dia de los muertos ~ sitting with our ancestors

mark your calendars !
ALL ARE WELCOME!
thursday, november 1..
11 AM 
in the new CMY studio
kitty-corner from present studio
~ 521  morris street  ~
(will get NEW address soon!)

looks like we'll be christening
the new crescent moon shala
with our 9AM thursday morning yoga class..
hurrah! hurray!

thereafter ~
we will have an opportunity
to sit in stillness with our ancestors..

those who wish to stay will ready the altar
w/ pictures of our loved ones
dead yet alive with presence..
any other altaring holy moly objects..
(bring your sitting accoutrements)
those who wish to leave after class
 will have time to slip away..

we will begin sitting @ 11AM

those not attending class, yet planning to sit..
please arrive a bit early
to take your seat and place your altar offerings..
chairs are available for those who prefer them..
we will have 2 sits.. about 20-25 minutes -
with a walking meditation betwixt
 ~ this is a freeeeeee offering  ~

HIGH NOON-ish  ~  COWGIRL TIME-ish
will be our finish-ish time

bring anything that you'd like to offer to
the silence,
the ancestors,
each other
~ for the altar ~
bring your bright love,
your great care,
your empty vessel,
your letting go,
your opening up,
your easy-breezy..
your devotion,
your crazy wisdom,
your inconceivable nature..

with this tradition of dia de los muertos
we have a splendid opportunity
to honor the dead and awaken remembrance...

in the words of clarissa pinkola estes ~
las almas valientes,  dear brave souls, 
this is our time of dia de los muertos.

this we deeply understand as 'the day of our ancestors' 
whom we love and who love us
and who guide us by example 
and intuitions and sudden insights, 
and often by other means.
who we continue to pray for,  as well as for the living -- 
and to nourish this relationship between two worlds, 
with our familiares, relatives, and ourselves.
this way of life...

far away and yet so near to you, 
we old women 
who still carry the root stock,
our old women who know how to
pray paint off walls, 
who grow and bring 
the fresh flowers, 
the yerba buena
who know how to bless 
the living and dead,
who know how to bless 
and light the sumerio, 
who know how to bring 
the smoke of blessed copal, 
who stand and kneel 
in many conditions, 
who offer and consume
the old foods of the ancestors 
with the heaven of los angelitos
in their hearts 
no matter where they live...

we pray for you, m'hijos y m'hijas,
we pray for you the living,
our sons and our daughters 
that you have tender memories 
of the good of your own ancestors
who have walked onward 
making their transition, 
who have left without ever leaving ...

many of us old women say -
the ancestors visit through 
the fragrance of the copal,  
in the scent of the golden flowers, 
in the earth smell,
of the autumn of dried leaves,
in the swirling sacred smoke,
for those with eyes to see, 
ears to hear
or a heart that longs --

may you all be watched over
by the gentle,  smart,  protective
and perfected souls of your antepasados, 
your own people who have walked onward
and are in many good ways, still here
with you, and for you....

this comes with love for you to find a fragrance 
or a flower or a little bowl of water 
or food of your ancestors, 
an item from your farback people, 
a piece of sweet bread and a fruit like orange, 
and to just sit gently and ask for goodness, 
and then listen through your many senses... 
say what you wish to say, 
ask what you wish to ask, 
bless all.
simple is often most direct.