Staring down the barrel of Maya-devi’s gun

July 3, 2009 Uncategorized

If I were still caught in my low-grade mental illness, I’d be feeling very ashamed about this situation, further evidence that I’ve not lived up to my “potential.” Oddly enough, I’m not, even though a part of me thinks I should be. I’ve come to realize that this kind of mental assault—in the forms of fear, regret, shame, etc., etc., etc.—that replays itself over and over, long after the behavior that triggered them is over, is simply another bullet in the arsenal of the illusory energy, Maya-devi.

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Use it or lose it

July 2, 2009 Uncategorized

I’ve been confronted with the fact that I’m a negligent mother. No, I don’t have kids, I’m talking about criminal neglect of a brainchild. This morning, when I should have been chanting my japa, I was checking my email. What I read there made my blood chill a degree or two, made my stomach muscles […]

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blind faith

March 24, 2009 Uncategorized

I spend a good portion of the day researching the difference between vartma-pradarsaka guru, patha pradarsaka guru, and pravartana acharya. I then spend a much longer time thinking about gurus, and faith, and what my next steps in Krishna consciousness will be. My faith took a heavy blow several years ago, and it is only […]

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The Gift, the Giver, and Giving: Part One

March 3, 2009 Uncategorized

In this post I’m experimenting with voice, that elusive quality that makes a piece of writing recognizable, entertaining, and memorable. There’s a wonderful essay by Louis Menand, part of a book review in the New Yorker, which deliberates on this feature of literary expression, and which helped me to understand some things that had been […]

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