Category Archives: straight outta the dhamma

learning, testing, integrating, sharing, teaching, growing, releasing, refining

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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#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

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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

 

#MarchMindfulness2016: The Power of Collective Energy

margaretmeadquoteLining Margaret Mead’s quote up alongside Thich Nhat Hanh’s, we can begin to understand our capacity as a spiritual community to multiply the compassion, skillful understanding, and authentic connection beyond the sacred time we spend together each week. Collectively, we carry this nurturing energy from the cushion into the community.

 

“The Sangha is made out of the work of individuals, so we have a duty to help create the energy of the Sangha.

Our presence, when it is mindful presence, contributes to that energy…

Don’t think that we sit for ourselves. You don’t sit for yourself alone, you sit for the whole Sangha–not only for the Sangha, but also for the people in your city, because when one person in the city is less angry, is smiling more, the whole city profits.

If we practice looking deeply, our understanding of interbeing will grow, and we will see that every smile, every step, every breath is for everybody. It is for our country, for the future, for our ancestors.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Go As Sangha” in Friends on the Path

 

#MarchMindfulness2016: The Art of Compassion | Pam Roy

resilience | pamela roy
i am | pamela roy

 

Each week, I send my dear friend and colleague an original piece of artwork — a symbol of my solidarity and a reminder that her bravery and patience as her family battles to triumph over recent illnesses matters. This is one way that I commit to shining love and light on the people that have blessed my life, in times of struggle and in moments of happiness. ~ Dr. Pamela Roy

Pamela-Roy-photo

Dr. Roy is a scholar, visionary and creative leader, and artist who has a passion for youth education and enthusiasm for community-building at the local, national, and international levels.

Pamela is the Founder and Lead Consultant for the Consultancy for Global Higher Education. View her gallery: www.pamelaroy.net

embodied practice: alice walker quote

 

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Celebrating the power of sangha and all who commit to the practice of:

Showing up for ourselves so that we may be present and available in heart and mind to show up for others.

Speaking our truth.

Listening with open hearts.

To be in the presence of such companions is fuel + balm for the soul!

May we seek and be blessed with the gift of wise companions!

May we learn to be a good spiritual friend to others!

 

 

 

March Mindfulness 2016

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It’s my fourth annual “call-to-action” to promote the practice of bringing skillful and compassionate awareness to how we engage, are impacted by, and then respond to the world around us.

March heralds the coming of Spring and, with it, a sense of renewal! Let us take a few moments to refresh our commitment to self-inquiry and spiritual self-care by tending to ourselves with loving awareness so that we may notice what moves, blooms, dissolves, transforms and even becomes reconciled within body, heart, mind, and relationships.‪

WHEN + WHERE:
MARCH 1st – 31st | RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!

HOW:
PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!
What can you do each day to foster
compassion, skillful understanding, authentic connection, inclusion, freedom, belonging?
No action is too small!

RSVP TO SHOW YOUR COMMITMENT ~
 3 JEWELS YOGA | MARCH MINDFULNESS 2016

SHARE THE CREATIVE + THOUGHTFUL WAYS
THAT YOU ARE GENERATING COMPASSION
FOR YOURSELF + OTHERS ~
Submit stories + images to be featured on 3 Jewels Yoga’s site. Email: tara@3jewelsyoga.com


Post them to 3 Jewels Yoga’s Facebook page with the hashtag #MarchMindfulness2016

SPREAD THE LOVE + INVITE OTHERS!