these first new year days..2014..

Swanlight

— John O’Donohue © 2001

If it could say itself January
Might brighten its syllables on the frost
Of these first New Year days whose cold is blue.

Meanwhile in this corner of its silence
A weak winter sun lowers down behind
The moor that rises away from the lake.

Beyond reach of light, the shadowed water
Succumbs to this darkening of spirit
That would deny the bog today’s twilight.

All of a sudden something else breaks through
To appear at the far end of the lake
In two diagrams of white, uneven light.

I have never seen white so absolute
And alone, glistening in awkward form
Dreaming across the water a bright path.

As it stirs and changes I see what it is:
Two swans have found the mirror in the lake
Where a V of horizon lets light through

To make them light-source and light-shape in one.
Now they swim and fade through windows of reed
And disrobe the lake of apparition.

I look and look into their vanishing
See nothing. Departing that perfect ground
I knew I had been hungry for a blessing.

new year's eve AM yoga class..w/ bell ceremony

tuesday, decembre 31
we will have yoga class @ 8 am..
the traditional bell ceremony will also be offered..
we will sit after savasana..
the bell will be kindly rung 108 times..
to cleanse impurities..
to remove any obscurations..
to clear away obstacles..
to prepare an empty field
for the coming year..2014..
please be prepared to stay
an additional 10-15 minutes..

it will be worth your while ~
emaho!

there are no classes on january 1 & 2..
join us again on friday,  january 3 @ 9 am..

contentment

'tis the season.. for contentment..eh?

you can't have everything.
where would you put it?
                  ~ steven wright

any so-called material thing
that you want is merely a symbol:
you want it not for itself,
but because it will content
your spirit for the moment.
           ~ mark twain


many go fishing all their lives
without knowing that it is not
fish they are after.
               ~ thoreau

santosha..
knowing when enough is enough..
if you had enough, would you recognize it?

may i remembre impermanence and death from my heart
and generate the thought of no-need in my mind ~

the feast of satisfaction -
i give because my heart is too full;
it cannot contain all that it has.
            ~ the sun moves northward

and may it be just so ~

solstice 2013 winter seclusion

making quietude
my only companion:
winter  seclusion.

to the right, books;
to the left, a tea-cup.
in front of me,
the fireplace;
behind me, the post.
there is no greater
happiness than this.
                   ~ teiga



and we all shine on..
like the moon and the stars and the sun ~
                  ~ john lennon

anacortes yoga holidaze schedule ~ wing and a prayer

jeepers!!!!
having posted the incorrect days
on the holiday schedule ~
i will re-post :

classes will not be held on wednesday, decembre 25th
                                             thursday, decembre 26th
classes will not be held on wednesday, january 1st  2014
                                             thursday, january 2nd


CLASSES WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBRE 24TH
CLASSES WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, DECEMBRE 31ST

(thanks, dear ricky!)


heart sutra sit
sunday,  january 12th
          4-6 pm
                by donation



aloha! solstice bright! merry yuletide! cheers! blessed new year!
glad tidings! dona nobis pacem!

rumi's wedding night ~ urs ~

this day..at sunset.. 1273..
rumi is dead..

i belong to the beloved,
have seen the two worlds as one,
and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing human being.

HU



what is this day with two suns in the sky?
day unlike other days,
with a great voice giving it to the planet,
here it is, enamored beings, your day.

after 740 years,
i still feel his breath on the back of my neck..

mr. I @ 95

as honey is sweet from any part of the comb, so is yoga..
so says BKS Iyengar..

yoga enables every part of the human system
to become attuned to its essence..
enabling the practitioner to perceive and experience
the world within & without..
to embody the divine joy of all creation -
to share that nectar with all beings..

mr. I is 95 today..
what would the yoga of today be like
without
his precise, foreboding style..
his unfathomable inner wisdom..
his eyebrows?

where there is yoga,
there is prosperity,
success,
freedom
&
bliss!

JAI ~ MR. I

heart sutra sits..2014!

