Manav Sadhna - Day 3
February 2, 2017
I felt very stimulated all night. On an inner source level. I felt my dreams were very directed and guided. I was eager to wake up in the morning and start a day with meaningful intent. I think what I am going to attempt to incorporate into my life over the next thirty days, and hopefully indefinitely, is a ten minute directed meditation every morning. I've already implemented the practice of setting intentions for my day, especially in business. This is simply reinforcing and expanding on that practice.
Today started early. We took a rickshaw (taxi) out to one of the largest slum communities in the Gujarati at around 8:30 am. The number of people living in these slum communities are unaccounted for. They estimate over 80,000, I believe. We walked into a room that's sitting next to a garbage separating facility in this slum. The mothers of some of the children are next door separating recyclables from garbage for money. The 150 children in this room are here just to reap the feelings of joy and love. There is no defined curriculum here. The walls are cleaned and paint put up with the intent of purely spreading love.
The four to five volunteer teachers at the head of the room all have a connection with the slum community of Ahmedabad. Some grew up here. Some still live here. The teachers stand at the front of the classroom singing and chanting as the children scream at the top of their lungs following in Gujarati. Individual children come up one by one to lead the chant. They are taught how to meditate and breath deeply.
I LOVE India. I have not had my moment. My "Oh shit" moment. I don't believe I'll have it. This city... this country is so exhilarating. Everything you do is an adventure. Crossing the street? Make sure you look left, right, up and down. You have buses, rickshaws, and motor bikes coming at you from every angle. Cows roam all of the city streets. ALL of them. They roam the slums as well. The slum communities you walk through are so vibrant. So filled with life. These people are living in the slums. I mean THE real slums of India. And they are happy people. All it takes is one smile to them, one namaste and their smiles go ear to ear. Everybody wants to take a selfie with you! Their slum alley ways are decorated vibrantly.
Today, we walked out of a preschool built in a slum and walked into a wedding parade going through the slum. It was amazing. Every second of your day here is an adventure. It is exhausting. I absolutely love it.
I cannot even keep up with the amount of community centers, projects, and slums we are visiting. I can't keep up with the amount of experiences that are happening each day.
-AS @travelingsnow