A Fanciful Flight
Recently the monks of Atma Jyoti Ashram invited me to their Borrego Springs ashram for "a surprise." I couldn't get any more information from them about the surprise, other than that I would be different after experiencing it, and that I had to come soon or it would be gone.
It turns out that a fellow who sells ultralite flying machines -- which are basically like a motorcycle that flies -- was in Borrego for a few weeks, and was offering flights around the amazing terrain of that area. It was quite an elevating experience, which was also captured on video.
The driver and I both had microphones and headsets, so we could converse along the way. One of the first bits of dialogue came after we swooped way up high into the sky for the first time.
"Oooooh, I'm only a little bit scared."
"You're scared?"
"Well, I shouldn't be scared, I'm ready to go anytime."
"Yeah, me too."
"Hey, you shouldn't be ready to go -- you're driving!!!"
CLICK HERE to watch a music video of this flight in streaming realplayer.
This video was filmed and edited by Swami Tarakananda, even though he put my name in the credits as editor (I helped with the beginning).
Visit the Atma Jyoti Ashram website for wonderful spiritual writings, photos, and videos from Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and other traditions at www.atmajyoti.org.
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