The Monkey God Awaits You

Still packing?

Arrive at 4 p.m. if you want to watch the "13 Grandmothers" DVD.
We will meet with the Nepali one.  Great movie, very moving!

We hope yor packing is going smoothly. No major panic attack!

A huge reminder:

• Bring 2 extra passport photos for the trekking permit with you.
• Deja Vu will provide dinner. No extra donation required.
•  We hope you have your Nepali visa , If not you will need to get it at the Kathmandu Airport and you will need 2 more photos for that. If so, make sure you download the Visa application on our Nepal website and take it with you.
• Packing Hint: bring a washcloth for your morning cat bath in your tent.  The sherpas will provide the hot water brought to your tent personally.

Thanks for your survey responses for Thailand.  You can pay for the snorkeling day at Ang Thong Marine National Park by clicking the Paypal button below.  If not we will collect the $95 on Saturday.  We are doing a private charter with a top notch company, so you must preregister and there will be no refunds if you change your mind.

And for those of you with a balance for your pilgrimage, Saturday will be your last chance to take care of it, or we will bring in the Nepali debt collectors out of their slumber and into your astral. Watch for the astral tickles in your tent in the wee hours.

Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum!!!!!
We will go over this blessing and its full meaning on Saturday as well.

Use the Paypal Button to pay the $95 for the Ang Thong Snorkeling Trip

The Nepal Spiritual Fieldtrip was an amazing success.  We visited the Shambala Buddhist Center in Berkeley and learned their simple style of meditation.  We did walking meditations and heard a Dharma Talk on the subject of the "meditative state."  Later we had a "Karma Kitchen" lunch at the Taste of the Himalayas Restaurant in Berkeley.  Run by volunteers, meals are cooked and served with love, and offered to the guest as a genuine gift. To complete the full circle of giving and sustain this experiment, guests make contributions in the spirit of pay-it-forward to those who will come after them. In keeping this chain going, the generosity of both guests and volunteers helps to create a future that moves from transaction to trust, from self-oriented isolation to shared commitment, and from fear of scarcity to celebration of abundance. Deja Vu made a generous donation to Karma Kitchen on behalf of our field trippers.  We also did past life readings on each other for dessert.  Afterward we went shopping at a Tibetan Gift shop and got to preview some of the craftwork of this ancient culture.

Buddism by Rev. Lauren Van Ham

Rev. Lauren was ordained an Interfaith minister in 1999. Raised Christian, Lauren's spiritual practice has been hugely informed by Eastern thought and the Western mystic teachers.  Her ministerial passion is to bring people together across faiths, concepts and perceived divides. Until 2007, she served as a hospital chaplain at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and from 2004-06, she was Executive Director for Green Sangha, a non-profit organization practicing spiritually-engaged environmental activism. In 2007, she renewed her ordination vows, specifically dedicating her ministry to caring for the Planet, or what she calls “Eco-chaplaincy.”  Currently Lauren works for Saatchi S where she develops curriculum and facilitates sustainability training intensives for Fortune 500 companies. In addition to her ministry, which she loves, she enjoys bicycling, backpacking, singing, dancing and laughing.  Here is a synopsis of her lecture at the workshop: