cradle your heart – Page 3

special sangha event [1/22]: deep refuge + restoration circle

Harnessing the energy and light of the Women’s March in Washington as well our very own March on #LoveLansing, Sangha will draw closer together to shine our beacon of refuge, resistance, and restoration.

Living Into Community, Building Our Capacity with the Noble Eightfold Path.

11 am – 12:30 pm | Meditation + Dharma Discussion

12:30 – 2:00 pm | Feast + Fellowship Circle

We gather at Heartdance Studio – 1806 E. Michigan Avenue. Doors open just before 11 am. Centering begins at 11:10-ish.

RSVP/UPDATES: 3 Jewels Yoga Sangha

Other Community Events:

14 January – National Day of Action for Flint | Capitol Building

17 January – Our Dream: Lansing United | Lansing Center

19 January – Ghostlight Project | Peppermint Creek Theatre

21 January – Children’s Social Justice Reading Group | East Lansing Public Library

21 January – Women Organize Michigan Summit

words to live by | omid safi

“Let us mourn the ending of one world together, even as we anticipate the arrival of other, more joyous worlds to come.

Let us not suffer in the shadow, alone.

Let our grief be as public and shared, loved and supported, as we insist our joys be.

There is healing and redemption in that togetherness.”

~Omid Safi

Read the full column at the On Being blog: If Community Were A Safe Place to Fall Apart

restoring memory

On this Sunday without Sangha, a memory from last year (27 Nov 2015 — the day after Thanksgiving) popped up on my Facebook newsfeed.

A verse inspired by a beloved park trail where I’ve logged countless miles in a walking-running-praying meditation and, a hundred times over, awakened curiosity and understanding and mapped pathways toward reconciliation.

❤ today, another verse for remembering to remember…for tending to our wholeness and seeing a feast in all things:

i walk for clarity

to release those deep + wordless groanings
that tense my muscles, pluck-stretch my nerves, + accelerate my pulse.

movement is prayer — pleading, seeking, remembering, communing,
soothing heart + spirit

is it my favorite posture of meditation — fine-tuning my capacity to listen, discern, + take skillful, compassion-centered action

clearing up space for love-wisdom to prevail

#TouchingTheEarth #EmbodiedPrayer #EmbodiedWisdom #TheHeartAtRest

❤ a prayer for remembering ❤

The History of Thanksgiving You Weren’t Taught In School via attn:

embodying privilege + risk: the stakes is high

Some folks may not quite understand why the stakes are so high for me and those I love.

I am aware of my privileges:

I am educated. I attended a private boarding school and a private university where I earned both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree.
I am a U.S-born person whose 1st language is English.
I am a cis-gendered heterosexual.
I am married.
I do not live with a disability.

I also embody a space where the targeted and marginalized aspects of my identity make me vulnerable to practices, policies, and dominant cultural beliefs that have denied or would attempt to block my humanity as well as my civil rights:

I am a Black Woman.

I am the daughter of an immigrant.
My father is from Trinidad. His family has roots throughout the Caribbean.

The great-granddaughter of immigrants.
My maternal great-grandparents were Canadian.

The great-great granddaughter of an immigrant.
My maternal great-great grandmother was a German Jew who married a former slave and Civil War veteran.*

I am the mother of a bi-racial, multi-ethnic child.
I am the wife of a man who has a disability.
We live on a fixed income.

I am a Buddhist.
I am committed to the path of compassion and liberation for myself and others.
I come from generations of women who have held positions of service in the social work, education, and public health fields.
It’s in my DNA to give a damn.

I know and love people who are targeted and vulnerable.
I know and love people who know and love people who are targeted and vulnerable:

Immigrants, non-native English speakers, lesbian, gay, same-gender loving, transgender, gender non-conforming, elderly, poor, uneducated, disabled, Muslim, Jewish, of other non-JudeoChristian faiths, atheist, agnostic and more…

I have every reason to be mad and every reason to wish to protect myself and those I love from harm! I am committed to social justice, equity, and reconciliation. It takes emboldened truth-telling. Even as I uphold the criteria for skillful communication, I will not be silent or soft to make anyone feel more comfortable.
______

*For the curious or surprised, I offer two insights:
The family history I compiled and the regional ancestry results of my genographic test, which my reflect a genetic composition that is 65% Sub-Saharan African, 13% Mediterranean, 12% North European, 5% South African, 5% Southwest Asian.

I share these results not to diminish my Blackness but to illustrate interdependence and just how bound to one another we are.
______

A Few Places To Start:

10 Tips for Christians Supporting Trump

Allies For Change Glossary

Matrix of Oppression

Teaching Tolerance

White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

the empty seat at your table

It’s astonishing that people are actually coming out of their faces to say that voters didn’t intend to cause harm or to condone violence when they elected a demagogue.

Please tell me what multiverse are you living in?

That man’s racist, homophobic, misogynistic, xenophobic, anti-Muslim, anti-disabled, anti-poor, anti-everybody-who-has-a-heart-for-what-is-just-and-equitable rants were not whispered behind closed doors and later leaked into the public sphere after folks were good-and-bamboozled by his charisma and hope-filled messages.

He was loud, boisterous and unapologetic about his oppressive views. He attracted and continues to be endorsed, lauded, now flaunted and paraded by white supremacists with confederate flags, swastikas, and full KKK regalia.

The hate and violence that fueled the campaign has escalated since Tuesday.

His “win” has become a “license to lynch” — with numerous accounts of children, women, LGBTQ persons being physically attacked, taunted, harassed and threatened.

(I will not link those articles here. Instead, I encourage you to take good care of your mental/emotional well-being with your consumption of these images and stories. You can be informed without overexposing yourself to the toxicity).

The terror is real. The breech of trust is real. It is happening in your neighborhoods and schools and was, in fact, sanctioned by decent, well-intentioned folk who just wanted to “Make America Great Again”…nevermind the true cost.

I’m intelligent enough to get it. I’m committed to skillful understanding and have the capacity to see through my outrage and fear to look into theirs.

I know they felt seen, heard, and understood for the first time by, unfortunately, a “pulls-no-punches,” plain (and vulgar) language-talking reality-tv tycoon who, unlike the career politicians we’re accustomed to, doesn’t fit neatly into the shiny 4-cornered presidential candidate box.

Yes, our system is broken. Yes, it often feels like two steps forward, 10 back.

But you can’t set my house on fire just because you think it’s a raggedy eyesore blocking your view, then say “whoopsie!” when you realize I was still inside.

(By the way, the flames are raging because you keep adding more accelerant.)

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
–Matthew 16:26 NIV

Now here comes the cultural gaslighting — from the passive-aggressive (“We’ve survived 44 other presidents. It’s not the end of the world.”) to the outright manipulative dismissals and trivializations (“You’re exaggerating. It’s not that bad.”). In. The. Face. Of. Facts!

Beyond the undeniable evidence of these egregious acts of violence, there remain personal truths. And, I refuse to let you tell me what my experience is or should be.

Own your actions. Own the consequences of your vote.

If you voted for hate, just look me in the eye and say: Fuck you, Tara, and every breath that you take! so I know where we stand.

Understand that with your vote, you were willing to risk not just relationships with people you know and love, but to also risk the safety and very basic human rights to millions of people who, like you, simply want to live.

You cannot be surprised or offended that relationships have been lost or compromised.

You wanted more for yourself? You got it!
Look across the table to the empty seat.
Feast on what remains when your friends, neighbors, and family decline your invitation to break bread. They deserve to protect themselves from being exposed to the consequences of your self-interest.

And if you’re in any way moved by their absence, it’s time to examine your discomfort.
If not, well, then enjoy the extra elbow room.

He who argues for his limitations
gets to keep them.
— Richard Bach

suprised? curious? confused?

why the stakes are high for me

10 Tips for Christians Supporting Trump

more on gaslighting

6 Unhelpful Comments That Gaslight People in Conversations About Social Justice

On Women’s Rights: Yeah, Yeah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Whatever

Gaslighting Is a Common Abuse Tactic

The GOP front-runner is Gaslighting Us

cradle your hearts: post-election refuge, restoration + radical rest

3jewels-ikedaquote

When I woke up to the news of the election results on Wednesday morning, my heart was not at rest. I instantly wondered how I’d be able to lead you all in these restorative practices that help us tend to and mend our troubled and aching hearts. I sat in the center of that question HOW?!, knowing I couldn’t succumb to the wave of grief that wanted to pull me under and, ultimately, away from my beloved community.

After processing my feelings with others who share the commitment to create a more equitable and just world, I recognized the synchronicity of both the workshop I attended and the one I had scheduled to teach! Planned months in advance with no thought of the election, I was awed and assured that these had been divinely-arranged to provide skillful understanding, compassion, authentic connection, comfort, and a safe(r) space to explore the root causes of our collective and personal suffering.

I offer Mushim Ikeda’s words again to all who are suffering in the wake of the election. The mix of emotions and the bone-deep tension that has us asking HOW? WHY? WHAT NOW? wreaks havoc on body, heart, and mind.

With this vow, I also widen the invitation to join me this Sunday, 11/13, for refuge and restoration:

I will re-open registration and welcome same-day enrollment.

I will make room for more than 10 participants. Be aware that based on how the space will be used, it still only has the capacity for 15.

I will offer a sliding scale: $5 – $20.

A NOTE ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY + SUSTAINABILITY:

I am called to this “werk” to serve. It is my commitment to skillful livelihood and also the way I sustain myself financially. I also wish to make it accessible for those who would otherwise find it a hardship to pay the full student rate ($10) or general rate ($20). Those who have paid the full registration fee in advance, please know that you make it possible for me to widen the invitation to others.

Please email me at tara@3jewelsyoga.com before Sunday, so I have a proper head count.

SELF-TENDING + RADICAL MENTAL HEALTH CARE + HEALING JUSTICE

My anger, anxiety, disappointment, and grief continue to ebb and flow between moments of being calm and energized to take direct action. Knowing that so many others are feeling ungrounded, fragile and vulnerable, I shared The Icarus Project‘s #FindABuddy form on my Facebook pages yesterday to reach my loved ones who are coping with anxiety, fear, hopelessness, shame, guilt, and a sense of powerlessness that may also be triggering a mental health crisis.

