Yogini Infinity

You know you're busy when...

2010-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

You know you're busy when you don't even post on your own blog about your new yoga studio opening!

The last month and more has been a whirlwind for me as I created my new yoga studio with partner Heather Earl. We had our grand opening on November 13th, and our first week of classes were truly incredible. I feel so blessed and supported by Boise' deeply conscious community. Thank you all for your encouragement, love and class attendance!

Sage Yoga & Wellness is located right in the heart of downtown Boise! With over 25 classes per week, wellness services, a boutique, lounge - and showers! - we are a fully loaded yoga studio. Just what Boise has been waiting for :)

Check out our website for more details: sageyogaboise.com

Deep Dance Experience

2010-10-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I'm just a yoga teacher...but I love to dance too! Teaching yoga at MUUV has introduced me to the glorious world of the Deep Dance Experience, and I am sooo grateful! Last week Kris, Mikayla, and Lululemon hosted a DDX in Capital Park - what a total blast! There's nothing like groovin in on the lawn of the state capital building with a bunch of other free spirited beauties to make you feel completely joyful!

My New Yoga Studio in Boise!

2010-10-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Never before has my life been filled with more union, more yoga, than now!

Just a few weeks ago I was wed to the love of my life, then soon after returning to Boise from our sweet honeymoon, I began teaching at MUUV. Joining the MUUV Team has been a super exciting and rewarding process for me, and I greatly look forward to the fruits of our union.

But something even more exciting (a little less exciting than marriage...though a marriage of its own sort) is the new yoga studio I will soon be opening in downtown Boise with my partner and friend Heather Earl, who is also a Nosara grad. I've been a bit quiet about it through our planning process just in case something fell apart (didn't want to jinx it), and perhaps because I was so preoccupied with things like, say, planning a huge four day wedding weekender, that I was a little overwhelmed at times (to put it lightly). Now that the wedding was a success & MUUV has been a beautiful transition, Sage Yoga & Wellness's due date is upon us.

We are so thrilled to have found the most amazing space for our yoga studio right in the heart of downtown Boise!

I'll be posting our complete schedule, Grand Opening date, and other details as they fully unfold. For now, check us out on Facebook and Blogspot.

Yay!!

My Yoga Class Has MUUVed!

2010-10-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Me @ MUUV

~~I'm Moving to MUUV~~

Starting this week I will no longer be teaching at Muse Studios. Muse has been wonderful to me this past year, and I feel grateful for all of my students and the new friends I've made while teaching there.

NOW...

You can find me teaching at MUUV,
a boutique center for movement.

My Dynamic Yoga Class at MUUV will be

Thursdays from 6:00 - 7:00 pm.

Our first class will be this Thursday, October 7th, and is FREE!

The following week, October 14th, class will be canceled, as all of the MUUV Team will be co-hosting a Deep Dance Experience with Lululemon in
Capital Park from 6:00 - 7:00 pm.

This event is also free and open to the general public.

We hope to see you there!

Dynamic Yoga at MUUV will resume
on October 21st.

Light & Shadow: Exploring Personal & Cultural Transformation: On the road with Charles Shaw & Michael Garfield

2010-09-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

A special night of engaging presentations & live music

Charles Shaw: "Charting the Spiritual and Political Awakening of the Evolutionary Subculture, and Giving Voice to the Lives of the Disenfranchised."

Charles Shaw will be discussing his book Exile Nation and related topics like the drug war, the prison system, and shamanic medicines, with a particular focus on the role of the Shadow in our own awakenings and healings, and its role in this Evolutionary Subculture as a whole.

In addition, Charles will also be taping interviews for the Unheard Voices Documentary Project, a video archive of interviews with prisoners, ex-offenders, family members, and relevant experts on the human consequences of our drug and criminal justice policies. Through stories of perseverance, hope and healing, Unheard Voices will showcases the cultural holocaust known as the War on Drugs.

Charles Shaw is the author of the critically-acclaimed, Exile Nation: Drugs, Prisons, Politics & Spirituality and Director of the Unheard Voices documentary project. His work has appeared in Alternet, Alternative Press Review, Conscious Choice, Common Ground, Grist, Guerrilla News Network, Huffington Post, In These Times, Newtopia, The New York Times, openDemocracy, Planetizen, Punk Planet, Reality Sandwich, San Diego Uptown News, Scoop, Shift, Truthout, The Witness, YES!, and Znet. In 2009 he was recognized by the San Diego Press Club for excellence in journalism.

Unheard Voices
http://www.opendemocracy.net/charles-shaw/call-for-stories-unheard-voice...
Exile Nation
http://www.realitysandwich.com/exile_nation_drugs_prisons_politics_spiri...

Michael Garfield: "Sketches of an Emerging Human Mythos: Evolution, Alchemy, Art, & Activism in an Age of Transition"

Drawing on sources from evolutionary theory to sacred geometry, from cosmology to jazz, Michael playfully deconstructs the boundaries between self and other, the one and the many to offer a rare perspective on the crisis and opportunity of our age – an emerging worldview aware of the vast patterns in which humanity is embedded, and how each of us is a crucial participant.

Additionally, Michael will play his acoustic-electronic music as a performance of this emergent integrated paradigm – a dynamic concert in which science and art, left and right hemispheres, head and heart unite.

Trained in evolutionary ecology only to become a performance painter, essayist, and cyber-troubadour, integralist Michael Garfield is intent on demonstrating how everything is equally art, science, and spiritual practice. Writing extensively and expansively on the creative intersections of human inquiry and creativity, his combination of independent research and cohesive multimedia expression point the way toward an integrated exploration of time, life, and mind: his work straddles communities, ignoring battle lines drawn between transhumanism (H+ Magazine), integral philosophy (Integral Institute), technoshamanism (Reality Sandwich), popular culture (D/Visible Magazine, Colorado Music Board), and academia (University of Kansas, John F. Kennedy University).

Media & Press: http://myspace.com/michaelgarfield
News & Networks: http://michaelgarfield.blogspot.com

Wow!

Join us next Sunday, October 3rd

for this incredible night of inspiration and spirit in action!

Location Change:

Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship

1520 N. 12th Street

Boise

$5 donation

See you there!

For the Toltec-Bodhisattva-Yogis

2010-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00


Yoga, Buddhism & Toltec Shamanism in an Ancient Power Center!

What more could you want!

Chimbre Video

2010-08-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Chimbre: Shamanic Co-Habitacion

http://vimeo.com/11913237

An amazing Macbook piece done by Jennings Orcutt Tetrahedron the 64th. Shot at the Grand Opening of the Chimbre Shamanic Retreat, April 2010.

Yoga In Boise

2010-07-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

I have been working with a friend and fellow Nosara Yoga Institute graduate, Heather Earl, on creating a new yoga studio in Boise...

Please take a moment to complete this survey to let us know what is important to you for your yoga practice:

Click here to take survey

Your input is greatly appreciated!

Namaste~

The Chimbre Rainbow Portal

2010-07-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is the article I wrote on my Chimbre ayahuasca experience for Reality Sandwich, which they then decide not to publish because it felt like too much of an old wound. But! Here it is for you!

As you'll see, this account is merely a sampling of all that occurred over two very intense weeks at the Chimbre Shamanic Retreat’s Grand Opening in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. A whole book would do justice to this incredible adventure, but for now, please enjoy this glimpse into a Chimbre’s complex world...

…

“So you’re gonna drink tonight, right? If you want to drink it has to be tonight. You’re drinking tonight,” Rob says without a pause, with wide, child-like eyes and a beaming grin.

This is what greets me instead of a hello, nice to meet-cha, as soon as I step out of the mini-bus and into, literally, Chimbre’s red, muddy soil. I will soon learn that this is classic Rob-style: cut to the chase, no frills, here’s the agenda and now lets get on with it shall we, I’ve got no time for questions.

“Uh, OK, let me think about it, I mean I would like to, but, uh, I guess I hadn’t quite considered it just yet.”

