Returned

I have returned to Maine.

Hooray!

I guess I felt as though I should wrap this adventure up with one final blog post before I let it be.

Portland, OR, was pretty fantastic. While I didn't actually see *that* much of the city, my experience there was one that was certainly full of "firsts" and of personal growth. Sometimes you just meet people who come in to your life for 3 days and teach you things about yourself. It was sort of like the universe sent me a cram session during my last days out west in order to get a bunch of personal work done that wasn't resolved on the mountain. This cram session was highly educational and a LOT OF FUN. Seems there are some cool people who come out of Arkansas... who would've thunk? ;-)

Without much further ado, I end this blog. I have said all that has needed to be said in the previous entries so I will not rehash everything. I am left feeling happy, hopeful, and healthy, which is more than I can say about how I felt 3 months ago.

This life is so glorious. Thank you for your friendship and love and support everyone.

Namaste.

Hello from Eugene!

The last day on the mountain was very, very bittersweet. I had an early morning breakfast shift and drank a large amount of coffee on an empty stomach which, after hardly consuming caffeine for two months, had a very powerful impact on my system. Oops. I'm glad my tolerance is at a better level though. Anyway, I worked my breakfast shift, directly followed by a dining room shift, directly followed by a dish shift. I was cranking through the day and loving every minute of it. I was saying goodbyes along the way to people who I knew I wouldn't see later on, but my heart wasn't really there yet, as is the norm for me. I tend to not get emotional about goodbyes until the very last minute or even after I've left.

I went from my dish shift down to Ram Sharan's house, where he read my oracle. At least that's what I *think* it's called? I gave him my birth date and year and time and he told me my corresponding "card" (a 2 of diamonds) and then proceeded to look up in books what that meant astrologically and what it meant about me as a person and how I related to other people in my life. It was really, really, really cool. We talked a lot about what the next months are going to bring and how the past year has been as well. Everything he told me I could totally apply to what seems to be happening as of late. It was quite remarkable and some things resonated so true to me that I got teary on several occasions over the hour and a half I spent with him. It's an art I'll definitely look in to more... it's like tarot or astrology but... not. This is one of the books he used.

After my goodbyes with Ram Sharan, I felt quite emotional. Talking about the future so intensely really brought the fact that this future wasn't at Mount Madonna to the forefront of my mind. As I went through my lunchtime and afternoon, I kept tearing up randomly, sometimes during goodbyes and sometimes just being on my own. I surprised myself at being this way, actually. I thought about it and I guessed there were two contributing factors 1) the caffeine, even 6 hours later, was throwing me for a loop, and 2) it hit me that my travels to Oregon were really terrifying and I hadn't actually processed the fact that I was just going out on my own taking transportation I'd never taken before (a train,) staying in a setting I'd never stayed in before (a hostel,) to a place where I didn't know anyone (Oregon.) I guessed that if I were flying straight home I would have been much much less emotional overall.

My Megpie drove me to Gilroy to catch the bus, and she talked me down quite a bit about the travels and I felt a LOT better after that. I'll miss that lady so much...

The bus ride from Gilroy to San Jose was pretty uneventful though mildly interesting to a girl from Maine; there were a couple of guys who boarded the bus who were all cut up and I overheard them that they got jumped by their opposing gangs a few days before... scary shit. One of them had stitches all over his face in these long lines like a quilt. Oh Greyhound...

From San Jose I got on an Amtrak and from there I felt much more relaxed knowing that I would at least end up in Eugene. It was a very, very nice train with two stories and a nice dining and lounge car. I was seated next to a woman named Ruth who was from England and headed to Portland. I didn't sleep much that night because the man behind me insisted on making phone calls frequently throughout the night and humming loudly the rest of the time. Oh well. The sunrise brought lovely views of northern California and Oregon and I spent most of the morning in the lounge car. I spent most of the time chatting with two ladies in their 80's and really had some great conversations.

I landed in Eugene about 1pm on Monday and lugged myself and my stuff to the hostel which wasn't too too far away. I checked in, and went for a nice walk around downtown and up to Skinner's Butte which overlooks the whole city and took some lovely photos of the colored trees. Downtown is pretty cute, but I definitely miss the New England architecture. I intended to go out and play bingo at the local bar that night, but I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 8pm and slept a full 12 hours.

