Mantra Tour 2011 with Karl Anthony

We are planning 1 or 2 India tours with Karl Anthony in 2011. In addition to some sightseeing, we have planned visits to schools, to do service work, and ashrams to learn more about the power and science of Mantra's and how they can be used scientifically. Also there will also be an opportunity to participate in ceremonies to honor Ganesh, the River Ganga and much more.

This will be a unique opportunity to travel with Karl to the home of Mantra and to Rishikesh, the Yoga capital of the world.

Some of the sights you will experience as part of the tour are highlighted in the video below:



Please contact us or Karl Anthony for more information.

Our Christmas Candelight Message for Seaside Family

Every year Shivani and Khushi have been asked to light the candle representing Hinduism as part of the Seaside Christmas Candle Lighting ceremony. This year, since they are several thousand miles away in India, they recorded a special message for our Seaside Spiritual community...



Wishing You All A Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year

Parenting: Spoiling Your Kids vs. Teaching Appreciation

Parenting: Spoiling Your Kids vs. Teaching Appreciation

I received an email from my mum today, the message was very relevant to some of the growing issue parents and people in India have expressed to us over the last few weeks. I don’t think any of the these challenges are unique to India.

The story starts when we visited a school in the city of Haridwar. We wanted to learn more about the schooling and the character building education programs, we also wanted to share about Kids For Peace and empowering kids to be kind to others and the planet, and to teach kids fundamental peace principles. What the headmistress told us was eye-opening… the parents did not want the school to teach moral values or social responsibility, in fact the teachers were not even allowed to tell the kids to pick up after themselves or clean their dishes. The parents consider such tasks menial and below their kids. The parents only concern was that their child excels in school and is able to get a good job.

Since education is the key to escaping poverty, you can understand why low income parents might think this way… but the new rich in India are also experiencing challenges with their kids. Growing up with servants and getting what they want, the kids of the new rich will often develop an entitlement mind set, and while their childhood needs are fulfilled by their wealthy parents and family members, later in life, the materialistic reward based system breaks down, As parents can no longer fulfill their child’s needs, the children relate to this as ‘a loss of love’ and seeing their child’s disappointment, the parents try and fulfill their child’s needs.

The challenge is that kids are not developing their inner ‘self-worth’, they need material gifts and external appreciation, when they don’t get this, they are prone to self-destructive habits and depression.

The root of such issues is the fundamental lack of appreciation, there is a serious lack of values this is infecting the populous of India. And while India’s economy is booming, many agree that there is a decrease in basic values.

In fact many would even argue that having ‘values’ is bad for business, and that values is better embraced in later life after the money and wealth have been generated.

HOWEVER, we have been fortunate to meet different groups in India, who a pioneering a new value based lifestyle which included service and personal character. This groups are rejecting outdated ideologies of cast and ill-treatment of women. Some of these groups include service based organizations such as Art of Living, The Sai Baba movement, Amma, Crossbow, The Family and many more.

The NGO are not the only ones who seem to embrace the value based lifestyles, it seems the corporate world are also seeking their new managers to not only excel in education and qualifications, but also having a deeper sense of appreciation and compassion for fellow human beings. Maybe they recognize such qualities inherently make for a better more loyal manager.

With the daily reports corruption and that we seem to have lost our bearing & our sense of direction, there are beams of light that continue to fuel a brighter possibility.

The following is one such story that should shed some more light on the subject:

-Beejal Parmar

Received Via Email: Is Appreciation On Your Resume?

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"

The youth answered "none".

The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"

The youth answered, "My mother worked as laundry woman.

The director requested the youth to show his hands.

The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. “When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.”

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands.

His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the young man.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother’s hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."

The youth said:

1. I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not have been the successful me today.

2. By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

3. I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationships.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager.
I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

Failings of Entitlement Mentality

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of a person, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the children instead?*

You can let your children live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, you want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your children learn how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learn how to work with others to get things done.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I mentioned earlier in this article, these challenges are not unique to India, this is global parenting challenge, it is our challenge, bringing up our kids with an inner self-worth value system, such that they grow up to be more better more compassionate custodians of this planet.