2014..imagine!

here is what is scheduled for the heart sutra meditations..
they are always on sundays - 4pm until 6pm
offered by donation

january 12th
february 9th
march 16
april 13
may 25

that's enough  for now..
subject to change, of course ~
what isn't?

the 2-hour sesshin begins
with the chanting of the heart sutra ~
we roll through our malas (prayer beads)
a mantra a bead for the grande total of ..108..
om gate gates
then sit to even us out..
next  kin-hin - walking meditation for about 10 minutes..
followed by 2 (two) 25 minute sits..
we do take a standing breather for 5 betwixt..

it is sooooo worth while..

form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
emptiness is no other than form,
form is no other than emptiness...

o really...?
yes..really!

yoga holidaze schedule

heading northward..
the sun soon penduluming
toward the light ~

here then..
the yoga class schedule
for the days ahead ...

no classes on wednesday, decembre 25th
                      thursday, decembre  26th
no classes on wednesday, january 1 2014
                      thursday, january 2

remembre:
the book of quotes coming in february..
the 14th..
if you'd like to give one as a gift..
we have sumptuous gift certificates readily available now
& if you order before the solstice bright,
the CD of  pages is included..
(you can print your own as offerings)

this will be an exquisite hand bound piece of love..
worth the $1 a page..$108 ~

mere enthusiasm is the all in all ..
passion and expression are beauty itself .
               ~ blake

2 poems by jane

              MULE HEART
              On the days when the rest 
              have failed you, 
              let this much be yours - 
              flies, dust, an unnameable odor,
              the two waiting baskets:
              one for the lemons and passion,
              the other for all that you have lost.
              Both empty, 
              it will come to your shoulder,
              breathe slowly against your bare arm.
              If you offer it hay, it will eat.
              Offered nothing,
              it will stand as long as you ask. 
              The little bells of the bridle will hang
              beside you quietly, 
              in the heat and the tree's thin shade.
              Do not let its sparse mane deceive you,
              or the way the left ear swivels into dream.
              This too is a gift of the gods,
              calm and complete. 


FOR WHAT BINDS US

There are names for what binds us:

strong forces, weak forces.

Look around, you can see them:

the skin that forms in a half-empty cup,

nails rusting into the places they join,

joints dovetailed on their own weight.

The way things stay so solidly

wherever they've been set down—

and gravity, scientists say, is weak.

And see how the flesh grows back

across a wound, with a great vehemence,

more strong

than the simple, untested surface before.

There's a name for it on horses,

when it comes back darker and raised: proud flesh,

as all flesh,

is proud of its wounds, wears them

as honors given out after battle,

small triumphs pinned to the chest—

And when two people have loved each other

see how it is like a

scar between their bodies,

stronger, darker, and proud;

how the black cord makes of them a single fabric

that nothing can tear or mend.

                                  ~jane hirschfield

2 poems by ray

somehow ray bradbury has found his way under my glasses..

two poems targeted my heart  ~ bull's eye!

what i do is me - for that i came
for gerard manley hopkins

what i do is me - for that i came.
what i do is me!
for that i came into the world!
so said Gerard;
so said that gentle Manley Hopkins.
in his poetry and prose he saw the Fates that chose
him in genetics, then set him free to find his way
among the sly electric printings in his blood.
God thumbprints thee! he said.
within your hour of birth
he touches hand to brow, he whorls and softly stamps
the ridges and the symbols of his soul above your
eye!
but in that selfsame hour, full born and shouting
shocked pronouncements of one's birth,
in mirrored gaze of midwife, mother, doctor
see that Thumbprint fade and fall away in flesh
so, lost, erased, you seek a lifetime's days for it
and dig deep to find the sweet instructions there
put by when God first circuited and printed thee to
life:
"go hence! do this! do that! do yet another thing!
this self is yours! be it!"
and what is that ?! you cry at hearthing breast,
is there no rest? no, only journeying to be yourself.
and even as the Birthmark vanishes, in seashell ear
now fading to a sigh, his last words send you in the
world:
"not mother, father, grandfather are you.
be not another. be the self i signed you in your blood.
i swarm your flesh with you. seek that.
and, finding, be what no one else can be.
i leave you gifts of Fate most secret; find no other's Fate,
for if you do, no grave is deep enough for your despair
no country far enough to to hide your loss.
i circumnavigate each cell in you
your merest molecule is right and true.
look there for destinies indelible and fine
and rare.
ten thousand futures share your blood each instant;
each drop of blood a cloned electric twin of you.
in merest wound on hand read replicas of what i
planned
          and knew
before your birth, then hid it in your heart.
no part of you that does not snug and hold and hide
the self that you will be if faith abide.
what you do is thee. for that i gave you birth.
be that. so be the only you that's truly you on earth."

