Growing Peace

Sewing seeds of peace. Horitcultural therapy project or meditation adventure? Maybe both.

I've never self-defined as an activist. My dharma is to love. I want to give back to others as I have been so fortunate. My dream is to sew seeds of peace. Peace internally- allowing others to drop the "unkind mind" and peace between people and between people and the environment, our mother earth. Through nature and meditation practices I believe both wellness and healing are possible. Our bodies and minds can be nutured by the natural world and at the same time we actively release our minds/free ourselves through yoga and meditation...there can be such beauty in these moments. It is as if a "reset" button has been pressed and we are renewed/refreshed.

more to come...

YogaTrails

YogaTrails began in conception in mid-winter 2009. In snowshoes hiking the foothills of the Appalachian trail in Bethel, Maine I took Veerhabadraasana at the summit of our hike. Sinking my snow shoes into the soft snow I breathed in the freshest mountain air, felt the heat of my body in contrast to the cool air and saw my breath circling out in front of me. The sun poured down on my face and the pines swayed in the wind. I felt stillness and peace. A hint of joy spread into a proud smile across my face. Sweat ran down my face touched my heart. The natural world is a wise teacher. A tree conveys both strength and beauty. The bird tells us to hold life with a light grasp. A stream reminds us that life is constantly shifting and changing. The gifts of nature reveal all of this for free. In the simplicity there is freedom.

My dharma is in this work. I am called to explore nature through yoga in which the body, mind, and spirit connect through the breath and the sensations available to us through nature.

Wrestling with the mind

My mind swirls. Heart skips a beat. How can one feel so lost and found at the same time? There is a garden of promise and a harvest bleeding love. It feels so tattered yet stapled with security. I feel the hole of my sweater sewn thinly exposed at the thread's edge. I breathe in the ragged air, kiss the frost and melt. Here I find the edge I've been searching for. It is here I return despite the twisting, turnings of the mind. It is here that I wrestle free from the mind's strong grasp of despair, delight, and determined judgements. I find space, I breathe, and settle my soul at the footstep of grace.

I believe that everyone can find grace. Anyone who breathes can connect to something greater. Even the tortured souls and the dark sides that fight for our acknowledgement can be put in place with a single breath. With practice, it is available to all of us.

Hiking for Heights

I received a fortune from a cookie. "There are many paths to the top of the mountain but only one view". Is it referencing enlightenment? happiness? an orgasmic experience? So it got me thinking what are we hiking for... Over the last year I studied yoga intensely (>500 hrs). The course was a journey of many discoveries. I learned that yoga speaks with more than one voice. I was thrown into meditation (brutal battles with the body and mind), took the path of an asthetic (renouncing many worldly goods, social interaction...almost became a hermit). Not quite. Then, I discovered the Buddha's "Middle Way" as well as tantric yoga that emphasizes full engagement in life as a human as a way of reaching enlightenment. I don't even know if I want to be enlightened, but it sounds kinda cool, right? I know I want real human connections. I know I want to love well, so maybe that view is love... Maybe it's happiness that comes to us from our connections and meaningful relationships.

I go out hiking and ponder the leaves, the restlessness beneath my feet. I soar to the clouds with my dreams and aspirations, I hug trees and point out the spider spinning a web. Nature allows such spaciousness. It creates the air and beckons the breath.

I think I'll take my yoga on a hike. Yogatrails the vision...taking this path to my view. Awake with awe and wonder.