Indian Wedding

Today I was privileged to attend the wedding of a co-worker. I continue to be impressed by how everything in this culture has symbolism and meaning…names, spices, colors, fruits, time of day, grains, thread, you name it and there is a story behind it… It makes every little action purposeful and rich. For example, the bride and groom go around a ceremonial fire seven times. Each round about the fire symbolizes a part of life. The groom leads in first three rounds symbolizing that the earlier part of marriage is led by the groom. The bride leads in the last four rounds symbolizing that the latter part of life will be led by her. When leaving the event their hands are tied together with string and there garments as well to signify their unification. We all had the opportunity to approach the bride and groom, give them a gift, say a few kind words and then sprinkle or throw rice over their heads as blessings.

The wedding was overflowing with vibrancy. From the elaborate clothes worn, the resonating music played to the amazing flowers adorned everywhere.

Outside there was a parrot tarot card reader, assisted by a gentleman. When you sat down the bird would come out of his cage approach a set of cards, pick one up with his beak and hand it to his counterpart who conducted a reading about your future…

Context

Sharing my experiences in India with friends and family back in the US has proven difficult. It is hard to truly express what life is like for me here when people lack 1st hand experiences that allow them to really relate with the drastic differences. Sensory experiences provide people a richer understanding that resonates within and adds depth.

Recently my girlfriend Gina ventured to India for the 1st time. Prior to her arrival we had talked extensively about my experiences and life here, but that was just talk… I am extremely grateful she had the experience to absorb it all personally. Doors that were previously closed are now open in terms of relating to me. Gina spent five days exploring the North with her friend Jivan and then flew down to the South to spend time with me. I had the opportunity to show her some of Hyderabad, where I live and work, introduce her to my colleagues, take her to some of my favorite restaurants and expose her to some of the crazy contrast of India. After two days in Hyderabad we flew to Goa to find peace on the coast. The next four days were just what we had imagined; relaxing and restorative. Like the difference between looking at the ocean on the surface and diving into its depths, Gina and I now have a deeper relationship and understanding of each other. I am thankful she was willing and open to explore mystic India….

After six days of adventure, discovery and connection with Gina, I thought to myself:

Is it possible to feel empty and full at the same time?

Training Futures

Friends,

Below is a link to a short clip by the channel 9 news in Washington, DC on Training Futures. The organization is especially close to my heart because my mother founded it and continues her quest to empower and equip individuals so that they can live more fruitful lives.


http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=56576

Impressive: Wade Davis

Take a gander at this piece from Wade Davis of National Geographic. It is rich!

http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=w_davis

merry go round

Do you remember the dizzying effect of riding a merry go round as a child? This is how I have been feeling of late. The merry go round moves fast, creates this euphoric type sensation and when it is over you get to deal with trying to stabilize on solid ground.

This most recent trip took me from India to the Rocky Mountains, onto the dreamland of Mickey and Mini, a few days in the motor city and then full circle back to India (all within 11 days). Needless to say it was dizzying with many people and magical moments energizing the ride. While in Colorado I had the privilege of connecting with my girlfriend Gina, family and Mother Nature. Gina and I went to Steamboat for a quick trip to ski and bask in the natural hot springs. After one missed flight (due to the fact my travel agency in India booked my reservation under my first name and the airline could not find the ticket?!?) I arrived in Orlando at a conference where the top 125 corporate universities in the world are ranked. 2007 was the 1st year our organization was ranked and we came in at #15. This was impressive; due to the fact we had never been ranked before and are the 1st ever Indian company to make the list. There were five of us in Orlando to receive the award and we all dressed for the black tie affair in Indian formal attire to reinforce the message that India had arrived! As for Detroit, well…it was Detroit.

Like a sour patch kid (which saturates your taste buds with sweet and sour simultaneously) I am chewing on the fact that consistency is not possible in this chapter of my life and still deciding if I like the way it tastes.

Regardless of my palate and its uncertainty; I continue to be humbled and grateful for the many gifts and opportunities I have been given.

