May you awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
May the flame of anger free you from falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame and may anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
- John O'Donohue
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
May you respond to the call of your gift and find the courage to follow its path.
May the flame of anger free you from falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame and may anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
- John O'Donohue
Rise Up, Sap Like, Heal and Bloom...
Healing is a lifelong journey towards wholeness.
Healing is remembering what has been forgotten about connection, and unity and interdependence among all things living and non-living.
Healing is embracing what is most feared.
Healing is opening what has been closed, softening what has been hardened into obstruction.
Healing is entering into the transcendent, timeless moment when one experiences the divine.
Healing is creativity and passion and love.
Healing is seeking and expressing self in its fullness, its light and shadow, its male and female.
Healing is learning to trust life.
From "Woman as healer" by Jeanne Achterberg
Healing is a lifelong journey towards wholeness.
Healing is remembering what has been forgotten about connection, and unity and interdependence among all things living and non-living.
Healing is embracing what is most feared.
Healing is opening what has been closed, softening what has been hardened into obstruction.
Healing is entering into the transcendent, timeless moment when one experiences the divine.
Healing is creativity and passion and love.
Healing is seeking and expressing self in its fullness, its light and shadow, its male and female.
Healing is learning to trust life.
From "Woman as healer" by Jeanne Achterberg
Winter, winter
What if this winter was the year you really and truly honored and deep desire to slow it down, catch your breath, go within and
befriend old fashioned silence...just you and the flicker of a candle, just you and the wind in the pines, just you soaking up the quiet
between snow flakes falling down?
Winter is the time for these small, restorative actions. Maybe saying 'no' just once (or more), maybe making a date just with yourself to do nothing and let it stretch out all evening, all weekend? This isn't about being lazy, or unproductive, or unsocial but letting the spin of the summer unwind and coming to rest. Even a 10 minute yoga practice can help you play with this silent unwinding.
Be brave, be bold here...wishing you warmth and sweet silence.
befriend old fashioned silence...just you and the flicker of a candle, just you and the wind in the pines, just you soaking up the quiet
between snow flakes falling down?
Winter is the time for these small, restorative actions. Maybe saying 'no' just once (or more), maybe making a date just with yourself to do nothing and let it stretch out all evening, all weekend? This isn't about being lazy, or unproductive, or unsocial but letting the spin of the summer unwind and coming to rest. Even a 10 minute yoga practice can help you play with this silent unwinding.
Be brave, be bold here...wishing you warmth and sweet silence.
Transitioning towards Autumn
Summer is HERE!! And...it is just to glorious to sit at the computer right now :) Stay tuned for some Sun inspired wisdom and SHINE bright, radiate and ENJOY!
“Yoga is not mechanical, and proper breathing will bring an increasingly creative sense to your practice. It should always feel as though you are learning something new. Be glad you have the time and inclination to practice. Be thankful you have discovered Yoga. Be grateful. Celebrate your realization that the energy, enthusiasm, and attention you bring to your Yoga now will benefit all other moments of your life as well. Practice with passionate calm.” "Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving in to Stillness" ~ Erich Schiffmann
Coming into Spring - rainy, grey, soft, heavy and the buzz of life, birdsong, sunlight and BLOSSOMS- this is spring in the Midwest. This is a time to cleanse and come into balance as the outer world awakes up, so do our bodies, energies rise and flow as the sap rises and sweet life hums and returns to the land. As we move from the Equinox towards Beltane we nurture the new seedlings brought forth from winter's inner work, we celebrate our passions and stay grounded as spring paves the way for summer's fullness. What do you want to give your energy to ? This is a choosing time, the more conscious the choosing the better.
Imbolc - 2014 - Midway between the winter solstice & the spring equinox we come to here - February 2nd. The days are lengthening, the nights shortening. For me there's a sense of moving into & towards the light, it is time to dream and conceive the next season of growth, time to browse seed catalogs and make choices. So dream, intend & choose. Let go of what is no longer serving you in the highest way. Enjoy the still long and dark...and cold nights, sink deeper into the rest that winter makes possible and let the mystery of this time of year inform & guide you as the compass needle of the year turns toward growth, life & creation.
Rest.
In the first stage of rest is the sense of stopping, of giving up on what we have been doing or how we have been being. In the second stage is the sense of slowly coming home, the physical journey into the body’s un-coerced and un-bullied self, as if trying to remember the way or even the destination itself. In the third state is a sense of healing and self-forgiveness and of arrival. In the fourth stage, deep in the primal exchange of the breath is the give and the take, the blessing and the being blessed and the ability to delight in both.
