The last article I wrote, titled “Depression – Lifting the Cloud with Natural Medicine”, asked for something more. I have decided to interview 8 people of different faiths, cultures and careers. My question to them was: “What makes you happy and what keeps you antidepressant-free?” Let’s get going and explore this wealth of answers!

“Most of us spend our whole lives in veiled search for the only two things we really want. Those are to be loved and happy. We wrap this search into a lifetime of actions, events, things and people. If I could just have a little more free time, I would be happy. If I just had a little more money, I would be happy. If I could get a new car, I would be happy.” These are the first thoughts of Dr. Rodney Dunetz, an Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine practicing in Boca Raton, Florida. He continues by explaining how helping others is at the core of true happiness: “I too, did this dance for much of my life. Then I realized, it was not the getting of my “stuff” that made me happy, it was the no longer wanting the “stuff”. I realized at the end of my life, I was going to give all my stuff back. I didn’t even get to keep my body. I give that back too. The stuff only made me a little happy and for a little while. And when I really looked at my life, I realized what truly made me happy was helping others. I embraced the idea of helping others. I made helping others a priority in my life and found my path to happiness. The more happiness I give, the more happiness I get. May you find your happiness, may you find your path. The truth is they’re one in the same.” He beautifully ends his thoughts by quoting Rabindranath Tagore: ”I slept — and dreamed that life was joy. I woke — and saw that life was but service. I served – and understood that service was joy.”

Dr. Martha Lucas holds a PhD in Psychology; she is a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, teacher, and author, and has a practice in Denver, Colorado. She begins by summarizing all that brings her happiness in one single sentence: “My life is so full and, in part, it is gratitude that makes me happy.” She goes on through every major aspect of her life showing us how every day and every moment can be lived at its fullest: “Wonder - I have beautiful, healthy grandsons who fill my heart with joy and whose wonder about the world is so sweet to watch.  There’s a line in one of Neil Young’s song I am a Child that says, “you can’t conceive of the pleasure in my smile”.  That is a perfect description of how I feel when I watch the young ones wonder at the world; their smiles are so sweet and innocent. Service/Career - as a Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I see all manner of illness and pain.  This often makes me very grateful for my good health and that of my family.  Having the ability using this wonderful medicine to help someone who has given up on life is very rewarding.  Further, knowing the energetic effects of antidepressants make me want to avoid taking them; for the most part, we can treat emotional distress using acupuncture and herbal prescriptions rather than relying on pharmaceuticals. Nature - I love the outdoors, sunlight, moonlight, the quiet after a deep snowfall … I think that it is important to truly “see” those experiences. Sometimes we take the burst of Spring for granted but it is so rewarding to appreciate all the new growth, sweet smells, warm sun on your skin. Relationships - my children, husband, good friends, and students, all add wealth to my life. Don’t get me wrong; I have stresses and disappointments just like most other people.  The bottom line is though that this moment is in a real sense, the only moment.  Therefore I do my best to enjoy the moment and put worry aside.”

Dr. Cynthia O’Donnell is the CEO of the East West College of Natural Medicine, Sarasota, Florida, and has been in the Natural Medicine field for 25 years; she is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Acupuncture Physician, she has extensive training in Taoist longevity exercises such as Qi Gong and has had full training as a Classical Homeopath. Cynthia answered the following to my question: “I have been lucky in my life in that I had an incredibly happy childhood, and my disposition has always been positive. I have incorporated classical constitutional homeopathic treatment, chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage and herbs and nutrition into my lifestyle as health maintenance therapies and I have exercised regularly my entire life. I also have guided my life with spiritual principles and have been blessed to enter the career of my choice and be successful at it. However, I did once become terribly depressed for a long period of time after having received anesthesia for surgery. For that, I received healing sessions of external qi healing (a hands on healing technique similar to reiki) from a Taoist master and I was cured. After having been depressed for several months, with sluggishness and excessive tiredness, three external qi gong treatments had my friends marveling at the difference.”

Dr. Harsh Luthar, PhD, professor in Providence, Rhode Island, and the founder of HarshaSatsangh based on Ahimsa (the philosophy of nonviolence) and the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, states that “In terms of what happiness means, I am not sure it is a transient stage where some external thing or force can make us happy or unhappy. In Advaita, we use the term the Sahaj state or the natural state of the Self.” He feels that reading his article called “Easy and Natural is the Way” posted on his personal blog site, will describe more of his underlying orientation.

Claire Bangasser from San Juan, Puerto Rico, holds a Masters in Human Resource Development and a Masters in Pastoral Studies, with a focus on Feminist Theology. She is a passionate writer and she is sharing her first contact with depression and antidepressants: “I have friends who have to take anti-anxiety pills for long whiles to help them cope with their daily life. I may never have suffered from a depression because I understand that it is a real illness. On the other hand, when I was a child, I saw my mother taking sleeping pills and tranquilizers to escape a life that she did not like. I saw her groggy and no long remembering where she was. Once, I had to guide her to the bathroom as she was too lost to find it by herself. Having seen what pills did to her, I have never had any desire to follow her path. Strangely enough, it is also my mother who has taught me to look at the small ways Life blesses each of my days: a bird on the window sill, the blueness of the sky, the balminess of the wind. Thus, possibly, the attention I give to the moment helps me enjoy life more than others and prevents me from falling into a funk.  Finally, I remember reading psalms of praise when feeling really down some years back. I praised God despite my deep fear of what was to come. This had a way of lifting me up and place me just a little above the fear itself.”

My dear sister, Mariana Corca, B.Sc, nun at the Valeni Monastery, Romania, for over 10 years, is sharing her view by quoting the devout Paisie of Mount Athos, “Psychiatric clinics would be empty if Christians would confess sincerely, humbly and reverently to an experienced confessor, who may even be a little harsh. No one would then experience anxiety, troubles and great temptation, as you should know they all arise from selfishness, disobedience and bad thoughts…” She continues by showing her gratitude for the simple joys of life, “I praise God for the world he created, for the snowdrops and violets already into bloom these first days of March, and for the snowflakes which seem to have forgotten winter is gone and are joyfully dancing in the air.”

