juncture..convergence..meeting place ~

it was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of light,
it was the season of darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us,
we were all going direct to heaven,
we were all going direct the other way.....
                   ~ charles dickens

the taoists' counsel ~
follow the course of life, channel the current;
you will be carried in the right direction,
you will profit from things without difficulty..


it is said that the ignorant are obstructed by ignorance,
while intellectuals are obstructed by intellectual knowledge.
one way of getting past these obstacles
and approaching inherent wisdom
is to let go of whatever comes to mind.   ~ muso kokushi

 for the forest to be green,

each tree must be green -

            ~maharishi mahesh yogi

against the wind ~

'twas an early morning ride on spike, the bike, this day..
this 24th of december..along the sea coast of sea change
of our willful, grateful lives..
windy ~
the sky and backlit clouds talking god talk -
the wee crescent moonness waning to newness
firmament clearing after a day long rain drench ..
wind..coming straight to the basket, the bike, the bones..
legs lift, lift, lifting to pedal the breeze..

shadows then..descending..
0ne, three, twenty seven..
pelicans on parade..
flying floating against the wind..pedaling not..
gliding and riding the crest of the gale..
joined by more and many more wings..
pelicans, wellingtons..
otters laid back, belly up..
dolphins..leaping and hollering..
curly-cueing the waves
gulls painting the waterways white
with minions of pinions..

wetsuits
hanging from the sideview mirrors..
dripping  ~
while the bodies that shaped them
half bucked .. drying off the tears of the sea..

against the wind..these days ahead..
crawling out from the caves of complacence
riding the wake of radical trust..
owning the sovereignty of interdependence
letting go..of custody..
yet ontaking stewardship ..

one by one against the wind
https://youtu.be/RcDCvQbOdig
'tis always so..
older now  ~
still..pedaling against the wind..

let's keep our balance 2017

                 

"The year 2016, like these winter days, will bring unknown gifts and challenges. We will need to be adaptable and flexible as we face a society and world that is growing ever more stubborn, opinionated, and inflexible. For this reason I want to suggest that the only resolution we make is to abandon New Year’s resolutions. They cause more angst and misery than accomplishment and happiness. They narrow our focus and give rise to unnecessary resistance. Instead of resolving to be someone different or accomplish something special, let’s go into each new day of the coming year expecting to be surprised. Let’s keep our balance, our flexibility, and our natural adaptability. Let’s dance when the music plays; work when the tasks arise; laugh and cry with ease; hold no stubborn opinions; and accept whatever comes as being the raw material of something new we never dreamed that we could do. This is all the world asks or needs of us.” 

                                                                                             

interesting...

i sent this quote out from bill martin last year..

january 4th..

we could change the year to 2017

and the sentiment would serve, yes?

in fear or resistance - we are pulled towards a past:
in desire or seeking - we are propelled towards a future.
resistance and seeking are the two essential forms
of the separate self.
the only place they cannot stand is now.
                              ~rupert spira

stay wholesome and holy ..
bring in the brilliance..
rest in the merriment of unfettered joy..
be full of good cheer ..
spread glad tidings..

o friendly dark unfold the sheath..
o blessed light bring forth the shimmer..
we hold the sun in the palm of our hand ~

glad yule ~ good yule!
paix..pax..pachem
shanti..shalom

and.....

it's all magic!

...disbelief in magic can force a poor soul 
into believing in government and business.... 
               ~ tom robbins
                 even cowgirls get the blues

don't forget the magic

it's raining in california..
mother earth is rumbling and quaking -
T**** is on the cover of every magazine...

what the farnbang is going on?
actually it is just biznez as usual..
are we paying more attention?
perhaps ~

the barn on hwy 101..
don't forget the magic

https://goo.gl/images/nnHtPs

leonard 1934 – 2016

it was the late sixties .. in pasadena, california..
my first real boyfriend and i were painting houses..
(didn’t we all do that?)
only the interiors..

our music of the times was the beatles, bob dylan
and of course, leonard.. his album just out ~
songs of leonard cohen..
remember this?
https://goo.gl/images/J6LKvI
we were smitten..

we would have our music with us..always..
and i recall many a time painting the lyrics
of his songs with primer on walls of our clients...

the residents would return home to
a newly painted living room
with lyrics of suzanne..sisters of mercy..
embedded in the hue..
delighted with the energi ~
interior design ~

they would be so enamoured with us and our work..
wanting us to paint every room in the house..
leonard was our job security!

i had a man fall head over heels in love with me
after we painted his bedroom..
he had no idea why..nor did i..
we figured it must have been leonard..

leonard's music, his poetry,
his life and wisdom  ~
a thousand kisses deep

o see the darkness yielding
that tore the light apart
come healing of the reason
come healing of the heart

the swing & the gypsy

between the conscious and the unconscious,
the mind put up a swing:
all earth creatures, even the supernovas,
sway between these two trees,
and it never winds down.

angels, animals, humans, insects by the million,
also the wheeling sun and moon;
ages go by, and it goes on.

everything is swinging:
heaven, earth, water, fire,
and the secret one slowly growing a body.
Kabir saw that for fifteen seconds,
and it made him a servant for life.
                    ~ kabir



distractions
think about gypsies...
like smoke in the evening they cross a border.
they don't believe in it, and they say if god
doesn't care nobody cares.  in the morning
their wagons are gone, carrying their stories
away.  they like the sound of a wheel
and have given up owning a place.  they roll
beyond old newspapers and broken glass and
start a new campfire.  sometimes, going up
a steep hill, they get off and walk forward
and whisper the oldest secret in the world
into the ear of their horses.
~ william stafford


it is incredulous..this day..
in the words of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai lama :

life is so colourful !