dear Hopkins. gentle Manley. rare Gerard. fine
name.
what we do is us. because of you. for that we came.


doing is being

doing is being.
to have done's not enough;
to stuff yourself with doing - that's the game.
to  name yourself each hour by what's done,
to tabulate your time at sunset's gun
and find yourself in acts
you could not know before the facts
you wooed from secret self, which much needs wooing,
so doing brings it out,
kills doubt by simply jumping, rushing, running
forth to be
the now-discovered me.
to not do is to die,
or lie about and lie about the things
you just might do some day.
away with that!
tomorrow empty stays
if no man plays it into being
with his motioned way of seeing.
let your body lead your mind -
blood the guide dog to the blind;
so then pracice and rehearse
to find the heart-soul's universe,
knowing that by moving/seeing
proves for all time: doing's being!

a wing & a prayer ~ book of quotes

108 quotes, poems & sayings

selected by dunja

written in calligraphy by Ora Mae

on sheets measuring 11 x 4 1/4"

held by book boards 

covered in Lama Li paper *

w/ a wing & a prayer design

on the cover.

~*~

Books may be pre-ordered

at any time before release date

by cash or cheque payable to: 

dunja lingwood

After we recoup our materials cost,

all proceeds will go toward

upkeep of the wing:

rent, props, floor, etc...

We will release only 108 copies 

of the original hand-assembled book.

However, 

orders placed by Decembre 21st  2013

will include a disc of the scanned calligraphies

from which prints may be made.

We are asking only a dollar a page..

for the grande total of 

$108.00

The finished books will be available

on February 14th ~ Valentine's Day ~ 2014

imagine!

We will host a book release party

with plenty of love & gingerbread cookies for all.

NOTE:

If you would like to give this as a holiday gift,

we will have lovely printed Certificates 

available by Decembre 15th.

~*~

*Lama Li paper is handmade by Nepalese villagers.

10% of profits benefit their community development projects.

yoga in anacortes 2

many a folk turned up for our gratitude in motion
thanksgiving yoga class yesterday..8 am ..imagine..
we filled the studio with 22 yoginis and yogis
& collected $715 to send off to yoga behind bars..

GENEROSITY IS A GAINFUL TRADE
                                        ~ rumi

thank you - to all who participated..
stretching the edges of our own walls..
opening the doors, windows & pockets
of our hearts, bones & minds...

NOTE:
please drop the friday afternoon class
(4:30pm) from your schedules ~

if you feel a need to climb those 3 flights of stairs
on friday, decembre 6th..a wing will be open
for the first friday art walk ..

heart sutra sit..rohatsu..
sunday, decembre 8th
4-6pm
by donation

it is rare to meet one another 
and practice what is rare to practice.
    ~ dogen

ever so greatful for our practice together..
om!

thanks giving yoga anacortes

early on thanksgiving day..
there is a way to say
thank-you...

a wing and a prayer
up the stair
8 am

all the gelt, the gold, the pieces of eight
will be sent directly to:
YOGA BEHIND BARS..

are we all in prison..?
are we all free..?
let's wake up and see ~

619 commercial avenue
#34
anacortes, wa. 98221

360 770 7891

hunt for the bounty with the snare of gratitude...
                                     ~ rumi

yoga in anacortes

it's been since valentine's day..
since i have posted any wee thing..

i have landed  ~
back in the olde
wing and a prayer yoga studio..
619 commercial avenue
 room # 34

this time w/ a new and improved..
well, olde and splendidly funky fir floor ~

been receiving some fairly strong nudges
toward a web site..facebook... linkedin..
o my o ~
so my so..

i thought: heydeeho..
i'll post the yoga schedule on the peace blog..
a good place to start..

jeri lancaster, a long time student and recent teacher - training grad
is offering a class on monday evenings ~ 7:00 pm
please call her @ : 360 299 2519

as for my offerings:
tuesday and thursday  8:00 am
wednesday, friday & saturday 9:00 am
wednesday 7:00 pm 
friday afternoon  4:30 pm
same low price ~ drop-in / $15
series of 8 ~ $108

once an month..
on sunday ~ 4 to 6 pm 

11 novembre  - 

8  decembre

we chant the heart sutra..
do a mala round of om gate gate..
sitting meditation w/ a kin-hin inbetwixt ( walking meditation)..
by donation

360 770 7891

this is where i will post  schedule changes
& exciting announcements..
poetry and cosmic who-ha..