Yesterday involved a lot of walking. I went to the farmers market and to a clock museum, and just walked and walked and walked. I got a HUGE burrito from "El Pinche Taco" around the corner and only ate half of it for dinner it was so large. I intended to save it for today but evidently someone at the hostel accidentally ate it! I saw her just this morning and she apologized profusely... she thought it was hers. But we're staying at the same hostel in Portland so when I get there she'll still be there and she promised to buy me one there. Ha.

I spent last evening at the bar around the corner (Sam Bond's) and listened to some bluegrass music. It's a very, very cool bar... probably one of the best I've been to as far as atmosphere goes. I went the whole night talking with a guy from Australia who's been traveling the west coast and was just in Eugene for the night. I'm loving meeting all of these people from all over the world.

And, as I put on my facebook, I accidently reformatted my memory card when I was reviewing my pictures on my camera and deleted all of them. Poo. I actually didn't freak out as much as I thought I would. And Meg has maybe 75% of them on her computer. And perhaps I can get some fancy software to restore them... inconvenient to say the least. An opportunity to practice surrender and nonattachment???

It's raining in Eugene this morning... let's see where this day takes me.

Love to all.

The next El Nino is here!!!

So a couple of days ago, a sign got put up on the Community Building doors warning of a "severe storm" coming our way. I got all excited because truth be told, the days of endless blue skies and sunshine was starting to get boring. Plus, I LOVE storms. I figured it MUST be a big deal if they took the time to write something up about it and post it in the central community area. It warned of very high winds and heavy rainfall up to 7 inches. The fact that I had no umbrella or waterproof footwear, let alone a jacket, couldn't dampen my anticipation for this great event.

Last night, as I lay in bed, unable to sleep (per usual unfortunately) I could hear little sprinkles of rain outside. Ooooh! The storm was rolling in!!!

I wake up this morning and it's full-on raining. Nice. The storm must be starting. Meg and I go up to the Community Building for breakfast. Everyone was in a tussel "Wow! This storm!" "Isn't this crazy!?!?!" "It's another El Nino!" The rain fell peacefully.


...wait


...what?


*THIS* is the storm? How disappointing. People are all bundled up like it's SNOWING or something and terrified to drive. Amusing to say the least.

Thank God I'm from Maine.

Post-mountain plans

It's finally cooling down here on the mountain. I went for a lovely walk today and barely broke a sweat, as opposed to nearly drowning as was usual before. As I sit here and look out the window, the fog is engulfing the mountain, which promises a cool night. Hopefully it'll be in the 50's or 60's from here on out. I AM DONE WITH CALIFORNIA HEAT!!!



It's been a bit since I've updated this blog... things are still really grand. I've stopped attending asana classes pretty much completely, and I'm not sure if that is necessarily a blatantly bad thing. As most of the classes here are at 6:30am and I tend to sleep extremely poorly here, I started becoming really run down and needing to nap during the day, which didn't help the sleeping at night. So I decided to gift myself mornings with no alarm clocks on most days. I figure I deserve it after all of those opening shifts at Starbucks anyway! So I'm feeling overall better than when I was waking up at 6am, but at the same time I really miss asana. And I guess my patience ran out with the evening classes as I continued to be uninspired by them. I miss my practice at home... I really do.



I've been reading SO much and writing in my journal daily as well. Meg and I always spend plenty of time checking in with one another and being leisurely. Last night we watched "Once" which was a darling little movie filled with horrible acting which almost added to it's charm. The music of course was great, and it didn't occur to me until it was mentioned in the DVD extras (and after having listened to the soundtrack regularly for the last year) that Glen Hasard is the singer for The Frames, who I've actually seen perform live back in 2004 when they opened for Damien Rice at the State Theatre. I even have their album... ha. Great music anyway :-)



I spent a bit of time in San Francisco with Charles about a week ago and had a lovely time. It had been a few years since we'd spent any significant time together and I can't recall enjoying his company more. We stayed at Hotel Kabuki in Japantown which was super duper nice. The room had it's own sauna!
We ate at Herbavore for dinner. Fantastic. The next day we went down to Monterey and went to the aquarium! SO cool. Absolutely a highlight of my time here. The jellyfish and the leafy sea dragons were my favorite. Here are some pictures (not ones I took, but from their website.)

