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One day during my visit to the Dominican Republic, a group of us decided to take a day to explore a cave in a national park perhaps three hours drive from where we were staying. Upon arrival we were all fitted out with caving gear and then given a horse to take us to our destination. We started out at walking pace, but then someone charged ahead on their horse and the rest followed suit. I remember looking back and seeing the rest of the crowd galloping around the corner in unison like something out of a John Wayne movie. My horse was pretty temperamental, preferring to take me through every bush and thicket on the path rather than stick to the road, but that’s because it was probably afraid of Balarka’s horse, which was trying to eat it. I’m not joking. Balarka’s horse would pull up alongside mine, turn its head towards my horse and open its mouth as wide as possible, wait for five seconds as if to ensure the largest possible bite, and then try to take a big chomp out of my horse. It’s a miracle I got the poor horse home in one piece.

I always enjoy hearing the myriad ways in which people embark upon the journey of self-discovery. When I was beginning to meditate, I eagerly devoured and personal accounts by people who meditated I came across, ehether it be in book form, video form or first-hand. I remember seeing this particular video when I first came to meditation class - in it Jogyata Dallas, who has spent the last 25 years as a student of Sri Chinmoy, talks about his own journey, which is fairly entertaining to say the least. We here in Dublin have a special fondness for Jogyata, not least because he and his wife Subarata gave the meditation classes that set our centre in Dublin into motion! We have a copy of this video in our centre which is beginning to get well worn with all the viewing, so it is nice to have it available to view on Sri Chinmoy TV.

You can see the video by clicking on the ‘more’ link:
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Many of Sri Chinmoy’s students read his poems and aphorisms as part of their meditation practice. Much of the time, people turn to his three major collections of aphorisms - Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, and Seventy-Seven Thousand Service Treees - but Sri Chinmoy also wrote many smaller collections of poetry as well. Here are some nice poems I found in two of these smaller collections:

From I Need only God:

How will you know
If you are divine?
You will know
If you are divine
When you discover
That without your body’s Himalayan achievements
The world can exist-
But not without your soul’s
One little smile.

I had many more lives.
I shall have many more lives.
But I have only one Master
And that is what I always want.
Who is my Master?
My own higher Self,
My Eternity’s All.

******

From Every Day a New Chance:

I may not know what it means
To be perfect,
But I do know what it means
To be happy.

Forgive
If you want to regain
The full freedom-joy
Of your mind and heart.

Not a fear-prompted prayer
But a love-inspired meditation
Can and does
Gladden God’s Heart.

(Photo by Pavitrata Taylor: Last August, when I was in New York visiting my teacher, some doves were released as part of a ceremony - this one, instead of flying off, stayed around till the end and then went)

I thought I’d share with you something I picked up yesterday on the flute. I recorded it with GarageBand, which by default gives you a metronome to accompany you. At first I thought it was a good idea, as my sense of rhythm is a bit all over the place, but firstly my playing and the metronome started to amicably go their separate ways, and then when the recording was over I couldn’t turn it off!

I’ve never recorded myself before playing - what’s interesting is that things you think are awful-sounding when playing don’t sound near as bad when you listen to it. All the more reason to escape that critical mind, and just get into the heart, I say. The funny thing is that you actually make a lot less mistakes when you just decide to play from the heart.

I haven’t a clue what the tune is called - I got it off a YouTube recording of Mick O’Brien and Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh playing about three years ago. When I was beginning to play the flute, Caoimhin very kindly and selflessly took the time to give me some valuable tips; any mistakes (and there are many) are solely as a result of a lack of dedication and a general I-know-best attitude on my part, rather than a reflection on his teaching.

Here’s the video so you can see what it should sound like: (Ha, that reminds me of one time I was in the car with my brother Colm and about to play an Irish music album he hadn’t heard before; I casually remarked that I’d learned some tunes from this album and he might recognise them. Bet you I won’t recognise them at all! he said, laughing)