toward wholeness – tscottmiller

soul care, liberation + legacy work in 2020

In August of 2019, I discerned it was time to take a sabbatical from community practice to focus on managing my grandmother’s care following a health crisis. Then “life and opportunity” showed up to affirm that decision when I was recruited to work with The Firecracker Foundation (where I am now one of the Co-Directors). So Sangha gathered for its final practice in November 2019 with the understanding that I would be on sabbatical to adjust to my new role while discerning when and how I would hold space during the spring.

March 2020, life and opportunity showed up this time in the form of a global pandemic to reaffirm how critical sacred rest is for fueling and fortifying one’s spiritual constitution. What followed next was devastating:

Black Folx. Murdered. By Police. Again. And Again. And Again. Without Remedy.

Police Killed 164 Black in 2020: Part I | Part II
#KnowTheirNames

Black Folx. Targeted. Stalked. Surveilled. Threatened. Accused. Attacked. Murdered. By Any White Man and Any White Woman who decided they didn’t have the right to breathe, to jog, to birdwatch, to bbq, to sell water, to walk into their own homes, to sleep inside their own beds…to SIMPLY EXIST. All Without Remedy. Racially-biased calls to the police. Racially-biased. Attacks. Racially-motivated. Murders. Racially-motivated. Hate Crimes.

The civil unrest in protest against white supremacy and the state-sanctioned murders of unarmed Black people stirred, amplified and crystallized the message that had already been emerging from the previously quieter months of rest, reflection, and restoration.

I am called and compelled to dedicate my energetic resources to the legacy work of justice, liberation, soul care and collective healing (via radical bodhicitta) in service of those who are disproportionately vulnerable to the harms of structural oppression. Namely, the Black, Indigenous, and Latinx youth I mentor, who are survivors of gender-based violence, along with others who embody multiply-marginalized identities.

My work will not include leading and facilitating Sangha at this time.

I will continue to offer 1-with-1 spiritual direction and will be establishing a separate website with those services. In the meantime, information can be found here.

This site will continue to function as a historical marker of my spiritual journey.

#LoveYouEveryday

Hope y’all are feeling loved, seen, heard, felt, understood, cared for + supported!

a bodhisattva votes

radical bodhicitta

This Election Tuesday is momentual for me personally as I get to support two amazing women in my life in their campaigns for office — my cousin Shauna Dunnings, who’s running for Probate Judge, and my friend from high school Elissa Slotkin, who’s running for the 8th District U.S. Congressional seat!

(I also went to junior school with a third woman who is a candidate for another local judicial office.)

Heartened and hopeful as I am, the reality is there are elected officials who still refuse to acknowledge the humanity of marginalized and oppressed communities and actively create policies that continue to jeopardize our well-being on every level.

So these words from adrienne maree brown are a timely centering prayer and the soulful lyrics from Jill Scott’s song My Petition (which I’ve been playing on repeat lately) captures a sliver of my current mood.

View original post 345 more words

special event | radical bodhicitta — embodying justice, liberation + healing

radical bodhicitta

In this 4-hour immersive experience, practitioners will be guided through embodied meditations and self-inquiry exercises to:

Awaken and strengthen the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness and 5 Spiritual Faculties;

Deepen skillful understanding of their relationship to privilege, power and oppression;

Move toward skillful and sustainable action to cultivate justice, liberation and healing within themselves and their relationships.

[radical bodhicitta is a module from the When + Where We Enter program]

Saturday, November 10th

10 am – 2 pm

Van Hanh Temple

3015 S. Washington Avenue | Southside of Lansing

Dana/Contribution: $20 | $10 | Other*

— Registration Is Now Closed —

*The sliding scale is offered to widen the invitation to practitioners of varying financial ability. Paying at the full rate sustains this practice. Practitioners may also donate additional funds to sponsor fellow registrants. Contributions can be made in advance (via PayPal; see registration form) or upon arrival (cash).

