Morning Work and SHM
The day began with focus on the book. I reviewed the prayers and noticed how I had repeated the moment of discovering SHM in both the opening and again in 40 Days and 40 Nights. I amended the flow, giving SHM the weight it deserves — the thread that runs through everything.
This is the truth of the path: uncovering the New Earth within is uncovering SHM within. That light once shone in me, and I cannot settle for anything less. Clearing the judgments and distortions around it — this is the work, this is the pursuit.
Errands and Encounters
I went to the barber in the morning, but he was closed. I stopped by Max’s to drop off millet flour, but he was in session. The Hoo Temple welcomed me in instead. Breakfast, conversation, presence. Then, back to the barber when it reopened — a shave, a small reset.
The final walks through familiar streets reminded me of impermanence. Places feel eternal, until the moment they are not. Everything shifts. Even the Old Earth burdens I still face — banks, visas, closures — are impermanent too. All will pass.
Community and Conversations
Later, I returned to the Hoo Temple for dinner. On the way I stopped at One Bhakti to say goodbye to Nisir, and saw Max on the road. He looked unsettled after working with a client whose body carried strange distortions, fear of the sun, sound, and music. We spoke. He felt cleansed, released. He went to the sea for renewal.
At the Temple, a meal was shared — fish caught from their lake, rice, and blessings of community. A child played with a firefly in a mandala, naming it “Adma.” After her and my name. A reminder that innocence sees the sacred in the smallest of moments.
Stories of Struggle and Renewal
A man told me of his collapse during COVID. He lost everything, fell into despair, even thoughts of suicide. Yet he spoke with clarity: the worst moment became the seed of the best. Not yet fully realized, but already unfolding. His story mirrored my own: the weight now may one day be revealed as blessing.
Closing Note
The day closed with meditation, preparing for the new day ahead.
Packing, SHM, community, impermanence — all of it wove together. This is the passage: letting go of what was, honoring what is, and trusting that the worst may yet become the best.
The New Earth is seeded in these moments. SHM lights the path.