V O T E

  
the form of government which prevails 
is the expression of what cultivation
exists in the population which permits it.
                         ~ emerson

V - vexation   antonym  contentment

O - onerous   antonym  temperate

T - tacky antonym  tasteful

E - eeeew!  antonym  egalitarian


let us be poised and wise and our own today ...
without a shadow of a doubt, 
amidst this vertigo of shows and politics,
i settle myself ever firmer in the creed
that we should not postpone and refer and wish, 
but do broad justice where we are....
                              ~ emerson


to the mind there is such a thing as news,
whereas to the inner knowing,
it is all in the middle of its happening....
.....
to the lover and the visionary,
it is life as it's being lived.
             ~rumi

i have cast my vote..
i vote for love..
i vote for kindness..
& big grace !

W

W
feels like a sunday..
this day after the world champions of champions
cubs
having grinched the curse and wrung it out dry


W
saint james cathedral
on my knees
the church of baseball

all soul's day
tied up in sixes

gabriel faure's requiem

slipping out of my pew
to our blessed holy mother

$2 bill in hand..
a candle for all the mother's
a candle for the cubs fans
a candle for the cubs..

17 minute rain delay!!
divine intervention

right after holy communion
and the sign of peace...

W

the great sea change.....

history says, don't hope
on this side of the grave.
but then, once in a lifetime
the longed-for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.
~~~~~~~
believe that further shore
is reachable from here.
believe in miracles
and cures and healing wells.
                        ~ seamus heaney


W

come to the threshold! MoNA All Saint's Day 6:30 pm

this time of year..
samhain
all hallow's eve
all saint's day
all soul's day
dia de muertos

this time of year ...
the veil betwixt life and death is liminal..
liminal defined :
occupying a position on both sides of a threshold..

i like to think of this time as an opportunity
to befriend death..our mid-wife since birth ~
who is traveling with us and guiding us..
to our threshold..handing us over
to the next great adventure!

the yaqui sorcerer - don juan - speaks to carlitos ...

death is our eternal companion..
it has always been watching you.
it always will until the day it taps you...
the thing to do when you are impatient
is to turn to your left
and ask advice from your death.
an immense amount of pettiness is dropped
if your death makes a gesture to you...
the issue of our death is never pressed far enough.
death is the only wise advisor we have.
whenever you feel .. that everything is going wrong..
your death will tell you - that is not so -
that nothing matters outside its touch..
your death will tell you, 
i haven't touched you yet!
...
we don't have time, my friend, 
that is the misfortune of human beings.
focus your attention on the link
between you and your death
without remorse or sadness or worrying.
focus your attention on the fact
that you don't have time
and let your acts flow accordingly.
let each of your acts be your last .. on earth.
only under these conditions will your acts
have their rightful power...


the Tibetans have a meditation practice..
practice the dissolution of the body!
practice the dissolution of the mind!

curious is it not..?
when asked to summarize his life..
Plato actually came out of  a coma to answer..
practice dying.
&
Seneca, in Letters from a Stoic  -
rehearse death.
to say this is to tell a person
to rehearse their freedom.
a person who has learned how to die
has unlearned how to be a slave.

LET US PRACTICE! 

yoga class as usual @ MoNA
Tuesday, November 1st
6:30 - 8:30..
we will practice dissolution together ~

when we die daily..we last a long time!

sit empty of worldly anxiety

so says Hongzhi ~

i find that strong instruction
and not an easy task..

up for debate..
and speaking of ..

for me to sit empty of worldly anxiety
it is best i sit out that show..
unpatriotic?

the rest of Hongzhi's instructions...
silent and bright,
clear and illuminating,
blank and accepting,
far-reaching and responsive.

responsive AND empty?

#46 - Tao te Ching

when a country is in harmony with the Tao,
the factories make trucks and tractors.
when a country goes counter to the Tao,
warheads are stockpiled outside the cities.

there is no greater illusion than fear,
no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself,
no greater misfortune than having an enemy.

whoever can see through all fear
will always be safe.

# 58 - Tao te Ching..

if a country is governed with tolerance,
the people are comfortable and honest.
if a country is governed with repression,
the people are depressed and crafty.

when the will to power is in charge,
the higher the ideals, the lower the results.
try to make people happy,
and you lay groundwork for misery.
try to make people moral,
and you make groundwork for vice......

# 59 - Tao te Ching

for governing a country well
there is nothing better than moderation.

the mark of a moderate person
is freedom from their own ideas......


Gandhi says that spiritual and political life
are hand mates..

yep!
i resemble that..
watching game 3
toronto bluejays
texas rangers
AMERICAN league politics
&
the church of baseball

no parley

SOS! yoga class venue change 10-13 & 10 -14 ...

EVERYTHING IS TRANSIENT,
AND IT IS PERMANENT
IN THAT IT IS INVARIABLY TRANSIENT!!

the swinomish tribe will have a celebration of life
for sister barbara who passed away last month..
on friday, the 14th of october..
the set-up will take place on thursday, the 13th..

crescent moon yoga
521 morris street
