SEATTLE: COME SEE AMMA!!! She gives real love...

Friday, May 30th at the Seattle Center, free program all day and night.

Monday night, all night, June 2nd Puyallup State Fairgrounds... incredible music, divine pagentry and more hugs.

Come meet a true Goddess and feel the love!
no dogma, no religion, no barriers, just a personal embrace and unconditional love.

free kirtan/ bhajans both day and nights.

amma.org for more info.

if you were a care bear...

this is for Bala (aka Cheer Bear): okay, if i were a Care Bear, i'd be Tenderheart Bear. it's kind of a lot of responsibility as one of the co-founders of the Care Bears, but it seems like the most fun and fitting...well, i better get back to the forest of feelings...

what the heck is going on?

i am sure there is some astrological c-r-a-p going on right now in general and with the US's chart, etc..., but just wanted to acknowledge that there is some serious wierdness in the air. it seems like so many people are going through hard stuff personally. in that vein, it's astounding me how all of a sudden all the fear ignited by rising gas and food prices is getting people to wake up and smell the coffee about our unsustainable American way of life. including me...

driving to Seattle again this weekend, i was astutely aware of how indulgent it is for little old me to be cruising the approx 400 miles round trip instead of taking the train. however, if the train was more affordable... whoops, i think gas prices just went up again and i think it is more affordable... regardless, it was an important trip to help out a friend and also to visit the Earth Sanctuary on Whidbey Island do some praying and reflecting on the circular and not linear path of life.

it seems that the karmic payback is coming and we are going to hit some times of big change soon. and quite possibly, lean times. so, i will prepare my soul, as usual, for whatever comes. this isn't a very organized note, but one i felt like writing.

kisses and love of the infinite to you all, Siva aka Pia.

dalai lama comes through!

an Amma mama friend of mine and I made the pilgrimage up to see HH the dalai lama in seattle at qwest field on saturday. 50,000 of us came out to see and hear the man and, apparently, to eat garlic fries en mass. i came away comepletely impressed and satisified and won't ever be able to smell garlic fries again without thinking of the DL.

as a devotee of the divine mother and Amma, i was hoping to get a little upliftment from the spiritual leader and, actually, to see what all the fuss was about. i've always had a good impression of the man and felt a high energy from his image. when he walked out in his humble way, there was a parade of people from different cultures playing drum music. he walked to the front of the stage and bowed very deeply and continued to stand until the end of the opening prayer. when i saw him, a feeling of real calm and joyfulness came over me, i felt really happy and peaceful. i had the familiar rush of energy to my heart and the warmth and glowing buzz to my whole body that i get around Amma. i was aware that i was in the presence of someone very very very good if not...saintly? they say he is the embodiment of compassion and i really got that. you can see it in the way he speaks, he can say things about difficult and problematic situations and he always has a compassionate laugh that kind of loves through all the imperfection. in essence, non-judgemental, just honest and loving.

interesting that he is a political and spiritual leader at the same time... he said compassion needs to become a part of politics and that the world leaders should have a summit every year for a week, but they bring their families and have the kids play together. then, next time they have a problem, they think of the families and their relationship they created first. imagine if we had a politcal leader that we could really respect! a mind blowing concept.

i am glad i went to see him and would encourage anyone to go out of their way to see him. he is getting older and i realized that i would be very sad to have missed the chance to meet such a remarkable and uplifting person. plus, it was pretty radical to be with so many people holding the energy of making the world a better place. sitting there in that big commercial stadium praying and listening to a monk talk on compassion and non-violence, all the while looking out on puget sound, the olympics and the shipyards, it really made me feel hopeful for the future and that it's possible to create a POSITIVE "mob mentality". it started feeling very normal to all be sitting there in a root chakra situation and applauding compassion and love and goodness. yea! namaste, friends.

just a little shout out...

to all the babies for being strong and feisty little people and for giving life a lot of promise and meaning!

Nurse Pia

what's going on with pia? working away and squirreling away the cash, experience, and new estimations of birth in the hospital (ahem.) i have a good job here in portland and birth is always amazing on many levels.

still miss new mexico, but certainly not pinon allergy season, (thank you goddess, praise jesus). whaddo i miss about NM...let me count the ways, christmas chili cheese enchiladas with beans, posole, and sopapillas covered in honey and a pepsi-more napkins, please, and i want to memorize this diner forever, a blue sky like an expression of my heart soaring out of my chest, dry hills and mountains and scrubby plants that plague poor doggie paws, the existence of a turquiose trail, sisters in the 10,000 waves turning red and sighing and hinoki cedar lotion to smooth it all out, a bright, hot day blackened and cooled stepping through a doorway into adobe, tiles and latillas and the body goes blind and limp until the next meal is cooked. oh, what is it, goat cheese and green chile tamales? baby is crying for some those ladies made at the church. country alt rock and swamp stew from louisina blowing through town, i came down the hill from mushroom hunting and now these mariachi are blowing my mind, a 300 year old acequiea is flowing again, there will always be water in this desert. and the indians are gonna win.

