PAST ISSUES

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Issue No. 7 QUESTIONS

For the Questions issue we are turning our focus from the outside world and bringing it inward. Each day for 100 days we will step out into the world and meet with one person. We will ask each person we meet the same 12 questions. At the end of 100 days we hope to capture our collective voice within this interwoven web of dialog.

Day 57: Jashanananda

What do you do for a living?

I’m a writer. I’m writing two books at the moment and I’m also a recording artist. I make and record music.

What do you do to feel alive?

I dance. I sing. I surf. I do retreats. I connect with people.

A lesson you learned from your mother:

My mother is all of me in so many ways. The biggest one would be when I was young I was kind of a sulky kid – I was very low energy and didn’t see the joy in living –  my mom used to come into my room, throw open the curtains to let the light in and say “What gay, mad thing are you going to do today?!” So, I guess what I learned from her was anything is possible. That I can do whatever I want and that I’m free to be myself.

A lesson you learned from your father:

My father always had these crazy projects that he wanted to do and I was always looking for a way to make a little money so he would employ me to help him create these projects. One thing I learned from him is that there’s a give and take – that you have to work for what you want. The other thing is that he taught me that I could do anything. That no project is too challenging.

What’s the most beautiful thing you saw today?

You

What’s one thing you wouldn’t want anyone to take away from you?

That’s a funny question because no one could…It’s my soul.

What’s a thought you would like to never have again?

“I can’t do it.”

If you could become an inanimate object what would it be?

The first thing that came to mind is that I’d like to be a kite so I could just soar in the wind, but if I were going to be more useful I might be a bus to take people where they need to go.

When do you feel most loved?

When I’m in sacred connection with another. When I gaze into someone’s eyes.

If your life were to end tomorrow what would be left undone?

Nothing.

What global issue would you take on if you didn’t have to worry about how?

For me the only global issue is a personal issue and that is really knowing who you are. Once that’s seen everything else takes care of itself.

What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you?

The first thing that came to my mind was my birth, but the scariest thing that ever happened to me was experiencing instant karma – where every thought I had instantly manifested and I didn’t have control over those thoughts.