A Day in the Life

Well, I have been feeling more at home here in Auroville. I think that going away for the weekend really solidified coming back here as the feeling of coming home.
Also, I have been partaking in some very familiar activities which add to this feeling, such as:
1) Making signs for a music festival! The farm next door (Solitude) is having an eco-music fest this Saturday. They are building a stage, some rides, face painting, and booths of Auroville organizations. There is a hustle and bustle of preparation, and I felt like I was sitting on my back porch, making signs with Kate for a Fancy That Production! :)
2) HULA HOOPING! I finally went to one of the many movement classes happening here, and - not surprisingly - HULA HOOPING was where I ended up! It was SO FUN; I've missed it! I learned some new tricks, and it got me excited to hoop fire again.
3) Going to a good ol' talent show! Last weekend, a few hundred Aurovillians and guests gathered outside at an ampitheatre, and saw some amazing acts! There was fire dancing, Brazilian samba and capoeira (I danced onstage with the band!), singer-songwriters, an Indian stand-up comedian (he used to feel like he was trapped in a woman's body. ...Then he was born!), and many other talent. It made the community feel alive; there was also a fire, and stands selling drinks and food- it was like a mini-festival scene.
4) Speaking of festivals, there is a place here called the Youth Camp. What they do there is play. They have dozens of huge climbing structures, huge swings, and many rainbow painting projects everywhere. (Including a rainbow car stuck upside-down in the ground!). They all live in tree houses. They are planning  a 3 day electronic music festival in the forest. Guess what it's called??? "Burning Woman". :D
5) This may be the coolest thing I've been doing: Hanging out with my friend Laina from HIGH SCHOOL!! She came here last year on a school program, then came back and has been living here for the past 4 months. She ran into me one day on the road... Such synchronicity! I have been enjoying spending time with her in this unique place!
 I just feel like time here is strange; my concept of it is not linear. (Which is GREAT!) I have been here about a month, which seems both longer and shorter than my inner reality... if that makes sense. I am almost halfway through this experience... and what does that even mean? I feel like I am swimming in constantly fluctuating presence of experience. And one thing is for sure, there is a definite collective energy here that pushes me toward spiritual connection. It is not simply a choice, although it is that too. The focus here, if there is just ONE, seems to be spirituality of one sort or another. Thus, I have been doing some digging. :)
And maybe it is this that has created the sensation of extremities that I have been feeling. Maybe it is the tropical climate. But one thing is for sure: "Things go faster here." That is what they say. If I am feeling down, I will surely be happy in a short time. Seemingly shortly after that, I will experience a discomfort or hardship in one way or another.
SO, I am convinced that I will return to you all with AT LEAST 5 years of wisdom under my belt. Ahhh... YEP.
...HAH! Just kidding. ;P Gotcha.

Let's take a stroll.

Jessica, Richie and Anshika - FUNNY moment. :P

Ganesh, just takin a break. (It's hard work being a Hindu Go!) Did I mention that Ganesh is Shiva's son?

Well, that is the update. Thank you all for your posts and comments, they are so wonderful and I feel like you are so connected to my experience! Share the love!

The Body of Shiva

Hello! So before my experiential awareness moves on, I want to tell you a little about the place I went this past weekend- Thiruvannamalai.
First of all, I want to go back!
It is an incredibly sacred town located around a mountain, which is known to be the God Shiva's body is ancient Hindu mythology.
It is also the place where one of the most celebrated recent Indian gurus was lead. His name is Sri... Ramanamaharshi. (Whew!) There is a huge ashram where he is buried, an even HUGER temple for Shiva, and caves in the mountain where Sri M. meditated for many years.
On Saturday, I got to climb Shiva. :)
At this point, some of you are probably wondering why I am calling myself "Shivaya Ajna", and this would be a fitting time to tell!
This year at Burning, I received my "Playa Name". This is a special name that you are supposed to receive at Burning Man; you are not supposed to choose it yourself, but rather receive it. This year I went to a naming booth (cheating? Maybe!), and had a wonderful experience receiving my playa name.
They called me Shiva. For me, this name represents my passion for dancing, as well as my continual striving to come from a heart-centered place of love, and recognize that sometimes, coming from a place of love means using the force of destruction, and sometimes it means fostering growth.
In Hindu tradition, Shiva is the God of transformation. He has two sides: the one which is involved with people and contributing to communities, and the side where he is withdrawn and in himself. He is depicted in many different incarnations and forms.
A main form that I really resonate with is the Dancing Shiva. You may have seen a statue of this somewhere! The Dancing Shiva is depicted dancing in a ring of fire. He is stepping on his ego with one foot, and raising the other foot away from it. He has four arms- two form a gesture, which means "do not be afraid, you are free". The other two arms hold the fire of life and passion, and a drum, for the rhythm of life.