la conner 98257
will be hosting our 2 classes that week..
PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE
FOR FRIDAY, THE 14TH @ 9:00 AM

thursday evening
october 13 / 7 pm 
@ crescent moon

friday morning
october 14 / 9 AM
@ crescent moon

your class series is honored, of course ~
as are you !
drop-ins welcome..

apologies for any inconvenience ..

life is like a roller coaster..
it goes up and down 
and makes you scream..
and costs alot of money ~
      (hannah c.  age 8)

the violence of our times - here

hatred never ceases by hatred
but by love alone is healed.
this is the ancient and eternal law.
                      ~ the buddha

the news of the shooting
at macy's - burlington mall...
i hear the comment
from around the area..
how could this happen here?

yet why wouldn't it happen here?..
here, there and everywhere is here..
how far away / how close
does it have to be to be here?
st. cloud, minnesota is here,
damascus is here....
istanbul is here ~

how big the world is..
how small this planet
& each step we make..
each breath-
a connecting thread
to the very next step
the next breath
the next being

i cannot look any further than this
and this is that..
this is bcause that is ~
that is because this is...
it has always been thus...
this, that, thus..
here, there, everywhere ...

we who lived in the concentration camps
can remember those who walked through
the huts comforting others, 
giving away their last piece of bread.. 
they may have been few in number 
but they offer sufficient proof 
that everything can be taken from us 
but the last of human freedoms...
the freedom to choose our spirit 
in any circumstance.
                          - victor e. frankl

gandhi called this soul force ~
                 
if only it were that simple!
if only there were evil people somewhere else
insidiously committing evil deeds,
and it were simply necessary to separate them
from the rest of us and destroy them.
but the line dividing good and evil
cuts through the heart of every human being.
and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
                  ~ solzhenitsyn

if we could read the secret history 
of our enemies,
we should see sorrow and suffering
enough to disarm all hostility.
                    - longfellow

if you want to see the heroic, 
look at those who can love in return for hatred.
if you want to see the brave,
look for those who can forgive.
                   ~ the gita

have you seen the red signs everywhere
anouncing the gun show in oak harbor
this week-end?
my initial reaction was to follow their trail,
pick them up and dump them...
yet how poignant .. how heart-rending
in the wake of the gunshots and deaths..
their message - so bold....so out of touch..

the first step to the knowledge
of the wonder and mystery of life 
is the recognition of the monstrous nature 
of the earthly human realm as well as its glory,
the realization that this is just how it is
and that it cannot and will not be changed.
those who think they know - and their name is legion -
how the universe could have been had they created it,
without pain,
without sorrow,
without time,
without death,
are unfit for illumination.
so if you really want to help this world,
what you will have to teach is how to live in it.
and that no one can do who has not themselves
learned how to live in the joyful sorrow
and sorrowful joy of the knowledge of life as it is.
                   ~ joseph campbell

as i write this i hear Raven claiming the sky,
Mandy ~ blind, aged, barking a heartache,
Hummingbird burring to the nectar..
my early morning candles flickering
and me.. remembering MLK Jr's words..
we can walk through the darkest night
with the radiant conviction
that all things work together
for the good.

love will have the last word ~ here

ode to autumn - yoga for the season of change

season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
                           ~ keats

'tis the season of change..
autumn offers the grande opportunity
to begin again..
to garner the harvest of the wistful summer daze ~

here is the schedule for dunja's yoga classes
offering the grande opportunity to begin again!
and why not?
'tis the season ~

tuesdays @ MoNA
6:30 - 8:30 pm..
please note:
no class on september 27th
this is a 2 hour class for the same low price!
($15 / drop-in)
we will have a breathing practice & a sitting practice
as well as the asana practice..
filled to the brim with mellow fruitfulness

wednesdays @ Crescent Moon Yoga
9:30 - 11 am
you are able to use either dunja's series / CMY punch card
also $15/ drop-in

thursdays @ swinomish spiritual center
7 - 8:30 pm
fridays @ swinomish spiritual center
9:30 - 11 am
8 classes for $108 or $15/ drop-in

i will be teaching until the 11 of november ~
there are just 8 weeks left of class
so you could purchase the series and see it thru..
also note:
the series does not ever expire
and can be used when i return next summer..
as i like to caution ~
the series does not expire but i will -
so get on your mat and use them up!

private sessions
by appointment..

may these golden autumn days bring forth
 the harvest of realizing our natural wakefulness..
in this every moment of the blazing now!

wo-he-lo!
work-health-love

DIE

it is wet and foggy and thick with autumn this morning..
after sitting, breathing, and stretching the bones -
i hop on my new olde bike.. a schwinn super 7 cruiser..
blue with silver fenders.. a basket.. a bell ..
and pedal to the padilla bay trail along the water..

barely able to see the road ahead..
the path ahead..
i can make out the silhouettes of great blue herons..
on posts, on the newly ploughed fields, near the water's edge..
