When it first came to my attention that the venerable Karma Rinpoche would be in the south bay I was beyond excited. I had been following the honorable Rinpoche’s work for many years up to this point and finally the moment had arrived for a blessing. He has spent his life in servitude to the Buddhist philosophy and people of his native Bhutan. In more recent years he’s moved west and spreads his love and teachings here in the states along with offering ceremonial blessings, the kind only a Lama of his stature is trained and ordained to offer.The traditional ceremonial water blessing is given to ward off evil and misguided spirits. It’s a holy blessing offering peace and love to all who receive it. Being highly akin to these sorts of offerings I wasn’t about to miss a glorious opportunity to be blessed by a world famous Lama, any Lama really, but Karma Rinpoche? No way could I miss this chance. The blessings come from a source of love and light and always leave you feeling a euphoric kind of high one can only arrive at through an all natural process. This is not a manufactured high, but one sent Divinely to us sentient beings from a higher source. Also when someone has spent his or her life in service and ceremonial matrimony their energy fields are magnified and exemplified in a light filled way that one just has to experience to truly and totally understand. The Divine is all knowing and equally akin to those who expend hours in prayer and servitude and are here to raise awareness of oneself and others. Part of the reason these blessings are so powerful.If you’re at all keen on spirituality and exploring the higher consciousness and just so happen to be on the west coast you’ll quickly come to realize the progressive nature of this in the bay. The south bay in particular is heavily doused in spiritual consciousness. It is home to many an author, healer, light worker and seeker. The bay area in general is very much front and center when it comes to this train of thought. There is an abundance of buddhist temples, meditation retreats, yoga studios, healers, blessers and worshippers, oh and a most awesome treasure for all who seek East West Bookshop. Seen in the image above East West offers books, crystals, buddhas, a revered water fountain that the staff puts love and prayers into. East West also hosts spiritual speakers, authors, guides, teachers, and on this particular evening Karma Rinpoche.A blessing by a devout monk is about as good as it gets in the realm of spiritual awakenings, a humbling experience. Not my first. When you begin to explore spirituality devoutly, somewhat religiously and heavily you come to learn of the energetic fields and power that surround the self realized, self actualized beings among us.There’s also quite a dichotomy to these elevated souls. They tend to be the most humble. While humility may elude many of us from time to time the whole point of elevating your consciousness is to get in alignment with the higher self. This is the beauty of spirituality and surrounding ourselves with elevated beings. This is why I’ve spent the last decade delving in head first. I’m always searching for and seeking the next enlightened soul with whom I can connect, come in contact with, learn from, be near or be blessed by.Karma Rinpoche has been a practicing full time monk since the age of 7. For those who don’t understand this way of thinking the idea is strange, even bizarre, but for the spiritual seekers among us it is all too magnificent the possibility of a seven year old leaving his parents, siblings and hometown in search of a greater truth. This is a sign of sheer enlightenment, an old soul, a realized being who is here for a greater purpose.While we all are here for a greater purpose and should be on some sort of path of self realization we are all nevertheless on our very own paths. This is the beauty of life and the challenges it presents. I’ve been so unlucky and so unfortunate in so many ways, but through my own spiritual awakening see the opportunity for growth in these challenges. It is an opportunity to evolve and have my own spiritual awakening. Some times those of us who are the most challenged in the end are the luckiest of them all. Despite the agonizing days of pain and grief we somehow manage to survive and even thrive through it all. The human will is truly remarkable. Life promotes growth and not always by choice. All we can do is try and make the most of those moments when life knocks us down. We can look at is a chance encounter to evolve, learn and grow, an opportunity to better ourselves.Thank you for the Water Blessing Dear Karma Rinpoche. I’m feeling pretty darn Blissed and Blessed.Keep an eye out for my one on one exchange with Karma Rinpoche. I’ll be posting my interview with him in the next few days. His thoughts and insights are enlightening to say the least.https://soundcloud.com/user-537223309/karmarinpoche
