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the men were amazing –we rocked the house..marquee... with om ram ramaya!
we’ve been playing with manose for three years now, and still, I never cease to be amazed at the beauty and depth of his playing.
he is a true bhakti...
who brings all who are fortunate enough to hear him, into a state of grace
om shanti shanti shantihi
next stop, bahamas and the sivananda ashram....
one of the blessings of our life is to meet with people on the path, who walk a different route to our own.
we were received with such grace by the folks at the kashi ashram.
we were made welcome, fed – which, as devotees of neem karoli baba, is one of their core spiritual practices, and cared for as if we were the weariest of world travellers...
the work shop, which was attended by around 150 people, was another one of the highs of the u.s. tour.
it was conducted in a specially erected marquee in the grounds of the ashram (90 acres) – even then, we hardly managed to get everyone inside...
here’s deva introducing the breath openers...
meeting each other with the shima chant, from the hopi people
after the concert we were introduced to the miami hug-fest..
meeting up with atmo and amlas, my two dear friends who run the
‘wildquest’ dolphin excursions out of bimini <www.wildquest.com>
in the bahamas.
they had just finished their season and were full of all the loving
energy they had received from six months of swimming with the
dolphins...
and just to prove our audiences are amazing...!
this picture shows 8 beautiful people coming together as one family, all through the grace of the mantras, all from different country’s – brasil, germany, england, america, venezuela, columbia, australia, and uzbekistan!
we finally said goodbye to our friends bruce and carolyn in malibu, after using their beautiful home for some serious r and r...
and some filming -
manose’ friend shailendra is a film maker and helped us with some tips for our hollywood blockbuster...
I love this shot
we also had the privilege of meeting some of carolyn’s ‘girls’.
carolyn costin is one of the leading authorities in the usa on eating disorders, and she invited us to visit her treatment centre and sing some mantras...
it was a very sweet meeting...carolyn is laying down because she hurt her back, but didn’t want to miss the meeting.
what a beautiful gathering.
we found the girls to be be very open, sensitive and intelligent – we wish them every blessing on the journey to recovery.
that’s carolyn, next to deva..
and on to miami – here’s manose expressing himself during sound check...
the church was packed – everyone was there to share with full and open hearts
here’s promoter-dude-sadhu, from new orleans, david mcburnett
we’re back in l.a. - taking a break from the tour - but couldn’t resist playing at agape church in culver city.
agape is an oasis in l.a. and it’s one place deva and i are always honoured to be invited to.
the minister, dr.michael beckwith and his wife, rickie byars-beckwith began the church 20 years ago, and the congregation has grown to such numbers that they now offer 3 services every sunday.
you’ll see around 1,000 people at each service, even though the first one begins at 6 a.m – and the energy is HIGH!
michael and rickie are amazing people....
rickie is the musical director of the church and is just the brightest and most beautiful singer you could hope to meet.
she directs the (great) rockin’ 6 piece band in the services as well as the church’s famous choir.
it really takes me back to the high energy music groups we used to play in osho's ashram in pune
rickie is a great singer /songwriter in her own right and a channel for high quality musical joy.
here she is with manose
as for her husband michael – well, michael’s a phenomenon.
you may have seen him in that movie ‘the secret’ - or on larry king live – or oprah – he’s done the rounds.
michael has tapped into the big space and shares it with his congregation at 100 mph.
...plus he’ll take you into a silent moment before your mind can comprehend what’s going on.
one day he leaned over to me and whispered in my ear “miten...i KNOW osho...” and I do believe michael cannot tell a lie!
here are some pix from our day at agape.
here’s michael, along with author janet attwood (‘the passion test’, a new york times bestseller)
deva being ‘made-up’ before the service – meanwhile, rickie and h.h the dalai lama share a moment in the background
some shots from the service – deva giving it up
..and everyone is right there with her...
so much magnificence...
..near the ocean...