'tis the time of gratitude..
always..
thanks for the practice of yoga..
the study of dharma..
the exchange of wisdom w/ brilliant (ordinary) beings..

as it says on the hard copy of the yoga schedule;
nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
   ~ RWE

may it be just so!

heart's day

o love
o pure deep love
be here
be now
be all

worlds dissolve
into your stainless
endless radiance

frail living leaves
burn with you brighter
than cold stars

make me your servant
make me your breath
make me your core

 ~rumi

sky

if you catch a fragrance of the unseen,
you will not be able to be contained ~

you will be out in empty sky.

any beauty the world has, any desire,
will be easily yours.

as you live deeper in the heart,
the mirror gets cleaner and clearer.

when that happens,
you have no anxieties about losing anyone
or anything. you break the spells
that human difficulties cause.

                  ~ rumi
                          of course

descent

the earth stands upon columns 
supported by water
found in the mountains
sustained by the air
enclosed within the storm
that god holds in his arms.
               ~rabbi jose ben halafta
                           

i stepped off of the 6th rung..
just turned around from on high
and
stepped
right
off....
the ladder ~
as if i could walk on thin aire..
as if thin aire would hold me..
as if i was made of cotton candy...
none of the above are true.


if you're holding on to something,
it's hard to let go ~

leopard lady

she stands on the corner of 5th street and vine *
in her furry spotted boots & leopard poncho,
fluffy, animal gloves..long wild scarf..
a print hat celebrates her head!
the colour tones of her ensemble
are magnificent with her rich, dark skin..

she trembles ..
something like a parkinson's tremor ~
the parcel she holds shakes in her hands..

she is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
as she peeks into each car that stops at the sign.
there is a wee smile on her lips.
she is an animal of happiness ~
waiting at a crosswalk..

the cars ahead of me do not give her
the opportunity to cross the street..
when i reach the corner, our eyes meet.
i open up my palm in a gesture of after you..
she smiles broadly..a fine leonine smile & says aloud:
why thank you ever so much!

she sets out timidly in front of me..
quivering and quaking ... carefully placing her paws ..
step...by...step....by...step...by...step...
she takes her time..
i enjoy watching her slow, cat shimmy..

she steps up to the sidewalk...
when i drive away i see that she has turned around..
ready to cross the same street she has just traversed -

purrrr, baby, purrrrr!

(*streets have been changed to protect her innocence...)

anthem

The birds they sang at the break of day
"Start again", I heard them say
Don't dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be

Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold and bought again
The dove is never free

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

We asked for signs, the signs were sent
The birth betrayed, the marriage spent
The widowhood of every government
Signs for all to see

I can run no more with that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up a thundercloud
And they're going to hear from me

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

You add up the parts, you won't have the sum
You strike up the march, there is no drum
Every heart, every heart to love will come
But like a refugee

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in

                          ~leonard cohen

epiphany eve

i denuded a friend’s christmas tree this afternoon

& the definition of epiphany..to reveal.. was revealed!

the plump norwegian spruce sat demurely in her own quintessence.

stripped of anything artificial and dizzying..

she, for i sense she is a she ..was beaming in her nakedness ~

relieved of the baubles, beads and balls 

that made her the holiday spectacle..

she sighed ..the ah! of emptiness! emaho!

i, too, am somehow relieved on this eve of insight..

it happens every 6th of january..

offering a sweet step forward yet a sweet step back..

forward into the adventure of a new year..lucky 13..

back ..away.. from the frenzy that got us here..

there is an aire of surprise on the buff round tree..

she suddenly appears as she is, was and will always be..

beheld in the mirror of her own self..

a true-ness, a simplicity.. shining dark green and moist..

she is a light on the day of lights..

                                                             ***

my mama used to make fruitcake for the holidays..

she used all of the best dried fruits..and nuts..

fresh coconut and her secret...ready?

apricot nectar ~

the year before my father died,

she made at least a hundred of them..

there is the great fruitcake toss

somewhere in colorado on epiphany ~

no one would ever toss sallie’s away..

                         ~ ever ~

                                                           ***

glory be -

to each of us.. simply adorned...

with a kind heart..our light to lead us..

and nectar!

shine on ~