In the Beginning...

So, where the heck did this name come from..."there's a bug in my lotus?" I am sure you are wondering. If not, I'll tell you anyway.

Last October, I went to Ireland on one of many trips to see my spiritual teacher (Derek O'Neill) for a week-long workshop. During the week, we ventured out into the Irish countryside to visit various sacred sites. One of these was Powerscourt. Powerscourt, located in the Wicklow mountains, has some of the most beautiful gardens you have ever seen. While there I used my new digital camera to snap some amazing photos. One of the pictures was of a lily pad in a small pond.

After the day at Powerscourt, I got on the bus to go back to Dublin, and was showing my pictures to some friends. People loved my 'great little camera' and I was proudly showing off the zoom capabilities. On one of my favorite photos, I zoomed in to show the details of the center of this flower (the one posted here on the blog.) Upon seeing what my naked eye had missed, blurted out, "there's a bug in my lotus!"

Typical. Just typical. "Isn't that just the story of my life?" I said to my friend Cindy Sonam, who was laughing at my realization. "You're really funny, you know that?" she asks. I know...and I don't say that in an egotistical way. But if I had a dollar for every person who has asked me if I have considered being a stand-up comedian, not only could I retire by now, but I could have quite the set-up in Bella Vista, Arkansas. Or some other random place like that. I confess to Cindy that I am thinking of writing a book. A book about my spiritual journey. "People are so SERIOUS about their spiritual journey. And it's such a joke. Not the journey part, but how serious people get." "You should write a book. It would be great." "Thanks, Cindy. Maybe I will."

Fast forward to July 2007...

If you haven't yet figured it out, God has a sense of humor. I can say this with ABSOLUTE certainty. And I am going to prove it.

Last week I was Divinely Inspired to build my own website. I was prepared to hire a website designer, but since money is tight, I have been pushing it to the back burner. DESIGN YOUR OWN was the message I got, and looking into it, realized that I could do it quite easily and for little cost. So I did it. Then I got thinking about wanting to teach more. And decided that I was going to put out a newsletter full of teachings and distribute this freely. But how was I going to do this? How would I get people to sign up? How would people find me?

And here's where the God humor comes in.

Yesterday morning I am in the bathroom (on the toilet, no less) and that Divine Inspiration comes to me again. This time I am told to START A BLOG. A blog?! That's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? So, does God decide to give me this flash of insight while I am meditating? With candles and incense burning? With soft music in my ears and my mantra on my lips? Noooooooooo. Apparently, God likes to speak to me while I am on the can.

You know, I got the inspiration for Oil 'n Vinegar (my line of essential oil blends) while I was in the bathtub. Hmmm. Maybe, I'll start giving workshops in my bathroom. Apparently the reception is pretty good in there.

So this is how "there's a bug in my lotus" came to be. And as my friend Ann Hueslkamp pointed out so loving last night, this is not to be confused with that OTHER blog, "there's a bug up my ass."