“Oh no, you have to drink tonight tonight. Don’t worry about teaching yoga tomorrow, we’ll figure all that out later,” Rob replies from a half turn as he heads away. Despite Rob’s near constant enthusiasm, I can already sense some tension. And no doubt, there’s reason for tension. He’s juggling A LOT – hosting a group of international travelers who constantly flux from 30 to 60 guests at a time, plus a Hollywood film crew, the rule of the shaman, guest speakers such as metaphysical and enthnobotanical pioneer Dennis McKenna and author Rak Razam, and the care of a wife and young son, all in a space that is still physically under construction and in a remote Amazon location. Rob’s noble intent is to facilitate a transformative experience for all, and he seems to have chosen the hard way. The man has a full plate, to say the least.

I’ve come to the grand opening of Chimbre, a sprawling retreat located outside of the small jungle-town of Puerto Maldonado, Peru to teach yoga for this eclectic group of seekers, many from the Burner/Festival scene around the world, but also middle-class North Americans that you would more easily peg for singing in a church choir before you’d even think to imagine them willfully ingesting, then purging, a hallucinogen in the depths of the Amazon. We are artists, scientists, writers, computer technicians & designers, government employees, wanderers, wall street brokers, marketing specialists, engineers, counselors, entrepreneurs and community organizers, both young and old, and from across the globe. Tattooed, dreaded and pierced to clean-shaven and freshly showered, tie-dyed to tucked-in, we reflected the rainbow spectrum of personalities, and our outer contrasts and match-ups as just as intense as our internal resonances...

You can read the rest of this article on my facebook note:

Full Chimbre Article

New Yoga Class

2010-06-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Join me on Thursday evening from 6 - 7pm

at the Pilates Studio at Muse

for a dynamic vinyasa flow.

What a perfect way to destress from your busy day!

Beginning July 1st.

Muse Studios:

1317 W. Jefferson

Downtown Boise

Across from Les Schwab Tires

Yoga & Pilates at the Boise Rec Fest!!

2010-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Join Marisa Smith(me!) and Audrey Millstein at the Boise Rec Fest!

Pilates w/Audrey
Saturday, June 26th @ 10 am
Live Music by James Orr

Yoga w/Marisa
Sunday, June 27th @ 10am
Live Music by Failla Drums

Bring a mat, a friend and get ready to get your stretch on!

FREE!!

Sponsored by Lululemon Athletica!

We'll see you under the REI tent!

http://www.boiserecfest.com/
Exhibits * Workshops * Activities * Live Music * Food * Beer * Wine

On Being Green

2010-06-08T21:43:00.001-07:00

The idea of “being green” isn’t just a new slogan for our modern era of environmental caretaking. Rather the color green has been associated for thousands of years in the systems of Yoga, and the traditions of Native America, the East and West with healing and the heart.

Being the pervasive color of the natural world, which reappears every spring, green is the symbol of abundance and eternal life. In the East, green is associated with family, prosperity, harmony, health and peace. In some medicine wheels green is the color of the south and is associated with passion, heart, warmth and the emotions.

In the rainbow spectrum of red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo & violet, green is the central color. In yogic philosophy, green represents the heart, which is also located in the center of the human body, and is the giver of life. Being in the center, green is also about equilibrium, or the balance of the inner and the outer.

Just as important as caring for the planet is self-care.

How can you begin to be green with yourself, and your family and neighbors, in addition to your care for the Earth?
• Take time to reconnect with your self – walk in nature, relax under a favorite tree, or take a bike ride (which can also double as saving emissions).

• Do things with others – help plant a community garden, or simply take a stroll through the farmer’s market and support those who are already aligning themselves with “green” living, as well as load up on organic fruits and vegetables for a healthy body and clear mind!

• Treat yourself – yes you can take time for yourself to go to a yoga class, meditate, or any other favorite form of self-care! The better you feel, the better life feels, and the more energy you have to be present for caring for the world. Even 20 minutes a day with give you an exponential reward. Plus, you deserve it!

Toltec & Yoga Retreat in Teotihuacan

2010-04-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

JOURNEY WITH US THIS SPRING!

JUNE 10-15, 2010 with Lee McCormick, Emily Grieves & Marisa Smith, MA

Teotihuacan, Mexico - The Dreaming House $995

Every Experience in Teo is a New Experience!

Spirit Recovery has created an amazing opportunity for those who have never been to Teotihuacan before and for those of you who have. If you have been to Teo before you will have the opportunity to take this experience to the next level.

This June we will explore ancient ceremonial caves in the hills high above Teo. Also, we will venture to Tlaminca, the sacred mountain and inspirational home of legendary poet king Nezahualcoyotl.

Join Lee and Emily to visit these extraordinary places and to travel through the ancient and powerful city of Teotihuacan where for 2,000 years humans have gathered for healing practices and sacred ceremony. This journey will free your mind, body and spirit to clear, connect, and commune in ways you have not yet been capable of! Your journey will be the greatest of gifts to yourself and to all those you love.

Under the gentle guidance of Marisa's yoga and meditation teachings, you will learn to truly honor your body as the temple of your spirit and adjust to your newfound energy.

Join us for only $995!

Accommodations provided by the beautiful Dreaming House. Delicious meals and transportation to and from airport and to ancient sites included. Price is based on double occupancy, single accommodations available. Does not include airfare to Mexico City.

Please contact Gretchen for more information and registration at information@spiritrecovery.com 615-557-5245

www.spiritrecovery.com

Coiled/Extended

2010-04-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

This month's C4 (Capital City Creative Collaboration) words were Coiled and Extended. I took pen to paper as I explored these pregnant words. I've never considered myself a poet, or even tried my hand at poetry, but here is the result...

Coiled/Extended

Reaching and recoiling, I move through life
Always in a state of change, I sometimes flow, sometimes bounce, sometimes scream across this time/space
Never to remain satisfied, but for the slightest pause at the top of the breath
I labor onward, inward, outward
Tailing the song of a shapeshifting siren
Refractions of my Self peer, jeer, at my comically hopeless venture
In the depths it is know that this is all a facade
I feel its whispered remembrance, like the ghostly shell of a long abandoned and forgotten temple - we will never really know what this is all for

I curl my knees to my chest and assume the fetal position
Out of fear, out of habit, out of self-preservation
I don't want to me

A flicker of curiosity

Blooming, I grow into being
Joining hands, we dance along this spinning dream
Together
Open to you, I know I am through your eyes.

Join Me in Peru!

2010-03-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Chimbre Shamanic Retreat

Grand Opening: April 22 - May 2

For Chimbre’s grand opening, we invite you to join us for an illuminating 10-day journey into the heart of our world. In honor of Earth Day, we will break ground on what we see as a multi-generational endeavor to reconnect humankind with the spirit of the planet. We are inviting our friends from around the world – visionaries in science and medicine, art and literature – to join us as we embark on a shamanic initiation with Master Mancoluto, a first level master shaman trained in the tradition of the ancient Peruvian civilization known as Chavin.  Mancoluto works closely with two indigenous plant medicines: ayahuasca, a tea-like brew of Amazonian plants used by South American shamans for thousands of years; and the San Pedro cactus, a revered shamanic medicine native to the Peruvian Andes region.

Mancoluto’s expertise with these sacred plant teachers will set the stage for a profound journey of collective healing, learning, and transformation.  In conjunction with these ceremonies, the retreat will include revelatory talks from globally celebrated ethnopharmacologist Dennis J. McKenna, PhD; Wasiwaska founder and ayahuasca researcher, Luis Eduardo Luna, PhD; author of the acclaimed book Aya, Rak Razam; and many more. Retreat participants may also enjoy a variety of activities led by our team, including invigorating yoga classes and group meditations by Marisa Smith, MA, restorative massage and bodywork, and excursions into the infinitely beautiful Chimbre terrain.