I'm starting to formulate plans for life post Mount Madonna, which is very exciting and a little scary. At the end of my session here, my plan is to catch a bus up to Humbolt for a couple of days to see Charles's place, then fly up to Eugene, Oregon. I'll stay in a hostel for a couple of nights and spend my days checking out the city. Then I'll catch a bus to Portland, OR, and do the same there before flying home to Portland, ME!!!! I'll be staying with the 'rents in Gardiner for a bit while I get back on my feet and procure a job and such.

I'm so very excited about my life going forward. I can't wait to get back to school... yes, that's right, school. Well, sort of. Not going into it right now. But yeah. I have plans. And I'm psyched.

Love to you all.

Beach with Megpie/Armpit Update

As you can see, my armpits reaaaallly aren't that hairy, even though it's been like a month since shaving.

Also demonstrated in these photos is just how glorious it is at the beach, and how much I adore my MegPie.

Not a lot to say

I'm still here at MMC... loving it.

Not much exciting news at the moment, but I wanted y'all to know that life is rockin' and I'm reading lots of books and spending lots of great time with wonderful people, as well as lots of great time by myself.

I miss Portland.

I am excited for the future. Very very excited.

I love you all.

Ending Silence and not ever wanting to go back

I lasted about 32 hours in silence before I accidently slipped up in asana class when I had a question. Oops.

It was ROUGH. Not being able to chime in and respond to all of the conversations around was frustrating. And even more frustrating was when I needed to communicate something of importance and writing it down on a little piece of paper wasn't do-able (like while hiking.) I decided I'd go for a second day though... I thought it'd be easier than the first since I kind of knew what I'd be dealing with. As aforementioned, the second day was not completed. I do intend to try again sometime even though I was pretty grouchy by the end of day one. Perhaps on Thursday?

Things have been good. The newness of the place has worn off, so I find myself being prone to more times of feeling like "old Michelle" but at the same time, maintaining the awareness that I've gained since coming here. Most days however, I'm still in bliss:-)

On another note, back a couple of weeks ago I had been driving Meg's car (her name is Ginger) and hit a garbage can that had been semi-in the road and taken off her side view mirror. Oops. I felt horribly, of course, worse than if it had been my own car. We'd gone to Napa Auto, where they assured us that the epoxy that they sold us would do the trick. Nope. So I bought a new mirror online and had it shipped to us. I asked Vishwanath if he'd be able to install it for me. He smiled, and wrote on his chalk board (he's been silent for 30-some YEARS!!!) that he'd take a look at it with me and set me up with some tools. He insisted that ladies should learn how to do this sort of thing :-) So I did! It took me a while, but I took door panel off, unscrewed all the screws, only lost one nut down the inside of the door, disconnected the wires, etc. etc. But I did it! I haven't been this proud of something in a long time. Ginger looks great.

Additionally, I think I have a plan formulating regarding what I'd like to do post-Mount Madonna. I'm not going to write it out here because nothing is set in stone as of yet... but I will say that I'm pretty psyched, and that it involves going to school. There are a lot of little pieces that need to come together, but my vision is getting clearer every day. VERY EXCITED.

Love you all.

Namaste.

Beginning Silence

I slept outside under the stars last night. I hauled my foam mattress out to the patio and stared at the sky for a long time before drifting off. It was cool and fall like. Sock-sleeping weather. It was gorgeous. At some point during the night, a random cat came and shared my bed with me. Made me miss my little ones back in Maine.

Upon awaking in the early morning light, cat at my side, I decided that I'd take today and make it my first attempt at a day of silence. It's difficult already and I've only just made it through breakfast. People are telling stories and chatting and all I want to do is chime in. I am carrying around paper and pen to communicate, but I'm trying to use it minimally.

I'll let you know how the rest of the day goes...

~om~

So alive

I feel so amazing right now. Colors brighter, food tastes better, hills don't seem so steep... never better.