-Beejal Parmar

Diwali: May YOUR Light Shine Bright

Insight Into The Spiritual Significance of Diwali
...the Mythology, Rituals & Customs

Remembering The Spiritual Significance of Diwali

Here in India and in many countries around the world, billions of people are celebrating Diwali (aka Deepavali). Popularly known as the "festival of lights". What is less known, forgotten, overlooked, is the the most significant spiritual meaning of Diwali, and that is "the awareness of the INNER light", unfortunately this simple and profound meaning has become overshadowed with the mythology, rituals and customs, with less emphasis on the inner cultivation of light.

Before the mythological stories overshadowed the once deep spiritually celebrated occasion, and the occasion became commercialized with gifts, sweets, drinking and partying, Diwali's primary significance was to celebrate the 'light of the soul'. The soul called 'Atman' is central to Hindu philosophy, it is the fundamental belief that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, it is that which is called the Atman.

The celebration of Deepavali as the "victory of good over evil", refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With this awakening comes compassion and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (joy or peace). Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light.

While the story behind Diwali and the manner of celebration varies from region to region (festive fireworks, worship, lights, sharing of sweets, parties, gambling, drinking etc), it is important not to overlook the true essence of Diwali, that is to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying Reality of all things (Brahman).

Mythology, Ritual & Customs of Diwali (ref: Wikipedia)

Deepavali (also spelled Divali in few countries) or Diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights, is an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Deepavali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Fiji, and Suriname.

The name Diwali is itself a contraction of the word "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: Dīpāvali), which translates into row of lamps. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas) (or Deep in Sanskrit) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. Most Indian business communities begin the financial year on the first day of Diwali.

Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. Whereas in Bengal the festival is dedicated to the worship of Mother Kali, the goddess of strength. Lord Ganesha, the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom, is also worshiped in most Hindu homes on this day. In Jainism, Deepawali has an added significance to the great event of Lord Mahavira attaining the eternal bliss of nirvana. Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Rama along with Sita and Lakshman from his fourteen year long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and burst crackers.

Jainism
In Jainism, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha by Mahavira in 527 BC.

Sikhism
In Sikhism, Deepavali also commemorates the return of Guru Har Gobind Ji to Amritsar after freeing 52 Hindu kings imprisoned in Fort Gwalior by defeating Emperor Jahangir; the people lit candles and diyas to celebrate his return. This is the reason Sikhs also refer to Deepavali as Bandi Chhorh Diyas, "the day of release of detainees". Deepavali is widely celebrated in both India and Nepal.

1st Day of Diwali
The first day of the festival Naraka Chaturdasi marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya.

2nd Day of Diwali
The second day of Deepawali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the tyrant Bali, and banished him to hell. Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom.

3rd Day of Diwali
It is on the third day of Deepawali — Kartika Shudda Padyami that Bali steps out of hell and rules the earth according to the boon given by Lord Vishnu.

4th Day of Diwali
The fourth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj) and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

Celebrate With Atman in Mind
Even though people celebrate Diwali in their own ways, I think it is not only important to remember and understand the spiritual meaning of Diwali and other Hindu/Vedic occasions. It is what will bring greater wealth and experiences into your life.

Overtime the spirituality, science and philosophy of Vedantic Hinduism has become watered down by rituals and mythology, the deeper and more significant meanings are no longer taught by many establishments. Even the rituals themselves, while deeply scientific and meaningful in nature, have become something that are just done. With very little 'mind attention'.

So this Diwali, light a candle, sit in front of the candle and meditate, even just for a few minutes, and reflect on your inner Divine Light.

Happy Diwali! May YOUR Light Shine Bright

Adventure With Love, Peace, Joy

-Beejal Parmar

Delhi: Buildings of Faith vs. Streets of Filth

9^th Sep 2010-Day 3 in Delhi:

Having spent a couple of days recovering from Jet Lag we were eager to start visiting the many sites of Delhi. Given we are here for several weeks and the heat, we are going to spread out the sightseeing to balance with work and projects.

