Aligning with Grace

Years ago, the book The Untethered Soul , by Michael A. Singer was making the rounds. Everyone I knew in the yoga world was either reading it or quoting it. Yesterday, as I was journaling and reflecting on a manuscript a friend had sent me for review, I had this image of my life and my soul as coming unglued or becoming untethered from its source and its essence.  This past year has been characterized by challenges and difficulties on so many fronts. Personally, the year was punctuated by the loss of several family members and friends, and I reflected on the fragility of life during my Thanksgiving meal prayer. I recalled a year marked by sadness but also by joy. In the end, I chose to focus on the many blessings received throughout the course of the year, thus laying the foundation for even more blessings in the coming year. When we feel untethered it is a reminder that we are simply ungrounded. Events on the political spectrum and our personal lives were just catalysts...

Every year on my birthday there are several rituals and practices I like to do. Over the years, these rituals have changed somewhat. For a number of years I did a yoga Sun Salutation practice for each year of my life, reflecting on the major events of each one. I was always amazed by the long forgotten memories that would spontaneously arise! Yesterday, I did a meditation reflecting on the events of the past year, month by month. It was a meditation taught to me by a friend over a decade ago. The past year had indeed been heavy, with many sad events occurring, but they were balanced with occasions to celebrate as well. I reflected on significant deaths that occurred in my family - including those of friends not much older than I am. But in the early morning, I went down to the river to do a number of practices... Some years it has rained on my birthday. This is a blessing and considered auspicious in Eastern cultures.  Yesterday it was cold, wet, and a little bit f...

"We clasp the hands of those who go before us." ~ Wendell Berry I am somewhat jolted out of my dream state, that is both vivid and lucid - having been visited by two wise beings that have passed on - one over a half century ago and a relative, and the other, a nun I worked with, thirty-some years ago. I feel their presence - their eyes fixed upon me. It all seems so real, and then I am awake. In response I am moved to make a special post on social media: "Today, let us create a circle of healing energy. Receive if needed, Put some into the circle - If you can give. Let's Light up the world!" I sit quietly in church, reflecting on my dream, receiving many insights about my visitation at this moment in time, and am moved profoundly. I also send healing energy to my healing circle, filling it up for all those who may need of it. The chosen readings of the day stun me, and I see the connection between my dream and the messages received, an...

I walk briskly on this crisp fall morning, with leaves falling all about and with many thoughts in my head and heart as well, and I am surprised to be pointed in a different direction today. I arrive at a beautiful pond, and sit at the bench all by myself, with only mallard ducks and geese in the water to accompany me... It is easy, at a tumultuous time like this to get caught up in all the drama. And I receive a message for that as I sit quietly in the stillness and silence, punctuated only by an occasional flapping of wings... "Shine your Light! And let go of the drama!" I feel saddened by how empty everything feels - and how small my world is becoming, and another message is given for that as well... "You are never alone! You are supported in ways Seen and Unseen, close to you as your very own heart! Place your hands over your heart. Feel the warmth that arises. The comfort. The LOVE! Your angels and guides and loved ones, passed on, ...

I am moving... Not physically. At least not yet. But I AM moving and flowing - from doing to being... It is part of letting go on a bigger scale - of all the things I once thought defined me... Of all the things that once brought me joy, but no longer do... On my brisk fall walk this morning, I realized, that I am moving from doing to being... I am letting go of one - and becoming the other. I am moving and flowing from doing INTO being... I no longer want schedules, or appointments tying me down... I let go of "shoulds" and "having to" with great abandon, and supplant them instead, with "I want to." This presupposes living in the moment... I go through my house, and find new homes for articles that will still bring joy and be of use to friends who are educators and at the forefront of shaping a new generation... I give thoughtful consideration to what I have, and to whom it may still be of use... Yes, I let go... Of collections and w...

Recently, a friend suggested placing my intentions in a special container - a prayer box, or jar, or whatever I might find suitable. It is a practice that I've turned to time and time again, but it seemed to once more draw me, in this moment, in our world, where there is so much need on so many levels. I had a prayer jar I have used in the past, but wanted something different, so I re-appropriated a small box with dancing Sufis, or "Rumis," as I like to think of them, which I had gotten in Istanbul. I wrote my intentions, and put them into this box and lit a candle, and sat down to meditate. I have done this many times before. But this time, I added the practice of surrendering my intentions. This does not come easily to me. Yes, like many, I ask for things often. But I also seem to have a roadmap for how things should go - how they should be solved. The notion of asking and surrendering, and trusting that all would be resolved in its own time, in the best possi...

This time of year is often referred to as the High Holy Days by my Jewish sisters and brothers. Though I am not Jewish, I love many of the traditions and rituals of this season, especially those dealing with atonement, reconciliation, and forgiveness. It reminds me of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which I grew up with in my own tradition. Recently, I was reminded in a reading, that the Talmud calls for the expression and offering of no less than 100 blessings a day! So many traditional Jewish prayers are in fact blessings of one sort or another. To offer 100 prayers in a day may seem daunting. But if we considered blessing everything that we laid our eyes on during the course of our day, it might become easier than we thought possible... Bless every person you come across in a day. Take it one step further, and bless every sentient creature and being. Bless the bees for their function and how they contribute to the pollination of our food. Ble...