The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  Today felt our appreciation for the simplest most vital things:  “the quiet loyalty” of our breath.  Nature is efficient.  Our breath is given to us by Earth and Oceans.  We are literally breathing the out breath of plants and phytoplankton.  We considered how we, too, might emulate this amazing use of precious resources.

We planted questions like seeds in our hearts:  How can we align ourselves with Earth Wisdom?

Our practice was informed by the fifth principle and practice of Rhonda Fabian’s article, Engaged Ecology: Seven Practices to Restore Our Harmony with Nature. The fifth principle: Nature is efficient. The fifth practice is is limiting consumption and waste.

We drew inspiration from poet philosopher John O’Donohue.  His Morning Offering acknowledges the gifts we are so freely given:  sunrise, time, beauty and consciousness.  He encourages us to live the lives we would love.

Daniel Christian Wahl’s Kosmos Essay, Indigenous to Life, speaks of aligning ourselves with Earth Wisdom.  His excellent essay asks vital questions:  What if we re-perceived who we are and identified more with life as a planetary process of inter-being? What if we aimed for being in right relationship to self, community and life?

What if we focused on our individual and collective potential of being and becoming healing and nurturing expressions of place?

We ended with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s affirmation of our breath and our inter-being.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We contemplated our younger selves.  Experienced receiving life.  Cherished the Life we hold in our hands and our hearts. Nature regenerates and nurtures new life.
It’s up to us to nurture human and more than human life.

We can teach our children appreciation, bonding and deep caring for the more than human world.

Our practice was informed by the fourth principle and practice of Rhonda Fabian’s article, Engaged Ecology: Seven Practices to Restore Our Harmony with Nature. The fourth principle: Nature regenerates and nurtures new life. The fourth practice is cherishing and nurturing the young.

We heard  Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem, Please Call Me by My True Names.  Thay recounts the waves of life arriving again and again into our inter-being.  His word portraits convey the joy and sorrow of our human condition.

We also drew from Darcia Narvaez’ Kosmos Journal essay, Reconnecting Children to Nature.  This excellent essay asks which culture we want to build:  “cooperative companionship or competitive detachment.”  Darcia is founder of Evolved Nest which offers scientific support and other resources for creating a culture of global flourishing.  This process starts with the way we nurture our children and the natural world around us.

We ended with poet Mary Oliver’s poem Sleeping in the Forest at Night.  Mary describes her experience of “nestedness” while sleeping on the forest floor.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  Today we explored the experience of inter-being.  The magic and miracle of our senses develop in relationship to the world around us.  In slowing down our practice enables us to deeply appreciate this truth and our kinship with all life.  I am so deeply grateful.  The sharing after class affirmed the beauty of our inter-being.

Our practice was informed by the third principle and practice of Rhonda Fabian’s article, Engaged Ecology: Seven Practices to Restore Our Harmony with Nature. The third principle:  Nature expresses innate potential. The third practice is developing empathy for all forms of life.

We drew inspiration from Kim Stafford’s poem, All My Relations.  Kim Stafford is author of many books of poetry and prose.  He was named Oregon’s poet laureate in 2018. He “teaches and travels to raise the human spirit.”

We heard from eco-philosopher David Abram’s book, Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World,  David’s writings remind us that our very development depends on our relations with human and more than human life.  He urges us to reflect on the impact we have on the world and to care for all that we can.  David is Creative Director of the Alliance for Wild Ethics.  His work “engages the ecological depths of the imagination, exploring the ways in which sensory perception, poetics, and wonder inform the relation between the human body and the breathing earth.”

We ended with Daniel Landinsky’s translation of Sufi poet, Hafiz’ poem, Today.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We explored our willingness to change and learn.  We considered our inclination to learn about the natural world.  We imagined how Earth bears the weight of our activities and choices.  We considered our openness and ability to listen.  We reflected on how we are changed by what we hear and see.

Our practice was informed by the second principle and practice of Rhonda Fabian’s article, Engaged Ecology: Seven Practices to Restore Our Harmony with Nature.  The second principle: Nature adapts and self regulates.  The second practice is being open to learning and change.  In her editorial essay, Our Collective Journey, Rhonda laments the loss of migratory birds.  She affirms our inter-relatedness and encourages us to face the difficult truths of climate change.

We were inspired by Kathleen Raine’s poem:  Change. In Change, Kathleen gives voice to the sun and the moon and calls on us to care for the unknown and the unborn.

Poet philosopher, John O’Donohue’s essay, Rediscovering the Art of Reverence, describes the transformational possibilities of approaching our encounters with reverence.  In bringing our complete presence to who and what we meet we experience our own heart’s light.

We ended with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem, Breathing.  Thay evokes the qualities of flowers, mountains, water and space to express our inter-being with the natural world. Continue reading →

The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  The fires, floods and the beings in their paths have been heavy in my heart this week.  I am deeply grateful for the circles of caring friends who are willing to open their hearts and minds in these difficult times.

Our practice was informed by Rhonda Fabian’s article, Engaged Ecology: Seven Practices to Restore Our Harmony with Nature.  Rhonda is Editor of Kosmos, a journal for transformation.  She is an ordained student in the Order of Inter-being, an international Buddhist community founded by her teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. Rhonda’s article synthesizes the work of her teacher, Thay, and several Deep Ecology thought leaders. The article is well worth reading I hope to return to her principles and practices in future classes.

We also heard Powow River Poet, Rhina Espaillat’s poem Guidelines. “The Powow River Poets began in Newburyport in the early 1990s as a company of like-minded poets brought together by founder Rhina P. Espaillat. The group derives its name from a local tributary of the Merrimack River.”  Rhina’s Guidelines urge us to love who and what we can while we still have time.

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