In Hindu tradition, there are over 300 million gods worshipped. In India, Shiva is the God with the most temples. There are temples to worship Shiva in association with each element: earth, air, water, fire, and space. In Thiruvannamalai, the temple is the Fire Shiva temple. It is an impressive structure- I will post pictures soon!
So this Saturday, I - along with 8 brave groupmates and a local guide - woke up at 3:30 AM to hit the mountain! We climbed the steep, rugged slope until just before dawn. Then we reached the top.
I was dripping sweat when we got there, but I instantly became cold, because we were engulfed in a fast-moving, wet cloud! It was a dark grey color, and the top of the mountain was sticky and black from the ritual fires that are burned each full month there. (It is said that Shiva's power waxes and wanes with the cycle of the moon, and he is most powerful on the full moon. Thus, millions of people come to Thiru every month to walk around the mountain.)
Our guide pointed me toward the edge of the mountaintop, where there were two white footprints painted inside of a white circle. "These are Shiva's feet," he told me.
Instantly, I remained fixed there. I felt, "this is my spot." So I stood there with my arms up, letting the cloud sweep past me, turning my sweat to cold moisture droplets, and filling me with a sense of adventure and flight. Looking into the dark mist, I felt I was at the edge of some world.
I chanted Shiva's name and om'd as the clouds became slightly pink through the layers. Then the mist would dissipate for a minute or so, giving us a plunging view into the city and mountains far below.
We practiced some yoga with our guide to keep warm, then turned around in time to see the sun - a round orange orb - reaching through the gray clouds. Slowly, the orange, pink and yellow hues of the sunrise began to paint the mountaintop, and the clouds continued to thin. Eventually, we could see the scene below - the sprawling city in the valley, lakes glistening with the sun's light, and the Shiva temple bombarding the expanse of land with its prowess.

It was so beautiful! This weekend definitely helped me to connect more with this name I have received! Climbing a mountain before sunrise was definitely an experience; one which my thighs painfully remember, and one which I hope to explore in more sacred mountains of the world. Every mountain is sacred and lends a powerful opportunity to connect with spirit!

I love you all so much! Thank you for reading and stayin' with me!

Big Questions

I am not sure quite where to start. But I know I need to write.
There are some big questions of our time that I am thinking about. They are existent not only here in Auroville, but all over the globe. Traditions are being swept up in modernization. What is being lost? Will the ancient wisdom of cultures be lost in this modernization?
These are a couple of big questions that mainly can't be answered hypothetically.
I am trying to speak through my heart to ask and relate to these questions.
Here in Auroville, there are- of course- issues. The issues I am thinking of here are around the relationship between the Aurovillians, and the local villagers. There are some extremely different worldviews at play in this weaving of communities, and how do we integrate strange cultural interactions?
These have been the observations that have really pierced me ever since I got here- the inequalities of wealth, the extreme poverty of the villagers. And yet, the more I interact with them personally, the more I think that they are unaware of these issues, at least in the ways that I am. Of course, language is a barrier; but when I asked a local street performer if he thought that modernization would wipe out this ancient practice of street theatre, he replied, "Culture is like the floor of a house. Modernization is like the walls. Storms will come and knock the walls down, but the ground will remain."
I find this very potent- firstly in the way he answered: these people do not think highly abstractly and theoretically like we are taught to; they are invariably connected to their work, their practices, and their dense culture.
I am just beginning to be exposed to these issues on an experiential level, so I cannot fully make sense of all the complexities. However, I do think that the issues of culture, interaction, and modernization are important to consider!