but back to portland! spring is here and it's fun to ride my bike and write some soul poertry on cherry blossoms and get to yoga class and reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones. soon enough, there is ocean and mountain and tree and waters to roam and cabins to hideaway in. coffees sipped in the rain, salmon smoked on cedar planks, berries filling out both cheeks and then the mashing them in your mouth and the juice drooling down your chin, plus, the farmers have promised me a bundle everyweek of something rooty and wonderful and has never been in a grocery store, so i have a lot to love in Oregon.

BUT! i am getting pretty fed up with "the instant life in a box, just insert self " that i got in the mail, so i am thinking about trading it out for something a little greener and funner and more homemade...still looking around. the inner life is pretty busy, enjoying this journey back to my own self and getting very familiar with my inutition and inner knowing. hope you are well! lovingly, pia

europe tour was interesting...

well, let's just say that in life, i hope to die with no regrets and i have finally done amma's europe tour and it was... great, but... well, let me put it this way...many people love europe tour and the india tours with amma for the same reason. they they are both very physically challenging and that helps you feel very close to Amma and God so it really becomes a spiritual pilgrimage. most people don't go to all the major cities of western europe to travel with their beloved guru, sleep on the floor of concrete buildings with no heat and occaisionally a broken window, and eat a diet consisting of virtually bread and cheese for two months and therefore it's hard to explain why one would want to do somthing like this. but it was great! but not in the way you'd expect... i loved milan, the italians know how to party and make life a celebration, the irish are sincere and kindhearted, the spanish are wild revelers and devotees of the divine mother, the swiss and german are serious, organized, and love amma intensely, the french really love gospel music and make the best desserts for amma's snack shop, the dutch are devoted to amma because of her love and mastery, but also because she practices completely what she preaches and doesn't waste money or resources, ever. amma was very sweet with me, when i was sad she fed me candy with her own hand right into my mouth, she threw snowballs in austria, she sang together with all of us at the end of darshan at nighttime, she made each city feel like she came to europe just for them and, really, she did. in spain i was struggling with feeling annoyed and frustrated with the circus of the personalities of my spiriutal brothers and sisters around me and had a typical moment of wondering what all this was for... and then i was near the stage when the devi bhava curtain opened. one look at amma and i so easliy remembered why... she is the human sacrifice of love for all of us and that's why i love her. she instilled herself in my heart and is constantly loving me. she is worshipping all of us. i can't help but fall at the feet of that sacrifice and love.

made in oregon...

i was made in oregon... but i don't know how to drive in this town anymore! i am glad that i still have my new mexico plates so that all the east coast transplants will partially forgive me for trying to turn left on hawthorne... the helpful attitude around here is... follow the rules, asshole. no problem, though, glad to be leaving the pojoaque pull-out behind and more than willing to learn how to drive correctly again!

Europe Tour!

Guys! I am going on Amma's European Tour! Tour starts in London on October 9 and ends in Paris on Nov. 19. I have always wanted to go on this tour and haven't toured with Amma since 2004. Thank you Amma... I am always forgetting and remembering Her Grace. I step in and out of The River of Her like a child splashing at the shore... someday I'll dive in completely because that is what I was made for.

Organic chocolate truffle recipe!!!

okay! i came up with this truffle "recipe" today because of a serious chocolate craving and an intense love for raw honey and raw organic unrefined coconut oil.
(plus i wanted to copy the truffles i have been buying at whole foods).

organic cocoa powder 3 parts
raw organic unrefined coconut oil 1 part (room-temperature/soft or liquid)
raw honey 1 part

a bowl
4 spoons
and an spirit of creativity and adventure...

with a spoon for adding each ingredient and one for mixing everything together in the bowl, mix the cocoa powder, coconut oil, and honey in your bowl until it's smooth and creamy. add more or less of ingredient according to your taste. place mixture in your fridge for a few minutes to let it harden somewhat. roll into truffle balls and keep tham in the fridge so that they stay nice and firm until they melt in your mouth!

you can also add shredded coconut, nuts, dried fruit, goji berries, bee pollen?, chili powder, cinnamon, peanut butter (but less coco oil), and god only knows what else, but you get the idea! roll them in sifted cocoa powder for a dusted cocoa look...