Registered

Here it is, I'm all official now:

It was an extremely busy time at the shala when I went to register.  On Sundays, the time for registration is between 3:30 and 4:30, but the Sunday conference (the time set aside for students to ask Sharath questions in a group setting about the practice) also started at 4:00pm.  I got in to see him about 5 minutes before 4:00 (the rest of the people had to wait until after conference).  It was really quick: he asked me who my teacher in Boston was and how long I planned on staying and then told me how much the shala fees were (47,100 rupees, between $750-$800).  I handed him my giant stack of rupees and he ran it through his cash machine and then complimented me on my "good counting," lol.  As he was filling out my card he asked how to pronounce my name and I told him it was pronounced "t/air-a" (not "t/ar-a") but that so many people pronounce it differently that it doesn't matter as long as it is close.  He also said, "Tara means 'star.'" (in Hindi).  I smiled and told him that I loved the stars, and, also, that in Irish, my name means earth (well, technically "rock," but I didn't feel like getting too specific).  He handed me my registration card and then I thanked him and went to sit outside in the practice room for the conference, with at least 200 other people (everyone who is currently practicing at the shala comes to conference on Sunday)!  It was literally standing room only.  There were many good things that he said (and some I have heard other people talk about in their blogs) but I have not really had time to reflect on them yet.

So, tomorrow will be my first day of practice in the shala...at 10:30am.  I normally start practice around 5:45/5:50 in the morning, so this is a much later start time for me--for those of you unfamiliar with how the practice times at the shala work, there are so many people that come here now that there are different time slots that people have to practice in.  When you first register (especially during the later months) you start in a later time slot.  Then, as more people leave, you get moved to an earlier start time (the earliest one is 4:30am).  So, it's 10:30am for now, but it will eventually change.  

I'm still feeling quite tired, so, as the girl I am staying with right now said, it will probably be good to start later right now.  Though I am feeling a little less like a zombie now, especially after having a chance to do some wandering around the neighborhood on my own (don't worry, I have a map and I'm not venturing too far right now).  I've always preferred to explore on my own because it gives me time to move at my own pace, explore the things that I catch my interest and gives me a chance to practice listening to my own intuition.  So, I'm starting to feel more acquainted with my surroundings here and getting a little more grounded.

And now, it is time to disconnect from the electronics and let the mind wind down before going to sleep.  This was one thing that Sharath mentioned during conference today, and that I have heard from many sources: have time before going to sleep where you do not watch TV, go on the Internet, talk on the phone, etc, because it gives your mind a break from all that stimulation and can help you have a more restful sleep.  So, on that note, I will talk to you all later :-)