Some contributing factors:

• My diet is incredible here. I have granola with nuts, fruit, and cinnamon every morning with a soy/rice milk blend. For lunch and dinner I have a large salad (never before have I enjoyed salads... at all...) with sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, in addition to a small amount of whatever entree they are serving (generally an assortment of cooked vegetables and a soy or wheat protein) and a bit of whole grains. Dessert is only served once a week here, and while it's taken some getting used to, I don't miss it nearly as much as I thought I might. And if I do want something sweet, I have some rhubarb that I got from the garden and cooked up with cinnamon and a touch of raw sugar, or I have a piece of homemade bread with Earth Balance, cinnamon and raw sugar. I drink several cups of tea daily. No alcohol, cigarrettes and maybe 2 or 3 cups of coffee a week (which is a huge step down from the 10-12 shots of espresso each day that I was consuming prior.)


• I've been much better about taking my multivitamins and calcium supplement since being here. Plus I've added a Vitamineral green superfood powder to my regiment and I swear that the last three days I've had more energy and colors have been brighter. I mix it with the soy/rice milk and have it with breakfast and dinner. I've also discovered Kombucha, and plan on stocking up on it during my next trip to town.


• I'm practicing asana 5-6 times each week. I usually go to class about 4 days a week and then the other days I'll do my own practice. Even though the classes here aren't generally as physically challenging as what I am accustomed to at home, it is a good mental exercise for me, and I am learn about different schools of thought concerning asana and alignment, which is quite valueable. Plus my own practices get me moving and sweating so I am not missing that as much as I would be otherwise.


• The amount of internal work I'm doing is amazing. I'm journaling at least once a day. I'm processing and asking questions and really enjoying it! In the past, doing this kind of work has been tedious and unpleasant and felt like a chore because so much of my energy was expended in other areas of my life. I never really could keep focus or the desire burning. Here, when I'm not working, it's all I want to do! I'm finding so much joy and acceptance within myself. I can feel my confidence rising and sometimes I'm just so happy that I want to run around and let everyone know how lovely I feel.

I wish everyone could have an experience like this. I highly, highly recommend it. I feel so blessed to be here and have this opportunity. What a gift. I never expected any of this here; it's really all a surprise to be transforming this much.

************************************************************************

On another note, there is a group here for a silent Buddhist retreat right now. There are about 55 of them and they are all completely silent from Friday through tomorrow. It's really interesting... makes me want to try it for a day. It's interesting watching them walking as a group. They all spread out and don't make eye contact and don't break off into groups like people normally do. I suppose that even though they spend all this time with the same people that they aren't able to get to know any of them or make any sort of connection. Some of them do cheat though... I've had a couple people whisper to me about one thing or another that they need.

************************************************************************

I am SO happy here. Even when I get in a funky mood, I snap right out of it like nothing. I miss Portland, and I can't believe that tomorrow I will have been here 3 weeks already. Still no plans for after the program...

Namaste all!

Perfect

I had the most wonderful day yesterday. Meg, Dan and I went into town because Meg has some errands to run. It was just so beautiful outside and the temperature was finally comfortable. We cruised down the 1 with the windows down, The Postal Service blasting, and with my feet out the window. Bliss.
While Meg was at her appointment, Dan and I went to a beach. We laid out on the sand, went swimming, I half-filled my belly with salt water, and he read aloud part of a book he was reading. All I can think of is the word "perfect." It describes the sky, the temperature, the mountains on the horizon, the sand, the water. Meg came and joined after she was done and we went swimming again. It's only a little warmer than the water in Maine, but, again, perfect. We ate burritos for dinner and headed back to the mountain for our meeting.

Our meeting was run by a man who's lived here since the beginning (35 years? ish?) and I can't remember his sanskrit name (most people here have them and they are all so difficult to remember) but I'll call him SD. He is a teacher at the Mount Madonna School and has done some really amazing things. He talked to us about karma yoga and yoga in general. Very intelligent man with a lot to share.

Karma yoga is really a fascinating practice, and it really is a practice because it's sincerely difficult to stop your brain from thinking a certain way after it's been programmed your whole life. Karma yoga doing something (a job, a role, etc.) because it's what you're motivated to do- not because it's what you're being paid to do, or because it's what you've been told to do. SD worded it so eloquently- I wish I could remember what he said verbatim. It's working for the sake of the task, not for any result or for recognition or reward. It's really quite powerful. And even though I came here to "work for free" I still hadn't quite shifted my viewpoint. I was going to work because that's what I was signed up to do. And after last night, I'm genuinely going to try to work for the greater good. I'm going to go scrub that floor because it's needs to be scrubbed and because the greater community benefits from it. It will certainly bring me more joy and peace. It's a shift- and it'll take some practice to think this way on a more regular basis, but I'm pretty psyched about all this new stuff.

