The Lotus Center for Healing - TLC

01/25/2026

01/25/2026

Mindfulness and peace in adverse conditions strengthens us. Frees us.. Breathe. 😊😌

01/25/2026

01/25/2026

God bless them 🙏🕉️🪷✨

01/24/2026

🌅 Good Morning! Day 91 (1/24/2026) Begins - We have just started our walk from Apex, North Carolina, heading to Raleigh. The journey continues through North Carolina, one step at a time. We warmly welcome everyone to visit us at our lunch stop, join the walk to the State Capitol, and participate in the Peace Gathering!

📍 Use the Live Map in the pinned/featured post on top of our page to track our journey today and our stop locations. Check last night's update for full details.

Have a peaceful day! May we be mindful in everything we do throughout the day. We invite you to walk with us in spirit. May you and all beings be well, happy and at peace. 🙏

01/24/2026

A little girl walked up to Bhikkhu Pannakara with the purest request in the world —
“Can I have a hug?” 🥰

The monk smiled… and gently said no.

Not because he didn’t care.
Not because he was distant.
But because he was faithful to his path.

In the monastic life, there are clear vows. Monks do not touch women or girls — ever. It’s not personal, it’s discipline. It’s how they protect their practice, their clarity, and their commitment to a life of renunciation.

Seeing the little girl’s confusion, the monk softly asked,
“Who did you come with?”

She pointed proudly to her mother.

He laughed and said,
“Oh… you’re a female too!” 🤣

Then he noticed the father standing nearby. The monk lightly touched the dad’s arm — and just like that, the whole family leaned in together. A rule-respecting, heart-warming group hug happened anyway. 👐

✨ That’s the beauty of wisdom — it finds compassion within boundaries, not by breaking them.

This is something many people don’t realize:

Monks can’t always accept gifts

They can’t pose for one-on-one photos

They may say “no” even when their hearts say “yes”

And that “no” is not rejection.
It’s reverence — for their vows.

This is also why the Walk for Peace touches people so deeply.

When monks walk silently through streets, they aren’t protesting, performing, or preaching. They’re reminding us — without words — that peace begins with restraint, humility, and presence. Their stillness unsettles something inside us… and then heals it.

People pause.
Hearts soften.
Egos quiet down.

And then there’s Aloka 🐾 — walking alongside, doing what animals do best: loving without conditions, without rules, without ego. A rescued soul reminding humans how simple compassion really is.

Together — monks, the walk, and Aloka — create something rare: A moving lesson in humanity.

So if a monk ever refuses a hug, a photo, or a request — don’t take it personally.

Take it wisely.

Respect the journey.
Receive the lesson.
And let the peace walk with you long after they’ve passed.

01/24/2026

Sleep well, precious souls..be warm and at peace.🙏🕉️💖🪷✨

01/24/2026

Same posture. Two very different journeys.

One sits in stillness to get something
—peace, power, success, healing, validation.
Meditation becomes another ladder.
Spirituality becomes another ambition.
The ego simply puts on calmer clothes.

The other sits in stillness to let go.
No checklist. No manifestations.
No desire to become special, awakened, or “more evolved.”
Just presence. Just honesty. Just seeing things as they are.

🧘‍♂️ This is the subtle difference most people miss.

You can meditate every day
talk about chakras, reiki, enlightenment
quote scriptures
post spiritual content
and still be deeply attached to outcomes.

Buddhism never promised more.
It pointed to less.

Less craving.
Less clinging.
Less resistance to reality.

The Buddha didn’t teach meditation to upgrade the self.
He taught it to see through the illusion of the self.

🌱 True awakening is not about adding:

More success

More powers

More identity

More spiritual labels

It’s about subtracting:

The constant wanting

The need to prove

The fear of not being enough

The idea that peace lies somewhere in the future

When desire drops, peace doesn’t need to be chased.
It’s already here.

✨ Same posture. Different paths.
One feeds desire with spirituality.
The other allows desire to fall away.

And in that falling away…
there is freedom.