My main focus these last few years is on working toward development of communities. Toward that end I purchased property and moved out here to the desert a year and four months ago. My friend Kai from Encinitas is here also. She needed to find a new place so we came out here to the desert and were fortunate to find a small house on an acre of land just outside the city limits.
I built a small cottage that I use for accommodation and office and Kai lives in the main house. I also invested in a building lot in town that is listed for sale.
I continue to sell and repair harmoniums -- small organ-like musical instruments from India. Although I am no longer officially an SRF monk, I carry on that lifestyle to the best of my ability, in conjunction with my new projects.
Christmas is a great time of the year to experience a sense of renewed hope and joy. There is an underlying spirit that is especially predominant at Christmastime. It is a reminder of our own true inner nature, of our heart's aspiration. That twinkly Christmas feeling can inspire us toward a personal inward search to some day discover who we really are, where we came from, and where we are going.
Those who know me are aware that for decades I have pursued through meditation this inward search. The great discovery is that by seeking inside ourselves we also find the solution to all life's mysteries in the outer universe as well. Sound hard to believe? Well I guess you will only know for sure when you discover it for yourself.
Some day we all have to leave this home on the earth where we have dwelled for a time. I think it only makes sense to do some advance planning for our future lives beyond. If we can cultivate an acquaintance now with the seemingly mysterious source from which we came, it will help us not only while we are still here in the physical plane of existence, but in all our time to come.
Throughout history there have been men and women who wanted to solve the mystery of life. Traditional philosophy really just scratches the surface. For when you really begin to experience the reality that lies beyond what we observe through the five senses, there are no adequate words to describe it. It is something that cannot be conveyed through books or pictures but must be actually experienced by each individual for himself.
Jesus and other great souls have done the necessary work toward solving the mystery of life. Often misunderstood, they have tried to show the way for others to follow in their footsteps, to attain the qualities of true happiness, love, peace, and wisdom that only (seemingly mysteriously) arise from the heart of each individual.
May this Christmas renew your enthusiasm for and confidence in the good things in life. May our kindness to each other override any negative feelings that try to bring us down. Though little adversities may try to trip us up once in a while, may we be happy with a new secret sense of hope and confidence that everything really will work out well from now on.
A Joyous and Merry Christmas to all from --