Back From the Land of Enchantment

July 05, 2015

Back From the Land of Enchantment

I just returned from the 2015 Summer Solstice Event in New Mexico at Ram Das Puri, the sacred land Yogi Bhajan was given by the Hopi Indians after they sat in council and decided he was the one their legends had spoke about - a man in white who would come and prepare the world for a savior.

Walking the land in a spiral on International Peace Prayer Day.

It was a very intense experience. Camping for 2 weeks was totally doable. 100 degree days was totally doable. Cold showers ever day was totally doable. Goat heads stabbing your bare feet and even through your shoes is not fun. The Solstice Mono diet was doable. Keeping white clothes white in the dust and dirt was an adventure. But the best part for me though is being awakened by a group of singers at 3 am singing "Rise up sweet family dear, the time of the Lord and remembering Love is here..." Then doing 2.5 hours of Aquarian Sadhana outdoors in the Tantric Shelter with several hundred other people--some days up to 1000 ppl. That was epic. Praising the name of the Lord and chanting at the sun rose was the most tender and wonderful part of the experience.

There were so many beautiful experiences, learnings, and also lots of triggering things--which I think is what it is supposed to do. It helps you get over your stuff really fast. It's a harsh environment. I had a pile of bloody Klenexes next to my cot every morning because my nose felt like the only way it could hydrate itself was to bleed every time I blew it. And there were plenty of tantrums the first few days from all the kids... But I'd do it again every year for the rest of my life.... and I'd bring my kids every time. In fact, my daughter evened up loving it and staying longer for the kids away camp. I think it was so refreshing for her to be with other kids who get her yogic life.

The good thing is that in 6 months, there is Winter Solstice, which is the yin to Summer's yang. Winter Solstice is held in Florida on some sandy, grassy beach where you could go barefoot the whole time. No goat heads. It's a sweeter, more maternal experience.

I was thinking about this and how whole meeting as a group every 6 months is a lot like the General Conference of the church held twice a year. Luckily those are in April and October so they don't conflict. But the intenion its similar. To renew. To get an infusion of "the word" and take it back to your every day life and be better.

While I was there I did White Tantric Yoga and I also snuck away one day to Albequerque and went to the temple. It was an amazing juxtuposition going from one to the other just a day apart. I realized that they are also very similar. I have written about White Tantric Yoga before, but basically it is an amazing opportunity to uplevel and deep clean your subconscious. The benefits of one day of WTY are equivalent to 10 years meditating in a cave (for 12 hours/day). And though many people do WTY several times a year and some as often as possible, I learned that Yogi Bhajan said that you only need to do White Tantric Yoga once. This made me think of the temple. We only go through the temple and receive our endowment once for ourselves. We still receive benefits when we go back and do work for our ancestral dead, but it is really only once that it is needed for us. Super interesting to think about the implications of WTY if you think about the ordinances of the body, which I wrote about in this chapter of my book.

There is a ton more I would love to share with you, but for the first time in my life, there are things which have no words. Maybe over time, there will be. Who knows. For now, here are some pictures.

We drove down with a friend and her kids. We stopped in Moab for food. The kids were amazing the whole way.

Amarjot and I at the Tantric Shelter

My tent set up was pretty great. I have a tent castle. I could stand up inside it and Amarjot had her own room and her own front door. I borrowed a cot from the cousins and had things hanging on hangers. It is really nice to be off the ground. Yet grounded...:)

The vie from home sweet tent. That is a clothesline out there and not a powerline.

The dining tent against the sky. Summer Solstice 2015.

Kids camp begins. They gave a presentation for us at Peace Prayer Day

White Tantric Yoga in the Tantric Shelter

Yogis lined up to use the Port-a-Potties during a break at White Tantric Yoga.

Santa Fe. Outside the museum.

Art in Santa Fe

For my Karma Yoga I volunteered one day in the kids camp and went river rafting down the Rio Grande with these 9-11 year olds. Armjot is on top of the pyramid.