Alright- enough for now. Meg just informed me that she's headed to Santa Cruz again. Another beach day????

Perfect.

Wild Fires

Yesterday was a bit exciting- I guess there were 3 fires across the road from our property. People couldn't leave because the roads were shut down and everyone was nervously pacing about. A helicopter came with a huge bucket and scooped out water from our pond here. There were sirens and planes and all sorts of hubbub. Some people were freaking out unnecessarily, but most were pretty calm. Me, I wasn't worried until someone in charge told me to be. Babaji was here, and he seemed to be very chill about it all, so I saw no reason to be any other way.

It was 98 degrees. Gross. But the clouds were over the bay this morning, so I suspect that today will be much more comfortable.

Enough for now- I may go take a little post-breakfast nap.

Much love.

Metal mouth

Wednesday was my first day off the mountain since my arrival. Chiara, Morgan, Dan and I went to Santa Cruz in Pam's car to do some laundry, wander about, etc. One of my goals was to make it to Starbucks to retrieve my markout, assuming my numbers still worked. But they didn't. Waaaaah. No more free coffee for me...
We all went to the boardwalk and took the cable lift ride above the beach... got a good view of the Pacific and of Santa Cruz in general, which is a cute town, but wasn't really my thing.











Dan and Morgan went to go see a movie while Chiara and I threw in some laundry and wandered to a tattoo parlor/piercing shop. Yes, I had a hole punched in my lip. And I think I like it. I have to drink from a straw, but other than that it doesn't bother me much. I must say, it's really nice to be in an atmosphere where body adornment isn't frowned upon.

The last two days have been super hot and super clear. I'm actually able to see Monterey Bay from the mountain without having to guess where the water was beneath the clouds. Dan and I hiked further up the hill last night and just sat and looked at the city lights below. The moon reflected on the water, and it was so peaceful. I just can't stop staring at the sky while I'm here, day or night. At night time there are stars beyond stars beyond stars, except for on nights when the moon it so bright it drowns them out (last night being one of those nights.) During the day it's different color than the sky in Maine, I guess because of the elevation, and the blueness of it fascinates me. It's a shade or two darker and hardly ever has any clouds marring the perfect smooth.



I've been playing the piano here quite a bit and really enjoying that.

I worked in the garden this morning doing some weeding and stepping up some seedlings. SO HOT... I kept getting lightheaded from standing to put the weeds in the wheelbarrow. But thank goodness it's dry here... if Maine were ever this hot I think I'd drown in the air because I know the humidity would kill me!

I'm working in the kitchen all afternoon (just on a break at the moment) and then I have a dish shift I picked up for some cash afterwards. And then I believe a group of us are going off the mountain to go bowling! Ha!

That's all for now... life is good and I am happy.

I wish the same for all of you.

Namaste.

Armpit update

Perhaps this is TMI, but this is a post about my armpits.

I have always shaved my armpits every couple of days, even in the winter when no one sees them. Keeping them clean and presentable has always been important to me, and I've always had an aversion to having stubble or longer under there. I mean, female armpit hair?? Ew!

Meg was talking about how her last boyfriend thought it was sexy when she didn't shave and I guess I gave such a look of horror that she immediately coaxed me to try it. Chiara was pretty amused with my reaction to the idea too. Meg said that because my reaction was so strong that it'd probably be really good for me to embrace the hair... haha. So the three of us entered into a pact that we wouldn't shave our armpits until September 10th. I was physically writhing just thinking about it, but Meg was right, I should go beyond what's comfortable and perhaps not worry so much about what everyone else thinks.

It's been probably 5 days now, which is definitely the longest I've ever gone without shaving, but ya know, it's okay. I'm not crawling out of my skin yet, and with any luck, I'll never get to that point. I'm pretty blonde, so it's not like I'll have this thick black mop under there, but still...

If I can do this anywhere, it'd be here on Mount Madonna. The magic of this place is creeping up on me; I welcome the transformation within. Armpit hair is the first step...

