4/25/22 4/25/22

Struck with Wonder and Gratitude!

I gave a class at New York's Bhakti Center on gratitude and the aspects of wonder from the Srimad Bhagavatam - wisdom for higher state of mindfulness and for a grateful attitude. In the image below, the transition from lower to higher state is by staying engaged, curious and maintaining a sense of wonder.

To listen in, please click on this link or on the video image below.

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All the best,

Rukmini Walker

*Connect with Rukmini through her Patreon Community: Patreon.com/RukminiWalker Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rukmini.walker Urban

Devi: urbandevi.com Bhakti Center: https://bhakticenter.org/

[embed]https://youtu.be/f33a8LU7Y3U[/embed]

9/4/20 9/4/20

Breathless Time

~by Denise Mihalek

“You gave me my breath back,” a student told me with tears in her eyes. Wow! My eyes also welled up with tears. Her sincerity momentarily stole my breath. This adult is a cancer survivor and had attended yoga, meditation and sound healing classes to assist with her recovery. Now, on the other end of treatments, she realized that the wind had been knocked out of her on so many levels, yet now her breath was back. I, however, didn’t do it. She actually did it as she was willing to explore specific techniques to remember that which she already so deeply knew. Sometimes we just need a little guidance and support.There is no doubt that this is a breathless time. Fortunately, there are techniques to help us regain our footing and breath so that we can walk in clarity and strength.Please consider joining me for some of the offerings (see below) including the September link for Thursday evenings. Be well dear friends.With Gratitude, Love and Light,Denise

Denise Mihalik is a Certified Sound Healing Practitioner, Voice Teacher, Yoga and YogaVoice Instructor, Classical Singer, Kirtaniya, and Bhakti Yogi. Denise has been immersed in sound exploration since early childhood. The sounds of nature and the world of music have greatly influenced her life. She has been practicing yoga for the past 16 years and is a certified yoga and YogaVoice Instructor. You can connect with her at her website https://www.soundawakenings.biz/

Sound Healing Thursdays with Denise!! 7:00pm-7:30pm EDTDonation based Free-will donations can be made at www.soundawakenings.com

REGISTER HERE Meeting ID 822 9682 1896 Password 543015*** Please share this information with your friends! ***

Wed. September 16th, 6pm-7pm EDTOne Hour Virtual Sound Bath hosted by The Bhakti Center NYC Register Here

7/22/19 7/22/19

Urban Devi Sanga ~ Women in Leadership

-by Rukmini Walker

Recently, women political leaders have been competing in the televised presidential debates. Including Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is a devotee of Krsna.

What gifts can a woman bring to the table? Any table! The dinner table, political arena, in religion, in business, in finance, in law, in agriculture, in education…

Bhakti yogis honor the sacred balance between the divine masculine, Krsna, and Radha, the divine feminine. Radha is the compassionate nature of Krsna, and when we seek the blessings of Krsna, we are advised to approach Him through Radha’s grace.

Yet sometimes in this world we see that women’s voices remain unheard. Could the inclusion of more women’s voices bring us to a kinder way of life? Can a man also exemplify the ideals of feminine wisdom?

We see examples of leaders in history - both men and women - who have been cruel or compassionate. But still, women’s voices have always been fewer. Is there a fear of including women’s voices? Could it be partly our own fear?

Please join us on Sunday, July 28th, for the Urban Devi Sanga at Bhakti Center to explore these ideas! <--click here for more information.

3/30/19 3/30/19

Random Acts of Kindness

Below is an offering from Denise Mihalik from Sound Awakenings as an inspiration for your Day! ~ All the best, Rukmini

