Instant Coffee and Change

I like to say we are in the generation of "instant coffee"  - we want it all and we want it now! Look around and the material world reflects and supports exactly that  - off course as all things have a dual purpose, there are some things about the instant world that I at least quite like - the connectivity it has facilitated as an example, I am sure there are many more endearing factors.

The Bhakti (devotion) of Radha

She looked at herself  appraisingly in the mirror. Her feet painted with an intricate henna design and framed with her delicate anklets. Her long skirt a dark green with tiny crystals twinkling in the light. Her blouse of a fabric woven with varying shades of green and blue and all of this standing out in sharp contrast to the bright yellow of her dupatta, veil.  She smeared some kajal into her eyes and placed a red dot of vermillion on her forehead.

What Freedom means to me

I believe freedom is within each one of us - as much our birthright as the skin on our bodies. And what does freedom mean to me? -  the ability to make a choice in every moment about what I think, whether or not I think, how I feel and therefore how I interact with my environment, other beings and myself. If one could know oneself so well and become so aware of oneself that one truly had these choices in every aspect of life - then that is freedom for me.