Sangeet Kaur Khalsa and Mr. Peaches share a special moment.
	Ladybird playing "kiss me if you can!" with Sangeet.
	Mr. Peaches does a "back flip" around Hari Nam Singh's fingers.
	Mr. Peaches enjoying the great outdoors on a warm Arizona afternoon.

Dear Friends,

We are in the summer of letting go. It is a time, based on the planetary cycle, when many folks are experiencing things on all levels ending. It is a planet-wide housecleaning, a time to let go also of old beliefs about yourself, old patterns and behaviors.

All things come from God and all things go to God. So let go, let God. When there is an ending, let go with thankfulness. Bless the person who may be leaving. No one who has touched us is ever lost -- the love lives on.

Letting go is a practice of mastery on this planet. Mostly we hold on too long, and letting go is accompanied by much grief.

This summer brought the parting of the way between us and two of our "family" members -- our beloved parrots "Mister Peaches" and "Ladybird."

To them, Hari Nam and I had become much like their "parents." Mister Peaches has been with us nearly 13 years, and Ladybird nearly seven. Many who visited my home over the years came to love them. Both are true characters and sweet presences.

In our early years together, Peaches was my baby. He slept on my pillow next to me at night and sat calmly on my arm. We took him with us several times to Summer Solstice in New Mexico where he met our teacher, Yogi Bhajan, who quieted him the first time he saw him with just one look!. Since both Hari Nam and I at that time worked out of our residence, it was easy to give him a lot of attention.

Gradually Ladybird became his companion while we were busy in our home offices. She proved to be friendly and very teachable. She could mimic sounds and words easily. Ladybird became famous in our community for her greeting "Sat Nam!" She may be the only parrot who repeats the ancient name of God in Sanskrit.

Then, five years ago, we grew out of our home offices into an office in town, transfering our long hours there. Both birds started exhibiting stress. We tried to replace the former quantity of time we had spent with them with "quality time" each day. It met with little success. Understandably, behavior problems started.

Recently, our growing travel, which required boarding them at the vet's for 2-4 weeks at a time, made it increasingly difficult for them as well as for us.

They had grown increasingly lonely and distressed, screaming when we came home, even biting at times, and demanding attention all the time. It became obvious that we had to do something. My away-from-home commitments as a teacher were only growing.

We meditated and prayed. We called our good friend Krista Cantrell, a wonderful animal behaviorist in Cave Creek, Arizona [(480) 488-3587] who is nationally recognized for her ability to "talk" to animals. Mister Peaches showed her his anger. The decision we had to make was for the good of Peaches and Ladybird, we realized then, even though it was far from easy for us.

In April we asked Krista to help us find a loving home for them. She said it would be tough, as people who can handle birds with behavioral problems are few. I think a part of both of us hoped privately it would take a long, long time.

She called us early in June. She had found the perfect match -- a lady veterinarian in Phoenix who specializes in helping birds that need behavioral retraining. We visited her home. She has many birds, from small Finches to large parrots, even a female Moluccan Cockatoo like Peaches.

The clincher for me was when she said: "I love my work as a vet, but I live for my birds." How much more special a person could there be? I found myself fighting back tears as we left. The next weekend we would take them both to her. During that week, Hari Nam and I shed countless tears as the time approached.
The photos on this page (and larger color ones on our web site) were taken on our last day together, in our back yard and outside our office.

We knew our "kids" were graduating, and we blessed them with hugs and parting love. Peaches even showed off with his back flip on Hari Nam's hands, and Ladybird gave me her special "kiss” and “Sat Nam” blessing.

We spent an hour with them in their new home as they met their new teacher and walked around the rooms. Ladybird jumped right up on her hand with a bright, "Sat Nam, Ladybird!" and began showing off her fuller vocabulary. Mister Peaches was unsure at first, running between us and her, but gradually exploring sitting on her knee.

Since then we have talked with her and are happy to report that they are doing well. Still they are in our prayers. They always will be.
Endings open the door to new beginnings. The door closed on a big part of our personal history. Even our cats are wanting to be closer, still feeling the change at home.

Whatever you do, if something is coming to an end at this time, it may be quite natural. Don't fight letting go. Let go gracefully and with gratitude. Then lighten up.
We are heading for a whole new start of a nine-year cycle this October, fully blossoming with the new year. Great new things are coming!

Bless you in all ways always!

To hear Sangeet's message, click on "RealAudio" or "WMA" above. "RealAudio" and "WMA" are different types of audio files. You can click on either one, it just depends on which sound player software your computer has. "RealAudio " requires a "RealOne" or "RealAudio" player (or compatible) and "WMA" requires a "Windows Media" player (or compatible). "RealAudio" tends to be a little more reliable and better sounding, while "WMA" (built into Windows) is more wide spread.

You can't hurt anything by clicking on either one. If nothing happens or an error message pops up, then your computer doesn't have the appropriate software installed. If that is the case, you can get either one of the free players by clicking here.