Iuliana Olteanu from Brasov, Romania, B.A. and Certified Translator in 3 languages, is my cousin and best female friend. Iuliana truly lets love shine through her words. “When it comes to happiness, I have come to realize that we pursue it so eagerly in the wrong places, being blissfully unaware that in trying to cope with our daily routine, we have become blind to wonderful things right under our nose. As soon as things do not turn out as we wish, we tend to jump to conclusions, dramatize things and whine about being unhappy, and even envy others who SEEM to have a happier lot. Experience has taught me that situations having a quite black picture often result in the happiest outcome. I am truly blessed and thankful to have learned lately the most wonderful lesson, which is seeing life again through the innocent eyes of a child. Since my own eyes have started to betray me, I will from now on rely more on the apple of my eye, Sara-Marie.”

Finally, Dr. Catalin Buiu, PhD and professor in Bucharest, Romania, has practiced Integral Yoga since 1992. Here is his answer to my question: “there are a lot of reasons for me to be happy, and none to be unhappy. I’d even go so far as to say that the mere fact that I can answer this quite inspired question and share a bit of my innermost feelings makes me happy. As I was thinking about all these reasons, I’ve come to realize that behind them there must be an ultimate reason. It has to do with the fact that I am intuitively aware and many times I happen to directly feel the divine presence inside my being, that eternal spark bestowed upon me by God the Father, the individual Supreme Self. It is to me an inexhaustible source of beauty, harmony, hope and love. How could I ever be unhappy or unsure of my spiritual destiny and myself now that I feel I am Everything?”

The truth is, WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE. This being said, I have nothing more to add and I’d better leave you to meditate upon all these thoughts! Maybe you too would care to share your experience with the quest for happiness?

Click on each person’s name to learn more about them and read part I of this article “Depression – Lifting the Cloud with Natural Medicine”.

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This is of particular interest to me as a teacher of Eastern knowledge in the West, having spent a number of years living in India, doing hard sadhana and studying the ancient Vedic knowledge closely, especially from the angle of healing. Coming back to America was a shock — especially when I began to listen to people talk about spirituality.

What I’ve observed is that there are hundreds of differing ideas and viewpoints about what constitutes enlightenment — it seems that no two people are using the same definition for the term, and yet they’re conversing with one another as though the meaning is identical. This creates interesting conversations and misunderstandings often ensue.

I’ve also learned that there appears to be an idea in popular spiritual culture that either enlightenment is a pretty easy thing to achieve, or that it’s not even something to strive for because everything’s perfect the way it is and we’re all already enlightened as we are. (To which my response is: “Really? If we’re all already enlightened, why aren’t we acting like it?”)

It seems obvious that enlightenment isn’t so easy to attain (or else millions of people would already have done so!) and it’s a little painful to encounter people who’ve been sold a bill of goods otherwise. A general sense of disillusionment after a few months or a year of doing a spiritual practice, thinking that it would give a person instant enlightenment, is something I come into contact with, a lot, as a spiritual teacher and healer. Worse, some people think they are enlightened (because they did such a practice, surely it yielded the results) and are walking around acting as if they are — when it’s clear that the enlightenment is perhaps a bit more elusive than they’d have hoped.

What I learned in India — and no, I wouldn’t consider myself enlightened, but I’ve had the great good fortune to encounter a number of souls who are — is that enlightenment doesn’t come over night. It requires hard work, dedication, sadhana, surrender, faith, patience and an open heart. It takes a surprising amount of stamina to stand strongly in one place while a great deal of one’s life is dissolving and dis-integrating around one!

Attachments, desires, resentments, negative emotions — so many things have to go, to be let go of, in the process of doing spiritual practices. Being willing to endure the purification of the body, heart, and mind (especially the mind!) — all of which are sometimes quite uncomfortable — isn’t something that comes naturally to most people. Or at least, it didn’t come naturally to me!

Even our dearly held and cherished belief systems about what constitutes spirituality, or enlightenment, have to dissolve as well. The reality is beyond any ideas or constructs of the mind — at a certain point we start thinking more with the soul than with the mind.

But finally, I think one key question needs to be considered by everyone who is undertaking a spiritual practice, or feels drawn to this subject of enlightenment… and it’s a simple question but not necessarily an easy one to answer: “What do you really want?”

When I was first asked this question by a sadguru, I was stunned by both the simplicity and the weight of the question itself and could barely stammer any coherent response. No one, I think, in my whole life, had ever asked me such a bald, clear question — especially in terms of spirituality! — and in answering it, I felt that a great deal of gravitas was being demanded of me, to be super-clear and sharp and serious about my ideas, aspirations, and inspiration for my life.

Each one of us will have a different response to that question, depending on our level of awareness, a sense of our dharma (mission in life), ideas about enlightenment, spiritual knowledge we’ve acquired, and so on.

But it’s really vital to ask ourselves, and frequently, “What do I really want?”

What I discovered was that it wasn’t enlightenment per se that I was after — it was more about wanting to know the truth of this creation, the underlying reality of life and death and beyond those states, and somehow I had a notion that this tied into healing other people effectively.

Some people really want to know the truth. Others want to experience peace of mind, or a blissful state of awareness. Still others want enlightenment — and really need to define, for themselves, and to the divine, what they mean by that term. Is it a blissful state of feeling connected with all beings? Is it a state of unconditional love? Is it a place from which manifestations happen? Does it mean unlimited gyan, tapping into the cosmic knowledge? Does it mean that the individual “I” self melts into something larger, or dissolves altogether?

What do we mean by ‘enlightenment’, really?

What do you mean by it? And if it’s enlightenment that you want, deeply — then, why do you want it? What do you imagine yourself doing, once you’ve gained enlightenment?

