The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We engaged our imagination in a compassion meditation.  We imagined the land, culture and people of Ukraine.  We imagined the decision makers who hold the fate of so many in their hands.  We imagined the Russian people who are so closely related to their Ukrainian sisters and brothers. We reflected on the suffering and turmoil of the war.  We imagined sending  the physical, emotional and spiritual support needed to bring safety, healing, peace and renewal.  May they and all beings be relieved of suffering.

We practiced a compassion meditation adapted from Nomali Perera’s To Contact and Hearten Ukraine: Guided Tonglen Meditation.  Nomali works in coaching facilitation and teaches meditation.

Our guided reflection was inspired by meditation teacher and writer, Oren Jay Sofer.  He offers many ways to contemplate and cultivate compassion.  His teaching outlines the dimensions of compassion to include equanimity and wisdom.

We heard from To Begin With, the Sweet Grass by  Mary Oliver. This poem is from the collection,  Evidence: Poems.  Mary paints pictures in words that land in our heart, flesh and bones. They move us beyond the edges of our skin, to “become a child of the clouds,” to love ourselves and to love the world.

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The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  We explored the practice of equanimity as a way of accepting the human condition.  It involves feeling the feelings we’d rather turn away from.  We began by exploring the qualities of awareness and our ability to narrow and widen our view.  We practiced meeting challenging mind states with intimacy and also from the perspective of caring witness.

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.

We heard from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s book Living Buddha, Living Christ.  This book explores the shared spiritual values of Buddhism and Christianity.  Thich Nhat Hanh encouraged readers to appreciate their spiritual traditions while sharing inspiration to live with compassion.  He posed penetrating questions about the true meaning of peace.

We drew from Ruth King’s book, Mindful of Race. Ruth is a meditation teacher and racial justice activist.  Her Mindful of Race Training Program weaves mindfulness practice with an exploration of our racial conditioning, its impact, and our potential.  Her teaching helps make the direct experience of equanimity accessible at times when we need it most.

We heard William Yellow Robe’s poem, Breathe Deeper. William was an actor, author, director, educator, playwright, and poet.  He authored over 45 plays centering the Native American experience.  He was a citizen of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, until his death on July 19, 2021.  Breathe Deeper is a beautiful poem that invites readers to allow the breath to guide us into equanimity. Continue reading →

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.

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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.

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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 →

The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We explored Earth qualities of Stability, Patience and Inclusiveness.  We contemplated the meaning of refuge in our lives.  We considered practical ways we find balance and ease in our daily lives.  Looking more deeply, we explored what inner and outer resources enable us to live with awareness and loving kindness.

We drew inspiration from the spiritual teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh including his Ten Love Letters to the Earth. We heard the poem, Earth Touching, from his book Please Call Me By My True Names.  You can find some beautiful Earth Touching Practices on the Plum Village web-site.  We also heard Thay’s teaching one the spiritual meaning of Taking Refuge.

We drew from meditation instructor Beth Roth’s Tricycle Magazine article: Family Dharma: Taking Refuge (On the Wings of Angels).   This article includes a very personal and tender account of Beth’s family experience of refuge.

We heard Mary Oliver’s poem:  Mysteries, Yes. Mary Oliver is a poet whose life and work seem to affirm and explore the importance of a living a conscious life.  Her poems encourage us to cultivate a sense of connectedness, devotion, gratitude and wonder.  She lived her life taking refuge in Mother Earth. Continue reading →

The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning.  In today’s class we honored the passing of Buddhist meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.  His students affectionately refer to him as “Thay.” We explored his teachings on turning fear into love. These teaching center on mindfulness, loving kindness, deep listening and loving speech.  Thay’s poetic voice made these perennial wisdom teachings accessible to people all over the world.

We drew heavily on his book, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm.  He outlines four mantras or affirmations for transforming fear into love.  He outlines the steps for establishing concentration and bringing body and mind to focus as one.  Then, he offers mantras that affirm our emotional needs for connection and love.  His teachings reflects our inter-being:  we “inter-depend” on one another for our well being.

