Aligning with Grace

"Out there beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field, I will meet you there." ~ Rumi On this day of Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent, I take time to go church, get my ashes and reflect on my own wrongdoing, and ask for forgiveness for so many things. The readings and the homily for some reason, touch me very deeply, perhaps in light of all the recent events in my Anusara yoga community. Yesterday, my entry reflected my initial preparation as I enter this season... It pains me to see so much separation in my community, but I am also heartened to see the flames of unity sparking in the broad expanse of so much divisiveness... I told my students this morning, that this season is about Hope, because it coincides with spring, and Easter - which is symbolic of Resurrection. And spring, never fails to come - no matter what... And I realize, there cannot be any rising without dying... We cannot give birth to something new, without letting go of the old... Thi...

It is always a time to begin... It is always the time to begin again, and again, and again... I thought of this yesterday, as I sat and walked in meditation, praying very intensely for loved ones and friends, on a day, that was also one of great sadness, for a tremendous earthquake struck Japan and its people, sending dangerous tidal waves half a world away, and I thought to myself, God surely is hearing the magnitude of their cries... I thought of this again, last night, in a yoga practice led by Ross Rayburn , a wonderful Anusara Yoga certified teacher, as I, recovering from an injury, practiced in between the two women who have been my primary teachers for these last five years. I had just returned to the mat, a few days before, after a few weeks of being side-lined... I thought of this, as a dear friend laid her healing hands on me earlier this week, bestowing a healing that was made manifest, over the course of the next few days, most explicitly in dimensions unseen, rather than ...

There are gifts that are both providential and transformational - and arrive in our lives without expectation... Two gifts received - one yesterday, and the other today - are both meant for my Lenten journey... Yesterday, my spirit merged with a dear soul companion, as our meditations became intertwined while walking the labyrinth. My friend was led to bestow a healing on me, that was both physical and spiritual, and continues to dramatically unfold, gifting me with one miracle after another... This gift take me beyond, in ways that defy articulation... My walk and healing at the labyrinth was an experience of Oneness and merging with the Divine that now enables me to step into the next 40 days of the desert of my Lenten Journey more fully. It is a journey I dedicate to experiencing, embodying, and reflecting, everything in God, and God in everything... Today, I receive another providential gift from a wonderful student and friend. She brings the recording Beyond: Buddhist and Christia...