Om.

Fun in the Garden

Yesterday during our free time in the morning, Meg and I decided to wander down to the garden. It's a funny place- very beautiful but very much in need of TLC. I won't get into the story regarding the current state of the garden, but in short it seems that it was once of central concern, and now lies unattended to as larger issues at MMC have arisen.

So Meg (a lovely, lovely person indeed) and I wandered down to retrieve some flowers for our respective rooms, and I, for some rhubarb so that I might make something yummy in the kitchen. We ended up with a lovely bouquet, an arm full of rhubarb and a single mystery fruit that resembled a hard fuzzy apple. When raw, the mystery fruit reminded me of unripe pear, apple, and squash. I cooked it with raw sugar and cinnamon and it became much more enjoyable.

So much joy to be found...

I have not been sleeping well the last couple of nights, which makes getting up for a 6:30am pranayama class challenging. I did however practice some asana last night when class was canceled, and I will be practicing again tonight. It seems as though all the residents of Forest View have been dreaming like mad- I have only had one night of odd dreams, but 4/8 people I spoke with this morning said they'd suffered from nightmares the night before. There's something going on in that place...

There is a lovely cafe here where espresso beverages, ice cream and various other yummies are available for a reasonable price. I'm trying to stay away... I need not spend the little money I have on such things, but I did indulge in a blackberry sorbet and a coconut water the other evening while witnessing that beautiful sunset.

I have the remainder of the afternoon off... I think I'll play a little Schubert, perhaps take a dip in the lake, and do a little reading.

How could I ask for more?

Namaste.

Tonight's Sky

Tonight's sky was perfect... a rainbow and a gorgeous sunset.

First days of karma yoga

While here at Mount Madonna, I'm required to work 28 hours each week. It is my practice of karma yoga- selfless service. I was given my schedule and it looks like Fridays are my busiest days and that I have very quiet days on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays.

I had my first work shift yesterday afternoon which was labeled at "Tea" on my schedule. I'd heard rumors that I would be serving tea to Babaji... which terrified me. I envisioned myself kneeling at the feet of this holy man, trying not to be a fumbling idiot and avoiding spilling tea on him while breaking some dozen sacred rules that I didn't even know existed. All the other YSCers were really excited for me, as I was the only one who was scheduled for this shift. Me, I just wanted to give the shift away. 2.5 hours serving this silent monk?!?! Yikes!
I had "eaten lunch with him" that noontime, which really meant that I sat on the floor along with 20 others in a semi circle around his chair while he joked silently with a few people. He smiled and teased and was very lighthearted and clever. That calmed me down a bit; even though this guy is, like, enlightened, he obviously has a great sense of humor and is pretty laid back.
After lunch I went to my room to call my mommy while I had a few minutes, and thinking my shift started at 1:30 lounged about. At 1:20 I actually look at my schedule and see that I was supposed to be there at 1:00! Crap! Late to my first shift AND late for serving the master his tea! Who knew what the consequences would be.

Turns out, when Babaji is here at MMC (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) there is a tea time at 2:30 when he has his tea and members of the community and visitors alike can join in for a social of sorts. I spent time with Arpita prepping snacks and serving the guests, and SHE served Babaji. I was so uncomfortable being so close to him though... he just intimidates me I guess. I think it's the silent thing... I don't know what to say to him, you know? But as I was serving the visitors, he wrote a message on his chalk board and a woman, Sati, said "He's wondering if you're Jewish." I look at Babaji and smile and said no, to which he responded with another question. "Italian?" No, I said, and I told him of my UK/German heritage. I *think* he may have been kidding around... trying to make me loosen up a bit. Who knows :-)

BTW- if you don't know about Babaji, check him out here.

I had a dip in the hottub last night and slept beautifully.

Today I spent 3 hours in the garden with Dan (a fellow YSCer) and Rebecca turning some beds and pulling weeds. I had an hour for lunch and then was in the kitchen with Morgan (another YSCer) prepping beets, leeks, kale, and doing other miscellaneous things until 6. It's 7 now and I don't know where today has gone... *poof*

Time to watch the sunset.

Namaste.

Beethoven time.

Perhaps my greatest surprise upon my arrival was the discovery that there is a Mason & Hamlin grand piano here in the community building.

