As Kara and I gear up...planning...putting pieces together to make sure (as a dear friend Somik has touched upon recently) the visit to India coming up naturally molds into a living, learning pilgrimage...a few intentions have come up - 

Beauty is everywhere - try to hold that in perspective whether traveling to a holy site or in a bustling metro train ride.

Do less, be more - the balance of doing what naturally flows within the cycle of a day out of the necessity to serve, connect and relate in small ways. 

Surrender - this may be one of the most common ones that people traveling to India think about doing but has been one of the hardest ones for people like us. We are so used to the life in silicon valley that reflects to a certain degree Order and an organized pattern (in comparison India is considered chaos while this ted talks gives me hope).

Pain caused can transform into flowering sweet compassion - there is a tipping point somewhere and it takes a certain amount of attention and awareness to transmute pain (and anger, discomfort...the rest of it) into a positive emotion and energy. Faith and devotion in what we are and what has been given to us helps put things in perspective. A Sufi saying goes - "Let the pain in my heart transmute into flowering love as it rises from the heart and reaches my lips." May there be victory to the deep stream of universal love...flowing into our little lake like hearts.

Clean your heart every day...as you will your body! :) This one I guess sets the bar for me to practice kindness every wakeful moment to the extent I can...Not successful yet but learning to catch the arrival of negative thoughts a little more quicker than I used to.