Sunday was the first full day of spring. Spring is a time of birth and renewal. In order for things to be born or renewed, other things need to change, die or give way.

I’ve spent the last few days in Berkeley learning from a living master of movement and somatic studies, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Interweaving through all the teachings here, and coincidentally most of my conversations and interactions with people in my life, are themes of change, discomfort and endings. Change, ending, and death are frightening things for most of us. These situations naturally make us uncomfortable. But without discomfort we would never grow, without death there can’t be life, without change there is only stagnancy.

Perhaps it seems out of place while flowers are blooming everywhere and nature is bursting with LIFE, but an interesting experiment to invite LIFE into your own life, might be to explore ideas of what can die. Not really in the literal sense, but in the energetic sense. What is stagnant? Where is dis-ease? What is bitter and hardened? Make room for the new growth by planning a funeral for things you don’t need anymore. Journal about them, make some pictures or collages, do your spring cleaning, talk with friends, and when you’re ready, with great respect, find a good burial place or cremation site and let all that baggage go. As the light is getting greater in the day, you can lighten your load as well.

Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe shares some wisdom and reflection on dying and grief, including a writing by the Dalai Lama.

The recently released Death: A magazine for Enthusiasts and Non-Enthusiasts Alike is an lovely resource with all kinds of literary, artistic and informative inspiration. Including this excellent video with Vito Acconci’s prose, “At least you can worry”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You might also be considering what the best music to play at a funeral would be…

Or if you would like to customize a casket…

Anyway. Don’t take it too seriously. As the folks at Upaya are urging us to do, grieve when there is loss, let grief open your heart, and then enjoy the astounding colors of the world around you and live as if you’re actually living!

Happy Valentines Day!

Regardless of the plethora of possible associations you might have to this particular holiday, it’s never a bad excuse to explore the essence of the day… The heart.

In western society yoga and meditation have started to receive recognition from the medical community as to their value for cardiovascular health and aiding in the prevention of circulatory and heart-related illness.

In yogic and tantric traditions the organ of the heart and the energetic heart or the ability to love and feel emotion is located in the fourth chakra, named Anahata Chakra. Chakras are described as discs or wheels of energy radiating through the body, that govern certain principles. When they are balanced and healthy a person is unified in their ascending and descending qualities (heaven and earth, grounding and inspiration). If chakras are out of balance or disturbed they can cause physical, mental and emotional illnesses as well as inabilities to function in certain ways.

Anahata Chakra is located behind the thoracic spine in the region of the heart and is related to the thymus, located in the chest. The thymus is an element of the immune system and the endocrine system. It is the site of maturation of T-cells which are responsible for fending off disease. The thymus is adversely affected by stress.
The Anahata Chakra is the fourth of the seven major chakras of the spinal column or central channel. Key issues involving the heart chakra involve complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, equilibrium, rejection and well-being. Physically Anahata governs circulation, emotionally it governs unconditional love for the self and others, mentally it governs passion, and spiritually it governs devotion

The middle chakra is the meeting point of heaven and earth, Anahata means “unstruck sound” this is the place where ether becomes matter through the vibration of sound or speech. To locate the chakra press one hand into the center of your sternum or breastbone and the other hand at the corresponding point in your back, between your two hands is the energetic heart chakra. You can visualize the shape of the chakra as two triangles, one pointing upwards to symbolize the masculine/ yang/ ascending energy and one pointing downwards to symbolize the feminine/yin/ rooting or descending energy. The two triangles overlap and at the center is twelve pointing lotus radiating light into the body.

If you dig the new age vibes, check out this psychedelic youtube heart chakra meditation! Congratulations if you’re celebrating the more enjoyable and pleasant aspects of the heart chakra today, if, however this day is inspiring you to feel blue instead of red, you may appreciate The Heart Sutra which reminds us that as delightful as some forms (of people or chocolate) may be, all form is ultimately empty.

xoxo- Love Renee

I wish for you a moment and a lifetime of gratitude and awe. I hope that you never doubt the miracle of your existence or the responsibility for love that your existence asks of you. May you enjoy the love, support and compassion of family, friends and community and may you return these traits to all whom you meet. Blessings on every meal that you will ever eat, may you be fed and nourished and given energy to live in a good and useful way. Blessings on all the beings and circumstances that have come together to create your food, and all who will receive these gifts of sustenance.

Much love,
Renee

“Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.”

-Simple Gifts, by Joseph Brackett

(photo by Robert Altman)

Perhaps it’s the woes of the western world that are consuming my objective attention now. The escalating global crises that is not just about economy, nor just about climate, or war, or health-care, homelessness,  famine, flood, drought, tsunami, the list goes on and does not seem to stop. Despite my attempts to live in balance, to practice meditation and mindfulness, to be objective and calm and remember “perspective”… Despite all this, I’m feeling quite stressed out by the state of things these days. How about you?

