400 rupees

I have never been to India, but have always been fond of their culture, food, music, movies, people and practices. One of my best friends is there right now, traveling and teaching English. I would love more than ever to join her there, but in the meantime I seem to be surrounded by the essence of India! The other day I ran into an old friend of Indian descent, who I'd met just before I left for Israel. Coincidentally he had been in Israel for work and was interested to exchange stories. Also a few days ago I was in the Hillcrest Trader Joe's, where they keep a collection of foreign currency under the glass at their check-out stands. I reached in between the glass and pulled out a bill - it was from India - their currency the Rupee. Another good friend of mine is a promoter for Hindi movies, and as I was walking along the boardwalk today I decided to give him a call. My phone was breaking up and all i heard was "400 Rupees", wondering what he was doing with Indian currency. What he actually said was he was in a room with "400 Indian people" and proceeded to tell me about his day at work.

After talking to him I continued walking down the boardwalk, lined with drunk people and tourists. A man approached me abruptly waving a thick book in my face. The book was called Bhagavad-Gita (meaning "Song of God"), and the man was an Indian Monk. He told me he was giving away copies of the book, to anyone who wanted to learn more about meditation. Being the open-minded spiritual person that I am, I had no other intended path then to stop and talk to him for a while. Our conversation was amazing, our connection transcended beyond the standard "boardwalk talk". As it turns out he was born Jewish, worked as a Physicist at UCSD in his early adulthood, then decided to become a Monk, which he has been for 30 years. During that time not only has he researched Indian spirituality and philosophy extensively, he has traveled around distributing books and meeting people who want to learn more. He offered give me the book for a donation of $15, only to cover their printing costs. I explained to him that I was in between jobs and in between homes, though I really wanted the book.

Our conversation evolved into discussion of the Divine as well as the metaphysical, and early interpretations of religion, such as the history and evolution of spiritual thought in the Middle East and Asia. He asked me if I was open to alternative thoughts about God besides the beliefs of Christianity, this before he actually knew I was a Christian. I told him that indeed I am more open minded than most of the Christian people I know so he didn't need to worry about that, and having lived among Jews and Muslims I already have a pretty broad understanding of the other viewpoints. Of course my own practices of Yoga and meditation tie into the peacefully-attainable levels of spiritual growth and highly evolved mindset that seems to be the underlying theme of the Bhagavad-Gita. It took little convincing on either side to realize we were conversing on the same level, and the monetary value of the book seemed to have disappeared in the chill twilight ocean air. Ultimately knowing that I was short on Rupees, not only did he decide to GIVE me the book - because it was understood that I would in fact read it - but invited me to an Indian-food dinner at the meditation center down the street. I declined the dinner invitation but may venture over there sometime in the future for a free meal or meditation. In the meantime I definitely have some new reading material... don't worry Im not converting to a new religion, only expanding my levels of consciousness!

love and rockets

today in America, we celebrate the day of love, St. Valentine's Day. While love is at the top of my personal to-do list, the holiday has become one of the country's favorite over-commercialized shopping days of the year, geared towards consumers in love. A side effect of this frenzy is the impending doom that lurks among singles who have not yet found their true love. For years I was sucked into this spiral, having never been with anyone who has shown me a special amount of love on this celebrated day (other than my mother) but my fresh perspective can bring hope for change. Not change like that which is over-rhetoricized by left-wing politicians, but a change of heart, a release of the past to make room for the new, with the goal of invoking positive energy into my own life, a quest for a new love on the horizon - accepting only the best because we deserve this for ourselves.

When I think of what love really is, not this hyped-up consumer type of love or the love that the world gives - real love starts with love for our Creator. The words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 say it best: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS! May we all remember the true meaning of love this Valentine's Day!

Meanwhile over in the rockets red glare of a country (God's own Holy Land Israel), high securty alert levels have been enforced at the borders, with the murder of one of Hezbollah's top leaders. Now that I am not living there anymore, I follow the headlines religiously - as though a part of me still longs for this existence. When you read about the bombs and qassams (rockets) they are generally detonated in remote or isolated areas, but you would not deduce that from the reports. However the activity which has taken place among terrorist groups and their leaders is greater in scope than the everyday terrorism against Israel. Hezbollah threatened "open war" against Israel as one of its leaders Imad Mughniyeh was killed. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of being responsible for the blast in Damascus, Syria, killing militant commander Imad Mughniyeh on Wednesday. Nasrallah stated, "With this murder, its timing, location and method - Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open." With the whole world watching, only those who have the love for Israel care and are moved by this unfortunate blame-game. The Bible commands us to love one another, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's all we can do, here in America as we celebrate the Day of Love.

hillary care

Today at Cox Arena at SDSU (my home away from home) Senator Hillary Clinton was scheduled to speak at the Town Hall lecture at 1:30. I had to come to campus anyway, so I thought what the heck, I'll check it out. I parked for free in one of the student parking structures, and when i walked across campus 2 1/2 hours before the event there was a ginormous line wrapped around the entire walkway paralleling the Love Library. I decided not to wait in it but rather get my business taken care of and then go to Starbucks to check my email. As I walked across campus to the event I was nearly trampled by a parade of Barack Obama supporters, carrying banners and chanting something about change. In between their banter, I yelled "John McCain" in their general direction. One of them laughed at me, another said "I hope you need to get an abortion someday!" What a bizarre thing to say - I yelled back "I'm not planning on killing anyone!" Last I heard John McCain was somewhat Liberal when it comes to abortion, but I guess the person didn't know that, assuming he was as Conservative as can be.

When I did arrive to the Cox Arena I had to walk around the entire building where I was met with signs stating "heightened security, bags will be searched". I thought to myself, if I were a terrorist, I would definitely try to bring a backpack into the Town Hall meeting. I think I must have been oozing "Conservative" from all pores of my body because I was met with so much resistance getting into the venue. First they made everyone fill out a half-sheet with name, address and email - required before being able to ENTER - probably so they can spam me with their Liberal rhetoric. Then I approached the bag check and to my dismay they told me I could not even bring my bag in (despite the signs saying bags would be searched). I told them I was a Professor here, showed them my Faculty ID card, and waited to talk to a supervisor. I told them it was necessary so I could take notes, etc. They still made me check my bag but I was able to bring in my laptop and camera. I'll try to snap a photo before I leave.

I am still sitting here an hour after the event was supposed to "start", two hours after the doors opened (good thing I didn't wait in that line), and NO HILLARY. I have endured listening to several Liberal introductory speakers, fortunately without getting sick. They keep saying "Hillary is coming, she is on her way". Probably had to get her makeup done or something. The sign language translator looks like Mitt Romney from here. A bunch of people keep getting up to buy nachos. Now they are flying paper airplanes around inside Cox arena. Reminds me of the PSFA Graduation Ceremony, which was also in this venue. I am having more fun watching people wait as I know the speech itself is not going to change my life or any of my viewpoints. Wow, this paper airplane flying extravaganza is generating more applause and excitement than the candidate herself. I wonder if she will ever get here. Now the State Speaker Fabian Nunez is speaking onstage to talk about voting and introduce ANOTHER speaker, John Chung, who introduced the Mayor of Los Angeles, who introduced another senator. I guess that's my cue to leave - I already voted by mail for McCain!