Feb 4, 2008
“Carpe diem!” Or in plain English, “seize the day!” Life is short and every moment is precious. Each time I hear Horace’s immortal phrase, I am infused with energy. It is in perfect harmony with Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy: “To expedite your God-realisation-journey, you must take full advantage of every opportunity that knocks at your heart-door.” Recently, I was presented with a unique opportunity to seize the day and attempt a world record.
I love animals and get special joy incorporating them into my record attempts. One of my all time favorites was the record for the most jumps on a pogostick in a minute. And what made it so special was that I was holding a dog with one arm during the event! When Suki, my dog partner, and I performed the record, I was concerned that she might get uncomfortable. However, Suki was fine and seemed to thrive on all the TV cameras and attention. In fact, you might say she turned out to be a media hound!
For a long time now I’ve wanted to do a record with a bird perched on my shoulder. Fast forward to the Dominican Republic where I was on vacation this past December. The local zoo brought animals to the hotel beaches so tourists could pose with them while having their photos taken. One day they brought a monkey, another day a lizard and, on yet on another day, they brought an exquisite Macaw. About an hour after seeing the large parrot, it hit me. “Carpe diem!” Here was opportunity knocking at my door! I was already training for the record for the fastest time to walk a mile while hula hooping and I could attempt the record while balancing the Macaw on my shoulder! The trained bird was accustomed to sitting on strangers’ shoulders so-why not?!
Dec 15, 2007
Today’s blog is not about breaking a record, but instead it’s about something that happened between me and a fly on my birthday a few months ago!
In general, flies are not much appreciated, but several prominent authors have used the fly in their writings to make observations about life. Honore Balzac commented on the unfairness of the justice system, “Laws are like spider webs which the big flies pass through and the little ones get caught”. Benjamin Franklin remarked, “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar” which might be interpreted as highlighting the value of kindness, and Miguel De Cervantes was probably saying “silence is golden” when he wrote, “A closed mouth catches no flies”. Finally, Francis Bacon referred to an ancient fable about overestimating one’s own importance, “The fly sat on the axle of the chariot wheel and said, “What a lot of dust I raise!”
In any case, most people feel that flies are a nuisance (hence the expression “a fly in the ointment”) and, until recently, I was one of them. This past September, I was blessed to be invited to Sri Chinmoy’s house to participate in a small birthday party in my honor. Several of my friends were there on the porch and Sri Chinmoy took the opportunity to answer any spiritual questions that we might have. My teacher was in the middle of answering a particularly intriguing question when I noticed something very disturbing. Sri Chinmoy has an adorable dog and a fly was drowning in the dog’s water bowl. Unfortunately, the water bowl was inches away from the couch that Sri Chinmoy was sitting on!
Oct 1, 2007
There is an expression: “the morning shows the day.” If that’s the case, then my trip to St. Petersburg was portending to be a disaster! On my first day in that former capital of Russia, I was pickpocketed and, let me tell you, the gang who did it was smooth!
After arriving in St. Petersburg, named after the famed Peter the Great, I was caught in the grips of jet lag and conked out. I awoke with just enough time to get to the hall where Sri Chinmoy was giving a concert dedicated to world harmony. I decided to be adventurous and take the subway, so I pulled out my map and walked over to the nearest metro station. Unfortunately, St. Petersburg has a reputation for its gangs of pickpockets and I should have been more aware. I was wearing a bright blue jacket (most locals wear dark colors), holding a map, sporting a wallet in my back pocket, and looking a bit lost. My Russian friends later told me that I might as well have had a sign on my back advertising that I was a tourist, ripe for the picking!
The subway platform was fairly deserted, but when the train came I was surprised to be roughly shoved through the doors by 6 or 7 teenagers. They seemed to appear out of nowhere. I didn’t think much of it at the time, until, just as the subway doors were closing, the youths rushed out. I immediately got a sick feeling and a quick pat to my trousers pocket immediately confirmed my suspicions. The gang had used the shove as a cover to relieve me of my wallet. As the train pulled out of the station, I realized that the only and best thing I could do was to continue on my way to Sri Chinmoy’s concert and try to get some inner peace!
