The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We explored being as a field of awareness.  The life affirming qualities we can cultivate from the field are rooted in caring.  We can realize caring in the practice of accompaniment – sharing our fate.  Dr. Paul Farmer made this practice a foundational strategy for bringing health services to people and places in most need.   We worked with “seed” questions like “What does it mean to accompany or be accompanied on life’s journey?”

Today’s practice was informed by Ajahn Sucitto’s book, Parami, Ways to Cross Life’s Floods. The book outlines ten life affirming practices of:  Generosity, Morality, Renunciation, Discernment, Energy, Patience, Truthfulness, Resolve, Kindness, Equanimity.  This wonderful book is offered freely for download at the link above.

We reflected on what it means to be Treading the Path with Care as informed by Winton Higgins  Tricycle magazine article.  Winton traces the thread of care woven through the Buddha’s historic teachings.  He asserts that there can be no mindfulness without caring.

We heard from An Anarchist Quaker’s Prayer to Soothe Anxiety by Ayu Sutriasa.   Ayu is Digital Editor of Seattle’s YES! Magazine.  Ayu invites us to become aware of what we are carrying and set it down for a while.  She reminds us we are worthy just because we are.

We drew on Dr. Paul Farmer’s 2011 Harvard Kennedy School commencement address.  Dr. Farmer spoke about accompaniment.  He spoke of accompaniment as “sharing someone’s fate for a while.”   He cofounded Partner’s in Health which delivers health services to the poorest people on earth.   You can learn more about Dr. Paul and Partners in Health by viewing the documentary, Bending the Arc.  You can learn more about Dr. Paul’s early years in Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains.  You can learn a lot more about the battle against structural inequalities that present obstacles to health care as a human right by reading Dr. Paul’s last book: Fevers, Feuds and Diamonds.

We ended with poet Muriel Rukeyser’s Elegy in Joy. Her work is inspired by her concern for human rights issues.  Her work spoke to gender, class and racial inequalities.  This poem speaks to “the love that gives us ourselves.”  We are encouraged to nourish beginnings – beginnings contained in a seed, a seed that is blessed.

Continue reading →

The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  Today we explored our heart wisdom: the inner light of the heart which shines with compassion.  We can attune to this inner wisdom through meditation and mindful movement.  We shine “heart light” though deep listening,  gazing with presence, and communicating with empathy.  We explored our body’s communication and relaxation pathways enlivened by the vagus nerve.  We focused on the relationship between our hearts and faces. These are the areas where we take in the world and reveal ourselves to the world. 

We explored movement and sound practices that were inspired by Stephen Porges‘ Polyvagal Theory.   The class was also informed by Deb Dana’s work in the therapeutic application of the theory – centering on self-care, compassion and connection.   I am very grateful for her book:  The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy.

Se drew inspiration from poet John O’Donohue’s prose:  There is a Quiet Light.  The poem is from the book To Bless the Space Between Us.

We drew from therapist and writer John Prendergast’s article, The 5 Keys to Trusting Your Heart and Acting From a Place of Inner Wisdom.

We ended with poet and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem:  For Warmth.

Continue reading →

The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We explored the practice of compassionate self reflection.  In slowing down, meeting what is true with kindness, we can learn about ourselves and others. Gving and receiving kindness can invite safety and trust.  In our world of relationship, so much more is possible when we feel safe.     

We drew inspiration from Cedric Jamet’s collective poem.  He describes the process of collective poetry making in his essay:  Poems from Me to We: Harvesting Humanness.

We read excerpts from Mark Nepo’s book, More Together than Alone.  Mark is a poet, teacher and storyteller.  His inspirational work speaks to our human spirit.  His writing is compassionate, encouraging and inspirational.

We heard Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s poem Belonging.  Rosemerry is also a poet, teacher and storyteller.  She’s been writing a poem a day since 2006. She’s shared her work and encouraged others to develop their own creativity in many places including:  recovery programs, mindfulness retreats and hospice settings. Continue reading →