R&R

After being in Europe and the US for seven weeks I experienced culture shock once again during my re-entry into India. Everyday aspects of living in India (such as no hot water for a morning shower) frustrated me like when I 1st arrived here almost a year ago. After being back in the swing of things in India for a month I was in need of some serious R&R.

My pal Seth could relate…The past eight months he has been making his way around the world. During the last few weeks he has been exploring the diverse states of India. He arrived this Wednesday from Mumbai for a brief stay with me in Hyderabad. Then on Friday we caught a flight to Goa. This Portuguese colonized region of India is well known around the world as an enjoyable holiday destination. Regardless of your tastes and budget you can find what you’re looking for along this coastal area. The north provides a more crowded and party atmosphere and the south is more laid back and peaceful. We did not hesitate to head south.

We arrived in Palolem, one of the southern most towns in Goa after an hour taxi ride from the airport. As we set foot on the coast, one of our 1st sights was a crew of cows sunbathing on the beach...

Upon arrival at our humble abode for the next three days, we were pleasantly surprised. Our beach front hut was situated no more than 30 feet from the ocean. The next few days were spent soaking up RA’s rays, swimming, reading, enjoying live music, eating fresh seafood, watching the sun rise and set and enjoying good company. I left Goa revitalized and grateful for the opportunity to decompress.

The Living Dead...

Sitting at a coffee shop in DC recently a picture on the wall seized my attention. The image was of a dazed and confused person and the caption below read: “God Save The Living Dead”.
I stayed at that coffee shop a few hours and every so often I found my attention gravitate to this picture on the wall. That curious experience birthed a thought process on the topic of: What makes me feel most alive?
After some reflection, I realized that one of the ways I feel most alive is when I am doing things that give me a natural high. For me this often manifests when doing things I am afraid of or have not been exposed to…
So embracing this concept, I recently purchased a 1973 Enfield Bullet Motorcycle(http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/bzz_history.html). Having never rode a “real chopper” this experience has been invigorating and frightening. I am taking it real slow and sticking to the back rodes until I have a fair amount of muscle memory built up... As navigating the main rodes in India are like playing the old school video game frogger.

I definitely feel alive when I saddle up and go for ride.

What makes you feel most alive?

Confirmation (Indian Style)

Today I had the privilege of attending the confirmation ceremony of Christopher and John (the two sons of my driver Steven). The church was packed with over 500 attendees, 99.6% Indian (There were 3 Americans, including me). All of the children were dressed in white and excited to go through this rite of passage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_passage).

The two and a half hour ceremony was primarily conducted in English with brief sprinklings of Hindi. At the alter, the cross was wrapped in neon lighting and Christmas tree lights adorned the surrounding area. The sound system would rival any night clubs and the hymns were sung with dance music background beats. It was fascinating to see the similarities and differences of a Christian church service in the east vs the west. The experience also triggered flashbacks to my own confirmation 16 years ago...

The after party was at a gathering hall in Stevens neighborhood. Both Steven and his wife come from gigantic families (Steven noted that he has 70 cousins!). There was great food, music and family bonding to celebrate the two boys confirmation. John and Christopher were treated like kings with thrones they sat in and friends feeding them by hand.

I also got the opportunity to see Stevens home, meet his parents, seven siblings and many of the 70 cousins....I left the party around 4pm however the next morning Steven gave me the recap and noted they partied until 3am. These types of celebrations in India are like a meal after fasting. You savor it...

Sri Maheshwari School Visit

Last week members of the School of Leadership volunteered at a local school. We were invited to teach lessons for grades K-6 on reading and writing, help the kids think and plan for their futures, talk about what it is like to work in an corporation and have some fun.

We all walked away energized and humbled as the students were eager to learn and thankful for our contribution. I look forward to returning and continuing to interact with the children.

Decisions Decisions..

Internal conflicts arise on a regular basis. The struggle between logic and intuition, body and spirit, responding vs reacting, yada yada yada. I had one of these moments this past Friday morning at 4am when my alarm clock yanked me from dreamland. My body pleaded for more rest (as I still was struggling to get back on a indian sleep schedule) and at the same moment my spirit yearned for exploration and adventure. My spirit triumphed in the case as I arose, threw a few items in a backpack and headed to the airport. The destination was Varanasi which is considered one of the holiest cities in all of this spiritually saturated country. My fellow explorers were Ibanga (friend and co-worker) and Seth (Pal who is traveling around the world for a year).