Aug 29, 2007
For some people the hula hoop is a kid’s toy, while others have found it to be a great exercise tool to strengthen the abs, back and legs. I see the hula hoop as both of these things, and something more. For me the hula hoop has become a device I can use to challenge the gravitational pull of the Earth!
My concept of the hula hoop expanded into the planetary realm a few months ago when I became obsessed with breaking the Guinness record for hula hooping with the world’s largest hula hoop. The rules stipulate that you have to keep the hoop rotating around your midsection for at least three revolutions. The most recent record-breaking hoop measured a whopping 13 feet 4 inches in diameter! I was desperate to get my hands on a giant hula hoop, so I called my mechanically-gifted friend Udar, hoping he would share my enthusiasm about the project. Fortunately he did, and by the next afternoon the two of us were in my backyard assembling an expandable 11-foot hula hoop made out of steel electrical conduit.
When the hoop was complete, I had only two thoughts: 1) that thing is HUGE! and 2) how the heck am I going to spin that massive ring around my body? After numerous failures, I figured it out. First, I had to spin round and round with the hoop to build up momentum and then release my grip, letting my legs and hips bolster the hoop’s energy to prevent it from falling to the ground. Finally, I got the hang of it, and Udar and I were ready to move on to bigger and better things.
Aug 16, 2007
I apologize for not putting up a blog in a while – I’ve been involved in organizing a celebration in honor of my spiritual teacher’s birthday. Every year, hundreds of Sri Chinmoy’s students from around the world come to Queens, New York, to join in the festivities. Although the celebration centers mostly around prayer and meditation, there are other activities including classical music performances and sports competitions. Also, recently, it has become a tradition for a small group of us to break a Guinness record by building something GIANT.
A few years ago, we succeeded in creating the world’s largest bouquet and we presented the magnificent flower arrangement to Sri Chinmoy on his birthday. It was made up of 100,000 roses and, afterwards, we invited everyone in the neighborhood to take armfuls of roses home. For days, the entire area smelled like a rose garden!
In 2005 we presented Sri Chinmoy with a cake with 27,000 lit candles on it and last year we built the world’s largest sculpture made out of just popcorn and corn syrup. It was a 20-foot cake decorated like an Indian temple. Afterwards, we offered chunks of the caramelized popcorn to the neighbors, but the enthusiasm was dismal compared to the roses!
I apologize for not putting up a blog in a while – I’ve been involved in organizing a celebration in honor of my spiritual teacher’s birthday. Every year, hundreds of Sri Chinmoy’s students from around the world come to Queens, New York, to join in the festivities. Although the celebration centers mostly around prayer and meditation, there are other activities including classical music performances and sports competitions. Also, recently, it has become a tradition for a small group of us to break a Guinness record by building something GIANT.
Jul 10, 2007
Sometimes a simple story can have a profound impact. More than twenty years ago, my friend, Adhiratha, told me about an incident that happened to his uncle and I have never forgotten it. In fact, every time something gets lost, I think of Adhiratha’s uncle and I’ve never even met the guy!
Adhiratha comes from a very religious Catholic family. Just to show you the level of their devotion, at dinnertime, before they began eating, they would take turns reading out a chapter from a book about the lives of saints. Anyway, one hot summer day, Adhiratha’s uncle, Francis, was taking a refreshing swim at Jones Beach, here in Long Island. Suddenly, he noticed that his wedding ring had slipped off his finger into the Atlantic Ocean. He was in shock. However, without a moment’s hesitation, he prayed to St. Anthony, who is the patron saint of missing things, and dove headfirst into the murky water. He touched the bottom, skimmed his hand along the sand and, when he re-surfaced, tears welled up in his eyes. The ring had miraculously slipped back onto his finger!
Adhiratha swears that it is a true story and I take him at his word. I totally believe in the power of prayer. Just this weekend, I heard another story about how a sincere prayer can produce amazing results.