..waves are coming in...
waves are coming in..!
you can find more about agape church here
photos: Barry Selby Photography
and we hit the road again
stormy sky over the red rocks of sedona
check this – we got a circular with these images, taken at the oneness university, in chennai
interesting?
i have no opinion about it, i just thought you’d like to see the pics.
it makes me smile to think of these little flying angels hovering above amma and bhagavan though!
i can say, from my own experience, that i felt a big dose of shaktipat whenever i was there.
here are a few more random pics from the tour:
stage in phoenix with buddha projection before opening the doors – over 800 people joined us here.
thanks kathy
we had a deep and ecstatic workshop in phoenix with over 100 people...
abhiyana, in the black shirt, was deva’s teacher in her shiatsu studies in the ashram.
if it wasn’t for him, deva and i may never have met!
next to him are two of our dear friends from the ashram days, sumano, and lani
here’s a better pic of abhiyana.
if anyone reads this from sedona, get an acupuncture session from this guy.
he is the best!
dr. abrahamson.
on the way down highway 1, to los angeles from san francisco, we came upon these seals on the beaches at big sur
...standin’ on the corner in winslow, arizona...
couldn’t pass up the chance to stop in winslow after the eagles and jackson browne sang about it so sweetly!
..here it is... winslow arizona usa.. hmmm...
the only coffee shop in town – manose checks his email...
miten checks the soccer results... deva waits patiently...
hi friends – thanks for the encouragement to keep this blog going.
it means a lot to deva and i to hear from you.
we’re doing our best to answer all of your email messages personally, but right now, we’re struggling to keep up, so if you haven’t heard back from us, do not despair - we’ll get there soon!
right now, we have two weeks break, after 2 months of the usa tour.
after this break, we fly to miami to continue for another two months, our longest stretch in america.
our schedule takes us to the bahamas, mexico and hawaii – so it’s all down hill after this!
our friends carolyn and bruce kindly invited us to have their beach house in malibu for these 2 weeks, so we fall asleep each night to the sound of waves – so much magnificence.
how awesome is that?
the fires here are pretty much under control now.
last night we played what turned out to be the high point of the whole tour – and there have been some high points, believe me, but the encinitas concert was something else.
somehow 800 people squeezed into a 500 seater venue.
luckily for us the fire marshall didn’t show up!
you guys were amazing – sitting on the stage steps, in the aisles...and singing your hearts out, with us.
one thing was clear – we’d come to celebrate being alive.
look at pics of what these people (and animals) went through in california and you’ll see what I mean.
many folks had lost homes in the fires, and if they were lucky enough to keep their houses, they for sure knew some who wasn’t.
gratitude was the main emotion in the concert.
we were all there to give thanks.
..and to heal our hearts.
our hearts go out to all you beautiful souls who came to sing with us last night.
thank you soooo much for what you gave back to deva, manose and I that evening.
here are a couple of messages we received after the concert:
Dear Beautiful Deva and Miten ~ Thank you for your great blessing of performing in Encinitas California last night ~ I was so very honored to hear you perform live for the first time and meet you ~ I was deeply moved by your radiance ~ purity ~ love ~ and your embrace will remain within me ~ eternally ~
Your music is stunning in its beauty and beyond words ~
Your compassionate words to the sold out concert hall regarding the raging wild fires here in San Diego County meant so much and we know you took a risk to come here while the fires still burn ~ As you said you felt it in your hearts to come ~
-----------------------
Namaskar Deva & Miten,
The purity of your beautiful souls are felt within the very depths of my heart -- What an honor and a blessing our spiritual paths have crossed ~ under a starry moonlit sky ~ Truly a precious treasure of the heart ~
Words cannot even describe the feelings n' emotions evoked within from last night's performance --- a sacred journey through the ethereal & astral planes of existence --- Where the layers of serenity & tranquility reside...Where we can all experience the Oneness and divine connection to the Infinite....The White Light of the Cosmos ~
To Deva: - The beauty of your Inner Spirit is reflected in the mystic calls of your angelic voice ~ I felt your incredible vibrational energy within every sacred note ~ raising my divine consciousness to higher levels ~ Bless you always ~
To Miten: - May your heart n' soul shine with the radiance & warmth of the sun - I will never forget the transcending spiritual experience - I will take the blessing you gave me.....and hold it so dearly in my heart -- To continue on the sacred journey...And plant my seed ~ Dhanyavaad Sri Miten ~
May the lotus flower continue to blossom within us all ~ OM SHANTI
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the day after the encinitas concert we played at the deepak chopra centre, in san diego, and then we went to malibu.
deva met deepak.
he wasn’t at all friendly or welcoming to her - quite indifferent to our visit...
oh well, maybe he’s just overloaded. The evening concert, however made up for it - we shared a sacred and beautiful evening with staff members and participants of his group 'the secrets of enlightenment'.
meanwhile, we want to thank all of you who attended our concerts in the usa this year.
what a blessing to be together!
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