We heard Thay’s poem, Recommendation. Thay wrote his poem during the Vietnam war. His life and the lives of his students were at risk on a daily basis. Yet this poem encourages insight, compassion and forgiveness. You can read the poem and hear a beautiful musical rendition of it on the Plum Village web-site.

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The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. Today’s class focused on intergenerational healing.  We contemplated our place in the river of time:  who and where we came from.  We journeyed back to find a human or more than human ancestor who could offer us wise counsel.  We contemplated the ancestral places and inhabitants whose qualities we want to bring forth in our lives.  May we listen so that ” . . . we may learn all the ways to hold tender this land.”  The healing work we are willing to do today helps us to live with caring, compassion and love. These are the qualities we can give today and bequeath future generations.

We drew inspiration from Dr. Judith Rich’s article Healing the Wounds of Your Ancestors. Judith’s background is in Jungian and Archetypal psychology, also known as the “Psychology of the Soul”. Judith believes:  “If we break the chain of addiction, violence or other inherited, limiting beliefs, our children and their children and those who follow them are given access to possibilities not available to the ancestors. And thus, the entire lineage evolves.”  You can find more of her writings at her web-site.

We heard from bell hooks’ poetic book:  Appalachian Elegy.  bell was a life long social activist in the fields of class, feminism and antiracism.  She was a professor, a poet and described herself as a “Buddhist Christian.”  You can read about her fascinating life in The New York Times article: bell hooks, Pathbreaking Black Feminist, Dies at 69.  You can also find a series of her articles and interviews at Lion’s Roar magazine.  She is remembered saying:  “The practice of love is the most powerful antidote to the politics of domination.”

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The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We reflected on the seeds of possibility that we carry. We took an imaginary journey in which we planted and tended our “heart-seeds.” These are seeds that spring from caring, gratitude, hope or love. We imagined where the seed was planted and how it flourished and grew to nurture other lives. You don’t always know how your heart’s seeds will land. So we bow and try to keep growing.

We heard Pat Brisson’s poem, The Cleverness of Seeds.  Among her other writing pursuits, Pat “coordinates Project Storybook, a program at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, NJ, which allows incarcerated mothers to select, record and mail books and CDs to their children.”

We explored naturalist and educator, Yuval Ave’s article, Towards a Curriculum for ‘Belonging’.  You can find this beautifully illustrated article at Compassion Contagion’s web-site. Their work focuses on “the rise of ordinary active citizens across the country and their everyday acts of resilience and compassion.”  You can also follow Yuval’s wonderful photographs and writings on his Instagram Naturalist’s Column.

We ended with poet Rev. Margaret Anne Ernst’s Planting Instructions. You can find more of her writing at her blog, Planted More Deeply.  I really enjoyed her latest poem, How to Be a Good Citizen of the 21st Century – of course it involves planting seeds.

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The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/RiverTree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We came together to move toward our heart’s light. We listened to heart song. I heard notes of gratitude and love as we entered the New Year together.

We drew on essayist and spiritual teacher Jeff Foster’s encouragement to honor our heart’s wisdom. Jeff is an astrophysicist on a spiritual journey.  He describes his teaching as being about “unconditional friendliness and infinite kindness. It’s about making it safe, finally safe for all of those unloved, un-met, unseen waves of the ocean of yourself to crawl out of the depths, out of the darkness, out of the corners and holes and crevices of experience and come into the light, blinking and full of wonder.”

We heard poet Joy Harjo’s poem This Is My Heart.  We heard an excerpt from her poem:  For Calling the Spirit Back from Wandering the Earth in Its Human Feet. You can listen to an amazing musical rendition from her performance I Pray for My Enemies.

We also heard from Port Townsend poet, Kathryn Hunt.  Kathryn draws from her experience as  “a waitress, shipscaler, short-order cook, bookseller, printer, food bank coordinator, filmmaker, and freelance writer”.

In our circle we’ve been drawing on the inspiration of poets and writers and our own heart wisdom.  We’ve been grounding ourselves with Earth stillness.  We’ve been feeling and moving with presence.  With the turning solstice we move toward light.  What better time to reflect on what matters most?  What do we want to bring forward?  What are we ready to let go?

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