Aligning with Grace

I am drawn to go to the river on this windy, and beautiful fall morning... Several years ago, I began so many mornings like this, going down to the river, with my kayak in tow, which I had aptly named "Grace," and into the waters we would go, to pray, to meditate, and commune with nature... I am not able to do this at the moment, for I lack a vehicle in which I can haul my kayak, and so today, I simply sit on a bench, looking out at the broad expanse of the river in front of me, and begin to do Metta practice for many in need. I give thanks and express gratitude for so many things in my life, chanting the Reiki precepts slowly, and with great care, mindfulness, and devotion, as if lost in a reverie not of this world... As I lose myself deeply in these spiritual practices, I feel buoyed by the Divine Presence surrounding me - and tossed about like a leaf in the wind and grace of God's love... I dance joyfully, following its gentle lead and rhythm... I marvel at t...

"Everything has its wonders, even the darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state  I may be in, therein to be content." ~ Helen Keller It rained a veritable deluge this week, and I thought of it as Mother Nature cleansing everything to usher in the month of May and the season of spring in a much more emphatic way. For a couple of days it was dark, and I took a day of total silence during one of them - not speaking or listening to music, or the TV - just to the falling rain as it landed softly and more deliberately at times, on a number of different surfaces, occasionally punctuated by a bird chirping, here or there. For most of that silent day, the rain was of the deep, soaking variety. I also chose to turn off the computer and phone, so that I could enter deeply into the day, without anything pulling me out of it. It is amazing how much of your day you reclaim when you are simply not "online" or "available." Instead, I moved slowly a...

On Monday we celebrated "Earth Day," which very appropriately came in the midst of a spring bursting with colors and teeming with rebirth. I started the morning by going down to the river to say my morning prayers and take in the beauty of leaves just starting to unfurl, on a very cool and crisp day before teaching my yoga class. I focused on "Earth Day" by reading a letter attributed to Chief Seattle. There is some controversy over whether he actually authored these words in 1854 as they are written - but whether or not he did - his letter captures the essence of the beauty of celebrating the environment, our inherent oneness with everything in creation, and the importance of being good stewards of its gifts. Here is a link to the speech: http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/seattle.htm The last few weeks have been nothing short of magnificent as various trees and flowers come into full bloom. This week, red bud trees and dogwoods are making their presence known ev...

The river is totally calm, and the sky and the trees on the other side of the riverbank are clearly reflected in the waters... Every once in a while a bass jumps out of the river and splashes about with such joy, it seems as if it is dancing! There are weeks at a time I come down to this river and never see one at all, but today, they are very active, and every few minutes another one hurls itself heaven-ward, sending out undulating concentric ripples into the stillness and the silence... The bass are the only ones seeming to enjoy the river this morning, and myself of course. I have come to do my Loving-kindness meditations, and most especially pray for a soul facing her fifth surgery in recent years, with one more to go... The prayers tumble out of me, as if they are being prayed through me, only to be punctuated by the occasional splash of the fish. One of them jumps several feet above the water with its mouth very wide open, momentarily suspended in mid-air, as if it has some...