Life at the ashram

5:30am gong and 6:00pm satsang - meditation and chanting. Chores - karma yoga, 2 meals a day and 2 yoga sessions.. well structured prevented me from becoming too lazy and bored with plenty of time to read books from their library, take walks and play with the ashram cats (if you could find them) and the dog that visited. I actually missed the early morning satsang twice and since the really strict nun was away in India I didn't get into big trouble.. but if i had stayed longer it may have been a different story! The first day I was there I was really happy, the second day I had struggles because I couldn't contact the outside world then I figured out I could buy phone cards and the rest of the time it was easier and I got into the non reliance on technology, distractions and into the peaceful, simple lifestyle of it all. I was sad to leave but in other ways not.. wouldn't it be nice to have the best of both worlds. Being in the countryside reminded me very much of where I grew up in England and in the pre-mobile phone/internet era....