DEAR DEANNA: WHAT DOES THE NEW JOURNEY MEAN?
WHEN I HEARD THE DHYANA CENTER WON’T BE OPENING BACK UP, I WAS STUNNED. I THOUGHT, THAT CAN’T BE TRUE. I REALIZED THAT I ALWAYS TOOK THE DHYANA CENTER FOR GRANTED. I MEAN HOW COULD ANYTHING HAPPEN TO SOMETHING SO AMAZING. WHAT IS YOUR JOURNEY NOW?” -- TERRI
Identity crisis, anyone? For decades I’d built up a routine. We all had, really, before the pandemic hit. And then, within weeks, the whole world changed its routine.
And now we’re finding our way back. It’s a little like leaving a movie theater after a long and intense film, stumbling out into the world where the light is a little glaring and we’re a little bit uncertain where we are.
In some ways, the pandemic was like holding my breath. Soon, very soon, I’d be able to exhale and resume where I was.
In some ways, the pandemic was like moving to a new house where I recognized so many familiar items, but now they were in a strange place.
And in some ways, the pandemic was like a funeral, where I faced those things I needed to let go of because they just weren’t meant to come back.
I have definitely gone through mourning, remembering all those familiar routines and rhythms. Year after year of serving students, clients, employees; for 25 years the rolling tide of beautiful souls and experiences that live in my memory and seem distant because I’m not standing on the same shore. But, what I keep reminding myself is that I’m still here. And I’m not going anywhere.
I started this journey humbled and in service to a village, a market, a city. And I am at your service in your time of need now, too.
Hari Aum,
Once upon a time a girl felt her heart call to the world. She undertook quests along the rugged road, sometimes into new lands, sometimes into desert. She found her life companion along the way, equally drawn to quietly build a vehicle, like a ship, like a vintage cruiser, built to navigate future seas.
This ship held many cabins, each magical in its own way. It set anchor down in a small port known for imagination and creativity. And the people came and worshipped and healed and danced and sang in this great and beautiful ship.
The girl decorated the ship with treasures from the lands where she had adventured. And the people loved the small journeys their minds could take visiting with these treasures.
A storm blew in and the ship had to weigh anchor and move out into deeper seas, among the breezes and gusts of the ethers. But the biggest magic of all was that all the people—whether from the small ports or the teeming cities, all around the world—could transport themselves to this ship while it navigated the globe. Now it was a ship of dreams, blessing stars and minds. And the girl dreamed bigger and the ship sailed.
Told by Andrea Foster