Category Archives: sangha

cultivating a community of mindfulness, taking refuge in the full embrace of spiritual companions, nurturing safe, sacred space

abiding in light

We have not forgotten nor begun to recover from the massacre in Charleston on June 17, 2015. And here we are once again, nearly a year to the very day in a month that has become bloodied by another act of terror against people who were simply being themselves in what was thought to be a safe haven to celebrate, dance, laugh, connect with others.

With hearts heavy with sorrow, let us turn toward and abide in light to cast away this looming darkness. I bow deeply to dharma teacher Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel for the healing wisdom she offers in this relentless cycle of violence and recent loss of 49 precious lives in Orlando.

 

 

For All Beings
excerpts from the chant written by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

May all beings be cared for and loved,
Be listened to, understood and acknowledged despite different views,

Be accepted for who they are in this moment…
Be allowed to live without fear of having their lives taken away or their bodies violated.

…Be treated as if their life is precious,
Be held in the eyes of each other as family.

…Feel welcomed anywhere on the planet,
Be freed from acts of hatred and desperation including war, poverty, slavery, and street crimes,
Live on the planet, housed and protected from harm…

Read and share Zenju’s Chants Against Hatred.

 

special event {6/18}: 18th annual allied media conference

amc16

On June 18th, I’ll lead a healing session at the Allied Media Conference in Detroit. This opportunity has given me pause to pick up an old thread + follow it back to the faded memory of my former life as a graduate student at NYU, where I studied media through a sociological lens — examining race, gender, culture, representation + impact — and earned my M.A. from the Tisch School of Arts/GSAS.

Now, I have the deep honor of helping to cultivate a healing justice practice space for artists, educators, activists, and radical media-makers + offer them an immersion in mindfulness to foster compassion, skillful understanding + authentic connection.

Learn more about the AMC Conference: http://www.alliedmedia.org/amc

On “Revolutionary Mothering” | The Laura Flanders Show

Celebrating the transformative power of compassionate parenting and mentoring! Bowing to mothers and all others who honor the humanity of the little ones in our lives.

 

t scott-miller's avatardhamma for mama*

In this, my 6th year of motherhood, I am celebrating my power to radically design a life for my child that does not conform to anyone else’s standards or conventions. I am crafting a life that resists the call to pass on legacies of unexamined dysfunction and empty rituals embedded in played-out cultural traditions shaped and sullied by the whims of industry, technology, politics and religion. Shrugged off and unquestioned… because, well, it’s always been done that way.

Long before I imagined myself a parent, I stood in line at a roti shop on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn and chewed on the island wisdom I overheard from an elder:

Yuh doh raise chil’run. Yuh raise cattle and corn. Yuh teach chil’run an lead ’em…

I recall nothing else about that moment — what sparked his statement, who he was speaking to (if anyone at all…because in my experience with my…

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Walking The Labyrinth: 2016 Season

“I understood at a very early age that in nature,
I felt everything I should feel in church
but never did.
Walking in the woods,
I felt in touch with the universe and
with the spirit of the universe.”
~ Alice Walker

3jewels.labyrinth2016

The new season kicks off Sunday, 5/1, at 11 AM!

View the Full Schedule.

#MarchMindfulness2016: A Glorious Renewal | “Overcome” by Laura Mvula ft. Nile Rodgers

Glorious. This is not a word I encounter often. It’s alluring — in tone and sensation. So I was more than curious to watch Laura Mvula’s video after my dear friend described it in this way when sharing it with me recently.

Stunningly glorious! And absolutely resonate with the spirit of #MarchMindfulness:
To overcome the madness with mindfulness.
To tend to ourselves with deep care and clear understanding so that we can share our gifts and transform our unskillfulness.
To amplify the good as we face the realities of suffering.
To recognize that fueling ourselves with compassion and fostering deep listening to expand our understanding and cultivate authentic connection helps us to disrupt the normalization of hate, apathy, greed, and oppression in the world.

Abide in energy of mindfulness — expand your capacity to soak in the power of hope and renewal.
Hold on to the aspiration to experience all that is glorious in this world. 

Remember, no action is too small! Shine Bright. 

 

‘Overcome’ Lyrics

When your heart is broken down
And your head don’t reach the sky
Take your broken wings and fly

When your head is heavy, low
And the tears they keep falling
Take your broken feet and run

With the world upon your shoulders
Nowhere left to hide
Keep your head up carry on

It ain’t no time to die
Even though we suffer
Come together we pray

Round the mountain all God’s children run
Round the mountain all God’s children run
Round the mountain all God’s children run
Round the mountain all God’s children God’s children run run round the mountain run
Round the mountain all God’s children God’s children run run round the mountain run
Round the mountain all God’s children run

#MarchMindfulness2016: Seeds of Mindfulness

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As we enjoy the final days of March and the warmth of spring, I am feeling stretched by all the lessons that arose during this month spent renewing my commitment to compassion, understanding, and connection.

S T R E T C H E D and TESTED!