Over here in the “civilized world” we’re grasping blindly at short-term solutions and despairing out loud about what to do. Is there any way to go back, to reverse, to make things better? It’s amazing to me to remember that a good portion of the world is not as out of balance as we are here with all of our advancements. Living here in urban North America, surrounded by the accoutrements of modern necessity I forget most of the time that not everyone lives like this. The stress that I feel over urban situations and the industrialized job markets are not stresses that everyone on earth is feeling (though they have their own and most are intricately intertwined.)

Desperation and feelings of cluelessness aside, it’s amazing to consider that there are still tribal people here on Earth. Living close to the land, living in harmony. Many of these people’s lands, homes and livelihoods are at risk due to the imbalances of modernity and industrialized society. These people have been living for ages without creating destruction of their lands, desecration of their animals, women or children.

In fact, if modern governments and corporations were to leave them alone and their land wasn’t subjected to the environmental degradation that is caused by said governments and industry, chances are these people would go on living simply, healthfully and happily for ages to come. What can we learn from them?

*All pictures are from Survival International

September is the transitional month between summer and fall. We can still enjoy warm days but the evenings are getting cooler, the days are shorter and it’s time to go back to school. The equinox is on September 22 of this year. As we move into autumn it’s good to take the time to reflect on the qualities of the season.

Autumn is the harvest and a time to gather-together that which we will need to sustain ourselves through the winter. We gather fuel, food and warmer clothing. There’s a natural tendency to become more focused towards studies, work and home life. In nature and in our bodies, autumn is the time of letting go, pulling inwards and preparing to be still.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine autumn is the season associated with the element of metal, the color white and lung/ large intestine meridian. The lungs transport oxygen from the atmosphere to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream to the atmosphere. The large intestine is the last part of the alimentary canal and it’s function is to absorb water from the remaining indigestible food matter and then pass useless waste material from the body. The lungs and large intestine are both organs of elimination, allowing the body to let go of waste and toxicity. In TCM the metal element is associated with the emotion of grief and the ability to let go (of grief and the cause of grief).

Autumn is the transitional time between summer; the season of abundance, extroversion, and fullness, to winter; the season of simplicity, inwardness and silence. In this season it’s a good time to reflect on what you have gained and experienced in the previous, warmer seasons and to assess what you would like to work on in the coming period of introversion. Autumn is the time to stock up and come back to the basics. Make sure that you are eating a healthy and nourishing diet that will keep you warm and give you energy to focus mentally. It is important through the colder months to exercise and keep the body moving and breathing deeply. Moving mindfulness practices like yoga and martial arts are great forms of exercise and encourage inward reflection and awareness as well as strength and flexibility.

Try not to be sad about the changing of the seasons. Though we may long for endless warmth (or at least I do), it’s important to appreciate and harmonize with the energy of each season and to take advantage of the qualities each one offers.

Happy autumn!

The Dalai Lama—a living member of the ahimsa/non-violence lineage that includes Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, MLK Jr., Thich Nhat Hanh, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela and many others, was born 74 years ago today. He’s worked hard and long for world peace under near hopeless conditions—let’s thank this living legend by taking a moment, today, to appreciate his smiling, truly humble leadership.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Dalai Lama is 74 today, and hundreds of his followers in exile with him in India celebrated in New Delhi and Dharmsala, where he’s lived the past 50 years. The Dalai Lama joked that so many people are praying for him that he may live to at least 100.

This beautiful and eloquent Long Life Prayer for Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama, may be recited on his Birthday—July 6, 2009—or any other auspicious time.

OM SVASTI

To the assembly of most kind teachers, both present and past -
the miraculous dance of the body, speech and mind of innumerable Buddhas
manifesting in accord with aspirants’ spiritual capacities,
the wish-granting jewel, the source of all virtue and goodness -
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To the assembly of all meditational deities
manifesting as countless mandalas and divinities -
the magical clouds of immaculate, transcendent wisdom
reaching to the farthest expanse of the space of ultimate reality -
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To all the victorious Buddhas of the three times
endowed with ten powers and who are even masters of the gods,
and whose attributes of perfection are the source of all compassionate deeds
benefiting the vast ocean-like realm of sentient beings,
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To the assembly of sacred doctrine embodied in the Three Vehicles,
supremely serene, a jewel-treasure of enlightenment,
stainless, unchanging, eternally good, and the glory of all virtues,
which actually liberates beings from the sufferings of the three worlds,
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To all members of the enlightening, noble spiritual community,
who never stray from the thoroughly liberating adamantine city,
who possess the wisdom eye that directly sees the profound truth
and the highest valour to destroy all machinations of cyclic existence,
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To the assembly of heroes and dakinis, heavenly beings of the three worlds,
who appear in the highest paradises, in the sacred places, and in the
cremation grounds, and who, through creative play in the hundred-fold
experiences of bliss and emptiness, support practitioners in their
meditation on the excellent path, to you, we offer our prayers
with fervent devotion:

That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons.
Shower on him your blessings so that his aspirations are fulfilled
without hindrance.

