I’ve been thinking about the seasons as we move into fall in New York. As we transition away from the extreme heat of summer towards the coming cold of winter, autumn brings a welcome softening. It is the space for transition as we get cooler mornings, warm sunny days, and chilly nights. Fall equinox was the perfect balance between the sunlight and moonshine, following an especially gorgeous harvest moon honored by the mid-autumn / moon festival, and many spiritual and cultural traditions that celebrate this significant moment of change.

Our intentions align our energies into a purpose, and a direction. Actions that flow from here have much more meaning and power. Eckhart Tolle has said “When the basis for your actions is in alignment with the present moment, your actions become empowered by the intelligence of life itself.”

Do you ever wake up to a very clear memory of a dream or message? This happened to me recently, when I woke suddenly to a clear voice speaking from within. It said -

Intention - Action - Reflection.

That is how I heard and saw it through my mind’s eye. It felt like a teacher had shaken me awake to pass on a message. I clearly and instinctively knew this message was not just for me, but to share widely. I got up, wrote it down, and went back to sleep alongside a feeling of awe, and gratitude at receiving this gift.

Today, I’m focusing on step 1: Setting the Intention.

We are in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan as I write this letter, and I am surrounded by the rigor and faith of my Muslim friends and colleagues who are fasting, praying and practicing. I am drawing from my own spiritual traditions as I join in contemplation and spiritual study at this time. I was raised in Hinduism and came into the practice of satsang via the Sikh tradition by connecting with a Guru. I am now expansively spiritual, honoring of all faiths, and believer in the divine in all humans. One particular concept from Sikhism that has been on my mind & heart recently is sewa.

I often declare my survivor identity as simply as I name I am queer, immigrant, and South Asian. This is as political for me as it as a personal experience, given the systemic nature of violence against women, girls, non-binary and trans people, and children - this is about power. When a white man shot six Asian women in massage parlors in Atlanta, it was about power, not sex. The freedom to carry a gun, use it at will with no constraints, and have someone in power defend the man saying it was “a really bad day for him.” For him. This whole world is for him. The white man with a licence to kill, whether with a gun in his hand or the power of his pen from a seat on the Supreme Court. The powers that be are on a rager attacking trans communities all over the country, and curtailing Black and brown people’s voting rights in Georgia.