ducks leaving their trace on the rille, lazy lolling..
before hunting season brings them to their knees..
(that eternal question..do ducks have knees?)
a ring-tail hawk just off the branch
to follow and lead and tease me along my way -
before flying to more lucrative stores..and shores..
the flitter and titter and winged-woosh of wee birdlets..
a kingfisher rat-ta-tatting.. announces my arrival..
to the bunnies with their tails like spotlights..
they are skittery and full of delight ..fearful and popping..
i see shimmer..the white of a white of a translucent egret
finding her flight under the damp dew that holds her heavy..
where did she come from?
a rarity .. a find.. a blessing.. a treasure...

then...
 i see the letters in the path..
strong bold letters with an arrow of equal stock
pointing in the direction i am heading..
                          DIE
ring! ring! i ring the bell
and continue on my way..
to my death..it would seem ~

and....
although i hold death in high regard..
as the moment when real awakening arrives..
the next great adventure..
the chasm of faith, the threshold, the door to eternity ~
a favor to us..the remembrance of all things impermanent ..
the midwife who travels with us from beginning to end..
to the end that is no end..
that outbreath from our o so short inhale of a life...

i simply cannot not leave those letters there..
hanging out to dry
on this sunday morning
of such richness ~ such poignancy ~ such moist and lush aliveness ~

as i circle back..i knew to do what i brewed to do..
adding the M ..
and above that CARPE ..
and above that - as an arrow of its own species - a heart..

                                      CARPE
                                       DIEM!

yes.. any day, this day, all days are good days to die ~
                                  seize the day!


die while you're alive
and be absolutely dead.
then do whatever you want;
it's all good.    
              ~ bunan
                  1603-1676
( imagine..that expression..
it's all good..took this long to arrive!)

one instant is eternity;
eternity is the now.
when you see through this one instant,
you see through the one who sees.
                       ~ wu-men

between living and dreaming
there is a third thing.
guess it.
                ~ antonio machado

may living and dying be the same for you!
carpe diem..!

autumn YOGA offering at MoNA in LaConner

the beginning of autumn 
decided
by the red dragon-fly.
               - shirao

wild geese coming down,
their voices one upon another,
the cold of night increasing.
                      - kyoroku 

i saw the red dragonfly..earlier..
standing on it's head..or hands..
on a tall grass sheath..tail straight up!
shimmering crimson transparency..
ah! if only my handstand had such flight ~

...indeed, there is a chill in the night..
my mama's quilt now covers my duvet
when i settle in for slumber..
in the morning it is nested on the floor..
shrugged off in the heat of dreams..

here is the offering and website
for the fall yoga series at MoNA..
feel free to register online
or pay at the door..
full series or drop-in..
everyone is so very welcome..
come!

http://monamuseum.org/event/catch-your-breath-harvest-your-practice


persimmons are on their way!!

catch your breath ~ harvest your practice!

now there's a catch-y (pun intended) invitation
to the autumn series of classes at MoNA..eh?
the museum of northwest art in laconner ~

in addition to the asana - posture practice..
and the sitting practice..
pranayama - breathing practices
will be on the docket!

here are the dates ..
mark your calendars..

tuesdays 6:30 - 8:30 pm
september 6 & 20
october 4, 11, 18, 25
november 1, 8

same low price ~
$108 for the 8 week session
$15 drop-in

all and every body is welcome!


the classes at the swinomish center continue..
thursdays @ 7 pm
fridays @ 9:30 am
crescent moon yoga shala
wednesdays 9:30am 


and pluck till time and times are done ~
the silver apples of the moon , 
the golden apples of the sun.
               ~ yeats

o happy heart

happiness does not come automatically.
it is not a gift that good fortune bestows upon us
and a reversal of fortune takes back.
it depends on us alone.
one does not become happy overnight,
but with patient labor, day after day.
happiness is constructed,
and that requires effort and time.
in order to become happy,
we have to learn how to change ourselves.
                    ~ luca & francesco cavalli-sforza

and.. 

it is a snap of a finger..isn't it?
can we change our minds with that snap?
make the choice in the moment..
to re-programme a habit of complaint or kvetch
into..an ah! so ! moment..
thereby letting go and being... happy..

it is a life skill..happiness..
with skill there is a time component..

yet..
is not the time component this moment?

if there is a way to free ourselves from suffering
we must use every moment to find it.
only a fool wants to go on suffering.
isn't it sad to knowingly imbibe poison?
                                ~  seventh dalai lama

tkv desikachar 1938 - 2016

yet another bright lamp of yoga is extinguished
tkv desikachar  ~

founder of
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram 
(click here)
in madras, india..now chennai..

sri desikachar was the son of krishnamacharaya..
the guru of pattabhi jois, bks iyengar and so many more..

desikachar was a simple direct teacher who brought
forth the practice of one to one teaching..
offering individual practices and therapeutic sessions ..
begin where you are..
adapting the postures to the needs of the student..

breath is the heart of yoga ~ 
he would say over and again..