Pick up a tourist map of New Delhi and you will see that it is home to many buildings of faith and spiritual centers for the followers of Sai Baba, Chinmaya, Sri Aurobindo and many more. There are numerous denominations represented with extravagant temples, churches, mosques, shrines, spiritual and yoga centers in the city of New Delhi. It's time I get a good measure of all the faith and devotion present here in India!

Faith vs. Filth

But first! A question on my mind, which I will address in more detail another time, is given the devotion that is obviously present here in India, why is there total so much filth and disrespect for the earth. Despite efforts to clean up Delhi for the Commonwealth Games, the airborne pollution is still bad, especially noticeable in the evening is the smell of sulphur in some places. However, the pollution is not as bad as I remember from my last visit, and touch wood my Asthma has not flared up. And the street pollution is also ever present as are the red stains on the street from the spitting of ‘pan’. Despite the religious nature of India, the filth on the streets is the result of failure of religion and state to educate the importance of compassion for people and planet, even though this is a core part of the Vedic teachings, upon which the Hindu religion is based. More about this another time…

Putting aside the filth, and returning to faith, today we visited our first building of faith in Delhi and one of the most visited, the Baha’i Lotus Temple (now is that a metaphor or what? Given our minds are filled with so much trash, we have to work to find the faith.)

Baha’i Lotus Temple

We traveled to the East of downtown Delhi to visit the unmistakable and unmissable Lotus Temple set in a lush landscape. It reminds me of something out of a sci-fi film, majestic, cosmic, yet divine in its creation. The temple is built in the shape of a lotus flower and is the last of 7 major Baha’i temples built around the world, one on each continent.

The major religion of Hinduism has been symbolized by the Lotus flower design, representing higher consciousness. The architect Fariburz Sabha chose the lotus as a symbol common to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam. People from any and every faith a welcome to visit the temple, to pray and meditate in the great meditation hall in the main structure. The building is made from white concrete covered in Greek marble. Around the 9 sided building are 9 pools that seem to glow blue during the day, and they look spectacular at dusk when flood lit. They also serve as a cooling system for the grand structure.

The common characteristic of all the Baha’i Houses of Worship is that they are 9 sided. In the Baha’i faith 9 is the highest digit and symbolizes comprehensiveness, oneness, and unity.

The Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i Faith is an independent world religion, believed by Baha’i followers to be divine in origin, all embracing in scope, broad in its outlook, scientific in its method, humanitarian in its principles and dynamic in the influence it exerts on the hearts and minds of men. It upholds the unity of god, recognizes the unity of his prophets and incorporates the principles of oneness and wholeness of the entire human race.

For more information: http://www.bahaindia.org

One building of Faith down, a gazillion to go!

-Beejal Parmar

‘I Assume Beejal is a Drunkard, Good for Nothing Abusive Husband !’

As we set out on our adventure, it is a great time to put into practice many of the spiritual teachings we have come across. One of them being ‘Don’t make assumptions’. I don’t want to assume this is something you do, but I know it is something I have done, and still catch myself doing.

When was the last time you made an assumption about a person or situation and found out you assumed wrong? I want to share 2 stories with you, about an assumption one of our dearest friends made about me before she got to know us, and my assumption about her and her husband.

The story is timely given that while staying at our friends David and Rica Gaffney’s home I got the opportunity to read the mini-book ‘The Four Agreements’ by Miguel Ángel Ruiz. In his book he advocates personal freedom from agreements and beliefs that we have made with ourselves and others that are creating limitation and unhappiness in our lives. Ultimately, it is about finding one's own integrity, self-love, and peace by way of absolving oneself from responsibility for the woes of others. The Four Agreements are:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.
2. Don't Take Anything Personally.
3. Don't Make Assumptions.
4. Always Do Your Best.

I have not read the 4 book, but having read the mini version, the 4 simple agreements seem like sound advice. Not the first time I have come across these principles in personal development, however, the book and teaching were conveyed in a great way in the book. Not to get to side tracked, what I really want to share is a story, actually 2 stories, that relate to the third agreement ‘Don’t Make Assumption’.