If I’ve learned anything over years of spiritual work, it’s that being vague with the divine matters doesn’t really answer. Having clarity and being able to articulate something succinctly, in ourselves, creates a kind of sankalpam, a divine intention, and sets it into motion, in nature. Speaking our true desire for our lives into nature starts activating Nature itself to create a response to that desire. And then the adventure really begins to show itself!

It’s a beautiful place to start, when considering our true nature, as human beings, and what we really came here on earth to do. It’s so simple, but not easy to do — but why not start now, and ask yourself, deeply, “What do I really want?”

You might be amazed at the truthful answer that wells up from the inner depths of your being. And what’s more, you may end up delighted, as your own journey starts to unfold in powerful and unexpected ways…!

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Have you heard of Chaimacolate? It is pronounced Chai-Ma-Co-Late

Of course, you have not! I just made this term up to describe the Super Rich Energy drink that I have been taking off and on for the last year.

Before writing this article for the exotic recipe of Chaimacolate, I did a Google search on it. There is no such word that I could find. Until now, that is.

I am the discoverer and founder of the modern Super Chaimacolate! That is why I call it Luthar’s Chaimacolate. I give myself complete and full credit for discovery, creativity, and finally the synthesis of key ingredients to come with this incredible concoction.

According to me, Chaimacolate is a special and smooth drink which might have only been suitable for the gods in ancient Greece,  India, China, or other places in the world wherever they lived.

If we still had Kings and Czars, I am positive that a drink like Chaimacolate would have been reserved for Royalty only. Laws would have been passed by monarchs and rulers that the ingredients for Chaimacolate be hoarded in well guarded warehouses under the full protection of the Royal Knights.

I created Chaimacolate after many trials and errors with a variety of ingredients and have tried it on myself for the last year. Only after having assured myself that Chaimacolate is something truly and totally special, am I sharing this with the world at large.

What are the general ingredients of Luthar’s Chaimacolate and how is it made?

In this article, I will share the basic ingredients needed for this sacred and divine drink. Here they are.

1. Loose leaf tea (not tea bags)

2. Spices needed to turn tea into Chai (such as dry Ginger, Black Pepper, Pepper Root, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves and others in the right proportion). you can usually get a combination of most of the Chai spices from an Indian grocery store.

3. Pure Organic Raw Cacao Powder (very low in fat, carbohydrates, and calories, and in its natural state unmixed with anything else). I use a small portion only.

4. Organic Maca Powder (low in calories but adds to the flavor, richness, and vitality of the drink). I use a small portion only.

5. Stevia (I use one of the better brands). Stevia is derived from plants and is sold in many places including health food stores. In its pure form, it has virtually no calories and carbohydrates. I find it to be an absolutely wonderful and an amazing  natural zero calorie sugar substitute. I have been adding stevia to my drinks and my personal experience is very positive.

6.  Either one of the following types of  organic milks (Soy milk, Almond milk, Goat milk, Hemp milk, Cow milk ) are fine. These are commonly available in the supermarket or health food stores.

My preference is unsweetened Soymilk because it is very low in carbohydrates and  adding it to the recipe makes the drink rich.

Those are the basic ingredients. I usually make Chaimacolate on the weekends in the morning, when I have more time to savor this drink and sip it slowly. It goes down so smoothly and brings little piece of heaven to this earth.

Even if I am very tired and drowsy when I get up in the morning, after drinking Chaimacolate, my body is all warmed up and feels very fluid in its movements. It is a lot easier for me to exercise and stretch after I have had a few cups of strong Chaimacolate.

I also feel uplifted and in a positive state of mind after the drink. I attribute that to the combination of strong Chai and also the raw organic cacao powder.

What I really like about Chaimacolate is that even though it is super smooth and dark rich drink which goes down like nectar, it is very low in carbohydrates and calories.

More on Chaimacolate in future articles with different variations on the recipes.

Please keep in mind that I am a professor and an amateur vegan cook and not a health care practitioner. Check with your doctor to see if this super rich and exceptionally fantastic drink, fit only for the gods and royalty, is right for you.

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I joined Twitter just to see what all the fuss is. I knew my colleague Michael Roberto is on Twitter already and he posts interesting stuff about Business. Mike has become the first person that I have started to follow.

I don’t have any followers yet on Twitter. However, if you decide to follow me, I will do my best to have excellent and exceptional thoughts once or twice a day! I will be happy to pass these on.

You can find me on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/harshluthar

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http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/haiti-earthquake-relief-effort-avoid-scams/story?id=9555419

The American Red Cross site is given below.

http://www.redcross.org/

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I just read the following from the NY times site. It is written by Pooja Bhatia who is in Haiti at this time. She is a fellow at the Institute of Current World Affairs. Pooja Bhatia writes in part:

“This earthquake will make the devastating storms of 2008 look like child’s play. Entire neighborhoods have vanished. The night of the earthquake, my boyfriend, who works for the American Red Cross, and I tended to hundreds of Haitians who lived in shoddily built hillside slums. The injuries we saw were too grave for the few bottles of antiseptic, gauze and waterproof tape we had: skulls shattered, bones and tendons protruding from skin, chunks of bodies missing. Some will die in the coming days, but for the most part they are the lucky ones.”

“No one knows where to go with their injured and dead, or where to find food and water. Relief is nowhere in sight. The hospitals that are still standing are turning away the injured. The headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping force, which has provided the entirety of the country’s logistical support, has collapsed. Cell and satellite phones don’t work. Cars can’t get through many streets, which are blocked by fallen houses. Policemen seem to have made themselves scarce.”

“If this were a serious country, there would be relief workers here, finding the children buried underneath that house,” my friend Florence told me. Florence is a paraplegic who often sits outside her house in the Bois Verna neighborhood. The house next to hers had collapsed, and Florence said that for a time she heard the children inside crying.”

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/opinion/14bhatia.html

As the full scope of the tragedy became clear, social networking sites have become active in raising awareness of what is going on in Haiti as well as generating donations.

The Canadian Press reported that Internet has been a key to communicating with people from Haiti but the access is limited.