The fifth stage of rest is a sense of absolute readiness and presence, a delight in and an anticipation of the world and all its forms; the sense of being the meeting itself between inner and outer, and of receiving and responding occuring in one spontaneous movement.
A deep experience of rest is the template of perfection in the human imagination, a perspective from which we are able to perceive the outer specific forms of our work and our relationships whilst being nourished by the shared foundational gift of the breath itself. From this perspective we can be rested while putting together an elaborate meal for an arriving crowd, whilst climbing the highest mountain or sitting at home surrounded by the chaos of a loving family…
Excerpt from Readers' Circle Essay,
"Rest"
©2011 David Whyte
Rest.
In the first stage of rest is the sense of stopping, of giving up on what we have been doing or how we have been being. In the second stage is the sense of slowly coming home, the physical journey into the body’s un-coerced and un-bullied self, as if trying to remember the way or even the destination itself. In the third state is a sense of healing and self-forgiveness and of arrival. In the fourth stage, deep in the primal exchange of the breath is the give and the take, the blessing and the being blessed and the ability to delight in both.
The fifth stage of rest is a sense of absolute readiness and presence, a delight in and an anticipation of the world and all its forms; the sense of being the meeting itself between inner and outer, and of receiving and responding occuring in one spontaneous movement.
A deep experience of rest is the template of perfection in the human imagination, a perspective from which we are able to perceive the outer specific forms of our work and our relationships whilst being nourished by the shared foundational gift of the breath itself. From this perspective we can be rested while putting together an elaborate meal for an arriving crowd, whilst climbing the highest mountain or sitting at home surrounded by the chaos of a loving family…
Excerpt from Readers' Circle Essay,
"Rest"
©2011 David Whyte
Winter 2014- ah it is here at last, the season of silence and shadow...and of light. Right now it's 3 degrees outside - the world is crystalline there is not a spark of life except for humans and their cohorts outside. Without the electricity and fuels we rely on life would be so incredibly different.
Where do you retreat to?
How do you sing to he silence & shadow within you?
When will you rest?
What do you want to release? What do you want to achieve?
With the Winter Solstice the light will return...
"Winter Solstice comes at the middle of winter and marks the longest night. The ancestors energized hope for the Sun's eventual return and the Earth's renewal by making a "spiritual cradle" or psychic space for the newly conceived light to eventually fill. Winter Solstice celebrates the presence of Spirit and the power of faith and hope that our visions of the future will come into manifestation.
Where do you retreat to?
How do you sing to he silence & shadow within you?
When will you rest?
What do you want to release? What do you want to achieve?
With the Winter Solstice the light will return...
"Winter Solstice comes at the middle of winter and marks the longest night. The ancestors energized hope for the Sun's eventual return and the Earth's renewal by making a "spiritual cradle" or psychic space for the newly conceived light to eventually fill. Winter Solstice celebrates the presence of Spirit and the power of faith and hope that our visions of the future will come into manifestation.
Transformation
Does a snowflake,
flung from an angel’s wing,
trust the fall,
not yet knowing the grand design
or what it will become?
There is patience,
A whisper of natural order,
as it follows its innate path,
anchoring light to Earth.
Myra Dutton
Does a snowflake,
flung from an angel’s wing,
trust the fall,
not yet knowing the grand design
or what it will become?
There is patience,
A whisper of natural order,
as it follows its innate path,
anchoring light to Earth.
Myra Dutton
Autumn 2013 --- the Autumnal Equinox brings the opportunity for a balance & equity between day and night, light and shadow, Yin & Yang. Where is balance in your life? Imbalance? What are you willing to let go of? What are you thankful this year as the calendar turns into the stillness of winter?