Early 2009 a young Indian couple moved into the same block of apartments 3 doors down. We are known for being very friendly and usually we would make an effort to introduce ourselves, however, in this case we really did not make the effort. The reason being is that I assumed that we would have little or no common interests, they did not have kids so they might not want to associate with an 'old couple with kids' and between you and me they seemed rather stuck up and did not seem to have a sense of humor.

Oh, and there was one more reason, I got the sense that the ‘wife’ really did not seem to like me, in fact it felt like they were ignoring us. Our paths rarely crossed even though we parked 10-20 ft from each other, and for several months this was the extent of our relationship. In August of 2009, as part of the Great Kindness Challenge, Shivani and Khushi left a ‘Ganesh’ rock for this couple on their doorstep. Still no friendship. In September we completed our part of a puja (religious ceremony) that was done for us in India, on that same day, the couple had a puja at their home, and as we took a stroll around out apt block that day, we heard the distinct sound of a priest chanting Vedic mantras, we sat outside for a while listening to the chants. It seemed like a good day for miracles, but still nothing happened.

It was not until sometime in mid October our paths actually crossed. This was the night the stars were lined up just right and universe conspired such that our paths would cross. It was the night before Diwali, around 11pm, we had just parked our car, Yogi had carried Khushi into our home, I was following with Shivani in my arms. The Indian couple must have also just returned and were taking things out of the back of their car. Being Diwali, we were all dressed in Indian garb, and feeling in a celebratory mood, I wished them Happy Diwali, and I continued to walk on. Ten paces or so later, I thought to myself, I should at least make the effort to introduce myself. I turned around and walked back, and I introduced myself to the young couple.

As it turns out, I was completely wrong about this couple! I don’t mean like a little wrong, I mean like grand canyon wrong, heading for the Moon and reaching Mars wrong. As it turned out we had a lot in common. They were speakers, authors, background in film making and acting, life coach. We also shared similar interests, experiences both personal and business, it was actually uncanny.

Not only did we go onto to become friends, not just friends they became one of our best friends, not only best friends, they became one of our dearest and closest friends. Our bond became so close that on the day we left the USA, she made me a brother. The significance of this I will go into in another blog… but that is not how she first thought about me!

No, in fact when they moved in, she had formed a different opinion about me. Sometime after they had moved in, the husband mentioned to his wife they should introduce themselves to us, to his surprise, she remarked, ‘the husband seems like a good for nothing drunkard, lazy person who must be abusing his wife and children’. When he asked why she would think this, she replied, ‘every time I see him he has a four pack of beer.’ Even though he was surprised by his wife’s response, he did not pursue the matter, and left it at that. Thankfully her/their opinion about me/us changed once we introduced ourselves that Diwali night.

Here is the kicker, I don’t drink beer, not the kind you might be thinking off. For those who know me you know what is coming. Her opinion of me was based on the fact that I love Reeds GINGER Beer. (Note: this happens to be the world’s best ginger beer, and when served ice cold, it is the most incredible drink!). Since she saw me with Reeds Ginger beer, she assumed I was a raging alcoholic.

Thank god, and I do mean that literally, their opinion about us changed once they got to know us… well at least I ‘assume’ they think better of us today! Even though we allowed our Assumption to delay our friendship, we were eventually able to look past our own ‘ignorance’.

During our relatively short relationship in this lifetime, we have shared incredible times together, shared aspects of our lives at a deep intimate level, enjoyed countless ‘Chai’ chats late into the night.

Friendships this special do not just happen, it was divine intervention. I mean that sincerely. Their wisdom, support and guidance helped us tremendously over the last several weeks.

The young India couple I am referring to are our dear friends Vish Iyer and Deypika Singh, international speakers, life and relationship coaches. http://www.solematemagnet.com

So what was the cost of our assumptions? Valuable time together…

We all made assumptions and this story will always remind me how foolish, and what an 'Ass' one can be when one makes assumptions.

So my advice to you is that if you find yourself judging someone or something find out a little more about the person, people or circumstance… and before you accuse someone of being a good for nothing drunkard, find out what’s in the bottle!