he was a master of sound ..
vedic chanting - a passion..

he was the primary teacher of j. krishnamurti..
whom desikachar said..
taught him how to be a student of yoga.. (!)

desikachar stayed the course that yoga was yoga..
not a brand nor a type..
we practice yoga..simply yoga..

when asked -
what kind of yoga do you teach?
i will always say:
~ starts with a Y and ends in an A ~

when you call yourself an indian or a muslim 
or a christian or a european, or anything else,
you are being violent.
do you see why it is violent?
because you are separating yourself
from the rest of mankind.
when you separate yourself by belief, 
by nationality, by tradition,
it breeds violence.
one who is seeking to understand violence 
does not belong to any country,
to any religion, to any political party or partial system;
he/she is concerned with the total understanding
of mankind.
                   j. krishnamurti

i am grateful and honored to have been in his presence..
to have been his student  ..
a student of clarity and simplicity and kindness..
my head to his feet, i bow ~

dew drop-in! yoga classes in laconner !

did you know...?
that you can drop in 
any of these classes
as a dew-drop-in?

wednesdays @ crescent moon  ~ 9:30am

thursdays @ swinomish spiritual center  ~ 7pm

fridays @ swinomish also..  ~  9:30 am..

you may also attend the class 

at MoNA...museum of northwest art

as a dew-drop ! 

tuesdays @ 6:30 - 8:30 pm

it is a treat to stretch and breathe

among the art from our valley and islands..

we sit for about 25 minutes .. at the end of class..

this lends the sweetest ease to the evening ~

come!

you reading this, be ready

starting here, what do you want to remember?

how sunlight creeps along a shining floor?

what scent of old wood hovers, what softened

sound from outside fills the air?

will you ever bring a better gift for the world

than the breathing respect that you carry 

wherever you go right now? are you waiting 

for a time to show you some better thoughts?

when you turn around, starting here, lift this

new glimpse that you found; carry into the evening

all that you want from this day. this interval you spent

reading or hearing this, keep it safe -

what can anyone give you greater than now,

starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

william stafford

FINDING A PLACE IN ANACORTES 

TO SHARE A YOGA CLASS HAS NOT 

BEEN AN EASY TASK..

MY SINCERE APOLOGIES ~

skillful means

love is a place

love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places

yes is a world
& in this world
of yes live
(skillfully curled)
all worlds.

e.e. cummings

there will come soft rains..

there will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
and swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

and frogs in the pools singing in the night,
and wild plum trees in tremulous white;

robins will wear their feathery fire,
whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

and not one will know of the war, not one
will care at last when it is done.
not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
if mankind perished utterly;

and spring herself, when she woke at dawn
would scarcely know that we were gone.
                             ~ sara teasdale


this poem and sentiment comes to mind and heart
when i get tangled up in any of the seductions ~
power..bigotry..intolerance..
elections..war zones..terror..
trees being logged and hauled
for the bigger, better homes of glory..
& my own judgement therein

in the early morning walkabout..
the wind rises..the sun moves up..
goldfinch plays tag on the
scrub bush and berry..
robin hops the two step in front -
leading the way along the path..
bunny and bunny (after bunny)
scampers from hiding place to hiding place..
heron..glides as their pterodactyl cousin..
hugeness and grace ..to rest
on a wire just above no name slough..
hawk sits and sits and sits on phone pole
waiting for food to show itself..

are they in any way, shape or form
wringing their wings and fur about anything
that the humanoids are up to..?
i think not..

over and ever
i urge myself to join their club..
the wild..the peace of wild..
as wendell b. speaks of:

When despair for the world grows in me 

and I wake in the night at the least sound 

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, 

I go and lie down where the wood drake 

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought 

of grief. I come into the presence of still water. 

And I feel above me the day-blind stars 

waiting with their light. For a time 

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

always and ever again ~

counsel to myself..

and others who ask..

stay awake..

be feral..

be  fearless..

self-reliance

let us be poised, and wise, and our own, today.
let us treat men and women well:
treat them as if they were real:
perhaps they are.

..................................

without any shadow of doubt, 
amidst this vertigo of shows and politics,
i settle myself ever firmer in the creed
that we should not postpone
and refer 
and wish,
but do broad justice where we are,
by whomsoever we deal with,
accepting our actual companions and circumstances,
however humble or odious,
as the mystic officials
to whom the universe
has delegated its whole pleasure to us.

               ~ r w emerson

awe..aw..astounding

timely rain

in the jungles of flaming ego,
may there be a cool iceberg of bodhichitta.

on the racetrack of bureaucracy,
may there be the walk of the elephant.

may the sumptuous castle of arrogance
be destroyed by vajra confidence.

in the garden of gentle sanity,
may you be bombarded by coconuts of wakefulness.