To learn more about reservations, please visit: http://www.chimbre.com/reservations/

Photo "The Ceremony Center" courtesy of Chimbre.

Volunteers Needed!

2010-03-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Help promote a sustainable future for Idaho!

Volunteer at the Idaho Green Expo May 8th & 9th at the Boise Center on the Grove!

Please visit http://www.idahogreenexpo.org/become-a-volunteer.asp to view a complete list of the volunteer opportunities and to register online.

Volunteering at the Idaho Green Expo will be a lot of fun, and you’ll get a free t-shirt too. We could not put on such a fantastic show without the wonderful help our volunteers provide. I look forward to working with you at the Idaho Green Expo in May!

2012 & The Tipping Point: And the Answer is…

2010-02-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

Daniel Pinchbeck and Jose Arguelles

The 2012 Tipping Point: Prophets Conference sought “to explore a radically different, more optimistic interpretation of the Mayan prophecy – as referring to the end of the world as we have known it. Instead of predicting a physical destruction of the material world, the Mayan prophecy might refer to death and rebirth and a mass inner transformation of humanity.” To deliver this message, Jose Arguelles, Daniel Pinchbeck, John Major Jenkins, Graham Hancock, John Kimmey, Russell Targ, Christine Page, Jaque Fresco, Roxanne Meadows, Mario Gomez Mayorga, Rocio Lopez Ruiz and Miguel Angel Vergara were brought together, along with participants from all over the world, to share in discussions.

We gathered in Cancun, arriving from an expanse of countries and continents, some as film crews and journalists, some as leaders of local 2012 movements, and many as individuals with a burning desire to learn how to help, in whatever even small way, in moving humanity forward. We heard the call and we arrived. A palpable sense of anticipation infused the heavy, humid air.

Within the first few hours of talks the common theme was clear: No one know for sure what will happen, if anything on December 21, 2012 (though Russell Targ lead the group through an eerie and strangely synchronized Remote Viewing to that exact date…). The only clear path that lies ahead is one of Self-awakening.

As we near the end of the Maya’s infamous Long Count calendar, we are asked to honor Mother Earth, all of humanity and beings of the planet, and most importantly ourselves. As the Maya greeting “In La Kesh” alludes to I am another you. Thus what we do for ourselves, we do for the entire world. Heal yourself, heal the planet. What has been the root message of all spiritual traditions across the last cycle of time, that we are unable to fully love others if we do not first love our selves, is needed to be embodied to activate our evolution.

Don’t be confused: this isn’t a call for more of the same selfishness. To love yourself is to step into direct knowing of your true Divine nature.   But how?

A remark that resonated with me during John Kimmey’s sharing of the Hopi Prophesy was when he related that Grandfather David, who passed the Hopi lineage onto him, once asked John what is was that we could give God, who already has everything. The answer, Grandfather David said, is our intentional effort. This is the only thing we can give the Divine that it doesn’t already have. The sweat of our brow, our focus and concentration, or tapas as it is known in Sanskrit, is our gift of gratitude for the dance of life. John Kimmey also emphasized that, now, at the closing of the 4th World Cycle, is the time to take to heart the teachings we have received from the various mystical and wisdom traditions. We need to practice the techniques we have been give and take responsibility for our way of life, beginning with the personal, and surrendering our efforts to a higher source and the greater good.

It is not a coincidence that this Tipping Point is paralleled by an explosion in our Western culture of disciplines, techniques, teachers, and entheogens which all lead one to contact with their Higher Self. Everything we need is at hand to fuel our inner transformation and outer evolution. All we really need to do is let go of the external distractions and get busy on the road to remembrance.

If you’ve neglected the inward passage up to this point, don’t fret. Yes, the countdown is on, but time is on our side, at least, the rate of it is. Just as we are witnessing rapid progress and turnover in technological advances, the same is true of our personal advancement. No longer is the prescription for Self-awakening years of flat-backed Freudian analysis or lifetimes of stiff Zazen. What is required of us now is dedication to a path and continual effort, in whatever form best suits us as individuals.

Shaman and healer Mario Gomez Mayorga encouraged us to ‘awaken to not thinking about everything,’ and instead focus on behaving as energy does in nature, by helping one another and giving with the knowledge that we always have enough. Daniel Pinchbeck, who expressed a profound uncertainty about 2012 and a path of effective action, could take these words to heart. Pinchbeck believes us to be on the cusp of transformation as a species and asks ‘What is the solution?’ To this he admits he does not know. Having plunged headlong down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, Pinchbeck seems to be searching for the answer to how do we advance by attempting to assemble Indra’s web out of Pick-Up Sticks. Yes, it is useful to be aware of all the forces at play, but to be caught in a net of inaction while focusing on the how and why instead of doing is one of the oldest ego-traps. The last thing the mind wants to do is be trained. There will always be another piece of juicy bait promising to hold The Answer to lure you away from simply sitting in silence, opening to the mystery, and just being what, and who, you already are.   This is not to say that Pinchbeck is without action – Reality Sandwich and Evolver.net are growing hubs of transformation and conscious evolution, but a shaman may only lead so far as they have voyaged, and the currents are inviting us inward.

Indeed, during a one-on-one interview, author Jose Argüelles response to Pinchbeck’s ‘What do we do now?’ was plainly, ‘Meditate. Do a 10-day Vipassana Retreat and you’ll figure it out.’ This message, which echoes Kimmey’s, is for us all. In the words of alternative-archeologist Graham Hancock, we are a species with amnesia. To wake up we must refocus the light of our awareness from the outer to the inner.   The art of listening to our personal truth will lead us through the dank hallways of illusion and temptation and onward through the gates of our own, self-induced, salvation. I know that when I do my personal work, the filter through which I see the world is clearer and more joyful, and this is what is.

As the Hopi’s say, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” The end of the 4th World Cycle is not a closing of the book, but the turning of the page to a new chapter. The 5th World Cycle has been cited as one of Unity Consciousness, marked by a marriage of science and spirituality, of the masculine and feminine. Yet, such integration is only possible if we arise to the challenge of personal transformation. The choice is ours to tip the scale in our favor, one body at a time.

Concentration. Huh? What was that?

2010-01-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

Dharana, or concentration, is the sixth limb of Ashtanga, or Eight Limbs, of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. For me, dharana is one of the most vital steps along the path of Raja Yoga, or the Royal Road. (From here on out, I will just refer to Raja Yoga as yoga.) Looking around at the mainstream American society in which I am immersed I see a love of yoga, but mostly one which ends at merely the third rung of the ladder of Ashtanga, with the postures, or asanas. There is so much more to the art and science of yoga than the physical postures! (yes, that was a slightly exacerbated rant. sorry. i'll be more patient now.)

For the ancient yogis, the postures were designed and practiced as a way to enable one to sit comfortably in a meditative posture for a long period of time. Yes, there are manymanymany auxiliary physical and mental benefits of the asanas, but they were never meant to be an end in the road. I realize too, from my own experience and those of others I have talked with, that the physical postures are an excellent, gentle gateway to layers of Self, and of shedding layers of self, that we did not realize or want to shed otherwise. And I love the practice of asanas. Sometimes, perhaps, I love them too much, so more than anything, this post is directed at myself.

Skipping the fourth and fifth limbs of pranayama (breath control) and pratyahara (sense withdrawal), and acknowledging that both have vital roles in the cleansing of the complete body system and subsequent raising of consciousness, I want to highlight the importance of dharana. As one-pointed concentration, dharana is perhaps the most crucial step in achieving samadhi, the final limb and state of superconscious oneness known as enlightenment. Without the ability to focus for an extended period of time, little is able to be accomplished. This can be seen in the outer world as well as the inner. There has never been anyone of any notable talent, skill, or gift that did not have required of them the need to focus solely on the refinement of their trade, be it an athlete, actor, mother, guru, you name it. I could be mistaken, but I can think of no greatest that is a jack-of-all-trades. Concentration, a narrowness of focus and energy, is what creates mastery.