Cheers!

Beejal

Children of the World Pray For People Who Hate

8th Sept: With just over a week and a half to go before we leave the USA, we got to attend one final Mantra concert. For the fist time Shivani and Yogi joined Karl Anthony and the Mantra Choir for the World Day of Prayer celebration at Unity center in San Diego. Yogi has been to more Mantra performances that anyone else on the planet, so she knew the chants well. Karl asked Shivani to perform her part 'One Prayer' and lead the audience in the 'Children of the World' chant the day of the Mantra. She listed to the parts while driving to the Unity center.



In a week filled with talk of hate and burning and the media frenzy that followed, the Mantra performance was the polar opposite experience. Nothing but love, peace and joy for all who attended. As Karl states, if you are for peace, pray for people who hate, do not fester hate for haters. And if you must burn something, burn that hatred and anger within, until it exists no more. For while we feel hate, anger, we can not usher in true peace for this world.

Many regulars said it was the best Mantra ever, and Mantra newcomers stated that it was one of the best live experience of their life.

A video can never do justice to the live experience, however, I created this video as a tribute to Karl Anthony. Both godfather and mentor to Shivani, who has been singing Karl's songs since aged 2.

Who Shivani is today, the role she plays in Kids For Peace is a testimony to the positive influence Karl and other mentors have been in her life.

To lean more about Karl Anthony's music and kids character building music: www.KarlAnthony.com. His mantra experience: www.MantraBliss.com

-Beejal Parmar

Choosing a Name For Our Blog

Several friends recommended we keep a blog about our adventure, and as you see we set one up... however, selecting a name was not that easy, and the reason why it was not up sooner :)

Friend suggestions included such titles as, 'Beejal does Bollywood', 'Parmar Family Time Away', 'The Parmar's Discover India'... and several others which I can not mention. Regardless, none of these really described how we felt about this experience.

I wanted to decide upon a name by the 21st August, the day of our going away concert party so that I could announce the blog name to our friends.

I got the inspiration for the 'Love, Peace, Joy' part while I was working on the slide show for our party 'Decade in San Diego'. As I selected a just a few hundred photos from 16,000 (yup, and most bad photos have been deleted) I experienced one of those 'Ah-ha' moments.

Life is about our journey, and on this journey, what most people really want is to experience love, peace and joy... most will work hard, make many sacrifices, take huge risks, work too makes lots of money, pray for the ideal relationships, and really what they desire is to find/have these 3 things in their life. We all know you can really can't find, love, peace and joy, as these are states of being that we can choose to embrace, not something you can buy in a convenient store, although that would be convenient!

At the same time I also realized that my 3 girls: Yogi (Unconditional Love); Shivani (The Peace Ambassador; and Khushi (Our Bundle Of Joy), are my constant reminders why we do what we do, of those things we seek. Not only do the words 'with Love, Peace, Joy represent these 3 amazing gifts from God, the words also represent that no matter what happens, macro or micro, relevant or irrelevant, ultimately what is important is that we get to choose 'love, peace, joy'.

Having this realization, I knew the words love, peace and joy needed to be in the title.

With these words in place, the other words I played around with were:
-Travel with Love, Peace, Joy
-Discover Love, Peace, Joy
-Journey with Love, Peace, Joy
-Finding Love, Peace, Joy
-Adventure with Love, Peace, Joy

Initially I chose 'Journey With Love, Peace, Joy', (note I left the 'and' out to keep the URL shorter, and while it felt right, I close friend shared that while it 'fit', it did not capture 'me', in the essence of the name, nor did the word journey encapsulate the essence of fun.

Regardless, I was confident we had found the name for our blog, and what we one day hope will be a book. The day after the party we opened a card from a friend, in that card, she wrote, "May your journey be filled with love and peace, and may you always find joy...". Initially I thought this was the confirmation I needed... and even though I had registered the URL: 'JourneyWithLovePeaceJoy.com', and announced it during the party, I decided not to launch the blog.

