Rishikesh

Wow! I can not belive I have only been here in India a few days. The experiences I have had in this short amount of time are just all over the board. The day I arrived to Rishikesh I was overwhelemed with the energy vibration of this place. It is evident that this is a spiritual city to India. I found out later that it even legally has that title designated to it by the indian government. There are basically 2 major streets in this city that go along the banks of the Ganga, the holy river. These streets are filled with shops selling anything from yoga and chant CDs,food,clothes and soveniers. You can hear spiritual music from every shop and there are lot of sages in organge roaming the streets. You can also see Indians from all over India that have come here to pay their respect to the Ganga river and the local Ashrams.

I am staying at Parmath Nikethan Ashram and the days I have been here swamiji has been here blessing us with his wisdom. I was fortunate to spend some time with him yesterday alone. I asked him if he ever has doubt and what he does when it occurs. He replied that he uses his internal GPS and just goes within to listen to find the answer to move away from the doubt. I could see it in his eyes that he was so sincere with his reply and that he has nothing but love for humanity. His love was pouring all over me and I tuely felt safe. When he addressed the group he kept asking us to make sure to surrender to the divine and to know that by us just coming to Rishikesh we have already taken the biggest step in ourlives that will speed up our spirituall progression. He said that the seed for growth was in us and that by us coming to India and Rishikesh we had given ourselves the best spiritual gift we could. It felt comforting to hear him say that as the first few days have been a bit crazy with over 100 participants from all over the world and a yoga practice that I am completely unfamiliar with Kundalini Yoga.

Gurmukh our teacher for the yoga traning is also amazing. She wears only white clothing (like all Kundalini yoga teachers) and she has a white light about her. Her speach is so soft and tender but the postures are anything but gentil. They are very challenging and evoke lots of emotions and energy that moves through us. I am not used to this style of yoga but am very fascinated by the effects it has had on me in only a few days. I can feel that this is the right style of yoga that uses spirituallity and awakeing of all the chakra energy to deepen the individual's experience with the inner self and the divine. This style is about creating and experiencing the union between the two and to be one with God. As I hear Gurmukh and Gurshabad say it is about "plugging in" to the divine.

I have to run...our break is a short one and we are not encouraged at all to get on the computer and the internet. I have lots more to tell but I may not be able to get on the computer until Sunday which is our first half day off. This is a very intensive program and I can tell we will be busy for the next 3weeks.

I Love all of you, Jasmine