Where There Is Love Nothing Else Matters

Over the years, I’ve started several businessesA nonprofit to teach kids geography & cultureA children’s book publishing companyAnd a toy company to produce action figuresOf traditional heroes from around the worldThe idea was to make high quality representationsWith the same appeal markers as pop culture toysTo popularize some of the wisdom and wonderOf earth’s historic and pervasive storiesWe were going to start with Indian cosmologyAnd as with any startup, things were uphillSo, when I learned that the elephant-headed GaneshaWas the god of beginningsAND the remover of obstaclesI knew I had to spend some time with him.I’d spent a lot of time in and around HinduismBut Ganesha had never hooked me beforeOne of the nice things about HinduismIs that there is a broad array of deitiesAnd while all are respectedYou pick your own exemplarEveryone’s altar can be differentI love Durga, you love KrishnaSame religionAnd I’d spent time learning many storiesSo, when I sat down to meditateAnd invoke GaneshaAsk for his blessingsAnd go through my long list of obstaclesI knew him as the son of Shiva and ParvatiThat the universe was contained in his bellyAnd that hundreds of Ganesha statues all around the worldMysteriously drank milk in 1995 and again in 2006So my sense of him was ancient, powerful and active in the modern worldAnd so I set my meditation chimeAnd began my sitWhat happened next was a touchstone moment in my lifeHere, as I am in the thick of packing and movingI’m going to tell the story of that meditationAnd the subsequent evenings, over the next several daysPartially to share its deep meaning for mePartly to anchor my learning from that time into this momentAnd wholly to invoke and appreciate GaneshaHis influence and role in my lifeAs I begin this next chapterAsk for his blessingBecause when I sat that eveningList by my sideI entered the purest experience of love I’d ever knownI was carried into a vibration of joyful presenceThat utterly captivated me.The moment my chime tonedWas one of the most disappointing moments of my lifeAs it shifted me out of the fullness of the experienceWhere I’d spent 25 blissful minutesSo, first, I was disappointed to have been distracted out of that stateThen, I was disappointed because my meditation was overAnd I hadn’t addressed a single thing on my listAt which point I sensed a warm chuckle within meAnd heard in my head, clear as a bell“Where there is LoveNothing else Matters”And as that resonated in meI could laugh at my listAt anything, reallyBecause those moments and that feelingSurpassed all others I’d hadAnd truly nothing else matteredI can’t recall right now if I heard a voiceOr just had the impressionOf being called to meditate with GaneshaFor the next seven nightsBut as you can imagine, I was eager to do it againAnd we’ll hear about that tomorrowBut that meditation is still the most connected I’ve ever feltAnd I cherish it, the memory of it, the echo of itAnd bow to GaneshaAgain This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com