Minutes ago I was sitting in Vedic meditation (similar to TM with it's use of mantras), and noticing how difficult it was for my mind to focus on the mantra for more than a few seconds before my mind drifted to oh-so-much-more-important things, like the writing of this blog, or answering that facebook post, or sending that email, or getting that resume out. We think "I can't sit and focus for 20 minutes, there is so much in the world I will miss, that I need to do!" Yet, in reality, those 20 minutes provide more for your day than everything else we bounce around doing. And bounce is the key word here. In our modern society we are given so many choices, so much flexibility, and so much praise to the manic god of multitasking that the discipline of concentrating, of simplicity, is, dare I say, more challenging than running a home, working fulltime, making gazillions of plans, and getting swept away with all there is to do, say, be, become, desire, fix, defend, create, and on and on and on.

How many things in your life have been left incomplete because you've been swept up in the tide and they've been swept under the rug?

Dharana, concentration. Just breath. Feel. Control. Sustain. And return again and again to the point of focus. Give yourself to it. Let go. Trust. Just be. You are all ready worthy. There is nothing more to do. As is, you are perfect.

Thanks for letting me talk to myself. Now, back to my practice. Gotta sharpen that blade to slice through the illusions. !Hi-yah!

Playing With Maya

2009-12-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

Life is a game, a dance, a play in which we are the willingly fooled participants, and as agreed, we have forgotten all of this so that we may play the game of remembrance.
Imagine the universe as a living entity. You can visualize it as an actual deity, such as Brahma (the Creator), while you, the earth, and other aspect of our reality, are but a small part of this larger, living whole. We are like the little finger of Brahma. Is the little finger not a part of Brahma too? Yes, it can act independently and unaware of the greater body of which it is a part, but just because it does not know, does not mean it is separate. This is us. We are unaware of the larger consciousness of which we are an inseparable component, but that limited perspective does not create an actual separation.

Maya, my six year old, is home now on Christmas Break from school. She is distracting to have around, and I told her she needed to go outside and play with our border collie Chloe, so that I can have a few minutes to write in peace. I just heard the front door open and Maya say, "Come Chloe!" to bring her back inside after only being gone from my awareness for a couple minutes. My immediate reaction was just to yell back, "Maya, stay outside!" And the door slammed shut as she retreated back out. To me, this is a perfect example of how we live in our 3D reality. The Maya, or illusion, is scurrying all around, but we want even the idea of it to be hidden so that we may get on with our oh-so-important tasks at hand. But are they really that important, all that stuff we fill our time with? No. It's all just a game, with an end goal of awakening, with no winners or losers, or first place. And how we play the game, the journey from start to finish, is completely up to us. I'm going to end this diversion now; I've got a puppy and my Maya to play with. This hand of Brahma is going to throw a Frisbee.

CONCIOUSNESS RISING: Autopoiesis, Yoga, and Psychotherapy for Personal and Global Healing

2009-12-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

I will be on a panel discussion at the Association of Transpersonal Psychology's annual conference in February 2010 with Babalola Chris-Rotimi, PhD and Tina Benson, MA.
Our panel will be:

CONCIOUSNESS RISING: AUTOPOIESIS, YOGA AND PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR PERSONAL AND GLOBAL HEALING

In this panel discussion you will hear from three different practitioners; a spiritual healer, a yoga teacher, and a psychotherapist about how these modalities can and are being used to create Self realization and bring healing to a world in crisis. Babalola Chris-Rotimi, Ph.D., will briefly explore the concept of the Autopoiesis Theory of living systems, applying this theory to the idea of God as such a living system, share some thoughts on how God seems to be undergoing its own evolutionary process through the ages, and finally relate all of these to personal and global healing. Marisa Smith, M.A., will share how as an ancient science of personal growth and the lived experience of spirit, yoga is helping to heal the Western psyche and the epidemic disharmony of life without inner knowing. Tina M. Benson, M.A., will be looking at the role of the pyschotherapist in guiding clients towards a transpersonal and transcendent experience of their own divinity. She will also be showing a short film entitled, What Matters Most; a compilation of voices expressing the human longing for remembering each other and ourselves as expressions of the divine.

This is sure to be an incredible event with many other inspiring speakers and discussions. For more information, visit the ATP website.

Hope to see you there!

Futuristic Love

2009-12-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Friend's of Bill and I, Karen and Jason, have created a monthly art collaborative here in Boise. Each month two words are selected at random with which we budding artists use to inspire a creation in the medium of our choice. For December, the words were Love and Futuristic. Me being a writer, Bill encouraged me to write a blog using those words.

Here goes...

Love Futuristic: Futuristic Love

Love is an energy, a felt sense, an experience of the present moment that opens us to the unknown, to the infinite, to the formless, compassionate feeling of unity and interconnection that is at the heart of our being. Yes, our actual heart-centers. If you were to pause now and bring forth a feeling of love, it wouldn't begin in your little toe, or in the core of your brain, though it can become whole body. It would arise from the center of your chest, from your heart. Close your eyes an breath into the love; feel its warmth melt the walls around your heart.

Love is singular, love is plural, an love is universal. Each is like a rung in a ladder, for it is impossible to realize universal love without first attaining self-love. Loving oneself, or another, requires courage, forgiveness, acceptance, and a sense of humor.

Love is a verb, not a thing. It cannot be possessed nor contained. It is a process that we confuse with an object or event. Life enlightenment, it may be realized, but it is not an end in itself. It is the cocreative practice of making choices and acting from an open heart: to seek unity instead of division, to give freely, unconitionally, without expectations or boundaries, to see and be seen, as a mother gazes into a child's eyes for the first time.

Love is our highest potential as human beings. Feeling, deep , true, feeling is the challenge of our day. So often we escape to intellectual descriptions because we truly o not know from experience the sense of embodying the explosive passion of this formless energy. Return to the place before your birth, to the place of nonplace, nontime, free from judgment, where your soul merges with the infinite ocean of pure consciousness.

The future never arrives. You are always right here, right now. At least, your body is. Your mind is the ultimate time traveler, never lingering too long in the present. It races from memories of the past to desires, hopes, and worries for the future, Out of a fear that it must always be prepared, to be on-guard. Out of a disconnect from the ground of being, it creates the grand illusion of control. We must learn to be comfortable with the unknown, for it is all we can truly know. Let go, and be free. In the free fall our wings expand. Taking ourselves lightly allows us to soar.

Futuristic is that which might be, a vision for the future, an ideal projection from where we are to where we are going. In the future we can hope to love more, to give more, to be more accepting and with open arms embrace from our authenticity the authenticity of another, shadows and all.

Compassion comes from knowing oneself at a core level. From witnessing one's own shortcomings, errors, misdeeds, and disappointments can one know the struggle we all go through in living. We are courageously doing our best...for what? To be loved.

As Albert Einstein said, "A human being is part of a whole, that we call Universe - a part limited by time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something seperate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us towards our personal desires, and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embreace all living creatures and whole Nature with its beauty. Nobody has been able to achieve it completely, but striving for such an achievement is a part of liberation and the foundation for inner security."

Plant the seeds of love now, in the tilled soil of your soul which yearns to connect. The future will bear the fruits of your efforts, for love is never wasted.

Teotihuacan

2009-11-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Teotihuacan ~ The Place where Humans Become God

I have just returned from Teo...had another wonderful journey into the heart of my being. Everytime I travel I remember again and again, here I am. We can fool ourselves into thinking that a place, or person, or circumstance, will change us, that somehow we'll be different because of external forces. And though that may be true on a subtle level, it is our internal being that is the real filter for our Self in the world. For me, going to a place like Teo is an opportunity to embrace my shadow side, because there it still is. I see the challenges that are triggered by my shadow as opportunities for growth. Will I choose a different response this time? Or will I react? Or will I just witness. This time I was a witness. "Ahhh, there you are my old companions: Anger, Self-Righteouness, and Jealousy."

