from Purushottama
The transfer from Ananda Village in Northern California to Ananda in Seattle came suddenly. I had four days to find a place for my family to live and schools for two of our three children.
I did as much research as possible. This was pre-internet. Still, with calling friends and looking things up at the library, I was overwhelmed with choices and more than a little stressed. I needed to make a lot of decisions in a very short time.
I spent two days driving all over Seattle getting nowhere. My anxiety increased. Half my time was gone and I still had no idea what to do.
Then a thought occurred to me: Divine Mother would not have sent me to Seattle on such short notice if there were no place for our family to live. In other words, She must already know what house was meant to be ours. Instantly, my anxiety evaporated. The whirling constellation of thoughts by which I had hoped to reason my way to a solution was replaced by an inward assurance that Divine Mother had a house waiting for me. All I had to do was find it.
Nothing had changed except my perspective. What had seemed an uncertain quest had now become like a children’s treasure hunt. The treasure was there. All I had to do was find the clues that led to it.
I looked with new eyes at the well-folded map I had been using for days. I felt I should go to the northwest section of the city.
Once there, I meandered around for a bit, trying to find my next clue. I saw a sign pointing the way to a library and felt I should follow it. As it turned out, I headed in the wrong direction, and was soon completely lost. I was about to stop to check the map when I saw the sign “Library” again.
It pointed to a much larger building than I expected, but trustingly I pulled into the parking lot. It turned out to be a high school. As I gazed at the building, suddenly I realized, “This is my daughter’s school! That means the house we are meant to have must be close by.” This was fun!
As I drove away from the school I thought, “So far so good, Divine Mother. Where is the next clue?” A moment later I saw a convenience store and remembered the weekly Home Finder periodical. I had used it a couple of times in the last two days, but every house I’d called was already rented. But here the Home Finder had just been delivered. The plastic band was still around the stack.
Scanning the listings, I found a house that seemed just right and it was only a few blocks away. I felt such joy in Divine Mother’s presence that I wanted to stop everything and meditate.
I called the rental agent. “Someone else called before you,” the agent said. “He’s coming to see the house at 5:00 p.m. You can come then too, but if he wants it, he has the prior claim.”
I had the whole afternoon free to explore other options. Given the urgency of my situation, that would have been the logical thing to do. But I felt such profound inner assurance from Divine Mother that I didn’t bother.
I arrived at the house promptly at five o’clock. It turned out to be just what I was looking for. Right size, right layout, right neighborhood, and right price. While I was walking around, the other potential renter arrived. The agent left to show him the house. A few minutes later, the other renter and I met in the living room.
After I introduced myself, he said, “Didn’t you just give a talk on meditation?” Turns out he had been there. I told him I was moving to Seattle to help lead a meditation center.
“My wife and I also need a place to live,” he said, “but this house feels like yours. You take it.”
Smiling, I said, “Thank you!” to him and to Divine Mother.
