The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We used qualities of earth to explore qualities of mind.  The slow steadiness of grounding helps to bring our heart’s wisdom to what we are attending.  Earth’s regenerative capacity metabolizes what has died and nourishes what is being born.  We too can integrate our experience in ways that help us to include ourselves and future generations in our circle of caring.

We contemplated Pablo Neruda’s poem Keeping Quiet.  The poem, written in the 1950s, speaks to our time.  He imagines the healing a Great Pause could bring. The Earth gets a chance to regenerate, the skies clear and we can hear the birds sing.

We drew inspiration from Jay Griffiths’ brilliant essay, Dwelling on Earth.  She takes us on a journey through living Soil by highlighting its inhabitants and their role in the circle of life.  She takes us back in time describing Darwin’s last work centered on the “mindedness” of earth worms. You can read or listen to Jay read her work and learn about Water Bears aka Moss Piglets aka Slow Steppers!

Vietnamese monk and beloved meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh reminded us of the reverence we embody in mindful walking.

We reflected on Theravadan monk and teacher Ajahn Sucitto’s essay Mindfulness Its Friends and Relatives.  He explains how, like fingers and palm, attention and loving awareness come together in mindfulness.  We investigate experience and let it rest in our “heart/mind.”  We inquire:  “How am I with this?”

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. For me, this week’s moving series of inaugural events began with the 400 lights around the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool.  We carry the past year’s losses of so many into the days ahead.  Amanda Gorman’s lyrical recitation of The Hill We Climb lifted my spirits.  Her yellow coat seemed to glow with her dancing hands and singing voice.  She made me so happy.  She inspired our practice today.

We also drew on the Alnoor Ladha’s powerful essay, What is Solidarity? Alnoor rights regularly for the Kosmos Journal for global transformation.  He is part of a global network of activists, organizers, researchers and writers focusing on changing the rules that create inequality, poverty and climate change.

We also heard Richard Wehrman’s poem, We Are Still Living. Richard is a designer, illustrator poet and long time Dharma student.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We are living in a country divided.  Our meditation explored the many offerings of circle – especially its potential for inclusivity. We attuned to the intelligence of the body, wisdom of the heart and song of the soul.

Body, heart and mind enable us to envision a future world in which all are welcome in “communitas”.

We explored creativity in the poetic works of Naomi Shihab Nye and John Paul Lederach.  Naomi’s  poem, Two Countries, doesn’t require many lines to convey our visceral need for belonging.  John Paul Lederach’s many, many years as an international peace builder lead him to Haiku.  The shortest of poems arise in the moment of intense presence.  You might discover in his Unfolding Poem for the Moment We Are In, how Imagination’s short leap can reach your heart.  You can listen to a wonderful interview, The Art of Peace, about his life’s work as a peace builder.

We drew on New Dimensions interview, Looking for the Deeper and Greater Unities, with mythologist Michael Meade.  Michael sifts wisdom from myths and stories from around the world.  He speaks to our division and the unifying forces we can build through both individual and collective practice.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. On our first meeting of the new year we return to our circle of care.  Together we make our way through these troubled times with inspiration and practice.  We ground ourselves with earth stillness.  We feel and move with presence.  We let go of our waiting and greet each moment with awareness.  Again and again we return to our body wisdom to know what is true.  

We drew on our imagination and heart wisdom to reflect on what matters most to us.  We considered what we wish to bring forth in caring for what we hold most dear.  We explored what we might be ready to let go of in service of what we love.

We drew inspiration from Barry Lopez  who died on Christmas day.  Barry was a remarkable human being.  He wrote about his travels to wild places to learn what the land and its inhabitants have to teach us.  Nearly all his writings affirm how precious life on earth is and our responsibility to care for it. Barry Lopez was and still is a gift to the world. His recent book Horizon gives so much insight into his very humble awareness of how inextricably involved we are with what happens to nature and at-risk cultures. He spoke in defense of the life whose voice speaks in languages other than words. He was so very generous in spirit. From an NPR interview:

It’s so difficult to be a human being. There are so many reasons to give up. To retreat into cynicism or despair. I hate to see that and I want to do something that makes people feel safe and loved and capable.

We heard Jane Hirshfield’s poem On Optimism affirm the resilience we share with nature.

We considered the work of naturalist Robin Wall Kimmerer.  In her article, The Serviceberry:  An Economy of Abundance, she describes the profound power of the gift economy as evidenced in nature and traditional cultures.  She describes the natural impulses of gratitude and reciprocity and the wisdom of living in a ways in which we can  flourish together.

In her essay, Skywoman Falling, she describes the deep time of forests arising, dominating and then falling back to earth to renew and sustain new growth.  We can learn a lot from forest ways of inter-dependence, mutual support and a sacrifice to sustain new life.

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