Almost 20 years after my spiritual journey began, Life arranged for me to visit Taos in New Mexico in 2017, a place I had never heard of before. Unknown to me I had an unexpected and potent teacher and teaching, waiting for me there. The teacher was Taos Ma, the magnificent mountain who gives the town its name. And the teaching was simple and profound - be Moving Mountain in the world.

Four years later that teaching is still unpacking itself in my being and in my life. And I happily suspect that the unpacking will continue without end, as I live and deepen into this name….

But let me rewind this story a bit before catching you up to the present.

When I was 32 years old I moved to the US with my husband and daughter, in response to a fantastic work opportunity here. Barely had we settled in when I got the news that my father was diagnosed with cancer back in India. It felt horrible to be thousands of miles away from my birth family at such a time! But what made it even worse was that somehow I knew unshakably that he would die from it. I was completely distraught. I couldn’t imagine life without my dad in it. And I was processing all of this in totally unfamiliar surroundings in a new country. I felt so out of my depth; everything  I knew until then seemed absolutely powerless to help me. 

Then out of nowhere arose deeply urgent questions that claimed all my attention; questions, like What is death? What is Life? Who/ what are we? What am I?

Unbeknownst to me something irrevocably changed in my life from that time on, although it took some more years before I became conscious of the change. My father did pass on from the cancer. Outwardly my life continued in the old way for the most part, but inwardly I was encountering a shifting landscape that I had no way of understanding or speaking about.

Things came to a head when I finally lost all motivation in my job. What was once so important for me - a great career and material success - became less and less interesting. Instead, I was attracted to stories of spiritual journeys, poetry, philosophy, and psychology.

One morning after a tumultuous night of crazy visions I told my husband that I was going to quit everything and just focus on my spiritual studies. Fortunately, he was very supportive and I immersed myself in intensive seeking. Soon after that, I met my living teacher Adyashanti quite serendipitously, and my second life began.

Initially, it was the honeymoon phase of coming into a knowing of my greater truth beyond ego. I inhabited a radically new space of insights and realizations about the nature of reality. 

What I didn’t know was that the next phase would be even more radical, that it would be much less about my personal journey, and much more about Life’s journey in, as, and through me.

Along the way, I had a 4-year long serious illness, deep psycho-spiritual challenges, major life transitions, and either a culling out, or reshaping, of all my relationships barring none. 

It was my teacher’s guidance and my firmly established spiritual practices which saw me through these intense challenges.

My meditation, inquiry, and contemplation practice equipped me to allow the deepening of the transformation from a ground of stability.

It enabled me to contextualize my difficulties instead of feeling disoriented or defeated by them. 

I was fortunate to have trustworthy company along the way, - a few co-travelers with whom I could share what was happening, and whose perspectives were always helpful.

I began to know myself in a completely new way and my whole life changed. I used to experience underlying anxiety and lack, which unconsciously impacted much of my life. That gave way to a sustained internal fulfillment and quiet joy.

Life’s ups and downs still continue but my relationship with them is completely altered. There is a growing capacity to be a loving presence in the world, even in the midst of difficult situations. My relationships have become healthier and more open, and I feel no need to hang on to what no longer serves. 

Perhaps most significantly I find that Life is just flowing, springing forth from the ground of abundant wholeness rather than fear or a sense of limitation.

And here’s where we pick the story up again in present time…

For me, the spiritual journey is not about simply transcending the challenges of Life, but rather about participating in Life, as deeply and fully as possible. Being Moving Mountain in the world is Life’s ever-present invitation for me to live that way.

Letting the Mountain of Stillness move

Letting our Spirit nature blossom into its human expression.

This is my teaching, both for me and from me.

So when it was time Life organized the founding of Moving Mountain Academy.

Our Vision is the co-creation of a new Earth - a sustainable, thriving collaborative of humans and all species, nurtured by a resurgent human consciousness, in touch with its own true depths and sacred power.

I know that, like me, there are many of you out there on a spiritual journey, or on the cusp of one. I know that you have your own version of my story, both its difficulties and its gifts.

Perhaps like me, you also feel the need to be supported as you navigate the challenges of your path.

Perhaps you would like to build a sustained spiritual practice like meditation, inquiry, and/or nature immersion.

Perhaps you would like company as you undertake deep explorations on various topics that are relevant for the translation of your spiritual experience into daily living.

At Moving Mountain Academy it is our purpose to be a container and community which inspires, encourages, and supports people as they dig deep into the rich soil of their reality, in order to live and operate from their true depths, and to serve the larger good from that place inside them.

If you resonate with this then you are warmly welcomed to join our community, where you will find a growing set of resources to support you on your path. These include free and paid events, courses and programs, poetry, articles, and a slowly building collection of audio and video.

I end with this poem because for me it tracks the arc of our spiritual journey in a general sense. I offer it for you to see if it resonates, and how you might track in your own experience…