I LOVE YOU ALL too and hope these resources offer an opening for solace to bloom for you and those you love! Take very good care of yourselves.

Icarus Project | Find A Buddy Form
3 Jewels Yoga | Conjuring Grace
adrienne maree brown | Survival Tips for Radical Empaths

show me ya ballot: the devil you know

It’s been a long, hard day and I’m grateful to have had the container of a Health Equity + Social Justice Workshop to process my outrage, grief, fear and — most surprising to me — an arising MISTRUST!

And I respect my feelings and my mental/spiritual well-being enough to be honest and vocal about the fact that I cannot welcome hope, acceptance, or understanding right now.

I’ve conjured calm, and only calm, in this moment. But it is not peace. Nor am I rushing to get through to the other side of these emotions.

My safety and freedom and that of those I love, who live in the crosshairs of existing with “target group” identities (people of color, immigrants, non-Christian, disabled, gender non-conforming, LGBTQ+, working class, among other marginalized intersections), has been compromised!

That we’ve always been vulnerable is not new. And that, by far, is the scariest: As much as we hope, rally, advocate, model, and assume positions that impact change, we remain vulnerable and targeted. The confederate flags come out in my native #LoveLansing community and around the country in a display that feels too close to reconstructionist era pogroms.

So, yeah, I wanna see er-body’s receipts — those who voted for hate and those who still operate under apathy and deception that their vote doesn’t count. ‘Cause right now, I’m finding it difficult to imagine consciously fostering or continuing relationships with anyone who would act so recklessly to conspire with hate and white supremacy.

Like the Negro Motorist Green Book did for the Jim Crow/Civil Rights generations, I wanna know the local and national businesses that are celebrating this misbegotten “victory” so that I can ensure my resources never reach their coffers.

In Buddhist practice we say congratulations
because now is the time we have been practicing for.
No more just practicing the dance.
We must now dance.
And this is not a dress rehearsal.

~ Zenju

Read more responses from Buddhist teachers on Lion’s Roar.

special event | inviting mindfulness: the heart at rest

Give yourself the gift of time and space to unravel and rest, to cradle your heart, to listen deeply, breathe freely, see yourself clearly with eyes of compassion. Experience deep relaxation through an embodied meditation that invites restoration, renewal, and reconciliation.

Sunday 13 NOVEMBER
1:30 – 3:30 pm | Heartdance Studio
COST: $20 | $10 – students
Registration Required. 10 Spaces Available.

To enroll, email tara@3jewelsyoga.com — with subject line: Inviting Mindfulness.You will be sent a registration form that must be submitted along with payment by Wednesday, 11/9, to secure your place in the workshop.

mindfulness in a crisis

I close each meditation with a practice I’ve crafted over the years — with hands to the heart in gassho and a prayer of reflection:

“To honor and acknowledge ourselves and our commitment to self-understanding and well-being.

To honor and acknowledge the practice itself as it reminds us to listen deeply, see clearly and respond skillfully to what arises as it arises.

And, to honor and acknowledge one another for collectively generating the energy of mindfulness, compassion and understanding.”

Today, nowhere near the cushion, I call on this same affirmation to re-center me after a momentary family crisis. Even when others do not share my practice or draw upon similar skills in the face of madness, I honor how being a compassionate witness to their actions can help bring me back to mine.

dhamma for mama*

Exploded and firefighters are two words you don’t want to hear from an unfamiliar caller, informing you that your mother needs you to come over to the house immediately.

Already in the car, heading in the opposite direction, with my husband thankfully behind the wheel. My first response was not to panic but to pause and assess. In reflection, I recognize: This is my brain on mindfulness.

And let me say right now that mindfulness is not a quick fix tool that I acquired after some 6-8 week stress reduction workshop. It is the result of 10-plus years as a dharma practitioner with feet grounded firmly on the Zen path and a lifetime of exploring contemplative spiritual and wellness practices that have helped recalibrate my fiery temperament “to be more able more often” to generate skillful responses.

I’ll be straight up: it doesn’t “work” all the time…

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words to live by | mushim patricia ikeda

Great Vow for Mindful Activists

Aware of suffering and injustice,
I, [tara scott], am working to create
a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.
I promise, for the benefit of all,
to practice self-care, mindfulness, healing, and joy.
I vow to not burn out.

Burnout and self-sacrifice, the paradigm of the lone hero who takes nothing for herself and gives everything to others, injure all of us who are trying to bring the dharma into everyday lay life through communities of transformative well-being, where the exchange of self for other is re-envisioned as the care of self in service to the community. The longer we live, the healthier we are; the happier we feel, the more we can gain the experience and wisdom needed to contribute toward a collective reimagining of relationships, education, work, and play.

~Mushim Patricia Ikeda
I Vow Not To Burn Out via Lion’s Roar
related gem: spirituality, social justice + healing spaces