Weekend with Krishna Das

Krishna Das says,
'At what would turn out to be my last darshan of Maharaj-ji's physical body, I was petrified with fear about returning to the U.S. after so many years. Then after a minute or so he looked over at me, smiling sweetly, and asked, 'So, how will you serve me?'
'My mind was blank. Then the words came to me, 'I will sing to you in America.'

I just returned from a Memorial Day weekend retreat with Krishna Das at Yogaville, VA. It is an annual workshop Krishna Das, commonly known as " K.D.", attends yearly:
Memorial Day Weekend Chanting Workshop

I had fallen in love with KD's voice while listening to his songs during yoga classes. I had never before heard a voice so filled with love and longing for the Divine. As he chants the various names of Ram, Krishna, and Hanuman -- to honor his beloved guru Neem Karoli Baba -- he evokes something deep inside my heart that longs for God. Its like he awakens my soul and makes me feel more alive.

And so, I signed up to see him this year at the annual retreat, only one week after returning from Jivamukti Teacher Training. I had to leave my kitties once again and drive four hours deep into Virginia rural country. I went with my friend Dawn, who had finished my first yoga teacher training with me, and who had accompanied me on previous crazy adventures (like sweat sessions/boot camps otherwise known as Power yoga workshops).

We got to spend the car ride up to the ashram catching up on each other's lives. We got into some great discussions, so great in fact that I nearly ran off the road more than a couple of times......Half way there, we did our required lunchtime stop at Charlottesville's Whole Foods, and then drove around looking for a Starbucks but instead were directed by a cute shirtless construction worker to a local coffee shop - Greenberry's Coffee and Tea Company. It was perfect. And then we got into the car again, made some more driving faux pas; but we finally made it, without getting lost at all (unlike last time!).

Immediately that evening, at dinner, we ran into a great girl named Erin with whom we immediately hit it off. Before long, we three had become fast friends and spend the weekend laughing and immensely entertaining each other.

That night we were introduced to KD. We got great front row seats, not knowing what to expect. We were all blown away. He is simply the most hilarious, genuine, and spiritual person we have me in a long, long time. And his voice is EVEN better in person!

Oh, the stories he shared with us. Memories and reminisences of his times with Neem Karoli Baba, his beloved guru. I won't even attempt to repeat them since he tells them so well. I highly encourage you to go see him in person!

Sometime on the last night, Dawn and I came to the conclusion that we HAD to cut our hair and it HAD to be on Monday, during the drive back. So Erin pulled out her magazines and helped us find the perfect haircuts and we were pumped. We started telling ourselves that we were gonna find the perfect hair stylist, who was immensely talented but not too booked, and waiting exactly for us to show up. And guess what- we did just that! Of course, we first spent around 2-3 hours driving around Charlottesville and running into closed hair salons. But then we found HER. She was at a hair salon in the local mall, and it was open til 9pm!!! Audrey was fantastic and cut us both with perfection.

And so we returned home - shorn and filled with the shakti of KD. Not bad for a Memorial Day weekend, huh!?!?!?!?

Krakow in the news!

Check it out! The New York Times finally is recognizing the jewel of Europe, my own old hometown, dear Krakow............

May 27, 2007
Poland's Second City Is First Choice for the Young
excerpts:

On a cool night this past fall, the crowd was sexy and self-possessed, with enough bell-bottom jeans, clunky belts and gorgeous blondes to populate a runway. The men were stylishly disheveled, with hip-hop hoodies and chiseled good looks. The women were chic and funky, with impossibly high cheekbones and long legs.

"There's a lot of creative energy here," said Garrett Van Reed, 25, a writer from Pennsylvania, who is part of a growing expatriate community that is turning Krakow into Eastern Europe's newest bohemian capital. "There's tons of artists and street performers. And there's always something going on in Rynek Glowny," he said, referring to the picturesque main square. "You're constantly stumbling upon something new."

That's easy to do when there are some 300 watering holes in Krakow's Old Town, many of them former World War II hideouts that only the local intelligentsia seem to know about. But word is getting out. The airline service into Krakow has increased dramatically in recent years, especially among low-cost carriers like easyJet, which recently added more than a dozen weekly flights to Krakow from cities like London, Belfast and Newcastle.

And with the euro climbing against not only the dollar but other foreign currencies, too, younger travelers have another reason to flock to Poland's second city. At about 2.9 Polish zloty to the dollar, Zywiec beers are still under $2, dinners rarely exceed $10 a person and a hostel bed goes for $15 a night.

Krakow's pleasures, however, are not confined to after nightfall. Unlike in Warsaw , which was largely destroyed during World War II, Krakow's stone churches and castles — some dating back to the 10th century — remain gorgeously intact. Older Poles still talk about how the occupying Nazis had apparently rigged the entire city with dynamite, but fled before detonating a single charge.

As a result, Rynek Glowny, which ranks among the largest medieval squares in Europe, looks pretty much the way it did in the Middle Ages. Dominated by the twin-towered St. Mary's Basilica and the behemoth Cloth Hall, the market square is also surprisingly un-touristy, even when the stone-paved expanse is thronged with tourists.

The same ethos holds true for Kazimierz, an old Jewish district southeast of Old Town. A tightly packed warren of crooked cobblestones and peeling facades, its hauntingly preserved streets came to attention in 1993 as the setting for Steven Spielberg's film "Schindler's List."

As with other former Jewish districts throughout Europe, Kazimierz has emerged in recent years as the city's alternative artistic center. After languishing for decades, its dingy tenements and wooden doors have been pried open and are slowly being converted into gritty pubs and sleek restaurants, with names like Le Scandale and Propaganda.