo’s name. Indeed, I am back in Rama Bhakti, the Devotion to Ram. I am thinking about Rama and Sita’s Pure Love and understanding the devotion between them.

I am thinking of Gandhi-ji, and how he uttered “He Rama,” which means “Oh God,” even as his assassin shot him in the chest. And I am also thinking of my Guru, Sri Neem Karoli Baba-ji, and how he said “Ram” repeatedly throughout his days.  During my little bout of issues with Rama, I tried to tell myself that Gandhi-ji and Neem Karoli Baba-ji loved Rama, so I should too, but that didn’t work because I needed to find it for myself. Now that I have found the Love for Rama in my heart once again, I feel so relieved. Jai Sri Rama!

May all beings everywhere know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja Bhakti by Teja Shankara.

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While my parents were visiting Ashland for my cousin’s wedding last week, we had a cool and rainy day. At first I witnessed myself feeling a bit funky over the weather, but then I surrendered and made the best of it. For some reason, dressing a bit bohemian often cheers my mood, so I put on a bright red shirt, a floral skirt over a pair of jeans, and a colorful silk headband over my head. Thus adorned, I enjoyed an interesting conversation about life and death, at the coffee shop with my Mom and my older son.

As we walked home in the light mist, I suddenly became inspired to cook a pot of soup for everyone. I could hardly wait to get home to go through my kitchen and create a soup with whatever was on hand. Often called “stone soup,” my version included leftover garbanzo beans and brown rice, onions, garlic, kale, oregano, basil, cumin powder, cinnamon, clove powder, medjool dates, raisins, a can of pumpkin and even a can of baked beans! Before I started cooking, I lit several candles in the kitchen and waved a stick of incense about the cottage. I also turned on the lively music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelly (with The Quintet of the Hot Club of France) ~ an album called “Souvenirs” that is sure to uplift the foulest of moods. (To hear the first song, click on “Honeysuckle Rose” here.)

After serving the soup to my parents and brothers and sons, I reveled in the bliss of our cozy kitchen lunch. Outside it was grey and dreary, but inside we were warm, dry, and blessed to eat soup, salad, and bread.

With nearly one billion people starving on the planet, each time I eat such good organic vegan food, I am filled with gratitude.

May all beings everywhere have food to eat each day. May all beings know Peace and Happiness.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

Photo of Teja by Teja’s older son. Photo of cozy kitchen lunch by Teja Shankara.

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