As much as I encourage and teach others to breathe, I often forget to do this myself when doing yard work. I get into a zone and just go, go, go until I can go no longer. A few days ago, this happened while trimming my hedges, one branch at a time, with a pruner. Exhausted, I fell out of the hedges, my arms bleeding from the branches, my hair full of twigs, my neck screaming from the awkward angle. Yoga. Yes. On the wet grass, I went into a supine twist. How good that felt! In the sun, following my breath, I fell asleep in that position. Some time later, I heard footsteps. Someone was close by. I heard ‘Oh my goodness, are you ok, are you ok?”. My cat nap now over, I realized that it looked like I had fallen from the sky, broken in a twist. “Yes”, I replied. “The hedges did me in and I fell asleep doing some stretches.” She seemed embarrassed. I saw her car parked out front, a complete stranger concerned for my well-being. “Thank you so much for your kindness,” I said as she quietly left.My heart was warmed by her kindness and I was grateful to be reminded that there are many, many people doing good things. I have a bumper sticker that says,[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]“Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.“[/perfectpullquote]Shall we?Peace and Light,Denise

Denise Mihalik is a Certified Sound Healing Practitioner, Voice Teacher, Yoga and YogaVoice® Instructor, Classical Singer, Kirtaniya, and Bhakti Yogi. Denise has been immersed in sound exploration since early childhood. The sounds of nature and the world of music have greatly influenced her life. She has been practicing yoga for the past 16 years and is a certified yoga and YogaVoice® Instructor.

3/28/19 3/28/19

Living In The Season: Late Winter

My sister, Susan, is a Five Elements acupuncturist. She and her artist husband, George, live in Central Coastal Maine. Living, as they do, so close to Nature and her changing seasons is always an example to me, as I live my life as a much more urban person. Susan's meditations on the changing seasons have been a highlight of our Urban Devi conversation. ~ Rukmini Walker

--by Susan Weiser Mason“Late Winter is a song of longing, with a slow beat and no melody.”

The eagles are in Damariscotta Mills and hopefully sitting on their eggs through the inevitable March blizzard. I have already visited my go-to south facing ridge to see if snow drops have begun to emerge. Not yet. They have sprung up as early as February 24th in the past. The earth is opening up with the sun higher in the sky even as snow covers the ground and temperatures plummet at night.

In acupuncture, Winter is associated with dormancy. Yet mysteriously, during this season the reservoir gets replenished. So there must be activity within this ‘still time’. A few days ago I could feel that energy with the thaw at work both within the earth and within my chest. It was palpable and nearly made me weep. Something had released. A gate had opened. Suddenly hopefulness and buoyancy flooded through every cell in my body.

Late Winter is full of anticipatory pleasure. It never occurred to me until now, that the act of anticipating Spring might be an essential winter medicine and part of the chemistry of renewal.Where does Spring come from? It’s not some visitor that drives into town. Spring lives within every organism, needing only a prompt to awaken. Sunlight returns and activates the inborn chorus that is so ready to sing.If I only look for what I expect to find in this season, I must rely on memory and make comparisons. What is far more thrilling is to pay attention to the quickening going on within my own body as the preamble to Spring starts to wake me up. That is utterly fresh! It is the Spring within me, and not some external event I observe as separate from myself

Attention may be the most basic form of love, as it allows me to be deeply reassured by the energetic cycle of the seasons. Consider for instance how death is implicit when the leaves fall and the tree lets go into the arms of Winter, only to become home to a marvelous gestation culminating in the rebirth of Spring.Winter is like the Sabbath; the day God rests. We pause out of deference. We accept being subject to a cycle greater than ourselves. In that same way we can surrender to Winter and offer ourselves as a prayer and a promise kept. By late Winter most of us are on our knees. We’ve been stretched and undone, and are in need of relief. We’ve weathered the dark time in order to be reborn. It has been exhausting but the coming of Spring will be breathtaking! Apparently, being wrung out is not at odds with the promise of renewal. The only caveat might be if we totally ignore Winter’s invitation to rest, and just keep running as though there is only endless Summer. We may not choose Winter, but we live in a place where Winter’s initiation is part of the package. So even if we complain, most of us could not imagine living without it.

Susan Weiser Mason and Traditional Acupuncture are located in Damariscotta Mills / Nobleboro. She has been practicing since 1986.

For more information go to www.susanacupuncture.com or call

207-563-1571.

