It's been an intense few days. I ran into an old friend from my teen years the other day. He is a few years younger and we were very close years ago, until he started to turn to heavy drugs and hanging with really negative, criminalistic people. Hearing of his recent exploits and trouble from another friend was difficult and made me a bit weary. He's really on the road to hell. So when I ran into him I at least tried to engage him in some service, fed him food offered to Krishna (prasadam), and tried to help. I could see and feel his troubled spirit and he's right now in jail for major theft. So, I'm awakening to the fact that being here in the city is a whole new paradigm from what I got accustomed to; living in remote places with saintly people. I can only pray for protection over the little domain I'm creating as a place of peace. That and some other little conflicts occurred with other people in my life, so, there must be something happening in the stars.....
So today I decided I needed some space and time to reflect. But first I went and bought a used electric lawnmower from someone I found online. It was an older lady and we got to talking and she was interested in yoga and so I gave her a Back to Godhead magazine. Then, I went to the healthfood store to get some things. They had really nice little fig trees for sale so I bought one so Krishna could have figs. While in the store I connected with an interesting man. His name is Dan and he is riding his bicycle from California to New York on 100% raw vegan foods. We hung out for a few hours. He knew I was into Krishna by my tilak (I love people thinking of Krishna when they see how I am dressed or decorated!) So we hung out, went to the farmers market, philosophized for a while and ate some fruit and drank juice. He was a spiritually conscious person, very much in sattva and raja guna, and a charitable person. He's actually famous online as a raw food expert and healer. So I took some interesting and useful aspects of his mission into my being, specifically some healing modalities on releasing old pain and anarthas. It was a sweet and intense interaction and after a couple of hours we hugged goodbye and I gave him a kirtan cd, some prasadam (raw of course!) and small book on Krishna. I suggested he stop at the Columbus, OH temple on his way up to NYC, which is an awesome place.
So after that I went to Cherokee Park, one of my favorite places on Earth. It's a very large city park in the heart of the hippie/alternative/Yippie part of town. The park is very spacious and aesthetic, with lots of diversity. It was always my place of peace when I grew up in Louisville. So I went there and wrote in my journal, watched the huge catfish and turtles swim in the creek, and chanted Hare Krishna on my beads for a few hours. It was VERY refreshing and calming. On the way home I stopped at a new yoga studio and inquired about doing programs there. I got the card for the manager, who I will try to meet soon. I then arrived back at the Sanctuary and put in some time cleaning. I'll be so glad when it's all nice and pukka there. It needs another 12-15 hours of strenuous cleaning work to get there. So, it's been a day of healing and reflection.
Haribol.
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