That's not to say that those emotions are the norm of my personality by any means, but they rear their head in my dreams and in my assumptions. And I take note. I know soon there will be chance to embrace their energy and select a higher road, one of love, humility, compassion, or forgiveness. I am grateful to Teo for being a mirror. For being a place where I can know my Self, let go of the past, and put my old beliefs to rest.

Returning from Teo I feel a lightness of being. I have been awakened and transformed on a deep level, in more ways than I know now. With a satisfied smile, I breath into life. I love myself just the way I am.

Retreat Sweat Lodge Disaster

2009-10-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was on retreat myself when the tragic sweat lodge deaths occurred in Arizona. Shocking and saddening, the details that describe the event are unlike any that I have experienced in the sweats I've attended over the past 8 years. Beginning with my initiation on the Fort Peck Reservation with the traditional Sioux and Assiniboine natives, to the deserts of Utah with only three of us non-natives in the lodge, to the sacred womb of Donna Emma's lodge behind the Pyramid of the Moon in Teo, I have experienced sweat lodges in a wide variety of settings. Besides one exceptionally hot sweat with the Lakota in Bozeman, all pushed my limits but were tollerable and highly transformative. All were safe. Even with the hottest sweat, those who needed a rest, including myself, were respectfully allowed space.

My heart goes out to all involved in the tragic sweat lodge deaths. For an insightful article about the recent catastrophe, see Carl Hammerschlag's article on Reality Sandwich: Sweat Lodge Tragedy.

Ascension, Entheogens & Inter-Dimensional Exploration

2009-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hiking Wolverine Canyon - photo by Mike Quinn

Down the Rabbit Hole

I'm pretty certain that most who attended The Supernatural: Exploring Other Dimensions -- the retreat held at the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch in Southern Utah this October -- didn't quite know what they were getting themselves into (or out of). I was one who, as the fool, has stepped merrily off the cliff a nd glided down the rabbit hole without any expectations but to enjoy the desert and get to meet the Reality Sandwich crew. What I got was so much more.

With three main presenters at the retreat, the participants could just about be divided into three equal camps: those who love Graham Hancock, those who love Lisa Renee, and those who love Daniel Pinchbeck. Though Daniel is what motivated me to drive 11 hours into the desert, all three inspired my journey home. I floated away with renewed energy and inspiration, feeling awakened on a deep level, alert, and armed from the heart-center for mastering the 2012 transition.

The Supernatural Retreat was billed as an exploration of "dimensional shifts, veiled realms a ccessed through altered states of consciousness, ancient myths and sacred sites, and intergalactic communication." Um, OK, whatever that means...perhaps to keep from fully freaking out my left-brained, rational, quantitative partner who was holding down the fort while I took passage into the unknown, I didn't even begin to consider where the creators of this adventure might be going with that statement, nor suspect where it might lead me. "I'm going to network, Sweetie, I'll see you in a few days. Ta-ta!"

For the full article visit Reality Sandwich: http://realitysandwich.com/Boulder_Mt_Retreat_09

Cheers!
m

A New Path

2009-09-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

The past few months I have witnesses many changes in my life: a move from Seattle to Boise, being a first time homeowner, teaching a new yoga class, becoming a dog owner (Chloe Dot the Thunder Dog!), and getting engaged to be married, plus lots of travel and adjusting to Maya's new school schedule and Bill's new work schedule. Lot's happening! To say the least, I am a Householder like I never have been before.

I finally feel pretty settled into our new home (which I absolutely love, so that makes it kinda easy) and am ready to get back on track with writing and my personal practices. The practices have certainly taken a back seat during all of this transition. Though through it all I don't know if I've ever felt more connected to spirit or my personal strength. These are powerful times we are living in, full of impetuous and hope. It seems that almost as soon as an idea comes into my head I see it manifest in the world.

But I'm learning patience too, something, as those closest to me can attest to, I'm not always the best at. Is there something about being in the now that makes you want it all now? I have to remember that just because I can see it in my mind's eye doesn't mean that it's ready to awaken in the world. I have a quote over my dresser that reminds me that life needs to bloom at its own rate: Its a card I framed of a beautiful purple flower with the caption "Joy surprises the patient soul." Indeed it does.

Looking back at how much my life has transformed over the last year, its almost hard for me to believe how many seeds have come to fruition. I still have bigger dreams that are yet to manifest (like getting a paying job...)but I'm not worried because I'm taking active steps towards them. And that's what we're here to do: to dream, have clarity of vision, then be commited to climbing each rung of the ladder towards the goal. And one day you're there and the view is magnificent.

At the same time, I am trying to remain open to unforeseen twists and forks in the road. Often the events and circumstances in life can be even greater than you had hoped or imagined, but only if you're willing to let in the unexpected. This is where patience comes in, and a little bit of trust. And there's the paradox too: to be open yet focused, to have clarity while allowing for the mystery. Does this lead to the best possible life? I can't say so for certain, but I sure am pretty happy. I can feel settled with the knowledge that this new path that lies before me is of my own creation, and deep gratitude for the grace that has allowed me to experience it.

Where could you allow more of the unknown in your life? And where do you need more to put more concentrated effort?

Remember...Joy surprises the patient soul!

Toltec & Yogic Retreat in Teotihuacan, Mexico

2009-09-29T10:04:00.000-07:00

Soar with the Angels - Merging Hearts with Spirit
With Lee McCormick, Dr. Sage Breslin
and Marisa Smith, MA

November 12- 17, 2009

There are 27 Continuing Education units offered for this journey, as approved by the NASW, NAADAC, and the BBS of California (MFT, LCSW)

It is almost 2010..two years from the 2012 Consciousness Shift. If you are awake and alive you are aware that life as we have known it is shifting and what we once took for granted as the way to do things is not working very well.

This is a great time in our history and our personal lives. This is the time to let go of trying to figure it all out or control life to whatever seems like success and allow the Light and the greater aspects of ourselves to create from our deepest integrity. All we need to make this transition is already within us.

Join us in November in Teotihuacan. Teo is one of the places of Consciousness on our planet that has held the frequency of the New Awareness and journeying there will only open you to an alignment with yourself and your Divinity.

The choice to be proactive is the choice to be free....We have made this trip as inexspensive as possible so take advantage, JUMP! DO IT NOW!

Dr. Sage Breslin, Psychologist and Intuitive Consultant, will enable you to address the obstacles that have presented in your life, express and release stored emotions, and embrace the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Under the gentle guidance of Marisa’s yoga teachings, you will learn to truly honor your body as the temple of your spirit and to adjust to your new-found energy.

The perspectives offered by these guides, as well as the vibrant energy of Teotihuacan, will enable you to let go of the beliefs and fears that have held you back from manifesting all that you can be. Come remember who and what you are.

Join us for the sweetest of experiences through the ancient powerful city of Teotihuacan where for 3,000 years humans gathered for healing practices and sacred ceremony.

This journey will free your mind, body and spirit, to clear, connect and commune in ways you have not yet been capable of. Your journey will be the greatest gift to yourself and those you love! Open your life to the grace and ease of the angels and come soar with us!

Accommodations provided by the beautiful Dreaming House.
Price of $795 double occupancy, $995 single, includes delicious meals and transportation to and from the airport.

Day trips to ancient sites including The Citadel and The Temple of Quetzalcoatl, The Avenue of the Dead, Pyramid of the Moon, Quetzalpapalotl Palace, Patio of the Jaguars and one of the world’s most magnificent sites, The Pyramid of the Sun. You will have the opportunity to see beautiful murals and carvings in the site’s two museums in which you can explore the city’s fascinating history.

Contact Gretchen at (615) 557-5245
or email information@spiritrecovery.com
Visit: www.thedreaminghousemx.com

* Trip cost includes double occupancy at the beautiful Dreaming House Retreat Center, all meals and transportation to and from Mexico City airport. Space is limited, prices based on double occupancy, airfare to Mexico City not included. Private upgrades available for an additional $200.