3/26/19 3/26/19

Divya’s Kitchen: Where Your Feelings Matter As Much As The Food

Meet Divya Alter, the chef/author of “What to Eat for How You Feel: The New Ayurvedic Kitchen” cookbook. We visit her restaurant Divya’s Kitchen in NYC’s East Village to learn the basics of how to eat for how you feel. Click here or on the video below.

[embed]https://foodcurated.com/divyas-kitchen/?fbclid=IwAR2zv__ovV_9kIPmT9zUIBNG51IKOaiyWbz_OuBPqJHM5qbij5tTkXWp9Q4[/embed]

3/8/19 3/8/19

Lower Desires

"The main obstacle we are facing in reaching our optimum mental capacity is a virus called "Lower Desires".To view this short inspirational video click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoY4vxkpGaI&feature=youtu.be or on the arrow button in the image below.[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoY4vxkpGaI&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

12/5/18 12/5/18

The Trees Want To Tell Their Story

I wanted to share with you a quick preview from "The Trees Want To Tell Their Story", with Jagattarini Dasi, Artistic Director at The Sacred India Gallery. Jagattarini is busy in Vrindavan gathering material for this upcoming project.In this video Jagattarini Dasi shares with us the mysterious pilu trees at a very special place known as Prem Sarovara.

I hope you enjoy the footage. -- Rukmini

https://www.facebook.com/100013397504440/videos/585519651904613/?id=100013397504440&__tn__=C-R&eid=ARA0ifGE5HCry2SZLKw1CNINNX8PKgOPIAJygOdSXiqeYNcFBWBAu5mNTRAi_lJCXXNe6fb9BUN_WB__&hc_ref=ARSVJOHKqC_HaMZZLR3h2Ii6DXDE9FUNxZAAuxKNlfmi_YcYsTRhuou2om4pHwnkzR0&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARCH6ZX465D9GxtvxSEhyFmKAF_4AK9IVApH51zNeE-uXjGHLxa1naaYnPrDojJSVDitGsQazaBfx32yw19__d9rNOCgwZ97Bh9s0_OJG3ZupqqmJEC2JHHEUlo3Cd95WydCvZSvwuzA8xC6yzzwJt0bwFF8E2Z1z2Am5mrt0FljgeKAtM7A_3NoQctXA9fyHdjuJ9w4ECk83m_y6Yy9MzVpkhU

About Jagattarini:

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Jagattarini moved to Sydney at 21 to pursue theatre and art. This small step away from home was the beginning of a journey that carried her around the world and eventually to India.She settled in Vrindavan (the land of Krishna), a sacred town two hours south of New Delhi, where she stayed for twelve years. She became fascinated by the people, their traditions, food, and art, and it wasn’t long before she was exploring this sacred and ancient land. In the 1980s it was difficult for a modern Western woman to gain entrance into Vrindavan’s culture, but Jagattarini worked hard to win the trust of the people, and gradually, she was allowed an intimate glimpse into their lives and spiritual traditions, which included their time-honoured stories of Krishna. Over time, she began to take visitors to Vrindavan on tours of the places she had explored, sharing with them what she had learned. She also travelled to other spiritual locations around India, sometimes alone and sometimes leading tours, but always with an eye to learning all she could about local traditions. In 1996 Jagattarini and her family moved back to Australia. To her, Vrindavan had become home, and now she deeply missed everything about it.

12/10/17 12/10/17

Sound of a Sacred River

Jahnavi — Sound of a Sacred River — a short film from bhaktivedanta on Vimeo.

This short film was made in Russia in October 2015, by a small team of filmmakers who are passionate about sharing the culture of bhakti yoga with the world. It was shot on location in Moscow and Sochi and profiles Jahnavi Harrison, who grew up with bhakti yoga and serves in the capacity of a kirtan (devotional call and response chanting) leader.

Producer: Shaktyavesha Avatara dasaDirector of Photography: Raghunatha Prana dasa2nd Camera: Hari Mohini dasiAdditional Camera: Nityananda Rama dasaPostproduction: Tamal Krishna DasaTransport: Alexey Pigurenko