Last Weekend Part 2...

So while I spent the nights doing comedy I was fortunate enough to spend two days last weekend in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

I'd booked the tickets last year and because of his age and just the way life is, I hadn't really let myself believe it was gonna happen, but it did and it was awesome!

At the risk of sounding (even more than usual) like a drama queen, in January 2005, I read His Holiness's book The Art of Happiness and it totally transformed my life.

At the time I was in the depths of despair, life really was unbearable and I dreaded waking up each day. At the insistence of a very good friend I picked that book up and read it. As I devoured each page I felt more and more like I'd come home. The awfulness of my life began to be put into perspective. A lot of the thoughts I'd had all my life were there in the book, and the seeds of my rebirth in this life were planted.

Three and a half years later, I have totally turned my life around. I wake up excited every day, I give and receive love from my fellow human beings freely, I am not scared of anything anymore! There are of course the physical changes too, like being - literally - half the woman I was, being a non-smoker, being healthy and fit for the first time since I was a very small child, but in a way these are far less important than the mental transformation I have undergone.

I know those of you who read my endless blogs about what dress size I've gotten down to, or the latest handbag I've acquired might find that a bit difficult to comprehend. Actually for those of you who like the shallow JoJo as opposed to the deep JoJo, I did get into a pair of size 0 trousers from The Gap this week - my weight-loss work is done!

The reality is, the physical aspect is just a reflection of how good I am feeling inside. I hardly hate myself at all these days!

Anyway last weekend in Nottingham was my chance to spend time with the man whose words helped to transform my life, and it didn't disappoint me one single bit.

I got to the Arena early, and had a look round the bookshop and saw the beginning of the sand Mandala the Monks were making. The patience involved is a lesson to us all, especially as once the week of teachings was over, it's just swept away, teaching us all about the impermanence of life.


Then I took my seat just as some more Monks came onstage and began to chant...what an incredible sound they made! It really set the tone too.


At 10.30 on the dot HH Dalai Lama came onstage with no ceremony or fanfare, and after a few words from local dignitaries, he got down to business. What an amazing man he is. And he sure knows how to work a crowd! He had us laughing, crying, and thinking - sometimes all three within the space of five minutes.

He took questions from the crowd and answered them brilliantly, my favourite one was "I am terrified of dying. How can I deal with this?" HHDL said "Avoid extreme sports and be careful"! The whole room erupted in laughter.

They'd set up a Tibetan Big Top nearby with stalls selling food and Buddhist paraphernalia. It was wonderful.

Congrats to Nottingham Council for setting this all up so well and my eternal thanks to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and all of his team for enabling me to be a part of it all.