A Ramble

2009-06-15T14:04:00.000-07:00

We're hearing it over and over again, in the news and print media, all over the web, in lectures and teachings new and old: These times, they're'a changin'. But are you taking the time to integrate just what this message means in your own life and to the world around you? Yeah, we all can agree that life is blasting through the spin cycle, that time feels like its accelerating, that things (from lifeforms to fads) are here and then are out with a poof ! but are you, and I, really grasping the import of all this or are we merely drafting on the backwind?

I'm asking myself these questions, and I don't feel like I can immediately shout an enthusiastic "Hell Yeah, I'm working for change!" I've struggled over recent years with the idea of balancing changing the world by changing myself versus being an agent for change by being involved in local, national and global initiatives. I know voting for Obama was important and all, but besides that I can't honestly say I've invested sweat and tears into a cause. And this is where I get stuck, because so many of the life teachings I align with tout that what's most important is how we are in our individual lives, on a daily, consistent basis: The Butterfly Effect, the Golden Rule. But in today's environment, is that enough?

I also struggle with the idea that where we focus our thoughts and energy is in turn what we manifest in the world. If I believe in the "good" or "righteous", by those very thoughts do I create the "bad" my good is against. I wonder if my siding with a cause only makes its opposition stronger, or more of a reality. Not that I would want to live with my head in a hole and ignore the world, but does me being for something only give it's opposite more power? Does my attention increase it's presence? If I were to be in the world, simply doing the best I can in my daily life, but not paying attention to something like the war in Iraq, would that somehow lessen the impact of it's reality? Perhaps it would lessen its impact on my immediate surroundings (for the time being), but for those that can't look the other way, like those who live in active war zones, or in poverty and oppression, my looking the other way does nothing to alleviate the actuality of the suffering they experience. And though our lives may seem to exist in unconnected dimensions, we are still part of the same whole.

Another thing is that I don't know if it's possible to be alive in a state of only good. Human-beingness is in many ways defined by the interplay of opposites. Great minds and philosophers across the ages, such as Jung, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Osho, Holmes, and Plato, have all stated that life is the weaving together of light and dark.

But going back to change. What I know for sure is that the only thing I have the ability to control and effect is my internal world. I believe that being in touch with one's internal nature is a key to a happy, satisfying life. Research, and common experience, has told us that wealth, fame, beauty, or material possessions and all of those other externals aren't the source of contentment, joy or peace of mind. Plus, a recent study has finally "proven" that having gratitude can increase your happiness by as much as 25% (and it can also help with chronic health problems). And in relation to my last post on community, expressing gratitude has the power to help build community, because "Thanks begets thanks."

How does this all fit into having awareness around the state our society and world is in right now? I'm not sure; I just felt compelled to get these thoughts out there. To be continued...

I would be grateful for any comments or feedback!

Namaste~m

What the World Needs Right Now

2009-05-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of seeing the poet Mary Oliver speak at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. After delighting the crowd with a few poems, Mary amused us by responding to inquiries from the audience. When posed the hard-hitting question, "What does our world need right now?", she let out a heavy "Whoa," then paused, swallowed, sighed then answered.

"Community is what our world needs right now."

I couldn't agree more, Mary. Community, unity, harmony, compassion, global vision, integral values, what the world needs is to be included in the mind, the heart and soul of humans. Mary Oliver went on to explain that she believed that only through creating tolerant, kind, supportive local, national, and global communities will we as a species be able to begin to heal ourselves and our planet. We can no longer afford to look upon each other as enemies to be dominated. Now is the time to mature into secure, aware, integrated beings. I hope we can do it. I think many of us are.

I also recently heard author and philanthropist David Eggers say during his TED speech that the goal of his work at the non-profit 826 National is to create happy communities and thus a happy world. Through the 826 writing and tutoring centers, where kids receive free one-on-one homework assistance, they can then go home and enjoy themselves and "that makes a happy family, a bunch of happy families in a neighborhood is a happy community, a bunch of happy communities tied together is happy city, and a happy world, right?'

Right.

It relieves me to think we can start at home. Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking on the huge, worldwide scale. Thinking I need to be fighting the big fight makes me feels like I'll never be doing enough to help create the change that is needed to redirect our collision course with ourselves. Acting here, where I am, feels good, feels possible. And the small things do matter: biking to work, buying local, eating local, growing a garden, volunteering at a local school or non profit, giving a smile when one wasn't needed or expected, generosity of words, thought and action all make a positive difference. That in turn ripples across our planet.

We are here for each other. United we evolve.

Snow Geese ~ by Mary Oliver

Oh, to love what is lovely, and will not last!
What a task
to ask
of anything, or anyone,
yet it is ours,
and not by the century or the year, but by the hours.
One fall day I heard
above me, and above the sting of the wind, a sound
I did not know, and my look shot upward; it was
a flock of snow geese, winging it
faster than the ones we usually see,
and, being the color of snow, catching the sun
so they were, in part at least, golden. I
held my breath
as we do
sometimes
to stop time
when something wonderful
has touched us
as with a match,
which is lit, and bright,
but does not hurt
in the common way,
but delightfully,
as if delight
were the most serious thing
you ever felt.
The geese
flew on,
I have never seen them again.
Maybe I will, someday, somewhere.
Maybe I won't.
It doesn't matter.
What matters
is that, when I saw them,
I saw them
as through the veil, secretly, joyfully, clearly.

Householders Unite!

2009-05-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

My new article as featured in Yoga Living Magazine

Yoga teachers hear it all the time, as if the student needs them to bear witness to their sin. “It’s been two weeks since my last class.” “I haven’t been able to make it to yoga in over a month.” “I’ve been so busy, it’s been waaaaaay too long.” When students apologize for not attending class it reveals layers of self-doubt and criticism. But are you really a slacker? Or are you simply doing the best you can to balance the life of a Householder with your interest in the discipline of yoga?

It is helpful to step back and remember that you are not the only one struggling to shoulder a full outer life with a calling inward. Often, though we go to bed with the best intention to wake early to spend time on the mat or cushion, or we vow to find time after work or before the kids get home to head to the studio, we don’t do it. Days, weeks, months go by and as each pass our inner critic becomes louder. We tell ourselves, “I’ll never be good at yoga. Everyone else is a dedicated student but me,” or the ultimate blow, “I’ll never be enlightened!” We begin to believe that there is something wrong with us at our core, that we are flawed for not being able to make the time to practice.

Indeed, Patanjali states in the Yoga Sutras that laziness, carelessness, and fatigue are among the obstacles along the path of yoga. But are we truly lazy when we are managing children, a home, family, a career, hobbies, and a path of practice? For most of us, our lives are far from those of the renunciates who have given up worldly engagement for spiritual devotion; nor are we those with privileged amounts of time and resources to spend our mornings in meditation, our afternoons on the mat and our weekends on retreat. We are those who are simply striving to understand the Self while having both feet firmly planted in day-to-day demands. We are Householders.

In Hinduism, the culture from which yoga emerged, there are four distinct stages of human growth and development. These stages govern the flow of the maturing being and provide a guideline for advancing through the inner and outer worlds.

These Stages, or Ashramas, are:

1. The Student Stage - Brahmacharya
2. The Householder Stage - Grihastha
3. The Hermit Stage - Vanaprastha
4. The Wandering Ascetic Stage - Sannyasa

The Student Stage lasts until roughly the age of 25. It is a time of learning and study during which you prepared for a future profession and begin to understand the social and spiritual beliefs of your culture.

The Stage of the Householder, which lasts from approximately 25 – 50 years of age, is a period of being an active member of the community. You may be a partner, raise a family, support important causes, and pursue a career, all the while continuing to foster your relationship to spirit. Except for those who embark upon the life of a monk, nun, saint or saddhu, spiritual pursuits are not expected to be the central focus. All societies need productive, active Householders. You are laying the groundwork for the culture that will support your needs as you age, as well shape the world your children will inherit.

