To Romi on my concern about tokens and being able to see Amma

[Guest guest]

Romi wrote:

 

Though this may change in the future as more people

come to Amma, currently you can still pretty much

guarantee yourself a proper token if you arrive prior

to the start of the program. Even on the last crazy

Saturday night at San Ramon, my token number was

201-300, and I did not arrive until about an hour

before Amma.

 

If you are unable to stand in line for a token before

the program, you might find where you would have been

in line based on when you arrived, clear it with the

people at that spot, and only join them when the line

begins to move. Or perhaps they could get the token

for you. This year I saw that a number of people were

able to get tokens for other people in their group who

were not in line. I can't say if that was the norm,

but it did happen a number of times.

 

The special needs chairs are still there and available

for the people who need them. I have CFS and some FM

symptoms, and though most days I can get by without

the chairs, there are those days when I cannot. So

far I have never been turned away from sitting there.

I have also always been able to go up for darshan

early if I needed to (for health reasons), via the

special needs section.

 

 

 

Dear Romi ~ thank you so much for sharing your experience. Although now the

thought of having to stand in line to get a token makes it feel even further

away. I might be able to do it for 10 or 15 minutes, and then I would begin to

fatigue, have more pain, and if I didn't go sit down or lie down, I'd just

keel over. This isn't a metaphor. It is something that literally happens to me

when my energy capacity gets pushed beyond what it is capable of. I would

most likely be by myself, so no one could stand in for me. I guess the best

thing is to check with the Santa Fe ashram about this. I also have CFS and FM,

both pretty advanced. Before I was diagnosed, and I was just having chronic

pain, which I thought was the result of a car accident, I never would have

guessed this illness would be so progressive as it has been. But I have gotten

worse over time. At the same time, this is an invisible illness, and even when

I used to ask to sit in the special needs chairs, I was always afraid I would

be turned down, though I never was. So I will pray to Mother about this,

check with the ashram, when the time is closer, and keep my fingers crossed.

Jai

Jai Ma ~ Linda

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Linda, you are a special needs person. One of the welcome crew can

guide you through the process. This year the "welcome" people wear

red stoles. I did this seva this time and one thing we do is assist

special needs people with the token process and then we bring them

up to the Special Needs area.

 

You'll need to explain what your physical limitations are to one of

the welcoming people (possibly wearing red sashes) at the token line

and they will guide you. If I were that volunteer, I'd bring you to

the head of the token line and explain to the person distributing

tokens what your situation was. If it was too crowded or there was

some other delay, I'd get you seated in the Special Needs area, tell

the volunteer handling Special Needs what the situation was, and get

a token to bring back to you as soon as I could. You need to be very

clear with all the volunteers exactly what your limitations are and

keep communicating. If you can't remain seated and need to go rest,

you need to tell the volunteer in Special Needs and then let them

know when you come back and again explain what your needs are.

 

There also are a flock of people walking around with gold colored

hearts and gol stoles. The hearts say "May I help you?" They can

also be very helpful if you have an unusual circumstance.

 

Aikya

 

Aikya

 

Ammachi, nierika@a... wrote:

>

>

> Romi wrote:

>

> Though this may change in the future as more people

> come to Amma, currently you can still pretty much

> guarantee yourself a proper token if you arrive prior

> to the start of the program. Even on the last crazy

> Saturday night at San Ramon, my token number was

> 201-300, and I did not arrive until about an hour

> before Amma.

>

> If you are unable to stand in line for a token before

> the program, you might find where you would have been

> in line based on when you arrived, clear it with the

> people at that spot, and only join them when the line

> begins to move. Or perhaps they could get the token

> for you. This year I saw that a number of people were

> able to get tokens for other people in their group who

> were not in line. I can't say if that was the norm,

> but it did happen a number of times.

>

> The special needs chairs are still there and available

> for the people who need them. I have CFS and some FM

> symptoms, and though most days I can get by without

> the chairs, there are those days when I cannot. So

> far I have never been turned away from sitting there.

> I have also always been able to go up for darshan

> early if I needed to (for health reasons), via the

> special needs section.

>

>

>

> Dear Romi ~ thank you so much for sharing your experience.

Although now the

> thought of having to stand in line to get a token makes it feel

even further

> away. I might be able to do it for 10 or 15 minutes, and then I

would begin to

> fatigue, have more pain, and if I didn't go sit down or lie down,

I'd just

> keel over. This isn't a metaphor. It is something that literally

happens to me

> when my energy capacity gets pushed beyond what it is capable of.

I would

> most likely be by myself, so no one could stand in for me. I

guess the best

> thing is to check with the Santa Fe ashram about this. I also

have CFS and FM,

> both pretty advanced. Before I was diagnosed, and I was just

having chronic

> pain, which I thought was the result of a car accident, I never

would have

> guessed this illness would be so progressive as it has been. But

I have gotten

> worse over time. At the same time, this is an invisible illness,

and even when

> I used to ask to sit in the special needs chairs, I was always

afraid I would

> be turned down, though I never was. So I will pray to Mother

about this,

> check with the ashram, when the time is closer, and keep my

fingers crossed. Jai

> Jai Ma ~ Linda

>

>

>

>