To the ocean of protectors endowed with eyes of transcendent wisdom -
the powerful guardians and upholders of the teaching
who wear inseparably on their matted locks
the knot symbolising their pledge to the Vajra Holder -
to you, we offer our prayers with fervent devotion:
That Tenzin Gyatso, protector of the Land of Snows,
live for a hundred aeons. Shower on him your blessings
so that his aspirations are fulfilled without hindrance.

Thus to this congregation of excellent, undeceiving refuge,
we pray that by the power of this prayer
expressed from a heart filled with fervent devotion and humility,
may the body, speech and mind of the sole of the Land of Snows,
the supreme Ngawang Lobsang Tenzin Gyatso,
be indestructible, unfluctuating and unceasing;
may he live immutable for a hundred aeons,
seated on a diamond throne, transcending decay and destruction.

You are the jewel-heart embodying all compassionate, beneficial deeds;
O most courageous one, you carry upon your shoulders
the burden of all the Buddhas of the infinite realms.
May all your noble aspirations be fulfilled as intended.

By virtue of this may the heavenly doors of the fortunate era open
eternally as a source of relief and respite for all beings;
And may the auspicious signs reach the apex of existence and release,
as the sacred teachings flourish through all times and in all realms.

May the nectar-stream of the blessings of the Lotus Holder
always enter our hearts and nourish it with strength.
May we please you with our offerings of dedicated practice,
And may we reach beyond the shores of perfect, compassionate deeds.

Through the blessings of the wondrous Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
by the infallible truth of the laws of dependent origination,
and by the purity of our fervent aspirations,
may the aims of my prayer be fulfilled without hindrance.

Sarva Mangalm!

A short film by Christine Rabette. Pass it on.

Merci!

A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun’s apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme. The term solstice can also be used in a wider sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In some cultures they are considered to start or separate the seasons while in others they fall in the middle. The English expressions “midwinter” (winter solstice) and “midsummer” (summer solstice) may derive from a tradition according to which there were only two seasons: winter and summer. (Kind of like how it feels in Montreal… Only there it’s winter and construction season)

“Solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” meaning sun, and “sistere,” to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it “stands still.”

(In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, also when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. I’ll assume that the readers live in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this post.)

Significance of the summer solstice:

In pre-historic times, summer was a joyous time of the year for those Aboriginal people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. The crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable.

The first (or only) full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives. This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the “grand [sexual] union” of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, “newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon.”

The two solstices and the equinoxes of the year are celebrated in most cultures and world traditions in some form or the other. A key idea behind the cause for these celebrations could be looked at like this: The solstices are the time of absolute, the MOST of the essence of the season. In the winter it is the darkest time, summer the lightest. The equinoxes are a time of shifting, of moving from one phase into the next. The spring is the time to celebrate the returning of sun and the fertility of the land. The autumn is a time to harvest what was planted in the spring, fed by the sun and also to store and preserve one’s resources, preparing for the cold and inwardness of winter. You can do your own research into different celebrations and rituals for this time of year. You might be surprised to learn that many of the Christian holidays have their roots in Pagan observances. I find that these points of the year are a good time to reflect on the meaning of the season for me and what I want to manifest or focus on while this element is strong.

Some good resources just to learn about the seasons and their passing are the Wikipedia Solstice entry and this entry from Religious Tolerance.

Summer Solstice- Painting by Mark Garro

http://www.markgarro.com/

There is a rather well known book called the Bhagavad Gita that is a rather well known story about a warrior prince named Arjuna who was also trying to sort out this particular moral quandary… 

But I digress. Rather than inaction or careless action or action that is taken when one has resigned to the fact that harm will be done… One can choose to create positive action. Not that this is new news, folks have been following the path of positivity forever; Jesus, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, M.L.K., Nelson Mandela, and many more big names you probably know… But also the unknowns, the girl that smiles at you on the bus, the old man that offers his wisdom, your friend who chooses to listen… We all have the choice every day and in every instant to create happiness in ourselves and those around us and in some way to “offer” our actions to a greater good. Whether you call that greater good “God”, “Love”, “Krishna”, or “Peace”, it’s our choice to make actions that serve something greater and to support our own happiness with those choices. After all, a big part of non-harm doing is the counter side, which is actively creating peace and well being.

It’s amazing how many people are now initiating such positive action and using the internet to disseminate these “happiness projects”. There are some great ideas out there and it can be good fun to take one idea per day and make it your goal to spread a smile ; )

Check them out:

http://www.helpothers.org/ideas.php

http://www.actsofkindness.org/

Thanks to Brenda Feuerstein, co-author and creator of Green Yoga, who keeps me updated on facebook about all these cool projects!

A beautiful online, member supported project to collect and disseminate the works of Chögyam Trungpa. Including a radio program, writing and links from various members of the Shambhala community worldwide and a wealth of resources.

http://chronicleproject.com/index.html