                                      ~ chogyam trungpa

The Buddha said that we are never separated from enlightenment. Even at the times we feel most stuck, we are never alienated from the awakened state. This is a revolutionary assertion. Even ordinary people like us with hang-ups and confusion have this mind of enlightenment called bodhichitta. The openness and warmth of bodhichitta is in fact our true nature and condition. Even when our neurosis feels far more basic than our wisdom, even when we’re feeling most confused and hopeless, bodhichitta—like the open sky—is always here, undiminished by the clouds that temporarily cover it.                                                   

                                            ~ pema chodron

vajra ..sanskrit .. diamond / thunderbolt  

..a power tool of.. indestructibility 

instructions to myself:

eat nourishing food..
sleep just enough..
wake early..
be feral..
be fearless
be fearless
be fearless

and kind.......

what is the knocking?

what is the knocking at the door in the night?
it is somebody wants to do us harm.

no, no, it is the three strange angels.
admit them, admit them.
                                  ~ d.h. lawrence
                     song of a man who has come through


'tis a world out there..in here..
what do we make of it?
how to we live in it and not of it?


recommendation

promise me,
promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:

even as they
strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you
like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother and sister,
remember;
man is not our enemy.

the only thing worthy of you is compassion -
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.

one day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them)
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.

and those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

alone again,
i will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
on the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.
                           ~ thich nhat hanh
                              being peace

yoga classes with dunja..laconner..

our training of the heart is like this..
after a moment of mindfulness, 
it's thinking of this and thinking of that again.
it is agitated and mindfulness is not continuous.
but whatever it thinks about, never mind,
just keep putting forth effort.
start right now.
give it a try.
                  ~ ajahn chah


tuesdays 6:30 - 8:30 pm
         MoNA

http://monamuseum.org/event/practicing-art-stillnesshttp://monamuseum.org/event/practicing-art-stillness


wednesdays  9:30 - 11am
crescent moon yoga
http://www.yogalaconner.com


thursdays 7 -8:30 pm
fridays 9:30 - 11am
swinomish spiritual center



when we practice our mind always follows our breathing.
when we inhale, the air comes into our inner world.
when we exhale, the air goes out to the outer world.
the inner world is limitless, the outer world is also limitless.
we say inner world or outer world
but actually there is just one whole world.
                               ~ shunryu suzuki roshi

net of indra

imagine a multidimensional spider's web
in the early morning, covered with dewdrops.
and every dewdrop contains the reflections
of all the other dewdrops.
and, in each reflected dewdrop,
the reflections of all the other dewdrops
in that reflection..and so..ad infinitum..
                        ~ alan watts


if we are peaceful, if we are happy,
we can blossom like a flower,
and everyone in our family,
our entire society,
will benefit from our peace.
               ~ thich nhat hanh

as the astronauts were circling the moon -
looking back at their home,
the blue white pearl - floating in a sea of stars -
they saw no boundaries...

interdependence day!

since i am here,..
seemingly you are here too.
let us practice!
sitting is a jewel that ornaments our precious life.
                            ~ chogyam trungpa

i am not as good as i would like to be..
seeing others as myself..
my self rears up and claims its autonomy -
yet when gazing on the rose red sky at sunset ..
listening to the chittering of hummingbirds,
catching the wind catching me..
solving crossword puzzles with my pal, nancy..
eating a fresh made gathered salad..
standing in tadasana..
walking the trail or bike riding ..
my independence merges, converges
and my i joins the party..

emptying i me mine
into a bowl of galaxies..
dust, gas, gravity..
i get it, am it..for the briefest of time..
out of time, in time,
in harmony .. balance.. grace.. gratitude..
then - poof!
back to me and them..

begin again!
the practice ..of interbeing

interbeing is a word that is not 
in the dictionary yet,
but if we combine the prefix inter
with the verb to be, we have a new verb,
inter-be. 
                 ~ thich nhat hanh

ounce of practice

an ounce of practice

is worth 10 tons of theory

                       - swami vishnudevananda

here is yet another offering of yoga..

tuesday evenings 

6:30 - 8:30 pm

an 8 week session....

beginning july 5th ~

(thru august 23rd)

same low price..

8 classes for $108

or drop - in  $15

the added 1/2 hour (bonus!)

will be dedicated

to a sitting practice ~

the golden key..

icing on our yoga cake..

the true reason we stretch 

in the first place, eh?

it will get you home before dark..

relaxed calm awake wholesome

                   fully alive

please visit the link

http://monamuseum.org/event/practicing-art-stillness

sign up in advance 

or 

join in when you're able..

all are welcome..

bring your yoga mats..

& sitting utensils..

