At 19, Paula attended the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, London, England - pursuing Concert Violin studies. Just before leaving for London, she began the Transcendental Meditation program, and had her first profound experiences of transcending and deep meditation. Within the first year at the Academy, she felt the beckoning of a deeper calling - the desire for enlightenment.

After travelling extensively throughout Europe, to see, know, and understand other cultures, Paula returned to Canada, studied Business Administration and married. She returned to Europe to complete her Teacher Training and Advanced Teaching Courses in France and Switzerland. Several years later, she accepted a full scholarship to a

Master of Arts Degree in the U.S, receiving citations in "Who's Who" for academic and scholastic achievements.

In 1985, Paula and her husband, Ric, moved to Ottawa, Canada, to lead a national team of meditation teachers, travelling the country, lecturing and instructing thousands of meditation students. In 1986, she and Ric were invited by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, to join him in India, and again in 1987. It was during that time that Paula was first introduced to, and encouraged to study Jyotish - the Science of Light.

In 1991, Maharishi invited Ric and Paula to Holland, where they enjoyed deep meditation sessions and his enlightening guidance. In 1993, they returned to Canada, establishing and teaching at Maharishi Vedic College in Edmonton, Alberta. Maharishi sent Jyotish Pundits across Canada, 2- 4 times, annually. Paula sat in on hundreds of Jyotish Readings - taking notes - asking questions and closely observing. Over the next 10 years, her intent study of Jyotish expanded to doing readings and offering Jyotish Courses.

In 2004, Ric and Paula retired from their full-time teaching duties, and now enjoy a peaceful, meditative life in their beautiful condo in the trees. Paula continues to offer Jyotish Readings, teach Jyotish courses and writes two blogs per month at

www.jyotishwithpaulablog.com.

Paula is a successful businesswoman, accomplished writer and runs her own jewelry and cashmere business: Celestial Goods.

I began the study of Jyotish at my Guru's ashram, during my first trip to India in 1986. While there, our group of North American meditation teachers were encouraged to have a Jyotish Reading and participate in learning Vedic Astrology.

For learning purposes Jyotish readings were held in a group setting. As none of us had experienced a Jyotish reading before, we didn't know what to expect and were all a little apprehensive as we waited.

I'm not argumentative!

I was particularly interested as one Pundit picked up the first chart, and showed us that the paper held nothing other than a few symbols on an intriguingly divided rectangle. He glanced at the chart for a few moments, peered closely at the woman who'd approached for the reading saying, "You have many strengths but you also have a tendency to be argumentative."

The woman immediately retorted, "No, I'm not!" "Yes, you are," persisted the Jyotishi, more softly this time, smiling at her.

She put her hands on her hips, leaned towards the Jyotishi and firmly stated, "I'm definitely not argumentative!" The pundit turned to all of us saying, "See, she's arguing."

Everyone began chuckling, as we were quite familiar with this woman's feisty nature. She turned to us, asking, "Am I really that argumentative?" We all nodded and began laughing. Pretty soon she relaxed and started laughing with us. The whole mood of the readings shifted and lightened as we recognized we were in the hands of experts.

Ongoing Studies

Since 1986, I've been fortunate to connect with and learn from some exceptional Jyotish experts, each with their own skills and approach. I'm tremendously grateful to all of them for the knowledge they've shared.

Between 1994 - 2004, I organized tours of Jyotish Pundits hundreds of meditation students in our area. As I sat in on the Jyotish readings, taking notes for those who'd come, I'd ask brief questions of the Pundits and learn more about the "why" and "how" of readings. I will always cherish the gentle patience of those dear Jyotishis who found the time to encourage me.

How do you know all this stuff?

Besides studying with the best, I've also learned through extensive self-study; finding birth data, drawing up charts of well known or famous people, analyzing them on my own and studying ancient and modern texts on Vedic Astrology. As I progressed in my studies, I also began reading the charts of my curious meditation students wishing to know about my progress in this fascinating science.

Pretty soon they were asking me, "How do you know all this stuff, and how can I learn more?"

I started offering Jyotish classes in the Edmonton area.

As well as offering readings, and teaching classes, I continue to participate in Master's Classes with some of North America's highly acclaimed Jyotish experts. I always manage to learn something new and interesting from these informative sessions.

Over time, I've realized this is a life-long study, requiring much dedication. More than anything, I continue to find it a joy to learn and share the knowledge I've gleaned from Jyotish - the Science of Light.