“Twitter and Facebook users encouraged each other to donate to the relief efforts and the U.S. Red Cross quickly collected US$800,000 after a text message campaign went viral.”

“Doctors Without Borders was helped by Twitter in recruiting volunteers, said Paul McPhun, a member of the organization’s emergency management team.”

“Everybody wants to get involved, everybody’s willing to put their time into this emergency response. And so we’re trying to match the profiles of the people with the best experience, the people with the French language skills. That’s moving very rapidly.”

Source: http://tech.ca.msn.com/canadianpress-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23245939

Several agencies are cautioning people to watch out for scams masquerading as asking for donations.

“Give to organizations you’ve heard of. Beware of scams right now. Stay on the beaten path. But for God’s sake, GIVE!,” reads a tweet from the account of Fireside International, a non-profit that works to connect the poor with technology.”

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A major condition of healthy living on Earth is keeping a positive balance between our environment and us. While growing up in the Carpathians I took being self-sustainable for granted, from growing all necessary vegetables on our own land to raising animals that would help us through the winter. Nowadays, I could not do much without relying on fossil energy sources. Unfortunately that comes at a high price. The nature has changed drasticaly and brought fear among us, for the future of our lives and for our children. The media is full of information, very controversial at times, so I was as confused as many of us are when I decided to look closer into the issue of climate change. Are we doomed, can we do something about it, is anything going to change the damage that has already been done – all these questions were racing through my mind. I wanted facts and wanted to know what is in my power to change.

Our society has changed radically in the twentieth century into fossil fuel addicted society, majorly industrialized and, as a consequence, it has caused greenhouse emissions to dramatically increase. This has brought about a chain reaction that has changed our whole world, as we know it, in one single generation.

“The atmospheric concentrations of dioxide of carbon and methane in 2005 exceed by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years”

This table is a major overview of greenhouse gases; these are rough approximations and it is often hard to be precise because they are closely related, each one being found within the other categories. In a Synthesis Report on Climate Change (2007) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states “the atmospheric concentrations of dioxide of carbon and methane in 2005 exceed by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years. Global increases in dioxide of carbon concentrations are due primarily to fossil fuel use, with land-use change providing another significant but smaller contribution. It is very likely that the observed increase in methane concentration is predominantly due to agriculture and fossil fuel use. The increase in nitrous oxide concentration is primarily due to agriculture” (pg 15).

Oil, coal, natural gas resources

Energy production accounts for the highest production of greenhouse gases.

We are largely dependent on petroleum (43% of total energy related carbon dioxide emissions), coal (36%), and natural gas (21%) based energy, to the most basic activities (EIA, 2008). In today’s society most of us would not be functional without fuel for our cars and electricity. Energy production accounts for the highest production of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. In 2006, United States emitted 20% of total carbon dioxide based on fossil fuel, while China 21%. However, if the emissions are calculated per capita, the rate for United States is 20, while for China 5 (EIA, 2006).

Possibilities for alternative energy sources exist and are explored more and more as the threat of global warming becomes more obvious. Currently an increased number of countries are shifting towards solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower. As of 2008, renewable sources of energy accounted for about 7.3% of total U.S. energy consumption and 9% of electricity generation (EIA, 2009). Renewable energy sources are accounted for being the fastest growing industry in 2008 (EIA, 2009). Shifting towards this kind of energy is going to take time and happen gradually but the benefits will be considerable. Not only the carbon dioxide could be reduced, but also the US dependency on fossil energy sources from other countries would be valuable with 57% of fossil energy sources coming from foreign countries such as Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria (EIA, 2008).

Livestock – key factor in climate change

Beef production is by far the leader for livestock emissions; “1 kg of beef being responsible for the equivalent of the amount of CO2 emitted by the average European car every 250 km, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb

for 20 days”.

How did a basic activity like eating end up being part of a climate crisis? Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that choosing to eat less meat or none is the mostimportant choice that one can make to directly affect global warming. United States ranks the highest and it has been the highest for a long time; England is close but its population is about 5 times smaller than that of United States. A change in American diet would have a huge impact on global warming.

Livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of carbon dioxide production (from energy, waste, land use, and forestry), which is higher than emissions produced by transport (FAO, Steinfeld, et al., 2006, pg 112). The impact of livestock production does not stop here. It goes beyond carbon dioxide to other two major greenhouse gases – methane and nitrous oxide. How is it possible that livestock could be responsible for so much of the greenhouse gases? One of the problems with industrial livestock is the waste. The first thing that comes to mind is that manure is sustainable as it is generally being used as a fertilizer but in industrial growing there is too much of it so it is stored in manure “lagoons” where due to lack of oxygenation produces methane and nitrous oxide; the United States is responsible for half of the globe’s total (Lappe, 2008).

In addition, ruminant livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats digest through fermentation, which in turn produces methane and which is eliminated through belching. Though livestock production is only responsible for 9 percent of carbon dioxide, the methane for 37 percent and nitrous oxide for 65 percent of emissions, it must be emphasized that methane has 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over 100 years and nitrous oxide is 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over 100 years (FAO, Steinfeld, at al., 2006). Beef production is by far the leader for livestock emissions, “1 kg of beef being responsible for the equivalent of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 250 km, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days” (Pachauri, 2008).

Amount of water needed to produce 1 Kg of:

• Maize 900 L
• Rice 3 000L
• Chicken 3 900L
• Pork 4 900L
• Beef 15 500L

Besides the high amount of water spent for the production of beef, it takes more than 10 kg of animal feed to produce 1 Kg of beef. In addition, a farmer can feed up to 30 persons throughout the year on 1 hectare with plant food, while using the same amount of land for production of animal produce the number of persons fed drops dramatically to an average of 8 (Pachauri, 2008). In addition, livestock pollutes the land and water with nitrates and phosphorus from the use of manmade fertilizers, which contributes to acid rain due to the high amount of ammonia produced. The energy requirements are high due to required refrigeration and cooking at high temperature as opposed to grains or vegetables. The largest part of deforested tropical areas is used for cattle pastures; the overuse has already led to soil degradation in some parts.