Varanasi is by far the dirtiest city I have traveled to thus far in India. The cows are abundant and roam freely. Hence, landmines in the form of cow shit are everywhere. I came outfitted only with flip flops and miraculously made it through three days of roaming this dangerous environment unscathed....

On the other side of the spectrum, the energy and vibeof varanasi (also referred to as benares) filled my spirit with peaceful acceptance of everything and everyone. And that should not be take lightly...considering the plethora of shocking, strange and intense experiences one encounters during a visit to "the holy city".

The city sits on the ganges or ganga river which flows from the Himalayas and is believed to provide life to mother india. Similar to Mecca for Muslims, Hindus come to the ganges for cleansing of their spirit and take "holy baths". People that know me understand that baths and spirituality are to of my favorite pastimes...So what better than to join in a "holy bath"?!?

Well my friends, the problem is that the ganges is really dirty. There is a 7km stretch of river kissing the shore of Varanasi. In this same area, over 30 large sewers are flow in the river. The water is septic meaning no dissolved oxygen exists. Water samples show it has 1.5 million fecal coliform bacteria per 100ml of water. Water that is safe for bathing, based on the above stats should have less than 500 FC! To make matters worse, Hindus believe that being bathed in the ganga and then cremated in wood burning fires is a way to break the cycle of reincarnation and achieve "moksha". So people bring their family members here and other places along the ganga for this intricate process which is omnipresent 24/7, never stopping. Babies that expire (the term for death) are often put in the ganges for rebirth...

So taking all this into account and just looking at the pollution that hangs out on the surface of the river I was perplexed. Again an internal struggle... This time between logic and spirit. My mind and senses told me: you would be cuckoo for cocco puffs to do this and my spirit said let go, surrender to "the holy dip"...


I must confess, in this situation logic overtook spirit and I chose not to take a "holy dip". Although, on a side note: after three days of not bathing, when I returned to hyderabad I had what felt like a spiritual experience as I washed my body...

I would recommend Varanasi to any traveler exploring mystic india, as it will provide you with resonating experience.

There are some good pics and videos in the links if your interested in seeing some of what varassi has to offer.

Reflections...

New Years is my favorite holiday. I love it for many reasons...

Below is a list of questions I find useful in looking back and forward with presence...

COMPLETING THE YEAR - 2006

· What was my biggest triumph?
· What was the smartest decision I made?
· What one word best sums up the year?
· What was the greatest lesson I learned?
· What was the most loving service I performed?
· What is my biggest piece of unfinished business?
· What am I most happy about completing?
· Who were the 3 people that had the greatest impact on me this year?
· What was the biggest risk I took?
· What was my biggest surprise?
· What important relationship improved the most?
· What compliment would I have liked to receive?
· What do I need to say or do to be complete about the year?





CREATING THE NEXT YEAR - 2007

· What would I like my biggest triumph to be in the coming year?
· What advice would I like to give myself?
· What are my financial aims to the year to come?
· What am I most committed to completing?
· What major indulgence am I willing to experience?
· What would I most like to transform within myself?
· What am I looking forward to learning?
· What risks will I be willing to take?
· What is an undeveloped talent I am willing to explore?
· What brings me the most joy? How will I experience that in the coming year?
· Who or what am I committed to loving and serving?
· What word will I have as my theme in the upcoming year?

I wish all of you a delightful new year filled with love, light and levity!

December

I left India on the 10th of December and headed to Europe for work and pleasure. In India there was no sign of the Christmas holidays or weather below 60 degrees which shifted drastically as I arrived in London. After a brisk two days in the UK , I flew to Brussels, Belgium (where waffles and I were born). Gina and I spent two days there and then took the train to Paris for five days of R&R. I am now back in the US and here until mid January. I am delighted to be reconnected phyiscally with family and friends during this traditional time of gathering.