"All of life is part of a cycle and here we acknowledge the new beginning in the midst of endings. There is a new power to life as we nurture new dreams and new seeds in the dark. By accepting this period of rest we find rejuvenation and renewal. This is not a time for action, but a time to drift, to dream, to vision and remember. It is a time for meditation and welcoming inner stillness, for long term plans and for nourishing our spirit. Here as the old year ends and the darkness of winter begins, we welcome the opportunity for a new start as we incubate and strengthen our hopes for the new year. Traditionally, it is an opportunity to honour our ancestors and embrace our roots." - From "Earth Wisdom" by Glennie Kindred
"All of life is part of a cycle and here we acknowledge the new beginning in the midst of endings. There is a new power to life as we nurture new dreams and new seeds in the dark. By accepting this period of rest we find rejuvenation and renewal. This is not a time for action, but a time to drift, to dream, to vision and remember. It is a time for meditation and welcoming inner stillness, for long term plans and for nourishing our spirit. Here as the old year ends and the darkness of winter begins, we welcome the opportunity for a new start as we incubate and strengthen our hopes for the new year. Traditionally, it is an opportunity to honour our ancestors and embrace our roots." - From "Earth Wisdom" by Glennie Kindred
Diwali: Festival of Lights - Diwali is perhaps the most well-known of the Hindu festivals.The word Diwali means 'rows of lighted lamps'. Diwali is known as the 'festival of lights' because houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called diyas.
Celebrating Diwali - For many Indians this five day festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. People start the new business year at Diwali, and some Hindus will say prayers to the goddess for a successful year. Lamps are lit to help Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, find her way into people's homes. They also celebrate one of the Diwali legends, which tells of the return of Rama and Sita to Rama's kingdom after fourteen years of exile. Read more...
Celebrating Diwali - For many Indians this five day festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. People start the new business year at Diwali, and some Hindus will say prayers to the goddess for a successful year. Lamps are lit to help Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, find her way into people's homes. They also celebrate one of the Diwali legends, which tells of the return of Rama and Sita to Rama's kingdom after fourteen years of exile. Read more...
Summer 2013
Falling in love with yoga will probably not do much for you.
Falling in love with you will do quite a lot.
Yoga helps.
~Strala Yoga
Falling in love with you will do quite a lot.
Yoga helps.
~Strala Yoga
Guest House This being human is a guest-house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, Who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture. Still, treat each guest honorably. Who may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi Many disease states are related to the heat of inflammation. Is your practice cooling your tissues, or overheating them? - Alignment Yoga Love tells me I'm everything. Wisdom tells me I'm nothing. Between the two, my life flows. ~ Nisargadatta "On that level of our togetherness [pure consciousness we] do something to ourself, turn within, radiate light, change the world" --Maharishi, 1980 You must have a room,or a certain hour or so a day,where you don't know what was in the newspaper that morning, you don't know who your friends are, you don't know what you owe anybody, you don't know what anybody owes you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. ~ Joseph Campbell Listen to yourself, daily. In this over-stimulated world recognize you are the person who can reset the balance for yourself. Do you listen to yourself daily? Or do you complain about how much noise there is in the world? The more you become an ambassador of loving silence and space, the more the template that you create inside yourself will be felt by others. The more a certain way of being is felt by others, the more it becomes shared between people. We each share with each other. This is a sharing planet. ~ David Whyte "This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway… Be bold. Be humble. Put away the incense and forget the incantations they taught you. Ask no permission from the authorities. Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home." ~ St. Theresa of Avila |
"The
seed cannot sprout upwards without simultaneously sending roots into the
ground," says an Egyptian proverb. Keep that thought in mind as you head
into your next phase of growth.
What part of you needs to deepen as you rise up? What growth needs to unfold in the hidden places as you g ravitate toward the light? How can you go about balancing and stabilizing your ascension with a downward penetration? ~ via Rob Brezny That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment. - Pema Chodron "Be, don't seek. Sit warmly open, lightness in your brow, not questions. Be ready for the quiet when it comes, and the creaking of the house's bones and the wind's music playing the notes of the trees. Be, don't brood. Don't wait for life to announce itself in capitals or high garb. Be available to its whispers, know how to listen when it tells its true self and not the lies you've dreamt up. Be able to breathe and let go of your breath, let go of life as you wish it to be and take in the simplicity, the facts - This sky is. This day is. This sparrow is. Be, don't try. Your weariness must have shown you something by now. Stay seated in your soul, remember the sun is there, truth and time are there. Be, don't seek. You've already found. You already have. You already know. You already are." - Elizabeth Page Roberts, 2008 “When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.” ~ Peace Pilgrim “I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul.” - by Rumi “It is not arrogant or egotistical to feel good inside. You had nothing to do with it. It’s simply the honest response to clearly perceived Reality.” - Erich Schiffman “Wisdom is knowing we are all One. Love is what it feels like and Compassion is what it acts like.” - Ethan Walker III |