I could not get the words of my friend, Deypika, out of my mind. Even though I really did not want to change the name, having spent so long coming up with it, I knew well enough to trust her judgment. After all it would not be the first time she had the right intuition.

As I was flicking through my DVD collection looking for a movie to watch I came across the Indiana Jones films, and for those of you who know me, these are some of my favorite films, and Indiana Jones is one of my favorite characters.

What makes for a great adventure? is the constant good times? No! off course not. Its the challenges and how challenges are overcome. Life is an adventure, during which times there will be good times, challenging times, great times and incredible times, regardless, what is really important is who you are being.

Don't get me wrong, it's not always easy being with love, peace and joy when you are in the thick of it, but, it is your choice. So after much deliberation we (I) decided upon the name 'Adventure With Love Peace Joy'. This is an adventure I get to take with my love, peace and joy, and on this adventure, I will do my best to be with Love, Peace and Joy, regardless of the challenges that we face.

Too many great adventures...
Wishing you much Love, Peace, and Joy!

-Beejal

Working In Bliss

24th August 2010,

Today I am working in Bliss...

We are house sitting for our friends in Encinitas/San Diego, CA. We have been here for a week now with 2 weeks to go. We are taking full advantage of the incredible space we have been gifted with. Since we have been here, the weather has been incredible. During the warm days we have enjoyed the solar heated pool, and during the beautiful moonlit nights, we relax in the spa, with occasional dips in the pool to cool off.

This morning I awoke to a 'moonset' around 6am. The full moon in the east, glowed a gorgeous light orange.

I ran an extension chord out to the canopy, plugged in and sat down. My office today is the blue skies, lush green palm trees, onlooking tikki carvings and Buddha statues consciously places around the garden, and sounds of tumbling water and wind chimes.

See what I see, check out this short you tube video:



Every few hours I breaks and go for a quick swim with the kids, practice my forward dives, or jump around on the trampoline, which is quite a workout in itself. Working virtual certainly has its benefits, don't get me wrong, I am not saying everyday is like this, but when they are... FREAKIN ENJOY THEM is what I say!

Today I really get to work in Bliss, but the reality is that true bliss is our state of being, not the location or surrounding or even circumstance. So on the days when my office does not quite look or feel like this, and when things are not going to plan, I will close my eyes, and remember what working in bliss feels like.

Work Smart, Play Often, Relax Well
-Beejal Parmar

Trip To Consciousville

Sunday 29th August 2010,

We left San Diego early in the morning with our friends, Vish, Deypika, Nicks to spend the day visiting Agape Spiritual Center, Hare Krishna Temple Cafe and the SFR Lake Shrine center in Santa Monica.

As you can imagine it turned out to be an incredible day. Michael Beckwith and Ricky Beyrs Beckwith were in full flow, with inspiring music and service.

Immediately after service we drove 10 minutes north to the Hare Krishna Temple in North Culver City to enjoy Karma Free vegetarian lunch.

After lunch we drove west on 10 and several miles north to the Self Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. A truly hidden Oasis in the LA region.

We walked around the lake, taking time to set out intentions, short meditations, until the monks kindly asked us to leave, again and again :)



On the way home we stopped for Dinner at Artesia, known for it's India influence.

It was a magical day, full of spirit, love, peace and joy with our dear friends.

-Beejal

Options For Getting Rid of Stuff

Once we made the decision to go on the global adventure, the very next decision was to sell/gift/give away as much of our stuff as possible. We knew we wanted to store as little as possible, nor did we really want to store anything. More importantly we wanted to take this opportunity to simplify, organize and systematize our life and embrace the minimalistic lifestyle that is growing in popularity



How we got rid of our stuff:
1) Facebook
2) Craig's List
3) eBay
4) Garage Sales
5) Auction at our Concert Party
6) Donate
7) Gift to friends

The process of selling our items, especially the more emotionally valuable items was both challenging and rewarding. While it was sometimes difficult to make the decision to let go of certain items, once those items were sold, we found ourselves 'not' missing the items AND we felt so much lighter.

Having gone through the experience I highly recommend it to anyone.

-Beejal