But those experiences only AFFIRMED what I know to be true:

Even in the hardest moments — after I’ve fussed and cussed through my frustrations (to good spiritual friends who listen deeply, see me clearly, honor my wholeness without co-signing my craziness, and respond skillfully with wise and loving support) — compassion calls me back again and again.

It offers a calming, centering grace that inspires me to seek the depth and breadth of understanding that in turn keeps my heart open to authentic connection.

“Sometimes we think that to develop an open heart, to be truly loving and compassionate,
means that we need to be passive,
to allow others to abuse us,
to smile and let anyone do what they want with us.

Yet this is not what is meant by compassion.
Quite the contrary.

Compassion is not at all weak.
It is the strength that arises out of seeing
the true nature of suffering in the world.

Compassion allows us
 to bear witness to that suffering,
whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear;
it allows us to name injustice without hesitation,
and to act strongly,
with all the skill at our disposal.

To develop this mind state of compassion…
is to learn to live, as the Buddha put it,
with sympathy for all living beings,
without exception.”

― Sharon Salzberg
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

Spring Series: Body As Nature

we inherited nature the moment we were born.
the moment we came into existence,
we entered the landscape of nature.
in fact, we are nature.
nature is form.
body is form.
body is nature.
nature is body.
~Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

3jewels.bodyasnature

Inspired by our Winter Immersion reading of The Way of Tenderness in which Zenju Earthlyn Manuel offers a rich contemplation on the body as nature, 3 Jewels Yoga Sangha will look deeply into practices that support understanding, healing, and renewing our relationship with the Body.

Join us for this 3-week series:
APRIL 3, APRIL 10, APRIL 17
11 – 12:30 PM
Heartdance Studio  | 1806 E. Michigan Avenue in #LoveLansing

RECOMMENDED STUDY RESOURCES

Check back for updates to this list!

On The Five Remembrances

I am of the nature to grow old; there is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health; there is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die; there is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change; there is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings; I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

 

On Impermanence

 

On Nourishment

 

On The Realities of The Body

#MarchMindfulness2016: Shine Bright

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Shine Bright! has been my personal mantra and my sideline cheer for others. But, oh, has this been a hard-won lesson to live into!

I’ve learned to honor my gifts and skills, and the contributions I make within my circle of loved ones and within my community. Still it continues to be a practice around “enoughness”– giving enough, learning enough, being compassionate, understanding, open, patient, skillful enough.

Doubt knocks on the door. Yeah, that’s right — Doubt has finally gotten some manners and no longer shuffles in uninvited while I scramble to push it back over the threshold. Now, I choose when to answer and welcome it in for deep inquiry where I skillfully sit with the questions it has delivered. What is this? Is this true? What can you see clearly?

Turning toward the aspiration to “shine bright,” I realized through several recent experiences (either as witness or participant) that we fear shining brightly means we’ll cast a shadow over others. We worry that expressing our full selves with unapologetic radiance, confidence, and vision is an act of vanity, ego, or arrogance. We’ve been taught that humility is a virtue, so we play small to make others feel less insecure.

At the same time, we receive a million messages about the importance of self-esteem and self-love. This is the crazy-making cycle our culture perpetuates that gives rise to lingering Doubt, which breaks in, refuses to leave, and becomes an indignant squatter in our hearts and minds.

So I appreciated reading an article years ago in which the writer reframed “humility” as being grounded and connected. To him, being low to the ground (as the eytmology defines it) in no way suggested self-deprecating acts of meekness or inferiority.

Rather, he embraced an understanding of humility that drew upon a sense of strength and stability from the Earth in the very same way that worshippers of various faiths will offer their full body in prostration during prayer. Bringing our body close to the ground is an expression of gratitude and wonder for the Power that makes life possible. It is empowering and energizing — a reminder to stay connected in body, heart, and mind to our capacity to love, create, inspire, teach, lead, serve, empower, heal, and thrive. And to thrive requires fertile soil…and light!

 

 

#MarchMindfulness2016: Reduce The Noise | LetWhyLead.com

Reducing the “Noise” — or practicing mindful consumption, which we Buddhist practitioners celebrate as part of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings — enables us to filter out content that triggers our anger, fear, judgment, resentment, and overall suffering.

No, this is not about AVOIDING everything. However, staying #woke‪‬ (i.e. informed, conscious, enlightened, culturally competent) also means staying sane!

The benefits of pressing pause on the flood of external information:

We have space to reflect, listen deeply and respond skillfully (thoughts/feelings/actions) and are better able to water the seeds of compassion, skillful understanding, and authentic connection!

letwhylead

❤ JOIN 3 Jewels Yoga TO GENERATE COMPASSION, UNDERSTANDING + CONNECTION!

❤ RSVP + SHARE THE LINK BELOW for the 2nd half of this month-long celebration: 3 Jewels Yoga | March Mindfulness 2016

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‪#‎ShiningTheLight‬: Read the full article from Let Why Lead – 9 Practical Ways I Reduce Noise In My Life