Aligning with Grace

I awaken, two years to the day, when circumstances and a soul first lured me down to the river. I had no idea what journey I would be undertaking shortly...It would take me away from all that I had known and held securely. It would bid me to let go, and journey deeply into the unknown... It is a Saturday, and Halloween as well, and after reading the paper at my neighborhood Starbucks, filled with costumed folks of all sizes and hues, I head down to the river, just to make a brief visual connection, and acknowledge this Sacred Temple of Healing Waters, and all that it has been and provided to my heart... A confluence of feelings, memories and inspirations swirl within my soul, stirring so much within, just as a confluence of waves merge and dissipate - no one can tell where one begins and the other ends... I finish this river journal today. I know the river will continue to play a part in my spiritual life and healing, and that messages will come from time to time. I know I will continu...

The day begins differently than I had envisioned it to be. After a long wait in a doctor's lounge for routine blood work that somehow gets mixed up, I head out for my long overdue morning coffee! As I wait in line to place my order, I strike up a friendly conversation with a WW II veteran, who tells me of going back to visit Omaha Beach for both the 50th and 60th anniversary of D-Day. Having just visited the landing beaches in Normandy last month, I can sincerely thank him for his service... I head down to the river, and banter with a kayaker, and decide it is not too cold or windy, so I can make it in. I come home, and put on my boots for the first time since the early spring, and dress warmly... The kayaker asks me what "Aligning with Grace" means. I have a decal of my website logo, on Grace, my kayak. He is intrigued by what it means and by the fact that I teach yoga. I run into a dear friend and student walking her dog, and we share insights we've received, and c...

One of my favorite columnists to read is Sally Kempton. She has written a column for Yoga Journal for quite some time, and is a highly respected teacher of meditation and philosophy. She also has a newsletter titled, "Awakened Heart." I excerpt the following from her latest posting, which contains some very timely insights for many of us... "In the tantric traditions, there is a saying, 'That by which you fall is that by which you rise.' Like all deep koanic statements, this one demands to be understood on multiple levels. For me, right now, it's been a useful way of looking at the energetic paradox that so many of us are noticing in our public and private worlds. Here's the paradox. On the one hand, we see escalating crises...But on the other hand, we see escalating awakenings... It's no secret that we're in a time...when the energy of change is escalating. We all feel it, and many of us have own interpretive stories about it... I'd say the...

I enjoy a few days of quiet, stillness, of journeying inwardly and deeply, of writing, researching, and meditating, healing, and contemplation... Time flies, it goes so quickly, I sometimes wonder where it goes... I arise very early for an appointment to have craniosacral work with a very gifted therapist who never ceases to amaze me with her expertise, her knowledge, her resources, her compassion, and her stunning, crystal clear insights. We explore some issues and their roots deep inside my body and work very creatively with toning and chanting, until I feel an explosion of heat and electricity coursing through my body. The body's ability to respond and communicate with us is truly amazing, if we are willing to listen and do the work that is required. I leave with my homework assignments, and what I need to work on until my next appointment, and go out in search of coffee. I stop at McDonald's and encounter the beautiful middle aged woman from a Middle Eastern country, who on...

After making an early morning airport run, I grabbed a cup of coffee and went down to the river on this early Saturday morning. It was interesting to observe that there was a whole array of parked cars with people drinking coffee and reading newspapers in them. Must be a weekend routine for some! There also seemed to be a regular crowd that comes to hang out and walk their dogs - they bantered back and forth about them - catching up on the events and details of the week... I watched all of this with some amount of dispassion as I sipped coffee, and thought of a child - now growing into a young woman - whose birthday it is today. I sent her birthday wishes - and blessings of love - in a shower of grace - and promised to offer my meditations for her later today... I walked about surveying the river from its banks for a while, feeling totally open ended in my day and coming week, and was drawn in by thoughts I had on passages I read by Catherine de Hueck Doherty before I went to sleep la...

So many activities and tasks needing my attention during this day, but I rebel, and despite the cold and damp weather and coming rain, I make my way down to the river with Grace, my kayak, in tow... No one is at at the park - no one is even fishing today. I revel in the realization that I have the river all to myself, and when I arrive, the water is mostly still, and the colors on the other side of the river gently beckon... I push off, and paddle towards the river banks on the other side, where I rarely go. I disturb a blue heron as I approach the shore, and he flies off, but not before expressing some irritation... It is breathtaking on this side - quiet - except for the hum of insects, all joining seamlessly in their sacred mantra. I am drawn to the deep reds and burgundies and hints of vermillion that have been largely absent this year, along the river. Ash and birch trees seem to predominate around this area... I start to feel the cold as the wind begins to pick up and stir the wa...

It is a brilliant day, and I begin it by teaching my beautiful garden of yoginis who rise the the occasion of challenging backbends with grace and enthusiasm. I finish class and dash out to the river. The sky is a brilliant blue with hardly a cloud in it, and the temperatures have climbed enough for me to put on a tee shirt and crocks. I arrive at the boat launch and take in the broad expanse and the stillness of the waters. The trees on the river banks are perfectly reflected on its surface, for the first time, in almost a year. A few minutes later, Grace and I are paddling up the river... I can see all the way to the bottom - rich details of the underlying terrain revealing itself. It has been hidden from me since about this time last fall. I paddle upstream and find one lone heron who seems totally unmoved and undisturbed by my presence. I pass him again when I float downstream and he seems not have to have moved one iota from his meditative stance... It is largely quiet on the rive...