Posted in Uncategorized

Celebrating Ganesh Utsav 2015!

Ganapati Bappa Morya! Mangal Moorti Morya!

Ganapati Bappa Morya! Mangal Moorti Morya!

Ganapati Bappa Morya! Mangal Moorti Morya!

For those who do not know Lord Ganesh is the Son of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. He is the embodiment of Wisdom and the Remover of Obstacles.

Before I continue please take the time to look at this video and sing the Sri Ganesh Chalisa also if you can!

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObUbBZOGrmc

I am also happy to share this bhajan by Pujya Sri Swamiji Sri Ganapathy Sachidananda with you:

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnAw2ShXcHU

Ganesh Utsav is a time many Hindus the world over look forward to! It is a period of great devotion dedicated to Lord Ganesh, or Lord Ganapati, or Lord Vinayak, or Lord Vighna Vinashak which are just some of the many names of He is called by.

In spite of my schedule for this semester with classes most nights of the week I was quite happy and grateful for the opportunity to be at the Sri Dattatreya Yoga Centre, Carapichaima on the nights when I was free and to also visit the Coromandel Shiv Mandir as they both afforded me the privilege of doing devotion with family and friends.

Here are some pictures I was able to get on the day of Visarjan (24 September 2015). I am very excited to share them with you!

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The Lord Ganesh Murti at Sri Dattatreya Yoga Centre
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The end of Lord Ganesh Puja- before Visarjan
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The Murti as it was being taken to the van!
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Can you see the light as it glows?
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Lord Surya’s Blessing is evident! Look at the Sun as it radiates in the background.
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Moments before departure for Visarjan at Orange Valley Bay!
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Quite a beautiful sight!
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A view of the sky taken at Orange Valley Bay
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A view of the boats at the Orange Valley Bay!
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The offering of the coconuts by devotees!
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Devotees look at Lord Ganapati and observe the rituals being performed.
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Lord Ganapati as He was being taken to the boat.
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Isn’t this a majestic sight on the water?
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Isn’t this another majestic sight on the water? Indeed this and the previous one are!
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Mother Ganga and Mother Lakshmi!

As this post ends enjoy this video made possible by one of Swamiji’s dearest devotees, Hanuman Hoffman,

Posted in Canada, Celebrating Existence, India, Kool and the Gang, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, VEVO, You Tube

Commemorating the One Year Anniversary of Celebrating Existence!

Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog, Celebrating Existence. I have been looking forward to this day so much I cannot believe it is nearly over. I am thankful, so very thankful!!!

This blog has grown so much and trust me when I say how grateful I am for all the support it has received, all the comments, the views and all of the feedback.

The nervousness I experienced when I started is one I would never forget as I wasn’t sure how it would be received. Today, 47 posts later it has been viewed in 37 countries  around the world 1,903 times.

  • Here is some information you might be interested in:
  • Most views: Trinidad and Tobago, then USA, India and Canada
  • Some stats you might be interested in: Top 10 posts:
Title Views
Home page / Archives 406
Celebrating Spirituality: Celebrating His Holiness Pujya Sri Swamiji Ganapathy Sachidananda of Mysore India 254
Celebrating the life of my grandfather, the late Mr Ramlal Dookie! 122
Celebrating our Union! 117
About 79
Celebrating Family! 44
Celebrating Love: My Grandparents & the bond they shared! 44
Celebrating Courage! 42
Celebrating ” What’s your Childhood Memories?”- Celebrating the artist behind the creation- Diana John! 35
Celebrating Me! 30

Allow me to remind you of some of the posts that have been shared via these links:

