It is summer now, and I can feel my own and others’ thoughts of “…time to take a vacation!” vibrating in the air. Years ago, I went through real challenge around taking vacations. I found that I was coming back from vacations more exhausted than when I left. One of my problems seemed to be…

Don’t worry! I’m in very good health, and I hope you are, too! Still, I am the last part of my 6th decade, so the subject of the best ways to face into old age and death are important ones for me to consider now. Actually, this is true for everyone, no matter what your…

Through Many Lives: A Tale of Time Travel Through the Yugas by Nayaswami Savitri Simpson. One year ago, in a blog I wrote for this website Writing a Spiritual Novel, I told the story of how I came to be writing a novel. I told of the many interesting lessons learned thus far. If you…

11-11-11 — an obviously auspicious day for writing a blog. May all sentient and non-sentient creatures be blessed with inner and outer peace today and always.  I was/am amazed at the number of favorable responses to my last blog, wherein I told the story of my husband’s broken leg and how we are working our…

Sometimes I wonder these things: a) Why would anybody want to write a blog about what is going on in their lives lately? and more importantly, b) Why would anybody want to (or have time to) actually read it? Our Ananda webmasters have convinced me that people do want to read what we have to…

Easter has always been my favorite holiday. How about you? For me it always feels very inspiring — like a dynamic resurrection from the inertia brought on by the cold of winter. As the plants and animals all around me start to bud, grow, or awaken, I feel like leaping and dancing through the green…

It’s time to reveal my secret to a larger circle of friends — that is, whoever might be taking the time to read this blog. I’ve not told many folks about what I’ve been doing in my spare time lately, but I think it’s OK to say more about it now. For the past two…

On the weekend of November 5 – 7, 2010, Nayaswami Anaashini Alzate and I traveled from Ananda Village to Chicago to participate in a weekend of programs at the beautiful Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. This unusual invitation came about through friends of mine, Elizabeth Davenport and Anne Benvenuti. Anne and Elizabeth are…

My blog this time is going to be a fairly shameless effort on my part to convince you that you need to take the Ananda Meditation Teacher Training Course. The next one starts June 18th.  It is 9 days long: a week plus two weekends on both ends. Wait, wait, don’t go away! I’m guessing…

It’s a little hard for me to understand why I have self-acceptance or self-esteem issues. I had a decent childhood, with no major abuse that I can remember. But certainly I’ve had this issue to deal with. And it certainly seems to me that this problem is epidemic in the world around me. I thought…

Recently I was talking with a friend who is a counselor to many people. She mentioned that many of the folks she was working with seem to be extremely fearful, filled with anxiety for a variety of reasons, and thus mentally paralyzed and unable to move forward with their lives. She asked if I had…

I want to tell you about my friend, Sanandi Reardon, and her miracle plant. Sanandi and I have known each other for many years. She is a deeply devoted disciple and Kriyaban who lives in Carson City, Nevada. She is unable to visit Ananda that often, though she tries to come at least once a…

The Christmas holiday Season can get pretty crazy. Everyone knows how it feels to be frantic, overtired, un-centered, or lonely at this time of year. This is too bad, because these Holidays can become true Holy-days and can be a time of greatest joy, if you are willing to make it so. Try a few…

Being in nature is where I’ve always felt most comfortable and at home. I also appreciate a snug house and a warm stove on a cold, rainy night. But if the weather is agreeable and I have the opportunity to be outside, then that would always be my first choice. Perhaps you feel the same…

Years ago I was giving a tour of Ananda Village when a woman on the tour asked me if Ananda had formed a “Women’s Liberation Group” here. “Oh yes!” I replied. “We meet once a week!” She was pleased and went on to ask: “And what are the topics of discussion at your meetings?” The…

April 17-21 of this year, 2008, I was blessed to return to my “ole stompin’ grounds, deep in the heart ‘o Texas.’” Actually what that means, ya’ll, when translated out of Texan into Amurrrri-can, is that I flew to out Dallas to give classes and get-togethers at the Ananda Dallas Center. My flight was over…

Earlier this year, I took a 17-day (Feb. 10 -27, 2008) trip to Kerala, South India, specifically to an Ayurvedic Health Resort called Somatheeram (translation “Moon-Seashore”). This trip was sponsored by Ananda’s Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat near Nevada City, California and led by Gyandev and Diksha McCord—it was their third year to take…