KarmaClear - November 2009 - Miracles Do Happen

A few weeks ago I was in San Francisco to apply for a visa for India. Last year I applied in San Francisco and obtained a 1 year visa. As it seems likely that I'll be back and forward to India for the forseeable future I decided to apply for a 5 year visa (in the UK you can only get a 1 year tourist visa). So I took myself along to the Travisa office in downtown San Francisco and filled in the forms and handed them in only to be told that, as a non-US citizen I needed a California ID or driving licence to apply for the visa. The rules had changed from last year. However, a receipt for the application for ID would suffice. My friend Ellen drove me to the DMV office where I filled in a form, took a numbered ticket and a seat and waited for an hour. Then a young lady typed out my details, took a photocopy of my passport, took my $28 payment and sent me to the photo counter where I was duly photographed and fingerprinted. I now had my receipt. It seems odd that I needed the ID which was based on seeing my passport and fingerprinting, which had already been done on entry to the US. Oh well -back to the visa office. BUT, by the time I returned there - just after 4pm - it was too late to put in my application.....

..... I went back to the visa office -a 2 train journey -and joined the queue. I was a liitle concerned that my photos would not pass muster as the form specified a white background and my pics had a dark background. I passed the initial screening -correctly filled forms and pics OK. However when I arrived at the final screening desk the very nice gentleman, and manager, told me that NO visas were being granted to non-US citizens in America on a tourist visa. When I asked for clarification he said that no such visas had been issued in the last 4 months and he was 100% sure my application would be refused. Now since it costs $180 to apply for the visa and you don't get a refund if it fails, and since my funds were running low, I thought that the only thing to do was leave and apply in the UK for a 6 month visa. So I left the office just a tad disappointed after wasting 2 of my 3 days in San Francisco. However as I left the office I just had a feeling that I should put in my application despite the apparent certainty of rejection. So I marched back to the desk and asked if I could nevertheless put in my application. The gentleman affirmed that he couldn't stop me and that he was only concerned for my wallet. And I put in the application and paid the $180. So - visa application started. I said a little prayer to Divine Mother and next day left for a 5 day visit to Sacramento before heading to Expanding Light (EL) yoga and meditation retreat. This was the address they would send my passport to.

It takes a few days to process and clear details with UK security so when I tracked the progress on the internet and saw that the processed passport was back at the visa office within 48 hours I wan't very hopeful. So 5 days later, on November 18th, my dear friend Bruce drove me to EL. I immediately headed to reception and found my envelope. I tore open the package and riffed through the passport. And there - Oh Joy!! - was a 5 year visa for India. I had to double check that it didn't have a big "Rejected" stamp across it. But no - it was,and is, a real, valid, honest- to- goodness 5 year India visa. Yippee!! Well the reception staff probably thought that I was a crazy man as I jumped in the air and pumped my arms and yelled Thank you Thank you Thank you Divine Mother.

YES, YES, YES, - miracles DO happen - especially when we listen to and trust our inner voice, our Higher Self.

It was Thankgiving yesterday at the EL -a super vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner followed by a poem and storytelling. Huge fun. The poem was " a Turkey's Thanks for a Vegetarian Thanksgiving." Ha, ha! Thanksgiving being about gratitude, we've been looking at aspects of gratitude - not least the joy which we attract when we are grateful. I remember 10 or 12 years ago going to bed each night and thanking God (life/the Universe etc) for my family, my health , and all the great things in my life -job, house, friends, sufficient money. I did this every night for maybe 6 months. Over this period there was a marked increase in my level of Joy - life just got better and better. It seems that the more grateful we are the better life gets. And no matter how difficult life appears to be there is always something for which we can be grateful. In fact those very challenges are sometimes the very source of our progress to a different and higher level of functioning in the world. How often do we look back and see the challenges we had as a springboard to changing ourselves for the better.

I am grateful for every one of you who has touched my life - with your heart, your love or friendship. And I am also grateful to those who have brought me the sometimes painful lessons which have been necessary for my growth. To all of you I am -