Greetings from the foothills of the Himalayas

I have come to Haridwar- the city name literally translates as gateway(dwar = door) to God (Hari=God), to attend to some important matters. I am suffering from insomnia.  At first, I thought my bodily rhythms were disturbed due to jet lag but the body has had enough time to adjust. I use my sleepless hours to write.  Despite some pretty difficult circumstances, I am getting time to reflect on the contributions the Indian culture has to make to psychology and spirituality.  I am especially keen on remodeling the four ashramas for modern life as ways of living more naturally and consciously in keeping with the patterns of the psyche from birth through death.  I see myself as being in the Vanaprastha stage of life - see my page on this blog explaining what that entails.

Reflecting on life's passages, I realize how important it is to discover one's purpose, the meaning of life events and to move consistently through challenges towards completion of this often unspoken purpose.  Change being constant, the greater pattern cannot be seen.