Organic farms on the other hand are self-sustained, rely on manpower not on heavy machinery, fewer manmade chemicals are used, and less carbon dioxide is produced. In addition, organic farms can actually help with climate change by trapping carbon in the soil, 10.000 organic farms being able to trap as much as the carbon dioxide from 1 million cars (Lappe, 2008).

Deforestation

At the current rate of deforestation, tropical forests will disappear in 100 years leading to the extinction of many species of plants and animals, and unknown effects in climate change.

Studies of deforestation during Mayan civilization coincide with the drastic drop in Mayan population when it is thought that 90-95% of population has died (Ray, D. K, 2005). According to NASA archeologist Tom Sever, Mayan civilization was one of the densest in the human history, the population density being similar to that of Los Angeles County in year 2000 – 1800-2600 people per square mile. This is not to say that deforestation was the only reason for the Mayan event, but deforestation combined with natural factors and water management implications, lead to the ending of the Mayan civilization (Michon, Earth Observatory, 2007). The Mayan civilization was one of the greatest that ever existed; the above facts should teach us a lesson – to learn from their success as a nation but also from their failures.

According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) 2005 Global Forest Resource Assessment, deforestation continues at a very high rate, but the loss is not so severe due to forest replanting. By and large, the global level of the forest seems to be doing reasonably fine, however looking specifically at the tropical deforestation the figures are alarming. Tropical forests cover 7% of the earth land out of the 30% of the global land covered by forests (National Geographic). However, as much as 50% of all species on Earth, live in tropical forests. This is why it is so crucial to preserve tropical forests. Unfortunately, the figures do not look so good in relation to tropical forests. Island Nation of Comoros (North of Madagascar) cleared nearly 60% of its forest between 1990 and 2005, Togo in West Africa 44%, Honduras 37%, and Mauritania 36%. Thirteen other tropical countries cleared 20% or more of their forest between 1990 and 2005 (Lindsey, 2007). At the current rate of deforestation, tropical forests will disappear in 100 years leading to the extinction of many species of plants and animals, and unknown effects in climate change (Urquhart, 2001).

The major factors to be held accountable for deforestation are agriculture, cattle, and logging. Local farms usually clear only a few acres of land as opposed to commercial agriculture where a few square miles are cleared. The forest cleared by farmers can grow back as soon as 20 years if left alone, unfortunately due to the commercial equipment used for massive deforestation in commercial agriculture, it can take up to 50 years for the trees to grow back. The impact on animals and plants cannot be easily reversed. The carbon dioxide cycle is even more disturbed; not only that there is less of it trapped by the trees, but also burning the trees releases carbon dioxide adding even more to the climate change. The solutions are strongly related to the countries owning the tropical forests but we need a global change in agriculture and cattle raising in order to slow down the deforestation.

Desertification – the most threatening process that primarily affects the poor

The dust storms have had an effect on respiratory diseases as far as North America and had an influence on the coral reefs in the Caribbean.

Desertification is a process where the dry land becomes desert-like. It is natural that a certain amount of desertification occurs, but at the current rate there is extensive evidence that point towards human activities. This process can expand from an already existing desert or form in new places, both due to human activities. According to The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, based on the number of people affected, desertification ranks among the greatest environmental challenges. It is estimated that about 10-20% of dry lands are affected by desertification (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005, pg 1). A direct consequence of this process is dust storms, which can in turn lead to further soil degradation. China’s dust storms are found to be mainly due to climate change and human activity and at a much lesser extent to natural processes (Journal of Geophysical Research). While global warming produces more evaporation from oceans to respond to the warmer atmosphere with increased moisture it also takes moisture from the soil leading to increased desertification. In addition, by loosing fertile soil, more biodiversity is lost, less plants growing and increased carbon dioxide. Other major factors are overexploiting the land, agriculture, and the population growth that has put more pressure on the usage of soil. Agriculture can have a positive impact depending on how it is managed. For example, the fast burning of wood can increase desertification while slow and controlled burning can nourish the soil.

The best approach to desertification is prevention, as restoration of the already affected areas can be expensive and time-consuming. Steps to prevent soil erosion, desalinization, proper irrigation of the water during droughts, can all help prevent desertification. Drought is considered a “silent killer” because it deprives the soil of its valuable nutrients. Extreme conditions are seen, with drought followed by long periods of water scarcity. As of 2005, 1-2 billion people suffer from water scarcity, most of them living in dry land areas where the desertification is predominant (Millennium Assessment Ecosystem, 2005, pg 13; UNESCO, 2006). At this moment, the poorest countries are the most affected; it is sad that the ones having the least responsibility for global warming are the ones to suffer first. All continents besides Antarctica are affected, with a heavy predominance in Africa and Asia. The dust storms have had an effect on respiratory diseases as far as North America and had an influence on the coral reefs in the Caribbean. A complete desertification synthesis is found under the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment initiated by the UN in 2002.

Conclusion

The global warming is currently affecting glaciers, which has major consequences in many aspects of our life and the animal and plant species. It is estimated that by 2020 up to 250 million people in Africa will suffer from water scarcity, 20-30 percent of plant and animal species might face extinction if the temperature continues to increase, and melting glaciers will cause floods that could affect more than 1 billion people. (Assessment Reports on Climate Change, 2006).

To conclude, it is a fact recognized by scientists that climate change is mainly due to human activities. The number of skeptics has drastically dropped over the past years; the ones left either do not argue directly in peer-reviewed scientific journals or recognize the effects of human activities but dismiss any effects that require immediate action (Suzuki).

