The Yogabliss, Two Rivers/River Tree Yoga on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. I am so grateful for the many circles of practice that are working to keep their hearts and minds open. We’ve migrated our circles to this cyber space which – thankfully – allows us to stay connected and continue sharing our lives. In moments of feeling overwhelmed by the many perils we are facing these connections keep me going. Thank you.
We began our practice with a beautiful poem, School Prayer, given to us by by naturalist and writer Diane Ackerman. Diane crafted this poem – this prayer – in the hopes that children are able to “develop a spiritual nature, and become concerned with higher values.” This poem has the quality of an incantation. The Latin word incantare, means “enchant.” In School Prayer, there is magic in the words. It’s an invitation to honor and pledge to protect life.
We drew inspiration about this season of change from author and dream worker Toko-pa Turner. Toko-pa’s work explores our relationship to our dream time, our ancestors and all our more than human relations.
Several years ago meditation teacher and writer, Tara Brach, gave a beautiful talk in which she used the metaphor of the Darkness of the Womb to describe how new life might be growing in the dark. I was deeply moved by Tara’s insights. I drew on her talk to craft a series of reflections on how we are relating to each other in the tumultuous days leading up to the election. Tara offers a four step process of working with difficult emotions and divisive thoughts that naturally arise in conflict. You can find Tara’s full discourse and guided meditation at her web-site.