let's eat the quiet skylike mind together ~

yum!

                                     art is the essence of life.

           our words and our actions should be filled with art.

                  the substance of art is complete awareness.

                                              ~ thich that hanh

the path of great awakening ~

all.. of us..
are on the path of great awakening..


too many still look outwards,
some believing in the illusion
of victory and of victorious power,
others in treaties and laws,
and others again in the overthrow
of the existing order.

but still too few look inwards,
to their own selves,
and still fewer ask themselves 
whether the ends of human society
might not best be served 
if each man and woman tried 
to abolish the old order of 
him- or her- self,
and to practice in their own person
and in their own inward state,
those precepts, 
those victories which they
preach at every street corner,
instead of always expecting these things 
of their fellow men and women..

every individual needs revolution,
inner division,
overthrow of the existing order,
and renewal,
but not by forcing them upon their neighbors
under the cloak of christian love
or the sense of social responsibility
or any of the other beautiful euphemisms
for unconscious urges to personal power.

individual self-refection,
return of the individual
to the ground of human nature,
to their own deepest being
with their individual and social destiny -
here... here ~
is the beginning of a cure for that blindness
which reigns at the present hour.

                           - carl jung
                              1918



and again.. joseph campbell's words
(from yesterday)

hail, essence, hail!

fill the windows of my soul

with beauty:

pierce and renew my bones:

pour knowledge into my heart

as wine.   

if we can hold to our center ~

move and breathe from our deepest being ~

from essence ~

the path opens before us..

the path of great awakening..

we walk it

step by step

the eye of clear seeing

leading the heart

guiding the footsteps

a beacon..a flash of light..

could these be our feet..our heart..?

on this wretched great path of awakening

worth a try ~

   

on waking..

sleep, gray brother of death,

has touched me,

and moved on.

i arise, facing the east ~

pearl-doored sanctuary

from which light,

hand-linked with dew and fire,

dances.

hail, essence, hail!

fill the windows of my soul

with beauty:

pierce and renew my bones:

pour knowledge into my heart

as wine.      

                     - joseph campbell

leap after leap

living is a form of not being sure,
not knowing what next or how.
the moment you know how,
you begin to die a little.
the artist never entirely knows.
we guess.
we may be wrong 
but we take leap after leap in the dark.
                             ~agnes de mille

yoga w/ dunja..so far...

the very short sutra

on meeting of the buddha

and the goddess

             ~ rick fields

...........so here it is:

earth-walker/sky-walker

     hey, silent one, hey, great talker

not two/not one

     not separate/not apart

this is the heart 

      bliss is emptiness

      emptiness is bliss

be your breath, ah

smile, hey

and relax, ho

and remember this: you can't miss

greetings yoginis and yogis..

buddhas and goddesses..

if you would like to celebrate me home

& if you would like to practice yoga together

here is the class schedule thus far..for now..

THURSDAY EVENINGS 7 PM 

***( BEGINNING JUNE 16 )

FRIDAY MORNINGS 9:30 AM

***(BEGINNING JUNE 10 )

these 2 classes will be held @

St. Paul  Swinomish 
Spiritual Center

17456 Pioneer Parkway

LaConner, WA. 98257

please bring all your props..

i'll be schlepping what i have ~

the class fee is the same ...

15$  drop- in

108$ ~ 8 classes

many of you still have classes on the books..

they are active!

please feel free to share this with any and all pals ~

questions? 

call or text :

360 770 7891

when it is over, i want to say:

all my life i was a bride to amazement ...

                      ~ mary oliver

ali

Muhammad Ali pop art painting by John Stango

float like a butterfly  - 

sting like a bee

the edge

....i feel that i have lived on the edge
even of my own life.
i have made plans enough,
but i see now that i have never lived by plan.
any more than if i had been a bystander
watching me live my life,
i don't feel that i ever have been quite sure
what was going on.
nearly everything that has happened to me
has happened by surprise.
all the important things
have happened by surprise.
and whatever has been happening usually
has already happened before i had time to expect it.
the world doesn't stop because you are in love
or in mourning or in need of time to think.
and so when i have thought i was in my story
or in charge of it, i really have been only
on the edge of it, carried along.
is this because we are in an eternal story
that is happening partly in time?
                           ~ wendell berry
                               jayber crow

the presence of place

to come into the presence of the place
was to know life and death,
and to be near in all your thoughts
to laughter and to tears.
this would come over you
and then pass away,
as fragile as a moment of light.
                     ~ wendell berry
                         jayber  crow


the great northwest..
home to the great grey of sky..
the snow mountians unseen as yet..cloud hidden..

water in the air .. the wet of space..
moving one forward toward the presence of place  ~
moist heart pumping waterways
welcoming, welcoming, welcoming

row, row, row

contentment

the sea lions felt it and their barking
