Looking Back

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi,

I've never read a entire blog before, or even any good portion of one. But since discovering your blog last week, I have spent every spare moment reading, unable to stop. Your regrets and spiritual life and goals resonate with me. My story is very different, but the similarities between us (I'm 43, for one) make your writing irresistible to me. Thanks so much for doing this. I have enjoyed the food at Ananda Fuara in SF for the past two decades, but knew very little of the people behind the scenes. Thanks again for sharing and reminding me that aspirations and regrets are common to all, but not ultimately contrary to our life or the well-being of others.
March 13, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Y. said…
Wow! Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to read the story.

I'm really grateful that you did.

Thanks especially for your very kind words. They really do mean a lot to me.

I, too, loved Ananda Fuara, where both my brother and sister "served time." ;)

I hope you'll email me directly (yogaloy@yahoo.com) to continue the dialogue.
March 13, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Anonymous said…
Wow man. Im blown away and scared shitless. Currently I am 21, in junior college, and trying to muster up the sack to sign the SEAL contract. I walked into my recruiters office at age 19 after dropping out of a University and got cold feet and convinced myself I wasnt ready for BUD/s. Anyway it's unreal just reading about your experience and definitely hoping I get the balls to try also. Paralysis by analysis I guess.
May 11, 2009 at 3:50 AM
Y. said…
Yeah, I hear ya! Taking the initial plunge to join up is probably the scariest part.

Two pieces of unsolicited advice from me, the old man. First, remember that you're signing up for war -- remind yourself of that.

Second -- since at 21 you have the time -- stick it out and get your degree through a ROTC program. Officers have an extremely high pass rate at BUD/S, which I think is largely attributable to the fact that they have something to think about (i.e., taking care of their men) during training other than themselves.

Best of luck and thanks for reading.
May 11, 2009 at 8:49 AM
Anonymous said…
You easily could pass for a BUD/s instructor man. Maybe its becuase you live in San Diego I dont know but no shit if you dressed in fatigues a blue shirt and a ballcap that read senior cheif I would buy it.
November 12, 2009 at 3:23 AM
Y. said…
Hey thanks -- at my age, I'll take any compliment I can get!

Thanks for reading!

(And my standard caveat for those who haven't read everything: I am not and never was a SEAL.)
November 12, 2009 at 6:53 AM
Anonymous said…
I too have never EVER read a blog let alone a FULL blog. You, Sir - are an angel who was put on this earth to inspire others of all walks of life. Thank you for being so honest and real! Please do not stop writing :)
November 26, 2016 at 12:06 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

David Moretti

Image
On October 18, 1981, I got the word that Sri Chinmoy had accepted me as one of his disciples. I was 16, a junior in high school. Young as I was, the story behind my applying to join what some in my family believed -- perhaps correctly -- to be a Hindu religious cult stretched back a few years and is a story of happenstance, serendipity and interesting personalities. Over the following nine years of my discipleship, I would meet some of the most unique individuals I've ever met and I'll do my best to draw attention to them as my story unfolds. First, though, I want to acknowledge my boyhood friend, David Moretti (pictured above). Dave was my best friend through grade school. His father worked for the Almaden winery when there were still vineyards in Silicon Valley, and his mother worked for a local bank. Unlike my parents, Dave's mom and dad hadn't divorced. I spent just about every day after elementary school hanging out at the Moretti's house. When the whole...
Read more

Lavanya - A Guest Post

Image
I WAS NOT AS SPECIAL AS YOU AND I THOUGHT This is the story of a few pivotal experiences of my 31 years in the Sri Chinmoy Centre. Telling it makes me feel sad, mad, ashamed, and foolish for staying and serving for so many years after I knew things were not as they should be, starting with our divine leader. Still, when I finally left the Centre, I swore to myself that I would never tell what I knew about him, and until recently I thought I never would. But when I left the Centre, I thought I knew what was true about Chinmoy, when actually I knew almost nothing. Now, as the real Chinmoy is gradually being revealed by piecing together all of our experiences with him, it seems I can’t keep my own story tamped down any longer. It needs to be told.  It’s not a good story, not a happy story, and I am not a heroine – on the contrary. But life is telling me it’s time to speak up. I probably should have spoken long ago. I definitely COULD have spoken about 40 years ago. Maybe I...
Read more

Introduction

Image
Thirty-four years ago, I became a disciple of the late Sri Chinmoy. My discipleship lasted nine years and they were some of the best years of my life and, without a doubt, the most significant. This memoir is about that journey and the enduring effects it had on me as a man. It's also about a number of troubling revelations of sexual misconduct by Sri Chinmoy, which have been made by an increasing number of his female disciples, and how those revelations have affected my understanding of my guru. It's not all doom and gloom, and I'd argue none of it is. I've met some truly unique and special individuals during the course of my spiritual development. I hope to introduce you to some of them. Most importantly, I want to give you a glimpse of my experience. I hope it will inspire other current and former disciples to write their own memoirs. Together, I'd like to think that someday our collective stories will make up a mosaic that will give future seekers a c...
Read more