In the Hermit Stage you withdrawal from the material world into retirement. Here you are a grandparent and mentor, and are free to further deepen your bond with God or the Absolute. It is a time when a person is in this world but not of it. Today, this may not happen until the age of 60 or later.

The Fourth Stage is one of complete renunciation. Here, all efforts are turned towards uniting the individual soul, jivatma, with the universal Godhead, the paramatam. Only once a full life has been led do you concentrate solely on your spiritual path.

Though your soul longs to merge back into the spiritual ocean from which it came, it doesn’t all have to happen now. What you can do and control is how you feel about where you are. The next time you begin to beat yourself up over not having enough time on the mat, rest assured that all is coming. You are exactly where you need to be, doing exactly what you need to do.

Remember to be compassionate with yourself and have patience with your process. Your true Self is eternal, and you are destined to return there. Instead of wishing away the demands of everyday life, feel gratitude for the enlivening variety of experiences they offer. Each moment we have a choice to see the beauty before it passes, and when we do, we are truly living the path of yoga.

The Artist's Dream

2009-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Next week I'll be attending The Artist's Dream in Teotihuacan, Mexico, a journey which is hosted by the remarkable artists and healers Iva Peele and Emily Grieves. Teotihuacan, the "Place Where Humans Becomes God", is an ancient Toltec site outside of Mexico City that was once a bustling center of spiritual wisdom and transformation.

Over two thousand years ago, the Toltecs were known throughout Mexico as men and women of knowledge and artists of spirit. As artists, they owned the power and responsibility of being the creators of their world. A Toltec is not defined by belonging to a race of people, but by the common practice of continually transforming personal belief systems and honing awareness in order to experience heaven on earth. Through the Toltec's exploration of their inner and outer world they came to realize that living a life of happiness and love is a personal matter, one that can only be created from the inside. With the acceptance of our partnership with Creation, we are the quintessential Artists. How beautiful we want the canvas of our lives to become is up to us.

Toltecs live with clear intentions about themselves, the world and their place in it. It is a practice of ever heightening consciousness that allows one to live a joyful life filled with integrity and meaning. A Toltec is a Spiritual Warrior whose quest is for personal freedom. Personal freedom is attained when one gains mastery over the beliefs of the mind. It is a state that is simply described as living with gratitude, unconditional love, and respect for all of creation.

In our modern era, Toltec teachings have been popularized by Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan, which he wrote in 1968, and by Don Miguel Ruiz's best selling book The Four Agreements. The teachings of the Toltces are united with the same wisdom and truth of all the world's spiritual paths. It is a transpersonal way of life.

To live the Artist's Dream is to voyage into the mystery of being with an open heart and clear mind. Being an Artist calls us to have the courage to live with passion and embrace our divinity.

As the poet Marianne Williamson said so well:

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Transpersonal Psychology

2009-04-13T15:47:00.001-07:00

That blank look. It's what most people give me when I mention Transpersonal Psychology. I can almost hear the voice in your head saying, "Transpersonal psychology? What the heck is that?"
I know its the word transpersonal that's got you hung up, so to simplify matters I quickly add that its like spiritual psychology. But since I've got your attention, let's turn towards, not away from, the transpersonal...

The word is easy enough to break down: "Trans" is a Latin prefix meaning across, over or beyond, so attaching that to the word "personal", whose definition includes arising from personality and involving persons and human beings, we arrive at the concept of reaching beyond or transcending the individual or personal.
And I love the real definition of psychology. Its not the study of the mind, like most think, but the study of the soul. We all know "ology" refers to the study of, but did you know that "psyche" comes from the Greek word psuche meaning breath, life or soul:

Psuche
"The breath of life, (the vital force which animates the body and shows itself in breathing life, in which there is a living being, a living soul) the soul (the seat of feelings, desires, affections, aversions [our heart, soul etc.]...The soul as an essence which differs from the body and is not dissolved by death (distinguished from other parts of the body)."

Yes, technically, psychology as we know it in our culture is the study of the mind and behaviors, but let's consider for a while this idea of the study of the soul, the essence of being. From that perspective, it makes considerable sense to study the soul through a lens which includes the transpersonal. Transpersonal experiences are characterized by non-ordinary states or shifts in consciousness that are beyond rational thinking. Doorways to the transpersonal include: near-death experiences, meditation, mystical experiences, ritual, trance, dreaming, the use of psychedelics & other medicines, yoga, dance, music, art, contemplation or even spontaneous gnosis. Such experiences are described as moments of awakening, ascention, samadhi, enlightenment, illumination, opening, liberation, or union.

It is interesting to me that native and Eastern cultures do not even have systems of psychology. For them, an understanding of the soul, and the evolution of consciousness or mind, is built right into their society. Instead of specialized psychologists and counselors to help people find their way out of themselves, they have monks, yogis, shamans, healers, priests, sages, and seers to guide the course. It is an invention of the modern mind to view the ego as the seat of the Self, as the highest authority, and one look into our rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, illness and neurosis will give you an idea of how that's been working out for us. Without a sense of something greater we are without meaning and feel lost.

Paradox ically that which gives us meaning is itself impossible to define. Yet, as my beloved colleague Russell Park PhD once said, you know you are close to truth when there is a paradox. Transpersonal psychology is the study of all paths to Truth, their methods, causes, effects, and the disciplines and practices they inspire. The human personality is not an end in its self, but a vehicle for the soul to navigate through the world. Through the application of spiritual techniques the highest levels of human potential may be realized and our pure essence of being remembered.

This is Transpersonal Psychology, and I find it fascinating.

“The treacherous, unexplored areas of the world are not in continents or the seas; they are in the hearts and minds of men.” - Allen Claxton

Namaste

2009-04-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Namaste

I honor that place in you in which the entire Universe dwells.

I honor that place in you which is of light, of love, of peace and of truth.

When you are in that place in you, I am in that place in me,

We are one.

A Lesson in Tapas

2009-04-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

I lifted my head from child’s pose and glanced across the studio at my Mom. She was lying outstretched on her back, collapsed in a disheveled sivasana. Her head rolled towards me and our eyes met. “I suck,” she mouthed silently. I shook my head and we both giggled.

At 51 years old, having never experienced an Ashtanga class, Mom decided to build her upon her five years of yoga teaching by enrolling in a nine-day Ashtanga Teacher Training. I tried to caution her about the style’s vigor, but as I didn’t want to be discouraging my warnings were too subtle and she was not dissuaded.

On the third day of the training, I was allowed to attend the morning’s Mysore practice. As I moved through the Primary Series I witnessed Mom struggle with each posture. She was so sore from the previous two mornings that each movement was heavy and raw. The kind, gifted teacher David Garrigues nursed her with encouragement and modifications, even suggesting that she take a break. But through the aches and obvious struggle she continued on.

Tapas, a Niyama of the Eight-Fold Path of the Yoga Sutras, is understood to mean purification through heat as well as discipline. Looking into her exhausted eyes, I felt privileged to behold a person focused enough to transcend limits of the mind, heart, and body. This was not a woman who sucked at yoga, but one who through the purity of her efforts was true tapas in action.

Who Am I?

2009-03-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

When you read that phrase I want you all to think of Derek Zoolander asking this profound question of his own reflection in a puddle, whose reflection responds, "I don't know," right before his face is splattered with mud. Why do I want you to think of Zoolander? I don't know. Maybe because it takes the pressure off such a big question. If Zoolander can have the insight to ask it, so can I right? And argument can be made that by the end of the film he did indeed get an answer, so there's hope for us all.

The journey of Self-realization, or as Jung calls it, individuation, is the process by which humankind tackles the universal question, "Who am I?" At one point or another most of us go through this questioning, though we often feel like the only one who is uncertain. Across the ages, cultures and societies have had stories, myths, or rituals that give guidance to this ubiquitous archetype. Examples range from the Vision Quests of the Native American to the life of Siddhartha to the quest of Frodo, and to even our beloved Zoolander. This wish for wholeness is not of just a few, but all of humanity.

