I have always wanted to go to India. By this time in my life, I kind of figured the opportunity had passed, as India is so vast, loud, and chaotic. Then last year I saw that a friend was beginning to run tours there, and my husband and I committed to going! I knew that being guided by someone who had experience there would make the experience gentle enough for me, even now when I am almost sixty years old. (I just turned 59. I’m not sure how this happened, lol.)
The trip was in early January. We went early to be able to start to acclimate before the others got there. And it was a good thing because once the tour started, it did not stop!
I had a Vedic astrology reading from a white guy from Canada who now lives in India. Go figure. He was really good, though! One thing he told me is that I should wait to film my big upcoming home study course on yoni massage until after both my trip to India as well as my three-month trip to Hawaii, coming up on February 1st.
He said it was because I would have some spiritual experiences in India that would change me, and that I’d want to be my “new, improved self” (my words) before I did the actual filming for my new course. So I listened, and waited.
In India, I was on the lookout for amazing experiences. There were many of them. I attended a sacred fire ceremony, multiple kirtans, had an audience with a real India guru who had dreadlocks to his ankles, and worshipped at many ashrams and temples all over the country. But when it came down to it, I cannot pinpoint any specific experiences that seemed like “the one(s)” that were going to transform me.
The trip was a whirlwind, complete with monkeys that steal eyeglasses, sweet lasses, the stink of cow patties on virtually every street in the country, some damn good shopping, and even a case of food poisoning. However, in the end, I couldn’t identify any transformation that I had experienced. Until I started to notice this, starting on the way back to America:
You know how in life there are so many opportunities to do the right thing for yourself? In my life, this could even be something small, like getting up out of bed in the middle of the night to pee, so I can go back to sleep easily. Or, asking the Uber driver to turn up the heat because I am cold. Or asking my husband for what I want, even if I know it will be inconvenient or hard for him. I say these are little things, but in the big picture, they are all small things that add up to more self love.
Before, I did the right thing for myself the majority of the time, but not 100% of the time. Now it’s 100% of the time. I’m chalking this change up to all the blessings I experienced in India.
Soon I’ll be in Hawaii, where I’m told more of the blessings will make themselves known. I say, bring the blessings on!
And, I have a question: how can you do the right thing for YOUR self more of the time?