And it's in tune.

And it's totally accessable.

And there's a fairly good library of music.

*Sigh* I finally can play.

Who would've thought I'd come to a yoga community and find that my musical practice would benefit so much???

More soon... hopefully with some photos.

~om~

Let's try this again

So after lunch today, I spent my free time writing this long, amazing entry, and then the lovely computers here at MMC somehow lost it. ARGH. With the possibility of this attempt being a failure as well, please excuse the brevity of this entry.

*Breathe* I'm here.

I'm here at MMC in California.

It wasn't until the plane was descending into Long Beach that it finally hit me that I was actually doing this. I looked out the window and saw all of these buildings and palm trees and haze in the air and suddenly my heart leapt! I starting grinning and bouncing (internally anyway) like a three year old at Disneyworld. I had a window seat for the flight to San Jose, and I literally spent the entirety with my face pressed to the glass, looking at the mountains below. They were BIG and so jagged and some even had snow- nothing like the rolling hills of Maine. They were like scars on the earth's surface and so brown and dry most of the time. I really felt like a three year old... I saw the wonder in everything around me. And it continued even during the drive from San Jose to the mountain. The trees are so BIG and the forests so dense. The road coming up the mountain was treacherous and brought my lust of small sportscars to mind.

The center is 2000 up on a mountain and has great views of the city and ocean below, though it wasn't until mid day today that I ever saw the city because of the intense fog that rolls in. At night you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, and it is really quite cold. Much colder than Maine. I wore jeans and a sweatshirt until almost noon today. Quite lovely really- not a cloud in the sky.

All 8 of the YSCers are staying in a building called Forest View. We each have our own (very nice) rooms and we share a bathroom with one other person. There is a kitchen and community space that is just lovely- it's really much more than I had expected. The 8 of us range in age from 20 to 43, and some live just a few hours away, and I seem to have traveled the furthest from Maine. I am so interested and intrigued by them... I'm looking forward to learning about who they are and where they come from.

I had my first asana class this morning at 6:30. It's a very different style than what I am accustomed to, but I think I can learn a lot if I can keep a good attitude. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there will be a two hour class for the YCSers that studies pranayama, meditation and asana. I'm extremely interested in incorporating the first two into my practice as I am a newbie in those areas. Nearly every day there is an opportunity for me to fit in 2 classes, even with my work schedule! There's also a weekly philosophy class that I intend to attend. So much to learn here...

The food is totally adequate- better than expected. I'm the only vegan in the YSC group, but I'm sure there are many in the community that I have not met as of yet.

It's only my second day and I feel like time is going too fast...

If you'd like to snail mail me, you can just use my name and this address:

445 Summit Road
Watsonville, CA
95076

Namaste!

Last day in Maine

This is it, folks.

I just awoke from my last night in my own bed. I only slept for a couple of hours, but I suppose it's to be expected. I'm pretty well packed and just need to get my stuff out, do some laundry, go to goodwill and the apartment cleaned.

I'll be staying the night on Ali's couch and Will is driving me to Logan bright and early for my flight. I'll be leaving at 8:45am and arriving at 2:45pm (Pacific time) and I'll be catching a ride from San Jose with a woman who's driving to the mountain and passing through on her way. The rest is a big fat unknown.

I have so many people I want to thank for all their help in getting me out west... I think you know who you are... at least I hope you do. I want to thank you all by name but seeing as I only got a couple hours of sleep and I'm just slightly distracted, there's a good chance that if I made a list that I'd miss someone and that'd just be crappy. So yeah. THANK YOU. For the help packing, help moving, watching my cats, storing my stuff, giving me rides, letting me keep my car in your driveway, the vegan cake, the gifts and cards, the couch to sleep on, the emotional support, the kick in the butt to actually get me to do this...

Wow... so many fantastic people in my life. The family and coworkers and friends and students and teachers... and you're all here in Maine. I'll truly miss you all- it boggles my mind to think that I won't see you for two months.

I'll try to update this blog frequently. As of right now, and I don't foresee this actually changing while I'm out there, I don't have a laptop so I'm not really sure how much access I'll have to the internet. I believe there will be computers that I can use during my downtime so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Next time I post I'll be in Cali. This still doesn't really seem real...