took on a tone and a cadence
that would have gladdened
the heart of st. francis.
                             ~ john steinbeck, cannery row

seal pups are getting plumper by the day..
iceplant is rounding the corner on
that mescaline pink we know and love..
you remember the colour, yes?
early dawn spreads fog thick and grey
as wallpaper paste...

heading north soon ..
from the golden hills of california
to the snow mountains of the great northwest..
road trip ~ the many a moon journey i love to rove..

seemingly satisfied with the company of my own self..
content with the content of mind and heart..
aware of the rustle and ramble of rumination -
not claiming one thought as me -
awake for the interval....
stillness makes friends with silence
the head empties - the heart empties -
only the red prius..mila rubie... is full to the brim!

- and the road goes ever on and on-

earth day ..

funny..
i awoke this morn with the poem..
please come home on my lips..
thought i would print it out for
the 9:30 yoga class..
earth day and all..

i opened the blog &
searched my stash of poems..
and there..
earth day..2015..
please come home..
cheque it out!

the shoreline is pinking her way with the ice plant
that holds the earth snug together at the seaboard -
baby harbor seals are snestling up to their rotund mama-sans..
the wee birds are peeking and pecking their way
to the seed pods that are bursting..
crows are holding court as usual..
pelicans are off and away..
have not seen them for weeks..
surfer dudes and chick-a-dees are striding
on the waves with the prowess and grace of water goddesses..
white sails prick the dark sea and take one's breath out from under..
squirrels stand on hind legs .. mountain pose..
sniffing for food..listening to the om of our planet..
pigeons rule the roost roof tops..
dove song sings -

please come home. please come home.
thank you, earth,  for welcoming us. 

the wesak moon hung full in last night's sky..
pink, planter, egg, growing, seed, awakening -
a few names of april/ taurus moon
earth day moon..

now this very daybreak..
the pink of sunup..
running like egg yolks
thru the scattered stratum of dawn

may our footprints leave no ache
on terra firma..

please come home. please come home.
find a the place where your feet know where to walk
and follow your own trail home.

ojai

it is pixie tangerine season in ojai, california!
the perfume of the blossoms and fruit is over-the-top intoxicating..


tangerine
it was a flower once, it was one of a billion flowers
whose perfume broke through closed car windows,
forced a blessing on their drivers.
then what stayed behind grew swollen, as we do;
grew juice instead of tears, and small hard sour seeds,
each one bitter, as we are, and filled with possibility.
now a hole opens up in its skin, where it was torn from the
branch; ripeness can’t stop itself, breathes out;
we can’t stop it either. We breathe in.      
                                  ~ ruth l. schwartz


ojai..
the land of pixie tangerines ..
the land of j. krishnamurti..
my first teacher of yoga ~
the art of living..
you are the world ~ the world is you 
                              - j. k.

i began sitting at his feet ..
( ooh! he would not like me saying that )
when i was 18..
i would travel to ojai for the entire 2 weeks..
the end of may.. for years..until he passed..
i was 36 - krishna-ji was 90..

the teachings always came in the vicinity
of my birthdate .. i celebrated every birthday with him..
if i was in india - i would see him there..
he did not know me..

i remember once in mumbai we were staying in the same hotel..
the night before i chequed out, i could not sleep..
at 3 AM, an unlit candle in a stand careened to the floor -

3 AM is always a powerful juncture for me ..
the world is still..
yet takes its first breath of the day right then and there..
- my favorite time -
i was startled and delighted that some high note had been struck..

early meditation on the hotel bed..
great posture practice on the marble floor..
dawn dappled the capital city of the state of maharashtra -
i was ready for toast and jam..
the hotel restaurant - open and inviting..
strong spicy masala tea, idli and dosas..

returning to my room to pack and cheque out..
i see krishnaji..holy moly!
he is being herded to the waiting limo by his attentive entourage..
i see him get in one side of the car
and climb out the other..
before you know it, we are sitting on a bench together ..
just sitting..
just sitting..
just sitting..
his people summon him ..
we look at one another for a bright wee while..
my life is changed forever..

we burnt 
tangerine sunsets
by festering 
our sandy hearts
together.
unfathomed by the horizon,
unmeasured by the sky.
                    ~ r.e. chandler

pixie tangerines..
they are always seedless

in patanjali's yoga sutras..
nirbija samadhi - samadhi without a seed..
the spontaneous meditative mind..
the gold of raja yoga..
unified field of awareness ..
not two..
just like that!

..the word yoga is generally understood as 
bringing together, tying together.
i have been told by scholars that the word yoga
does not mean that at all; nor all the exercises 
and all the racket that goes with it.
what it means is unitive perception,
perceiving the whole thing totally,
as a unit, the capacity, or awareness, 
or seeing the whole existence as one -
unitive perception, that's what it means,
what the word yoga means.

i am concerning myself with only one thing:
to set man free. i desire to free him from
all cages, from all fears, and not to found
religions, new sects, nor to establish
new theories and new philosophies.
                              ~ j. k.