Greetings Dear First name / One, 

 

I am currently surrounded with the coolness of the fog rolling into the city and can simultaneously feel the coolness of my morning practice. In this season of summer, we have witnessed the flow of constant change and the array of emotions that go with it. Extreme weather in all regions of the world, ongoing wars, conflict, and further oppression of whole groups of people in all four corners of the world. In fact, when I researched war at this exact moment, I received 21 pages on worldwide conflict and the impact of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism – continued displacement, enslavement, and the tragic killing of people for land and resources. Now more than ever, I value my ongoing practice of the Buddha Dharma which cools off the heat of my anger towards this chaotic and unjust world where continuous wars continue to kill so many children and innocent people. How do we live with and overcome these intense emotions? Larry Ward captures a response to this question in his book, America’s Racial Karma:

I ponder his invitation to “refine what it means to be a human being” and I remember my Basque Elder would say, “We are born into this human body to serve two purposes – one to create and the other to love,” and she would continue to say, “Many Indigenous societies believe that we all possess ‘original medicine’ nowhere duplicated in the world.”  My heart breaks knowing many are sleepwalking this precious life of theirs, let alone not waking up to their own “original medicine.” 
 

The direction of East in the season of summer calls for us to “tell the truth without blame or judgment,” and for the creative fire to be ignited, bringing our attention to heal the false self-system and to come into our authenticity. In other words, how do we see what is sacred internally? The sacred is the source of inspiration and purpose after all. 

My mid-summer inquiry for you is: what would it take for you to grab this moment by the roots to see what is sacred? Whatever it is, it will require focused attention to avoid breaking the roots – with perhaps the intention to remove it from its entirety! I speak metaphorically about the false self-system within that continues to keep us asleep.  Our practice is everything and staying grounded in our ethics and values is foundational.  What will it take for us to break this current cycle of suffering?

 

As Elif Shafak states in her book, How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division, “We live in an age in which there is too much information, less knowledge and even less wisdom – the ratio needs to be reversed.” From her investigative writer’s approach as a modern day storyteller, the search for wisdom would look like that “which connects the mind and the heart, activates emotional intelligence, expands empathy and for that we need stories and storytellers.” We are in a moment of history that calls for “the Great Awakening” where compassion and wisdom are the most essential qualities needed to break this particular kind of samsara for the next generation… and to foster a collective realization of our shared humanity and the interconnectedness between all beings towards the purpose of true liberation. 

     With gratitude,

When I arrived on the land of the Central Pomo people, my body immediately felt the medicine of the beautiful redwoods. I released a long, deep sigh. Before arriving at Spirit Camp, I said to our team, “I really need this.” This turned out to mean many things. Connection with community. Spaciousness. Silent practice. Nourishing food. Feeling the earth under my feet. Creative exploration. Earth-based movement. Life has been particularly full since becoming a caregiver for my beloved mom and dad this past year. Each day with them has required an extra degree of patience, presence, mindfulness, and a consciousness of my own capacity at any given moment. I was humbled to learn that even with my daily practice and intentional effort to self care, my capacity can still run low in extreme seasons, and I’m reminded that I’m not the superwoman I was conditioned to be. 

 

Being at Braided Wisdom’s annual Earth-Based Community Gathering with fellow seekers from our Original Medicine Yearlong Program was deeply healing and restorative. It was both spacious yet packed with sacred journeying with beloved community. We shared dreams, tears, trails, delicious sustenance, silence, kindness and laughter throughout. Being witnessed in circle where like-hearted beings simply offered their attention and listening helped me release all the things I had been holding inside. We explored our inner world in meditation and imagined the possibilities through creating with our hands, all done side by side.  

 

Great teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said, "It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community-a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth." 

 

I am deeply grateful to experience the most essential practice of all: healing in community.

 

Experiencing the five elements in your body deepens your relationship with them.  When the five elements of air, water, fire, earth and space unfold their mystery, the external experience of the elements now becomes internal.  

 

Each element resides in certain parts of your body. Using the Polarity theory which combines the Indian Chakra system from yoga with the elements in the body, you will connect the energetic circuit of the element.  As you balance the elements in your body, it will help balance your emotions, thoughts and actions associated with the element.  This movement video, focused on the fire element, is an invitation to step into a deeper relationship with the mineral within us.