I was in Whole Foods yesterday riding the elevator up to the parking lot with a petite Indian woman who has been a bagger there forever. As we were getting out of the elevator she said she could smell incense. I was so shocked because I had used it during my morning meditation but had since swam in a chlorine filled pool and showered. I was so surprised that there was any residue left.

I said yes, that I had just returned from India. Well, the flood gates opened for both of us. She, Amma, had been raised in Kerala and there was this immediate connection between us. She proceeded to show me her prayer beads that were tucked carefully under her shirt.

I can't help but wonder if all those water purification rituals I participated in have some how changed my very essence. It would be nice to think so!

my guide for the purifying baths at the Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple on Rameswaram Island at the southern tip of Tamil Nadu

the 10th purifying bath taken from one of the 22 wells within the temple containing water from different holy places