Be unapologetically you! “Do not seek for things to happen the way you want them to; rather, wish that what happens happen the way it happens: then you will be happy." - Epictetus   I have never considered myself a stoic. And yet, in a heartfelt conversation with a dear friend today, she gently reflected back to me the way I move through life’s challenges. Her words lingered. Being a researcher at heart, I turned to good old Google and found this description: A stoic person r

“Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.”  Paramahansa Yogananda     Today was a banner day—not only here in India, but in the landscape of my entire spiritual journey. When I first picked up Autobiography of a Yogi over thirty years ago, I read it with three companions: awe, skepticism, and hope. I questioned the miracles. I wondered about the sages. I asked if the astonishing stories he told—stories that defy t

“You must be a lotus, unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!”  Sai Baba   There is something undeniably magical about seeing a lotus in bloom here in India. It feels like a sacred reminder rising right out of the earth—pure, radiant, and utterly unconcerned with the mud it springs from. In Hinduism, the lotus is so much more than a flower. It is enlightenment. It is purity. It is the qu

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” — Dalai Lama   There are a handful of spiritual teachers whose words have shaped the very fabric of my life, and two of them have been on my heart so tenderly these days. I deeply miss the serene presence of Thich Nhat Hanh and his simple, elegant view of life. And now, as I walk through India—the land of sages, saints, and seekers—I can feel how close I am to the Dalai Lama, whose laughter alone could l

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought." ~ Matsuo Basho   There is something profoundly stirring about walking in a land where saints, sages, gurus, and mystics have poured their devotion into the soil. India has always called to my soul, but being here now feels like remembering rather than discovering. I came to deepen my connection to Spirit—to breathe the air my beloved guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, once breathed, and to feel into the en

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin   Tonight, as I sat in deep conversation with my dear friend Nivritti, this quote echoed through my heart like a temple bell. It landed with such force and clarity that I felt my entire inner landscape shift. Here we are—two women watching the same streets, the same people, the same colorful symphony of India—and yet perceiving it through completely different lenses. I look at India as a guest in a sacred l

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come without leaving happier.” —Mother Teresa   Today my heart was touched in the most tender way. As I continue my journey here in India, I find myself observing the beautiful ways love expresses itself in daily life. One soul who embodies this so naturally is my dear friend and host, Pracheta. I have watched as neighbors and friends appear at her door simply to say hello, yet they leave transformed—lighter, brighter, smiling f

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.”  Rabindranath Tagore   Today was a good day—because I chose it to be so. Here in India, the dawn greeted me earlier than I expected, wrapped in a kind of gentle freshness that whispered, “Begin again.” I sat quietly and listened. India speaks in a language of sound—unfamiliar, enchanting, ancient. My ears strain at first to name what they’re hearing, yet somehow the rhythm feels strangely famil

Outside the gudwara “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.  Kahlil Gibran   It was a sacred day for my beloved host family—a celebration of sweet Vanya’s sixteenth birthday. In this culture, family is not simply a bond; it is a living temple of love, honor, and devotion. As the clock struck midnight, we gathered around her with joyful voices and warm hearts, singing into the new year of her life. But the re

“Concentrate on a single feeling – love for the Lord – while chanting.”  Unknown   There is a sacred hush that falls upon the soul when we chant with intention. It is as if every syllable becomes a bridge—one that carries us from distraction into devotion, from mind into heart, from human effort into Divine embrace. Years ago, during a beautiful conversation with my dear friend Karen Palmer, she shared that she was beginning nightly chanting and asked if I would join her. Kar