Blog
August 12, 2008: Touring Out West
Jai Ma!
I recently toured in parts of the country where I hadn't presented
before (Colorado and California). Among the highlights was doing
booksigning and devotional chanting demonstrations at INATS (International
New Age Trade Show). At the previous INATS event (in Orlando,
Florida, this past January), Following Sound into Silence:
Chanting Your Way Beyond Ego into Bliss was selected for
"Best of Show" honors by the editor of New Age Retailer
magazine, so many of the trade show attendees were primed with
some prior knowledge of the book & CD.
I signed hundreds of copies at the Hay House exhibit over a couple
of days, and lead devotional chanting for lots of folks who sat
right there on the floor with me, as well as passers-by. Then,
to cap it off, I was the "entertainment" for attendees at the
INATS Banquet and COVR (Coalition of Visionary Resources)
Awards ceremony, so I got to lead chant for 100+ people, many
of whom had never experienced anything like this before. Many
folks broke into dancing. It was beautiful!
Many people went out of their way to express their delight and
gratitude for this experience, both immediately after the event
and in the days that followed. In describing their impressions,
quite a number used phrases surprisingly similar to one another;
for example, "I was relaxed and energized at the same time"; "After
chanting with you, I slept like I haven't slept in many years";
"You didn't just entertain us, you offered us something we can
use for the rest of our lives"; "The way you explained the mantras,
and the stories you told, made chanting with you such a vivid
spiritual journey." Speaking for myself, I was very happy that
so many folks took an active part--using their voices with such
evident joy and release.
The tour in California was especially full--ten events across
eight days: kirtans and other devotional chanting events, booksignings,
and also a number of media interviews, including one for "Your
Health TV," with host Gina Renee, in Monterey, California.
You'll find the video clips (Parts 1 & 2) of this interview here,
in my Photo
& Video Album. Please tell others about these clips; better
still, embed them in your website, MySpace page, or other
social networking site, to provide others a brief, but potent,
introduction to the transformative art of devotional chanting.
Those eight days were the longest stretch of time I'd ever spent
away from my family, and we were missing each other terribly.
I returned bearing gifts--including See's chocolates, which Jaishree
had never tasted (but that I remembered well from when I lived
in California, back in the 1980s). The first thing Bodhi said
when I took him up in my arms was, "Papa, chant to Bodhi?" I melted
on the spot.
My thanks to all of you who helped make this tour a memorable adventure in Devotion. Goddess bless and keep you in Love.
|