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Waiting for the Inhale - and, it's upon us...

21/12/2014

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this is how I like to think about it -

there is a sweet solar yearly cycle that happens which many cultures of many realms choose to celebrate;
I like to relate the natural external cycles to our own natural internal cycles.


solstice - solstice from the Latin 'to stand still' (sol = sun + sistire = stand still: think Sthira, for steadiness). indeed, for this period of the year, as the sun hits its lowest point on our axis tilt, the nights extend longer and longer, until they even seem 'to stand still'. here, we may not notice it as much, but the more North you go, the more dramatic it is. 

we've got these great solar holidays; they remain down through the ages and cultures and continue to frame and time many of our modern observances. it's cyclical, and it speaks to our energetics - personal and cultural. I liken the solar holidays (the major four occurrences; solstices and equinoxes) to the passing of a full cycle of breath for the planet. just as we move energetically through the cycles of our breathing, I believe that we collectively take an energetic, yearly, solar breath.

when the Earth is moving from the Winter Solstice - Alban Arthan (the shortest and darkest day of the year) through the Spring Equinox - Alban Eilir and then arrives at the Summer Solstice - Alban Hefin (the longest and lightest day of the year), this is akin to the inhale.

as the year then recedes back from that fullness through the dwindling, we come to the Fall Equinox - Alban Elfed and then back to the deepest of the dark  - where we stand today, Winter Solstice - Alban Arthan: this is the depth of the exhale, completely empty.


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starting from full recession and empty, and growing incrementally to complete presence and fullness, the Summer Solstice (standing still) acts as the momentary retention at fullness. in complement, the fullness then drawing inward, receding and rooting, grounding and stilling, the Winter Solstice (standing steady) acts as the suspension at the very base of the exhale.

after three of these days, the orbit of the sun will begin to lengthen again in this hemisphere, the nights will grow shorter and shorter. this is the beginning of the inhale process; the energetic is quite different, although the change predicating the shift is incremental and subtle.

using this metaphor and then creating ritual and observance has been instructive for me - in order to understand the seasonal shifts and changes, in order to create synergy between myself as living being and cosmos as living entity, and in order to mark time and create celebrations. 


enjoy, even though we are at the most inward and self-reflective of the energies, what lies before is is the swelling of our greatest potential and most exquisite fullness in those coming days.

discern, reflect and consider, and then engage in the process of making your life and your experience better, more present and in service to more than your self. this is a Holy Day, so bring devotion to your motion and move like you mean it!!


and, give thanks and praise!!

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The Rain, the Dark, the Hearth...

17/12/2014

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Rain, rain, rain;
it’s been raining every couple of days for days...

Some rumbling rain, dripping wet coming in freshets and then other times just hanging-in-the-air rain; but I’m not going to complain.


give us our brief rainy season, we take it and drink deeply and greedily.
I love it – feels real, and it feels... to me, rain is one of the most sensual of the 'weathers', if I can call them such. how often do you get to feel the subtle unspoken energy of sky, to see the lightning and to literally feel the thunder as it crashes; and to feel the changing nature of each drop, from most insistent to least detectable?

rain is a sweet teacher; she comes when she is needed, even if not wanted. she makes things clean, and afterwards leaves even more clarity in her wake. she provides threshold – deep difference between what was and what will be, and creates presence by demanding our full attention in her tricks and wiles. and, she is the linking, the union, and the yuj between that which is material, and that which is ethereal.


Mother Earth, open and accepting; Father sky, vast and expressive – and the rain joins the two in a sweet embrace, a dance of energy, and a cleansing of that which will no longer serve, and  the nourishment and  nurturing of new potentiality.

and in this dwindling daylight season, the lengthening of night and the drawing of the chill, we tend to draw in any way; to the hearth, to the home, to the beloved ones, to our friends. in the glow of that fire, as we stave off the chill and the wet, we can dream of the days to come, and see what these seasons bring.

so, let it rain… and give thanks and praise.

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One Way or Another - Anger or Love?

10/12/2014

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No matter how we find ourselves: in confrontation, in the moment, when we are really feeling it - we have just one of two choices. and, more often than not, without even recognizing it, we’re making one or the other in every moment…

I suggest that we can expand into love, into the challenge, into the opportunity, into the grace and limitlessness. or, we can contract into fear, into isolation, into hatred, into the separation and the other, into the limit.

it is the trajectory of our lives and our birthright to grow, to expand, to define and refine; often the choices we make create ripples we may never even be aware of. at the best of times, we are at our best, our highest self; at the worst, often we struggle to rise above our simple base nature. this is the challenge, this is the moment to own.

our practices, our observances, our processes - and our friends... if we allow ourselves to receive it, there is wisdom, surrender and supplication. these show us that the soft always overcomes the hard – the roundest drop of softest water will wear away the toughest block of granite, given its three warriors: time, patience and perseverance.

when we harden, when we stiffen and draw back, we feel the contraction and become defensive, closed, guarded… then, can we recognize this and move ourselves outward into connectivity, empathy, compassion, consideration or simply acceptance of what is?

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perhaps this is the greatest yoga we can challenge ourselves with –
I suggest it is not a 30-day handstand challenge, not a 'stopdropandyoga', not an instagram and how many hits or followers or likes...

maybe not astavakrasana, not a 90-day meditation, but rather, to love
– fully, in the face of hate, in the times where it seems impossible, ‘til it hurts, when it’s all you got and even when it feels gone – love is limitless, you can always create more from the prana in the next breath.

so, friends I beseech ye – here is your continued mission. be nice, nicer than is reasonable, with love and care and compassion. not for your loved one, not your friends, but the person you work with you like least (why?) and the person who you meet next that pushes those buttons – love them for being your Teacher.

expand into love and then, give thanks and praise

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What I Choose to Do Is What I Must Do...

3/12/2014

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When I have lost my faith,
my patience, my tolerance and my compassion for any one of my fellow human beings;
when I have no love for any one, singular person, I must choose to remember:


to remember that humanity, human beings, our collective experience is wondrous, capable of incredible creation and imagination - the source of languages, arts, crafts, sciences, philosophies, cultures, artifacts, heritage and all I have been shown, given, shared with or pleasured by in life.

there is a beauty in our collectiveness - in our non-cooperative cooperation. there is beauty in our feats and failures, efforts and excesses. there is hope, there is reason, there are literally billions of examples of the human condition.

I need to find that grace in myself and in each person.


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When I have lost my faith,
my patience, my tolerance and my compassion for all of my fellow human beings;
when I have no love for all humanity, I must choose to remember:


to remember that individuals, human beings, unique and noble personalities, independent spirits, single drops in our ocean are the source of interpersonal love, friendships, mentors, teachers, companions, inspirations and are capable of creating change, ease, peace and comfort.

there is a beauty in our own individuation - we are never so different as we are similar. we should feel that, we should get that, we should know that being one drop in the ocean both includes being the drop, yet being in the ocean. we cannot be ourselves without each other.

maybe this speaks to you - maybe not... I needed to write it, hear it in my head, see it and put it out there for my accountability. you are appreciated for being part of my process.

thanks and praise!

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    Chrispy - Bhagat Singh

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