Tonight's sunset

The rest of my Mt. Taylor photos

The sun came out and we started walking again :-)

The snow started melting pretty quick and we started warming up as well.

At the top looking at the other side of the mountain, the side we didn't hike up.

He didn't pose for this photo, he was signing the log at the top of the mountain and I snapped the photo.

We meditated and picnicked at the top. Here we're about to go down again.

Another view from the top.

The mountains looked kind of like a bowl with a peak in the middle.

Just before we left the top it started to get cold again.

Looking at the path from a little hideout, surrounded by branches.

Then it started to snow

There was lightening in the distance so we stayed under some rocks for about 20 minutes until the hail/snow passed us.



We were just getting near the rocks, but it soon snowed/hailed much more intensely.



Starting to clear up.

Getting ready to move on with the hike.

Going Up

One of the main reasons I wanted to hike this peak is that it is a really tall peak relatively alone. There aren't really other tall peaks in the area, so you can see pretty far in all directions.

The rain/snow/hail is approaching :-)

Memorial Day Hike

We hiked a really cool mountain called Mount Taylor (or Tsoodził in the Dine language) Here is some info about it on Wikipedia.

Reaching the first of many meadows.

We got a pretty good turnout. There are about 5-6 other people that also came, that aren't in this picture.

Starting to get a little higher up.

More pictures coming later.

My friend Deva Singh Ji, is involved with a really cool new program for people dealing with addiction. Here is the info:

Whole Self Recovery



Here is some great information from my friend Deva Singh about a new wholistic program to assist with substance abuse recovery.

"For over 5 years now I have been working in substance abuse recovery field along with my millions of other activities. It is truly one of the most rewarding fields to work in and I have found that Kundalini Yoga is always the cornerstone of a persons growth, change and development. After doing it a number of years independently, a couple of friends and I realized that there was such a huge national and global need in this area for the technology of Kundalini Yoga, we decided to start up a 40 day relapse recovery program called Whole Self Recovery. It is all based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and I have been working closely with Mukta Kaur the director of Superhealth as well.

The Whole Self program is a holistically based program which utilizes the 40 day herbal Cleanse, a regimented organic vegetarian diet with fresh juices, acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, counseling and most importantly Kundalini Yoga. We have been doing it for over a year now with incredible results. Some people have stated that 40 days of this program was like a years worth of time at Bette Ford. The largest foundational piece has been the awakening of the individuals souls. Once that is no longer dormant and asleep, the person is no longer able to live an unconscious life without being aware of the repercussions of their actions. We made the program a minimum of 40 days because we all know that it takes a at least 40 days to break a habit and it has been scientifically proven that is the length of time to legitimately rewire the brain. It works on cleansing the body of residual toxic buildup, purifying the mind and reprogramming unhealthy thought patterns and awakening the spirit. Here is a quote from one of our participants:

“After months at different treatment centers around the country, I know Whole Self offers the most well-rounded, comprehensive, holistic approach to healing available. Their team of healers is not only highly qualified, but also compassionate and uniquely dedicated to uplifting, energizing and bringing out the best in each individual. For anyone who truly desires and is ready to change their life, Whole Self is unprecedented in its ability to provide powerful tools and support in an incredibly loving and profoundly life-altering program. In my opinion, Whole Self has created the temple for a new paradigm in therapy.” JJ

If you know anyone needing or seeking help in this area, please have them contact me at deva@spiritvoyage.com. As it is my life’s mission to heal and strengthen each individual to fulfill their own purpose.

May God bless us all with happiness, abundant health and most especially a deep sense of holy spiritual self.

- Deva Singh Khalsa

Trip to the springs

A few of us were hanging out this weekend and then randomly decided to go to the springs in the mountains. These springs aren't really hot, they're just warm, but still nice.

One of the pools there.

On the walk back, the sun was setting and creating cool lighting and shading on the surrounding mountains.

This is known as Battleship Rock.

There's also a little waterfall nearby.

Great way to spend a day :-)

Blogging laziness

My apologies to all readers of this blog. I seem to have caught a wave of extreme laziness with this blog. I have cool stuff to share too, I just have been so busy, I haven't had the time to upload photos.
In the mean time, here's a funny video:

Doing Kirtan at the Albuquerque Samagam

Baisakhi

My head belongs to thee,
the one who set me free.
In my heart I have always known,
the beauty of God, which the Guru has shown.
How to manifest it, and bring it out,
When you have been trained to forget and doubt?
It is Dharma, which keeps me on track,
being on this path, I will never lack.
Awakening to truth, is a continuous path,
doing the work daily to escape maya's wrath.
The birth of the Khalsa is my birthday too,
The birth of consciousness, brought forth by Guru.
Today I celebrate my true identity,
one of the Khalsa, a sovereign entity.
A free nation beyond even earth and sky,
God's own soldier-saints, on a mission so high.
To live for the protection and service for all,
To live righteously, and answer the Guru's call.
Today we are free, we are strong, we are blessed.
We are the Guru's children, we live to our best.
Bole So Nihaaal!
Sat Siri Akaaaal!

WaheGuru Ji Ka Khalsa, WaheGuru Ji Ki Fateh!

Snow :-)

It snowed again on Thursday night. We hadn't seen snow in the valley in a few weeks. This what it looked like on Friday morning:

Kirtan

This is a video of me doing kirtan. I messed up several times, because I only tried this on the dilruba the day before, also I improvised on the spot, and the dilruba was tuned higher than I usually sing. Still it didn't come out too bad. This tune comes from Bhai Balbir Singh, in raag malkauns.

A cool place near Flagstaff

About a month ago some friends and I drove out to L.A. We stopped for lunch at this place near Flagstaff.

It was a really cool canyon.

Then we spotted former dwellings.

Beauty