|
Point of View
Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless
Christmas dinner's sad and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view
Sunday dinner isn't sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the viewpoint
Of a chicken or a duck
Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too
Till I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner's point of view
(by Shel Siverstein)
In this issue:
*Focus: Giving Thanks: Compassion in Action
*Practices to support the focus
*Upcoming Events:
Free YourSelf with Jivamukti Yoga Sunday 11/14
Chakra-Tuning Holiday Balance 12/5
Soma Winter Retreat with Jennifer Finn 1/7-1/9
Yoga of Nutrition Course begins January 2011
Winter Sadhana Retreat Feb 17-20 (tentative) 2011
Spring Sadhana Retreat May 12-15 2011
Blessings to you all,
November is here, signaling our movement into the darkest days ahead. For the ancient Celts, the new year began on November 1st with Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest. The ancient calendars were aligned with the phases of the moon, the force that governs our intuitive, subconscious, instinctive, and reflective worlds. Though the Gregorian/Western calendar follows the cycles of the sun, we are nevertheless powerfully affected by the inner lunar rhythms. Our two-eyed vision tells us the moon is ever-changing, impermanent and tenuous; but our third eye knows the moon is itself constant--it is the reflection of the light that shifts. Our inner world may appear to fluctuate similarly as emotions and feelings rise to the surface and reflect aspects of our deeper self understanding.
The Self is always there…how well we perceive it depends largely on our willingness to peer into the darkness. And that, my friends, is what November is all about.
November is the month we draw inward and prepare for the dark half of the year--the season where daylight gives way to the deep contemplation of our moon nature. Of our winter nature. Sitting with oneself in stillness and quiet contemplation fosters an intimacy with all we have received--and all we have allowed to pass. In our willingness to go ever deeper inside, we gain by letting go. Not everything we feel or encounter is pretty or nice…but we can cultivate in ourselves a faith that what is there has served us, and for that we can be grateful.
As the outside world grows darker and colder, we turn inward and seek that steady light within. Sometimes it's a struggle--we may feel lethargic, depressed, worried, or anxious. We may suffer from the disease of separateness, feeing alone and hungry to be filled or made whole.
It is here, in the darkest days, when we feel we have the least to spare or give or risk, we are illuminated from deep within. By surrendering the smallness, the meanness, the pettiness, and the fear, we find the grace that leads us home.
This is the season we give thanks for the abundance of all we have enjoyed and reaped these past many moons. We celebrate, we feast, and we find opportunities to come together for many holy days. It is no coincidence that some of our most festive and sacred traditions fall in the dead of winter. Like the ethereal full moon, our inner lives bloom brightly in the night.
Will Tuttle writes, "Joy, love, and abundance are always available to us and will manifest in our lives to the degree that we understand that they are given to us as we give them to others." In order for us to experience true freedom from our fear, pain, and doubt, we must be willing to offer freedom to all others--in whatever form they may appear before us. Because Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of abidance and indulgence, it is a powerful day to bring greater awareness to the unconscious and inner world of what and how and whom we consume.
As you move toward the darkness this winter, remember the light within. How easily we forget the interconnectedness of all beings. Yoga is the remedy for the feeling of separation, the illusion (maya) that we are alone in the darkness. That sense of being disconnected and alone breeds a sense of separation from the actions and experiences of others, and from the actions and experiences of the universe. So, just as we harvest and store the grounding root vegetables of autumn to sustain us through the dark months, we must also support and nourish the roots that connect us more deeply to ourselves, to one another, and to all other beings. May our thoughts, words, and actions bring joy and freedom to all.
Practices to support the focus:
Meditation: Sit, be still, focus on your breath. In the breath we find our connection--immediate and direct--with the source of all life. Through breath practice and meditation we cultivate a sense of connectedness, and the realization of yoga is possible. Commit to sitting with discomfort, commit to sitting with yourself and the earth and all Earthlings, allowing feelings of doubt, anxiety, and restlessness to rise and fall. Quiet the ego-chatter by remaining connected to your breath, your divinity. Blessings and gratitude meditation: A powerful balm for the darkest days, visualize beings from your life (those you love, those you like, those with whom you struggle, those who have passed away...those you have hurt, those whose lives you consume, and those you think of as "other") one after another in a long line before you. With each breath, gaze into their eyes past difference and separation, and exhale your blessings and gratitude. Let this profound meditation cultivate in your ENTIRE being an experience of gratitude and abundance, fearlessness and compassion.
Asana: Begin each asana practice by offering it up to someone who does not enjoy the freedom or abundance you have. Make your asana--each and every breath, each and every transition--a moving prayer, wherein you embody the experience of "other" and make of yourself an offering. Standing balances and twists are sublime ways to connect to the earth and all that sustains you, and to purify yourself from attaching to old habits (including diet) and behaviors that have harmed others.
