We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For...

"It is said that when the earth is weeping and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth. A people of many colors, who by their actions and deeds shall heal the earth and make her green again. They will be known as the warriors of the Rainbow." -- Old Hopi Prophecy

Microcosmic

I recently reminded myself of how blessed I am to live in L.A. when I visited a Cambodian Buddhist temple about thirty minutes from my house.

I instantly felt unbound by time and space when I entered the temple because everyone was Cambodian. Monks were chanting mantras in Khmer, the large room was filled with mats where people sat cross-legged and focused in silent prayer, and a large, gold leaf Buddha statue with a neon flashing light behind its head rested in the middle of the room. Smells of curry, a Cambodian version of pho, and incense mixed and lingered in the air. All of these pieces, including the tacky Buddha statue, would only make sense in Cambodia.

I sat down in the back of the room, tuned into my Cambodian flashback, and joined the rest in prayer.

After the procession, I was warmly welcomed by the Cambodians and sat down for a communal lunch. Most of them could barely understand my English and happily chattered away in their own tongues. Strangely enough, they never realized that I couldn’t understand their stories as I used the little Khmer that I knew to supplement their monologues.

Yes, it’s quite amazing to be here. I haven’t had many opportunities to explore all the microcosms of L.A., but I know that anytime my wanderlust flares up, I can always find another spiritual center like this (whether it’s a mosque, synagogue, temple, or church—it’s all here), restaurant, or marketplace of any international flavor. In this sense, I’m always at home, and never too far from the rest of the world.

Bewish

Yesterday I met a man who wittingly declared to be Bewish, which is a combination of Judaism and Buddhism. He said that this amalgamated state enables him to say things like “Om Shalom” and eat curried gefilte fish. I was at a party when we crossed paths, and after his declaration, he pulled me aside as if the others couldn’t process his philosophy, and whispered, “And honey, let me tell you that I am God, because to make it outside of myself would be codependent”.

He then told me how I need to write the first chapter of my book soon, and that's exactly what I was thinking during the week leading up to this encounter.

Yet again, I attracted an external reflection that confirms all these crazy ideas floating around inside. I like this concept of “the one”. It suits me well.

Banned!!!

Yesterday I chatted with a friend who is currently living and working in China, and he said that he can’t read about any of my galactic travels because the Chinese government has blocked all blog sites on the internet. So I’ve officially been banned! It's harder to burn books or words online, and apparently this is my writer’s passage or milestone in my development.

I think it’s an honor since it means I’m speaking the truth and that’s what the Chinese government fears. The funny thing is that, in my own experience, running away and denying the facts sometimes brings the truth faster. I think this falls under the laws of negative attraction.

It makes me wonder what it's like to get on the internet in China. I can imagine just one accessible website that is the official site of the Chinese governent. No need for search engines or "surfing the net". Makes it easy, doesn't it?

Afghanistan, Take One!

Today I met an actress whose latest gig is to run around the desert with 150 other actors and actresses, playing the role of a Muslim woman, burka and all. This isn’t the set for Hollywood’s latest politically incorrect terrorist movie, but a role play used by the US military.

She told me how she does this once a month. She gets to live in a shack without electricity, sleep in the cold night, get harassed and accosted by military men (in a pretend way, I guess), and even receives Arabic lessons and cultural pointers from actual Afghan and Iraqi refugees, all while participating in these reenactments on an old native American burial ground.

Hmmm… Other than the ancient burial ground, this sounds a bit familiar. I’m in L.A., but there are many vortices about. The world is a funny place, no?

I wonder...

How do we effectively dream together and stoke the fires of universal consciousness to a roaring and wondrous blaze? This is what I want to know. I believe it comes from the truth, that we are one and we all dream of the basics—love and peace. How you find it is your own localized experience because, as a wise man on a backwoods Himalayan road once told me, some may walk, some may bike, some may take the bus, and some may fly, but we're all going to the same destination. I honor the unique path of all, and ask how to support each other during this journey. The answer is within.