TAKE ACTION NOW

Meat consumption

• Decreasing meat consumption is one of the most important changes that one person can do
• Beef is the meat that takes most energy to be produced
• Being vegetarian is a good choice but making a program for lower intake of meat is very helpful as well
• Choose organic as it has a lower impact on climate
• Health benefits can be seen with a moderate intake of meat

Energy

• Replace light bulbs for energy saving bulbs – did you know that if all America would change one bulb in their house it would be like taking 1 million cars off the road (National Geographic)
• Buy energy efficient appliances
• Turn off lights when they are not needed
• Turn off computers when not in use or overnight
• Cook in pressure cooker devices

Transportation

• Whenever possible choose walking, biking, carpooling to work
• Take the train
• Choose smaller cars as they emit less greenhouse gases and are most cost-effective – did you know that “a typical car produces three times its weight in carbon dioxide emissions. Annual fuel costs average $648 for a new Volkswagen Jetta and $2,067 for a Ford Expedition 4×4”. (Suzuki Foundation)
• Put your kids in the school bus
• Buy local food, imagine how much energy it takes to bring food from South America, Europe etc

Trash

• Change the attitude “out of sight, out of mind”; landfills are a major source of pollution
• Be environmentally conscious and recycle cardboards, paper, cans, and bottles
• Bring your reusable bags for groceries

Water

• Use a filter to purify your water and avoid bottled water, it is less expensive and it would reduce the containers waste
• Install a low flow shower head
• Choose plants that require minimal watering
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth

Trees

• Plant a tree at home
• Pay your bills online and choose paperless statements
• Avoid paper phone books – choose the internet
• Use both sides of a sheet of paper when printing
• Choose a service to help you get rid of junk mail
• Use the local library instead of buying books

Information

• Go online and find more ways to go green, there are plenty of websites with good tips to help our planet
• Join different movements and groups that promote sustainable and green living
• Tell everybody about the exciting changes you are making – you might be surprised at the outcome
• Promote healthy living among local and national officials

We might ask ourselves, how this is going to make a difference; I am only one among billions of people. Mother Theresa once said: “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean; but the ocean would be less because of that drop”. I believe it lies within our power to take the next step. There is a need for everybody throughout this planet to be aware and make changes, and most importantly we need our governments to come together now, to leave politics and money driven interests aside and think about our planet for once. Change is not easy but it is definitely necessary.

My blog: www.elitehealthplex.blogspot.com

Damiana Corca, DOM, AP, Dipl. O.M., Dipl. C.H.

Doctor in Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture Physician

Diplomate in Oriental Medicine and Chinese Herbology

Western Family and Consultant Herbalist

Candidate, Board Certified Classical Homeopath

References:

[1] Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K. and Reisinger, A. (Eds.)IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pg 15

http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf

[2] Energy Information and Administration Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Emission Report, Report #: DOE/EIA-0573 (2007), Released Date: December 3, 2008

http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/index.html

[3] Energy Information and Administration Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government, Frequently asked questions – Environment,

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/environment_faqs.asp#CO2_quantity

[4] Energy Information and Administration Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government, International Energy Outlook 2009 with Projections to 2030, March 27, 2009

http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/speeches/howard052709.pdf

[5] Ibid

[6] Energy Information and Administration Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government, Frequently Asked Questions, August 2009

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/crudeoil_faqs.asp#foreign_oil

[7] Guardian.co.uk, Meat consumption per capita, September 2, 2009, from Food and Agriculture of the United Nations

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/datablog/2009/sep/02/meat-consumption-per-capita-climate-change

[8] Steinfeld, H., Gerber P., et al., 2006. Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pg 112

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM

[9] Lappe, A. The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork, October 2008

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/climatechange/#fn1

[10] Steinfeld, H., Gerber P., et al., 2006. Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pg 112

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM

[11] Patchauri R.K. The Impact of Meat Production and Consumption on Climate Change, 2008, London

http://www.rkpachauri.org/pdf/London08.pdf

[12] Ibid

[13] Lappe, A. The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork, October 2008

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/climatechange/#fn1

[14]Ray, D. K. et al. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2005, abstract #B33F-07

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AGUFM.B33F..07R

[15] Michon, S. Mayan Mysteries, Global Hydrology Resource Center, Earth Observatory, 2004

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Maya/

[16] Global Forest Resources Assessment, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/A0400E/A0400E00.pdf

[17] National Geographic, Deforestation, (extracted September 12, 2009)

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview.html

18] Lindsey, R. Tropical Deforestation, Earth Observatory, March 30, 2007

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/

[19] Urquhart, G., Chomentowski, W. et al. Tropical Deforestation. 2003

http://alliance.la.asu.edu/model/geoliteracyCD/LessonFiles/Stelten/SteltenForestS1.pdf

[20] Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being, Desertification Synthesis, World Resources Institute. 2005

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.355.aspx.pdf

[21] Journal of Geophysical Research, Qi, F., L. Wei, L. Yansui, Z. Yanwu, and S. Yonghong (2004), Impact of desertification and global warming on soil carbon in northern China, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D02104, doi:10.1029/2003JD003599.

http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2004/2003JD003599.shtml

[22] Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being, Desertification Synthesis, World Resources Institute. 2005

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.355.aspx.pdf

[23] UNESCO. Sharing Water

http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/wwdr2/pdf/wwdr2_ch_11.pdf

[24] Gateway to the UN’s Systems on Climate Change. The Science. The Economics of Climate change – The Stern Review. 2006

http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/climatechange/pages/gateway/the-science

[25] Suzuki Foundation, Science – The Skeptics

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Science/Skeptics.asp

[26] IPCC. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. 2006

http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html

[27] Suzuki Foundation, Science – The Skeptics

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Science/Skeptics.asp

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In my early years, in life and in spiritual searching, my primary motivation in life was to be loved; there seemed to be such a lack of love, cumulatively, in my own experience, everywhere I turned. (Extreme heartbreak, depression, loss, family trauma and other factors had all contributed to this perception.)

Toward that end (wanting so desperately to be loved), it was easy for me to extend friendship and love to people — but underneath the very real and warm feelings of affection and caring, there was often an undercurrent, an edge, of selfishness, of manipulation, of being loving and accommodating and understanding and kind out of a desire to be treated reciprocally.