Vegetarianism: Nourish yourself this month by minimizing your participation in the exploitation and industrialized violence inflicted upon the bodies of non-human animals. Commit to eating vegetarian one meal per day or one day per week or one week per month...educate yourself on the conditions and experiences of those billions of fellow Earthlings whose bodies are not free. Release yourself from guilt, and instead seek common ground--rejoice in even the smallest of shifts toward peace.
Service: Give of your time, your resources, and your passion--give to those who have so little. From our own community to the global victims of natural catastrophe, war, and disease. Donate a coat, sign up for volunteer work, or just take the time to lend an ear to someone who is hurting. Peace begins with us, with each thought word and action in our own lives. Event the smallest act matters to the one who receives your kindness. For more information on local opportunities, look into careandshare.org, hsppr.org (humane society), or Marian House Soup Kitchen 475-7314. Look into farm animal sanctuaries, and get to know these beautiful beings up close and personal. Adopt a turkey and host a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal of peace and compassion.
 Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project has rescued more than 1,000 turkeys, placed hundreds more into loving homes, and encouraged millions of people to consider a new tradition that leaves turkeys off their holiday dinner tables. But this is the first time we have ever had a matching offer like this one. With your help, twice as many turkeys will be adopted this year.
If you’ve already sponsored a turkey, thank you so much! Your generous support is already helping farm animals in need. If you would like to adopt additional turkeys as holiday gifts for family or friends, please do so by Thanksgiving Day, November 25, to have Ady match your sponsorship. Open your heart to a turkey today and another will be adopted!
Read more!
There are some really wonderful things on the horizon, and I so look forward to seeing you at any point. Here are a few upcoming events to watch for, and please remember that you can get details and register for most of the scheduled events online at www.rootdownandgrow.com.
Sunday, November 14, 1:00-4:00 PM
Free YourSelf with Jivamukti Yoga
Discover this inspiring and powerful method in a 3-hour workshop that includes an introduction to the tenets, teachings, and transformative asana of my beloved lineage.
Hosted by Cambio Yoga Studio 3326 Austin Bluffs Pkwy Colorado Springs, CO
Register online at cambioyoga.com or by calling 719.291.1798
$35/person
Sunday, December 5, 1:00-4:00 PM
TreeTribe Sessions
Holiday Chakra Tuning: Balance, Gratitude, and Grace!
Delve into the powerful chakra-tuning sequence that will awaken your full potential to navigate the holidays with true gratitude and grace.
At the beautiful Vidya Retreat Center, Larkspur (www.vidyaretreats.com)
$30 pre-register before Nov 30; $35 after Nov 30
Register online at www.rootdownandgrow.com
The Yoga of Nutrition: Nourishing the Whole Yogi
The Ethics, Art, and Practice of Eating to Embody Yoga
Offered in 8 modules, this course will examine diet as a sacred and profoundly powerful practice for the yogi. Emphasizing vegetarianism and self inquiry (without judgment!), we will delve into the ethical tenets of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, consider the principles of integrative nutrition, cultivate a more intimate and nourishing relationship to what feeds us individually as well as a community, discover unique ways to put teachings into action, and focus on embodying peace in thought, word, and action. Through lecture, readings, discussions, meditations, chanting, asana, guest speakers, films, and shared meals (potluck), we will seek to deepen our understanding of yoga as liberation.
Classes begin January 2011! Final schedule will be posted soon, registration will be available online
$150 for all 8 sessions
$30 per class for individual module registration
Upcoming Women of the Woods Series:
Root Down and Grow: The Art of Balance (January)
Discover the art of balance as the key to Self confidence and finding your way home in this in-depth exploration of the roots of asana, pranayama, meditation, nutrition, and more. Learn to cultivate a sense of security and steadiness by yoking the dynamic powers of balancing postures and practices.
January 7th to 9th, 2011
Soma Winter Retreat: Liberate the Love Within You.
Dancing with the Darkness, Stepping into the Light
A 3-day retreat with Jenny Finn and Soma
www.somamovement.org
www.somamovement.org/pdfs/winter_retreat_flyer.pdf
MARK YOUR CALENDAR:
Winter Sadhana: Beyond the Boundary and Into Wholeness
Feb 2011 (most likely 17-20, final dates TBD by Nov 30)
A 4-day co-ed winter retreat of remembering the whole Self as a member of a tribe
Led by Jessica and Alessandro Gozzi
Spring Retreat
May 12-15 2011
Blessings,
Jessica
|
Newsletter 
