Voltaire

"The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us."

- Voltaire

Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour

Buddha Relics or Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour is in Des Moines, Iowa for 10 days starting August 15th, 2014.

http://www.maitreyarelictour.com/

My husband and I have had the great privilege to volunteer again this year. The tour was here 2 years ago and there was so much to take in that I didn't allow myself to settle down, relax and feel the energy.

We volunteered last Saturday and again, I was so excited to be participating again that I couldn't settle down....I was just abuzz with enthusiastic energy.

I volunteered today, by myself, and my solo experience was very different from my previous encounters with the energy of the relics and the people that have come to witness the relics.

I posted myself as the Blessing Assistant...this is after the people have viewed the relic display and are waiting for a Buddhist monk to bless them.  The room has such an overwhelming sense of sacred calm, much like the memories of holding my breath under water at the city swimming pool as a child and opening my eyes.  I felt removed from the chaos of the world and the sound was muted and it felt almost in slow motion at times.

I heard crying, sobbing and had to bring myself back to the now to see what was happening.  A man was on his knees in front of the case that had the relic of the original Buddha.  I caught myself because I felt like I wanted to give him a hug but restrained myself.  Many people as they experience the relics will be quietly emotional and tearful.  It touches different people in different ways and people need to experience what they need to experience without intrusion.

After he had gone around the display, he walked by me.  I felt a HUGE wave of emotion that caught me so off guard.  I felt myself wobble and started to feel overwhelmed with emotion.  I felt tears start to well inside me.  I quickly took several cleansing breaths to ground and calm myself.

I know I said wow out loud.

Now that the energy of the room had my attention, I decided to do a bit of meditation with my eyes open.  I have never been successful in the past but felt today was different, special, magical.  I have recently learned Laya yoga meditation and proceeded to send my mantra out to the universe...with my eyes open....waiting for the universe to respond.  My yoga teacher tells me to wait for the universe to return a sound back to me, like an echo.  As I waited, I felt my vision narrow and a fog came across my vision like a curtain falling.  I wondered, what is happening and then blinked a couple of time and as quickly as it arrived, the fog vanished.

I felt giddy after that.  My legs would tingle when some people talked to me but not every with everyone.  Hmmm.....

At the end of my shift, I felt a bit off kilter.....happy and pleased with how I had spent my afternoon.

Thank you for the new experiences!

Namaste!

St. Basil

"A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love."

- St. Basil