It’s a painful moment, to recognize that the majority of one’s actions, seemingly loving on the surface, are motivated from internal pain and a nagging sense of a lack of love.

That recognition was a huge wake-up call for me, in my mid-twenties, and left me reeling. Having identified that overwhelming tendency in myself, it was almost too painful to examine, to look at clearly, to admit — and yet, having seen it, I couldn’t then un-know it.

Heartbreak – A Profound Spiritual Motivator

I think many people — not all — come to spirituality and seek a spiritual path out of that desire to love and be loved. Something is missing in their lives, in their experience of living and interacting with others — something just under the surface facade of daily life is disappointed or yearning for love.

Looking back, I’m convinced this was a primary motivation for me to (reluctantly) seek a spiritual life. I had survived my youth and upbringing, and my turbulent, dramatic twenties — and I became interested in finding out what thriving, rather than just surviving, might feel like.

Fast forward to now, in my early forties, having spent so many years on an intense spiritual path, living a good portion of the last decade in South India (at an ashram), and I realize that the constancy of that yearning for love and understanding has pretty much dissolved.

It is no longer an urgent longing, a theme in my daily life and interactions, like it was before: “Oh, but you’re not UNDERSTANDING me!” or “…But I just want to be LOVED!!! Why is that so difficult?”

Love: A Fish In The Ocean

And my insight today (certainly not a new idea, the Sufi poets have talked more eloquently than I on the subject) is this: the experience of love is like a fish in the water.

The desire for love in our lives, although natural, means that we’re not perceiving how much we are loved by the divine (in, through, and around us).

The fish in the water doesn’t identify how wet the water is, he’s simply in it. (The Sufi saying is “The fish in the ocean’s not thirsty.”)

Similarly, we’re surrounded constantly by divine love but don’t feel it, mostly, as such — we feel the illusion of separation from it. And then yearn for that love, and spend our lives pursuing it — but it’s already with us! Has always been with us! Can never NOT be with us, except in our perception of it not being there.

Radical Prayer: “Grant That I May Love More Than Be Loved”

A few years ago, when I was in and out of this awareness, sometimes swinging into those moments of forgetting, and thinking, “Oh, but I just wanna be LOVED!” inevitably St. Francis of Assisi’s famous prayer would come into my mind as if written in neon lights:

“O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.”

Francis’ statement is so bold, so courageous — Grant that I can love more than I am, myself, loved.

To take those words seriously and try to live to them is creating a kind of revolution, on a fundamental level, in terms of how we perceive ourselves, truly, and perceive our interactions/relationships with others — and how, finally, we perceive our connection with god.

If we truly see/feel/perceive/recognize how deeply the divine is with us, in every moment, in every circumstance, in every breath, in every molecule in our make-up, in every waking or sleeping state — then we are experiencing the depth of god’s love constantly.

And god’s love isn’t selfish; god isn’t sitting there mourning a lack of love — god IS love. As children of god, ourselves, we are endowed with the identical capacity of love: boundless, flowing, unconditional, pure love in all directions, at all times.

The trick is, how to ask, like St. Francis, not so much to be loved, but to love. Francis is essentially asking to become like god is: purely loving.

Homecoming: Back To The Heart

It sounds so easy but the leap of faith required, the leap of surety in god’s love — it can take a lifetime to make that jump. It seems like having to leap over a whole life’s worth of suffering, of selfishness, of a chasm of belief systems and limitations that simply aren’t working any more but are too familiar to just jump over. It’s like jumping over a gaping canyon of our fears. And it is, initially, frightening to survey that chasm and even consider a leap like that.

Spiritual work, it seems to me, constant practice and sadhana and meditation and sacrifice and honesty about our limitations and service to others — is preparing us, systematically, to make that leap into unconditional love.

By the time we’ve done so much work, over time, with faith and patience being tried to the extreme — that leap isn’t monumental at all, over a giant gaping chasm of self-doubt and yearning for love, but it’s like making a peaceful, natural step up into the front door of god’s home (where god has been waiting, just waiting, to welcome us, all along).

Because that doorway into god’s home? It’s the doorway into our own home, our own divine heart.

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   To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other,
of those ever united, I secure what is not already possessed
and preserve what they already possess. (BG 9.22)

The story below appeared months ago prompting some discussion in the Guruvayur yahoo group in which I am a member. Today is Thanksgiving here in America, and this week we also celebrate Gita Jayanti, or the observance of the gifting of the Bhagavad Gita to the world by Shri Krishna more than five thousand years ago.  As my thoughts turn to gratitude, I am reminded of this story below and the responses it produced in the Guruvayur group, and how important it is to always be grateful to the Lord for everything, knowing that He is our eternal well wisher and that everything happens for our highest good, even the things which which appear to be bad or are difficult to endure…everything means everything.

The focus of the discussion was on what should we ask of God. To what end do we pray, asking for this and pleading for that?  Success in this venture, a new job, a happy marriage, a grandchild, a son or a daughter, a husband, a wife, a handsome husband, a beautiful wife, a nice house, a beautiful house, a mansion, good grades in school, a child who is a doctor or the president of the US?  For what is it that we really seek, when all illusions are cast aside and maya’s veil is lifted?  None of the above!!!

What should I seek from the Lord but the Lord Himself? That by His grace, I should know Him as the very Self in my heart, casting aside the shackles of the body and the solitary confinement imposed by the mind. He promises us, in the Gita, that if we are utterly devoted to Him, thinking of Him only, asking only for Him rather than of Him, He will be ours, and as such, will take care of us as needed.  To understand this, to believe this, in full faith, can only be followed by complete surrender to His will, trusting that whatever happens is indeed His divine will operating to bring us out of bondage to birth and into reunion with Him.

 
From http://idharudharkee.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-we-should-ask-god.html 

What should we ask of God?

This story from Mahabharata answers this question beautifully and categorically:

The Great War between the Pandavas and Kauravas was to begin. Arjuna, having pondered, decided to go to Lord Krishna and ask him for help.
He went to the Lord’s abode and found him asleep.

