December 28....sort of – we are right over the North Pole so I think it might be December 29 in fact. Eli and I have 4.5 hours left to Amsterdam – and we just flew for 4.5 hours. My body is not too sure just what it is at this point – tired....yep! Hungry? can't quite tell...
Last night Eli and Leo's friends threw him a going away party at our house, for which Chis and I did all the preparation.....except for an awesome cake, compliments of Libby. We weren't sure how it ended up being that way but it was totally a fortunate oddity. I mean there was so much love – so much Shakti that all I wanted to do was be in service to That. (Well, OK, I also wanted to finish packing and get some sleep – I did finish packing but have decided that sleep is not for me – no siree! I think I will wait another 48 hours before I even try it on for size again.)
Another thing that Chris, Leo, Eli and I all wanted VERY BADLY to do was to finish our family read-aloud book. We only had 2 chapters left – poised on the brink of a very exciting climax to wonderful trilogy and- the doorbell rang! One of the party guests was early! It was hard to act happy to see him. We reluctantly closed the book.
So on Sunday morning we got up at 4 am so that we would have time to finish. And in fact, Leo had to read aloud the last chapter as we were driving to the airport. We made it.
Eli and I have already done some "airplane Yoga" - we found this great little nook – a narrow hallway where we were able to do some standing poses, forward bends and shoulder openers. We both feel fairly self-conscious doing this sort of thing in public - so it was great to have each other for company and also to have a fairly tucked away little cranny.
Tuesday Dec. 30 - 8 pm in Cochin
after the last entry, a lot of time without sleep …..stayed overnight at the Bombay domestic airport and caught our last flight at 6 am for Cochin. We were met at the airport by a taxi driver who had all sorts of Catholic statues on the dashboard. And we got to our "home-stay" (basically a bed and breakfast place) and the host told us that he is "Latin Catholic" and his wife is "Roman Catholic". I thought, OF COURSE you are – I didn't fly around the world to see a Hindu for Pete's sake.
Today was almost a melt-down day for me.....narrowly avoided scaring Eli by collapsing in a puddle of my self by taking a homeopathic remedy designed to avert just that sort of thing. And even more effective – I opened a book we brought – Derisive Laughter by Lee Lozowick (we wanted to bring one of his books and that one was the smallest so it made the cut).
The quote I opened to was – and I'm paraphrasing a bit because the book is not handy) "When students work with a True Teacher who occasionally turns them back on themselves to find the answers to questions, they do not get turned back to their own egos; its like they get turned back to that which is in communion with Blessing Force or the "true Teacher."
So I was thinking that traveling in India might be a way of working with a Teacher. And India, Ma India, is not going to be turning me back to the refuge of my ego – She is just too wild for that – I think my ego does quite well in situations where my preferences are met.....and believe me, this experience is not an exercise in fulfilling my preferences......
"India – the Grand Tour – Meet all your preferences and get over them in a hurry!" So if Ma India is not going to turn me back on my ego – that's a blessing for anyone who hangs around me and it's a happy thought for me that I might be getting turned back to Blessing Force.
[Note : not having my preferences met does Not mean I am unhappy – just the opposite.]
OK I would prefer to write longer but there's this whole technology piece to deal with here – (random, spotty, difficult) so that's it for now"
- Karen Sprute Francovich
- Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
- Karen is a yogini, writer, student, teacher and meditator. She founded Garden Street School of Yoga in 2000. Karen lives with her husband Chris. They have two amazing sons, Eli and Leo (both of them young men).
wow....for some reason I burst into tears reading about your family read aloud book being interupted by an early partygoer at your house. I was suddenly flooded with the Grace that it has truly been and IS NOW to know your family. All of you. I sometimes feel like your family was sent to me from Grace to help heal a HUGE misalignment I've had in myself when it comes to family. I'm just overwhelmed with Gratitude to know you and your willingness to share even these little intimate family moments between you and Chris and Eli and Leo. I just want you to know that they reach me deep down in the core of my being and make a huge impact on me. Like you'll never know!!
ReplyDeleteas for my family, I had a great experience last night of healing and miracles. I was singing in the band I'm in for a local club that doesn't serve alcohol and is kindof a safe place for people in recovery to learn to have fun again...sober. I am honored to be inthis band, it is totally a service to Grace in all ways. Anyway, I'm up there singing this fun song by the Rocco Prestia band called "Express Yourself"...kindof a funky bluesey song that I love, and I'm watching my daughter and her friend dance to my right, my son is running around with his friends all over, my friends are dacning in front of me screaming and having a ball, and my ex husband is dancing with his new girlfriend in the back and I'm SOOOOO happy for him!!! If you would have asked me if that was possible a year ago, I would have laughed at you and then cried!!! Grace makes anything possible. My family is not the same. We don't have family out loud book reads. But a family that does has had an impact on mine and that miracle was there last night. That impact started the day you walked into Stepping Stones looking for a place to do yoga. and it really got to work on me during our year of One Heart Dialogue, especially at the retreat. Opening to compassion and doing Tonglen with couples like you and Chris. I guess I'm just sharing it here because that is what flooded me reading your blog about your family. thank God for your family in my life! I love you Karen and Chris and Eli and Leo!