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/what-does-celebrating-existence-mean-to-me/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/about/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/celebrating-me/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/celebrating-nature/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/celebrating-our-diversity/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/celebrating-others-part-1-my-comm-350-classmates/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/celebrating-my-comm-350-classmates-part-2/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/celebrating-today/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/celebrating-our-union/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/celebrating-life/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/celebrating-life/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/celebrating-courage/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/celebrating-multiculturalism/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/03/celebrating-growth/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/celebrating-ms-gayle-simmons-and-lets-learn-mandarin/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/10/celebrating-life-part-2/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/20/celebrating-music-what-is-the-beat-of-the-drum-who-is-krystian-garner/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/celebrating-spirituality-celebrating-pujya-his-holiness-sri-sri-sri-ganapati-sachidananda-swamiji/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/celebrating-existence-looking-within-what-does-celebrating-existence-mean-to-you/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/celebrating-childhood-memories-celebrating-the-artist-behind-the-creation/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/celebrating-comm350-classmates/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2014/12/25/celebrating-christmas-2014/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/2014-in-review/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/celebrating-2015-a-new-dawn/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/celebrating-my-existence/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/01/12/celebrating-daily-living-what-does-it-mean-to-get-through-a-day/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/celebrating-vidya-jeremiah-pettersson-who-is-she-whats-the-story-behind-her-success/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/celebrating-good-corporate-citizens/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/celebrating-love/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/celebrating-maha-shivratri-2015-at-sri-sachidananda-yoga-ashram-in-penal/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/celebrating-spirituality/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/celebrating-family/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/celebrating-the-life-of-mr-ramlal-dookie/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/21/celebrating-my-grandparents-and-the-bond-they-share/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/celebrating-rama-navami-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/celebrating-hanuman-jayanti-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/celebrating-easter-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/celebrating-entrepreneurship-featuring-wired868s-lasana-liburd/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/celebrating-san-fernando-teaching-hospital-level-16-ward-12-suite-5-doctors-nurses-support-staff-on-duty-from-feb-23-2015-mar-19-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/celebrating-mothers-day-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/celebrating-love-laughter-and-life/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/celebrating-fathers-day-2015/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/09/05/celebrating-life-every-minute-matters/

In case you missed any along the way. here’s your chance to enjoy it now! Thank you for your views, your feedback and your support. I look forward to continuing to share information with you, inspire you, give you courage and faith when they are needed, and to Celebrate Existence every step of the way! Let’s take it day by day! Enjoy this moment and celebrate it!

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/celebrate-spirituality-part-3-his-holiness-dr-sri-ganapathy-sachchidananda-swamiji-and-his-three-3-world-guiness-records/

https://rachaelathomas.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/celebrating-another-day-of-existence-celebrating-you/In

In case you missed some you can enjoy them now!

Posted in Uncategorized

Celebrating another day of existence- celebrating you!

My post on my Facebook page, Celebrating Existence today!

reads, “Here’s to celebrating another day of existence and celebrating you! You made it through the day and the challenges that presented themselves. You endured, you conquered and you triumphed! Be proud! Stand tall! Celebrate You!”

The link to that page is https://www.facebook.com/celebratingexistencewithrachaelathomas

Allow me to continue. Life presents us with many truths! From before we can even remember we have been dealing with truths, making decisions, dealing with realities and accepting them as they come along the way!

Some truths are the experiences  we live through and when we look back we ask,  “Huh, was this my life? Did I do that?” Some even ask, “Did I really go through that?” and “How did I survive it?”

Our comfort is that we endure, we conquer, we rise and we triumph by God’s Grace, our Faith in Him, regardless of how we call Him, be it Appaji, the Heavenly Father, Allah, Rama, Krishna, Shiva or any of the many other names He is called by. Through Him and His Grace we have the love of our family and friends too!

etsy.com
etsy.com

Along the way we learn some truths that may seem harsher than others. Here as some:

  1.  Not everyone is You or Me– Expectations from the world may lead to disappointment.
  2. Never change who you are-don’t lose yourself and what you believe in. With that comes the fact that you should always make ‘YOU Time” (Time for You).
  3. Some people do not care about who they step on or damage in their aim to get ahead. Let your comfort come from knowing that God does not let His children suffer.
  4. Every experience gives us something positive. We walk away stronger. The mere fact that we walk away from it or live through it is positive.
  5. Using the scissors of life can sometimes make the world of difference…cut off the negatives and cut off the crappy stuff.
Courtesy fumozar.com
Courtesy fumozar.com

On that note, “Here’s to celebrating another day of existence and celebrating you! You made it through the day and the challenges that presented themselves. You endured, you conquered and you triumphed! Be proud! Stand tall! Celebrate You!” As I close enjoy this:

Posted in Uncategorized

Celebrating Spirituality-Part 3: His Holiness Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji and His Three (3) World Guinness Records

Today I take this most humble opportunity to Celebrate Spirituality-Part 3 which focuses on His Holiness Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji and His Three (3) World Guinness Records that have been set in six (6) months.