Well, then, who are you? Often people begin to answer the question with labels such as name, occupation, relationships: "I am Marisa. I am a mother. I am a yoga teacher. I am an American. I am 30 years old. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am a friend." And those things I correctly am, but then, who is this "I" that I am referring to? Where does this "I" originate?

Further inquiry reveals that my sense of "I" comes not from my my mind, because the mind is the producer of thought, and though I can think about "I", this "I" is beyond ideas. When I let go of names and forms there is a subtle energy, a sense of presence, of being, of I-Amness. Trying to capture this sense with words is like trying to raise water from a lake with a giant net; nothing sticks.

I have come to know my "I" as an energy of the heart because this limitless sense of being, this witness, feels loving and kind and open. When I reside in my heart I feel connected to something vaster than my opinionated personality. Oh yeah! I remember now, that's the union of yoga! The union of self with God, the Absolute, the Universal, the Self, or whatever you want to call it. This is not to say that Self-realization is a religious experience, though it is certainly one that the conscious ego finds itself grounded in something deeper to, prior than, and more foundational than the self.

It isn't simply within the writing of this blog that I have come to understand the task of individuation... My journey began years ago, and continues everyday. Through the adoption of cross-cultural tools such as yoga, meditation, Toltec journey work, art, travel, Vision Quests, sweat lodges, dance, and more, I have learned to love, to forgive, to question, to accept, to challenge, and to release into the core of being. Greatest of all, I have learned from my own leaps of faith into my path of heart, sometimes getting my face splattered in mud.

"There has got to be more to life than being really, really ridiculously goodlooking."

Keepin' It Real

2009-03-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

During these nationally, globally and personally unsteady times it would be easy to lose sight, for reality to lose its luster. I could reflect and say to myself, "I'm unemployed, our economy is in shambles, we are in multiple wars, the earth is being destroyed...we're doomed, what's the point of it all?" I could become overwhelmed with anxiety, depressed, and stunted by fear.
Yet, I'm not.

I don't feel that I am calm and hopeful because I live in the bliss of ignorance. I think I am informed and alert, and at the same time am vigilant to what I allow into my awareness, and how I spend my energy. I acknowledge the negative and instead of feeding it, I try to focus on the light and see myself and the world through a kind and forgiving lens. I believe I have a choice in how I understand reality, and that the impressions in my own mind are capable of effecting great change. Intentional thought can create more harmony and healing than trillions of dollars.

When I face the Darkside I feel gratitude for its existence, for only through knowing what I don't like am I able to know what I do. If there were only white the radiance would blind us. Next to black, white is perceived, and then we have a choice. Choice is consciousness, and these define our humaness.

The Taoist philosophers guide me with their wisdom:

Who knows what is good and what is bad?
If you think you can have order without chaos, you understand nothing about the laws of the universe.
Flow around obstacles, don't confront them.
The acceptable and the unacceptable are both acceptable.
Without desire or fear every dilemma spontaneously arrives at its natural solution.
All things appear as they truly are to those who are not blinded by their own self-interest.
Life is a great dream.
By changing ourselves we change the world.
Every end is a beginning.

Times like these are an opportunity to remember of what we are made and to establish where we are headed, and where our head is. The choice is mine and right now I choose a deep breath and a soft smile. You?

Yogini Infinity?

2009-03-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yogini Infinity is a tag I came up with a decade ago when I was beginning to see my yoga practice as a defining characteristic of who I was becoming. Today, it feels a little childish and fluffy for me to don this assumed name, especially since I've given it to myself. When I read it the voice of my own mind switches to that of Buzz Lightyear and says, "Yogini Infinity...and Beyond!" Then I see myself taking flight, fuchsia sequin cape flapping in the wind behind me. It's silly.

Yet, there it is, right up at the top of this page. "Por que?" you ask, as I have asked myself many times. Because when I break it down, I continue to relate to the meaning of it, and can apply it to that being I am still becoming.
Here is how my logic goes:

Yogini: A female practitioner of yoga.
Yoga: Union; in particular the union of matter & spirit, of the individual self with the Divine.
Infinity: The state of being infinite.
Infinite: Limitless or endless; impossible to measure.

It's interesting to further note that the word infinite comes from the Latin infinitus, where in, 'not' + finitus, 'finished' = not finished.* By those definitions, when I refer to Yogini Infinity what I am getting at is that the act of joining the self with Cosmic Consciousness is one that cannot ever be truly completed. Since change is constant, the act of getting there, of being unified, is continual. There is no lasting moment of "finally making it." A Yogini Infinity is one who is constantly engaged in remembering their core Absolute state while dancing in the boundaries of the here and now. It's the both/and, to use Angeles Arrien's term, of the paradoxical state entered when one is fully awake. As is often quoted, you are in this world, but not of it; you are not seeking to escape but to embody.

And to me, the most beautiful part of all is that this state can't be measured. No quantitative research data will finally prove that the Divine is out there (or in here). No journal article will ever appear in JAMA highlighting the statistically significant rates at which people who enter a unified state of being become more fully alive. Not to say that the effects of yoga cannot be studied, because they can and are, on top of it's thousands of years of time-testability, which I hold as proof of its value and success. (It speaks volumes that something can continue to thrive and grow for centuries without the use of war, coercion or manipulation to create 'believers'.)
The internal, the qualitative, the experience which is subject to the subjective, and is ever changing, cannot be bottled and replicated. That truth is the beauty & poetry which the yogi or yogini lives.

To think that I will never "get there" inspires me and I feel the preciousness of every fragile moment. That all, any, of this is is miraculous. Hope becomes boundless. To have no beginning and no end is the ultimate prize. These ideas empower me with accountability and foster compassion for all beings. Life feels like a magic carpet ride fueled by unlimited potential and possibility. In moments large and small, from a quiet sunset over the ocean to the birth of a daughter, the exhilaration leaves me speechless. When I just am, I am Yogini Infinity. Even in times when I am spastic, chaotic, depressed, lazy, confused, sad, angry, fearful or lost, I am too.

So, I've decided I'll keep the label. It may be hokey to some, and at times to me, but it's a fruitful reminder of an aspiration I still consider worthy.

*Thanks MacBook Pro Dashboard Dictionary.

My 4th Decade - Ready or Not...!

2009-03-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

My stepdad, Roman, wryly informed me in the birthday card from my family that I am now in my fourth decade. Thanks, Roman. I hadn't thought about it that way before...

I turned 30 years old just a few days ago, and though I am very accepting of this new era of being, (the 30s! oh my!) the thought that I am entering my 4th decade carries with it a slight to moderate increase in weight. But once I considered it, he's right. Though I am just at the cusp of that 4th decade I'll remind you!

Heading up to the big day I often pondered how I felt about it. The message from society and American culture was that it was something I was supposed to dread, to feel remorse about, to go into kicking and screaming, as if its all down hill from here. And I tried to adopt that attitude, I really did. I'd look at Bill, my beau, with my most pouty and concerned face and with a big sigh say dreadful things like, "But I'm turning 30..." as if that fact alone was a life sentence. But try as I might, I feel great. Even that vendor at the Portland Saturday Market who we bought those magnificent photographs from didn't dampen my spirit when he asked, "Do you have a sister here? There's a woman, she must be in her 60's, and she looks just like you." I smiled sweetly, and replied, "No...and my mom is only 50."

Yes, I am excited about this next stage of being. As I assess my 20s, they feel full and complete. I've taken the inventory and there is no unfinished business or regret. The adventures, blessings, and lessons were plenty and stimulating to say the least. I have been faced with challenges of the heart, of the mind, of the financial, and overcame tests of my integrity, character and dreams, and though I stumbled and faltered at times, I feel wiser and stronger today.

I am filled with gratitude for all of life's dance: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the exquisitely beautiful. It is all the same soil from which we grow in soul.

I am ready, 4th decade... Bring it on!