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A few weeks before I actually made the (very short) trip to India in mid-January, I had stumbled upon a TED talk by Pico Iyer titled – “Where is Home”. There was something about that question posed by him that got me thinking more than usual in the context of this particular trip “home”… Why?

I was born in India, moved to the USA in my twenties, went to graduate school in Virginia, moved to Ohio, have extended family in Brazil and India… you get the picture. I am sure that some, if not a lot of you, have had similar journeys in the course of your lives. While some of you may feel perfectly at “home” where you currently reside, some of you may often wonder – “where is home”?

But before we explore this question further, there is perhaps another equally important question to consider – why is this concept or notion of “home” even important? Is it because the idea of “home” somehow establishes a fundamental identity for us, in the form of “roots”? Or is it something that connects us to our childhood, our upbringing, our culture and our values? Is this idea of “home” even relevant in this world that is becoming rapidly mobile?

So, once we establish why the concept of “home” is important to us, we can go back to examining the original question – “where is home”? We often hear the adage – “home is where the heart is”. If true, it begs the question – “where is our heart” – in the emotional, psychological and spiritual sense of the word. Or, perhaps, I should expand that question to ask – “where is our heart, and where does it feel the most full of love”? Is that the question that we should be really asking?

If it may seem that I am suggesting that the idea of a physical home is not as important as the notion of a spiritual home, you are partly correct. While a physical home, and our identification with it may be important, it is perhaps our spiritual “home”, and our journey to it, that is perhaps more significant. It is that journey, along the path of spirited action, inspired by knowledge, fueled with our higher dreams, that will perhaps lend true meaning and purpose to our lives.

I invite you to join the #spiritchat community on this journey – Sunday January 26th at 9am ET. We will meet on twitter, and have a conversation about “home”.

Namaste!

Kumud

P.S. As I left the USA for India, I had this feeling that I was leaving one home to travel to another home. As I made the return trip, I had the exact same feeling. I realized that I was carrying this notion of “home” with me – have you ever felt that way?

http://embed.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home.html

The #storify summary of the chat can be found at http://storify.com/ajmanik/spirituality-the-journey-home and the questions are listed below. A full, complete transcript is also available at the hashtracking site (2125 tweets, 534 contributors, 36.2M timeline deliveries, 3.00M reach). Enjoy!
Enjoy!

Ready? Q1. Can you describe the sights, sounds, feeling(s) of #Home? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427442356208824320

On to Q2. Why is this notion of #home even important in today’s mobile, changing world? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427443985385529344

Q3. Can the idea of #home be a moment in time? Or a person? Or… #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427445894624321536

Q4. We can never leave home – Maya Angelou. We can never go home – Thomas Wolfe. So, which is it?? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427447371656462336

Q5. Do you relate to the notion of a spiritual #home? Is yes, what is it? If no, why not? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427449096907923457

Q6. How does “letting go” help us on our journey to our spiritual home? What else helps? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427450578835214336

Q7. On your spiritual journey home, what important discoveries have you made? Do share 🙂 #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427452296058773504

Q8. What message(s) would you send to those feeling (a bit) lost on their journey home…? #spiritchat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/427453526017441792