He stood respectfully at his lotus feet, with folded hands and head bowed in reverence. Duryodana, of the Kauravas, had the same idea of asking Sri Krishna’s help. He too came and, finding the Lord asleep, sat arrogantly in a chair placed at the head of Lord’s bed.

In due course, the Lord woke up. Arjuna, being at his feet, was the first person he naturally saw. As he turned to get up, the Lord’s eyes fell upon Duryodana.

The purpose of their visit was known to Him. However, he asked them what he could do for them.

Both answered that they had come to request his assistance in the ensuing war. The lord said that they had placed him in a difficult predicament by asking for the same thing. He said he could not deny either of them. He said he would offer himself, alone, without armies to one of them and to the other he would offer all his armed forces completely. He said that since his eyes had fallen on Arjuna first, he should have the first choice in the matter.

Arjuna promptly prayed to Sri Krishna that he alone should side the Pandavas.. Duryodana heaved a sigh of relief and requested Sri Krishna for all his forces. The Lord agreed to their requests.

We know who emerged victorious. The moral is “We should ask for HIM, not ask for things He can give us”

If the Lord gives us everything in the Universe but withholds Himself from us, we gain nothing. But if we seek HIM for Himself alone, we get not merely Him but all that is His, too!

abhyaasa yOga yuktEna cEtasaa naanyagaaminaa,
paramam pursham divyam yaati paarthaanucintayan

Meaning: 
He who with his mind disciplined through Yoga in the form of practice of meditation and thinking of nothing else, is constantly engaged in contemplation of God attains the supremely effulgent Divine Purusha (God)  (sloka 8 in chapter 8 of Gita)                                                                      

And what did Arjuna request?  The Lord Himself.  In his earnest bhakti, he intuited that this was the right choice and it was.  When you ask for the Lord Himself, with utter devotion and humility, how can He deny you?  In the Gita, He makes this promise to His devotees…

ananyaaScintayamtO maam yE janaah paryupaasatE
tEshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam yOgakshEmam vahaamyaham. (BG 9.22)

To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, of those ever united, I secure what is not already possessed and preserve what they already possess.
http://www.dlshq.org/download/bgita.pdf

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. 
http://www.bhagavad-gita.us/categories/The-Gita%3A-Chapter-9/?Page=2

Those who desire My eternal association precluding all else meditate on me with exclusive devotion; those persons I insure the uniting of their individual consciousness with Ultimate Consciousness perpetually.  http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-09-22.html

Yoga-kesamam, means to provide what they lack and safeguard or preserve what they have. In this context, yoga is said to mean making available what one does not have, and ksema means the preservation of what one already has.  For some, the sloka is interpreted to mean those who recognize the nonduality of the Self, abiding in the Self at all times; for others, this is considered to be a promise from the Lord to take care of His devotees. If we go online, we can find countless articles claiming that the interpretation therein is the right one and that all others are missing the point, thus missing salvation itself!

For me, neither one has the right to claim the other is wrong…it can mean both, one at the level at which we exist as entities in this world of maya, or saguna,  another at the level of the formless nirguna.  The Lord, in His infinite mercy, prescribed numerous paths in the Gita. I am a bhakta. He is my Lord and while I know that philosophically speaking we are indeed nonseparate as it says so in the Gita and in the Vedas, as far as I am concerned, that can only be truly perceived through His Grace.  So, while I am nothing but Him, on another level of worldly perception, this is known and experienced only through the operation of Divine Grace. 

It is so stated in the Mukanda Upanishad 3.2.3:

nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo
na medhayā, na bahunā śrutena,
yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām.
(Mukanda Upanishad 3.2.3)

This Self cannot be realized by studying the scriptures, nor through the use of reason, nor from the words of others–no matter what they say. By the grace of the Self the Self is known; the Self reveals itself.   http://www.peterrussell.com/Upi/Mund.php

The Supreme Lord is not attained by reasonings or by vast intelligence, nor even by much hearing. He is attained only by one whom he Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.  http://bvml.org/SBVPGM/sgt.html

And the Katha Upanishad 2.2.23:

The Self cannot be known through study of the scriptures, nor through the intellect, nor through hearing learned discourses. The Self can be attained only by those Whom the Self chooses. Verily unto them Does the Self reveal himself.  http://booksandphotos.blogspot.com/2009/05/upanishads-kena-and-katha.html

This Supreme Self cannot be reached by argumentation, or by applying one’s independent brain power, or by studying many scriptures. Rather, he alone can achieve the Self whom the Self chooses to favor. To that person the Self reveals His own true, personal form.  http://vedabase.net/sb/10/87/27/en1

The reason I have reproduced more than one translation of the Gita and Upanishad slokas above is that I wanted to read them in several formats for my own benefit and I also wanted to offer the reader the option of seeing it as such. So many ways of saying the same thing.  And so many schools of thought want to say that their interpretation is the correct one and all others false and faulty.  In the end, Divine Grace is the operational catalyst, whatever you deem its source.

So, what should we ask of God? Truly, there is no thing to be asked. There is no thing to be given. How can we give Him what is already His? All we can do is realize, through His grace alone, that we are already His, in every sense that we as mortals can conceptualize in our limited minds! Not only will He take care of everything and look after the welfare of the devotee, He will guide us if we listen. Thus, I do have a prayer…to fully surrender, to listen without fear of the consequences, no matter what He asks me to do. Where it will lead, I have no real idea and no plan of action! He is guiding the chariot now. May I sit quietly and not be a backseat driver. Chitta chora!!!

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As I ramble on with Ramana
on sitting silent, and passing.
Action of auspicious shades of orange autumn leaves
attach their coloured crusty shades
to reflective rockports of realization.

On occasion, a lofty leaf within leela, stuck without sticking
releases bondage from rambling rocking walking rock.
Heart time space are collaborated and concentrated.
An unconditional comfortable compassion now remains here
and an all airy fiery appearance resides rupa.

Om. All love.

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