“Rise above the crowd. Step Out of the choking monotony of ordinary existence into a finer more colorful life of achievement and ever-new peace. Open your eyes and see the power that you now have.” P. Yogananda

Despite what you might read, listen to, or hear in the media, humanity is not just the fighting, angry, or hopeless beings that are emphasized. There are extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. There is one instance in particular that I would especially like to share with you.

It is the story of Balpreet Kaur a Sikh woman who has facial hair due to a hormonal imbalance. In accordance with her religious beliefs, she does not shave or trim it. Because of this, she has a full-grown beard and noticeably thick sideburns. Someone took a picture of her without her knowledge and uploaded it to Reddit with the comment “I don’t know what to make of this.” The nasty comments started to pour in.

When a friend told her the picture was being ridiculed online, Balpreet didn’t respond in anger or even hurt, but rather with an extremely graceful, mature and deeply spiritual letter. Here is an excerpt:

“I’m not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention that this picture is getting because it’s who I am. Yes, I’m a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I looked different than most women.

However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of the body-it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being which is genderless actually, and we must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. Just as a child doesn’t reject the gift of his or her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us.

By crying ‘mine, mine’, and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a separateness between ourselves and the divinity within us. By transcending societal views of beauty, I believe that I can focus more on my actions. My attitude and thoughts and actions have more value in them than my body because I recognize that this body is just going to become ash in the end, so why fuss about it?”

This brave and beautiful woman is a much needed role model for women, especially our daughters. She is a young college student, and very clear on who she is and why she is on this earth. If you Google her you can read the entire letter. It’s worth it.

Don’t know about you, but when I was her age I would have been devastated if this happened to me and probably would have crumbled or gone into a period of self-loathing. Her response was from a place of attunement with her own divinity. And her gracious, understanding letter brought a written, public apology from the person who submitted the photo. He ended his comment with “you are a better person than I.” Looks like everyone learned a huge lesson.

Things, they are a changin’.

Since blogs are for expressing one’s thoughts with their community, I feel compelled to speak about what is weighing on my heart and mind right now. It has to do with our health and making a stand for transparency regarding the quality of food we eat.
I recently was sent the film: WWW.genetic Roulette Movie.com and as I watched it, I began to understand the unexplainable symptoms that many of my family members have been experiencing. From joint pain and swelling, to allergies, fatigue, indigestion, inordinate burping, and stomach bloating, my loved ones had gone to the doctors, had tests, and were sent home without answers to their challenges because what they were suffering from wasn’t a disease per se. After seeing this documentary on GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), I realize that what we are dealing with are the side effects of eating food that has been unnaturally and harmfully tampered with. Continue reading →

I built a geodesic dome in the 80′s. It was on Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, right below the Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters. The “Mother Center”as it is called, was not only the place where I worked but also the nucleus of the wonderful community. It was the early 1980′s and wanting to live close to this spiritual center, many of us young “householders” bought vacant lots scattered among the hills. Without much money we somehow managed to pull together enough resources to build a home. Dwellings of all shapes and sizes began to spring up and the neighborhood blossomed with joyous souls.

Budgets were tight and we had to do a lot of the work ourselves. Others who had been through the same process would show up to help with the finishing work. Long hours were spent tiling, painting, and cleaning together. But as exhausting as it was, much comradery and deep friendships were chisled. We were creating a community for our children to be born and grow up in, the common bond being the desire to live by the lofty precepts given by Yoganandaji. Weekly meditations were held in people’s homes and we would gather to chant and practice Kriya Yoga together. We celebrated marriages and births. We even had our own wonderful midwife and most babies were born at home under her expert care. My youngest daughter, Serena, came into the world in our dome-home. I fondly remember that after she was born, the women took turns providing home cooked meals for two weeks allowing me to enjoy my newborn and heal from the birth.

Without a deep commitment to meditation and the support of a community also determined to live a God-centered existence, it would have been much more challenging for me to establish the yogic life. “Environment is stronger than will power,” said Yogananda. With this great truth in mind the Soul of Yoga has opened a new wing. These two rooms are dedicated to 1) healing through unity and 2) yogic education. This new building will enable us to offer more support through meditation and many other aspects of conscious living. The expanded Soul is intended to be a funnel for the great teachings of east and west. Inclusive, respectful, yet very focused. Once the dust settles we can move forward and present the new offerings. But even that is only the beginning of the next stage of our vision for a spiritual community. Stay tuned!

All love,
Trisha