I apologize for not sharing this earlier as I was unable to but I remain grateful for an opportunity to do so now. When I saw this video words can’t explain how happy I felt. In case you missed it allow me to share it as it really does speak volumes in more ways than one:

Being in the presence of His Holiness Dr. Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji is always a Blessing and though we wish we could have been in Dallas for the consecration of the Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple and all the other events we knew it was not possible.However we enjoyed everything we got via YogaSangeeta, Puttugam, Livestream, Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple and all the other forms of Social Media available to us!  Enjoy reading this:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/deborah-fleck/20150812-24-hour-chanting-marathon-at-frisco-temple-sets-guinness-record.ece

These videos on YouTube from Desiplaza Dallas tell a beautiful story of the events as they unfolded. Enjoy them also!

Datta family the world over is becoming more and more connected. We were very happy to see our Trinidad Datta family well represented. Eventually Shiva and I would be able to visit DYC Ashrams outside of Trinidad. As Appaji’s next visit to Trinidad approaches us we can say with confidence that all members of the Datta Family in Trinidad are looking eagerly forward to His visit.

Congratulations Appaji!  We love You Appaji! Jai Guru Datta! Sri Sachidananda Swamiji Ki Jai! Om Namo Hanumate Namaha! Har Har Mahadev!

Posted in Bon Jovi; YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3

Celebrating Life: Every Minute Matters

Today I celebrate Life once again under the theme every minute counts.

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Indeed it does! I have not been here in an official capacity for some time but I am happy I was able to check this blog and my stats throughout! Thankfully we got through the challenges we were faced with knowing that God has been with us and continues to be with us. My family and friends have made my fight easier and as I always say I am a fighter (not one down for physical blows but I do not give up) and survivor (yes, I do not give up).

Each moment is an experience, and an opportunity for learning. More so, it is an opportunity to be thankful for.

We never know when is our last or when life is going to change or we hardly know when things might go wrong or not as we planned or somethings might knock us off our feet! Each moment is precious- a new birth, a new dawn, a new beginning, a fresh start. How? When you find the positive in every negative!

You know that feeling when you feel you have hit rock bottom, remember this- there is only one way to go and that’s UP! That’s something I remember Dad and I talking about years ago and it remains with me! True enough it’s one of the many things Dad has taught me and that has remained with me. It’s something you should think about too and I hope you can see how true it is!

You know sometimes when you feel no one is listening and no one knows- remember this, God is always looking over us and giving up is not an option- keep YOUR faith in HIM.

You know sometimes when you think the world is being unfair, remember this: LIFE is a cycle- what goes around comes around- You are one of GOD’s children, just as I am. He takes care of us and does not let His children suffer. Why would He when He is our Loving and merciful Father? He won’t and all you need to do is to believe this!!!

As my husband asked, “Rachael, when have you let anyone stop you from achieving what you want? You never, so why now?” He was right! I never do so why now? Sure enough I haven’t stopped and I am on the move!

Enjoy this video! It may be exactly the pick you up which you need:

Sometimes you feel so tired you feel like giving up and you feel there is no more fight! Something you can relate too right? Allow me to share something my Mom said to me some weeks ago, “If you start, there will be an end, but if you don’t start there will be no end and this is something you have to do so don’t put it off!”

This is something you should also keep in mind! Sometimes you need to take it easy, sometimes you need to breathe, sometimes you need to feel. Don’t deny yourself any of that and do not forget what it is  to focus on YOU sometimes and making a little YOU time! Sounds good doesn’t it? Celebrate Life- Every Minute Counts!!!

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