View original post 4 more words

embodying resilience

i am lungs springing back oxgenated, fueled and aflamed to burn off toxins and tensions.

the softening fist, fingers extending in a mudra of receptivity.

emerging grace, wobbly-kneed and raw-skinned soles finding its footing, rebounding from stumbles, rising from falls.

the heart willing (sometimes wavering), nevertheless ready to face the tenderness of being alive.

embodying resistance

i am an open heart —
strong, free, full and clear as the bell itself.

i am soft-flexed knees,
gravity centered and recaliberated,
surfboard-steady and supple
to ride the waves of challenge and change.

turning away from that which seeks
to diminish, defeat or undo me —
i protect my borders,
restore breaches,
preserve the sanctity of
wisdom well earned
and compassion long cultivated.

turning toward that which fuels and fortifies me,
i am a commitment to liberation —
transmuting hurts,
cutting through artifice,
toppling the false idols of oppression,
and living (w)holy unperturbed
in the unalterable truth of my divinity.

more contemplations:

embodying refuge
refuge, resistance, resilience + radical self-expression

refuge, resistance, resilience + radical self-expression

“The Sangha is an island of peace. The Sangha is a community of resistance against violence, hate and despair.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

These words of my root teacher Thây live at the core of our sangha’s suchness. They have shaped our evolution into a community of spiritual friends who find sanctuary in journeying together through challenge and change; being stretched and sharpened by wisdom teachings, shared insights and loving (re)assurances; shedding skin, healing, transforming, blooming wholy into our radiant bodhisattva-ness!

We are called together to revive, reclaim and fortify ourselves with liberating contemplative spiritual practices. We take refuge in the full embrace of sangha to “remember to remember” that we have all we need — breath, willingness, enough time, connection to wise companions with gifts, skills and rich life experiences — to (re)connect with our true selves and nourish our wholeness.

“Retreating” from the madness of the world around us is not a viable option for everyone. For me, access to organized retreats set in bucolic off-the-grid environs invites us to interrogate spiritual elitism and the socioeconomic realities and other disparities and inequities among practitioners in all spiritual traditions. It points us back to the question of how we practice and cultivate justice, liberation and healing as people of faith and wonder.

So we take refuge in “the wisdom of no escape” each time we come back to ourselves wherever we are in a given moment, when conditions are not optimal, when our lives aren’t set up for leaving.

Each time we spring back from our worst moments, we strengthen our resilience, self-trust and capacity to resist being swept away by the toxicity of systemic degradation, violence and oppression that spreads like contagion.

It is my deepest hope and prayer that we know the freedom of trusting ourselves, of embodying the spirit of refuge that feeds our radical being-ness.

Who are we when we cultivate and embody refuge?

Who are we when we cultivate and embody resistance?

Who are we when we cultivate and embody resilience?

Who are we when we cultivate, embody and celebrate radical self-expression?

new moon meditation | lunar wisdom

This world has tried to convince us to mark our days by the standards of industry, technology, and empire — productivity, performance and pursuit — and to measure and define our lives by the tempo of striving.

Yet the rhythms thrumming in our veins remind us that we are guided by forces more powerful than the promptings of a civil calendar.

Those drawn toward the earth will feel the pull of nature in the change of seasons, calling us to burrow, germinate, root, sprout, blossom, harvest, release what has gone to seed, compost…then (re)cycle through this organic unfolding again and again.

Those drawn toward the sky will feel “the full and change of the moon” summoning us to align with its peaks and plummets in order to discern from its energetic flow when to build, create, amplify, illuminate, pause, contemplate, rest, release, dismantle, renovate.

Whether we are drawn to one source or both, the call is the same:

Cease striving!
Release yourself from the matrix of scarcity that tells you there isn’t enough, that you don’t do enough, that you don’t have enough, that you are not enough!
Rest in the rhythm of Spirit!
Replenish your energy by relishing in experiences that delight you!
Nurture and trust your intuition!
Know that there is an optimal order, timing and season for all things!

I was blessed to be introduced to the we’moon calendar almost 16 years ago and have found freedom in reclaiming my connection to moon wisdom.

I’ve learned to attune my teaching and practice schedules with the seasons, encouraging those who study/practice with me to do the same.

Listening deeply to these guiding rhythms has helped me live a life more sacred.

living into community | interfaith thanksgiving service

Deeply honored to have had the opportunity to live into community and abide in Spirit with friends on the path last night.

Bowing with gratitude to Rev. Jen Tafel for the energy of her vision and voice to widen the circle of inclusivity on multiple levels at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. You took no credit for all the work you did to organize this special event, still your magic shined through! Thank you for bringing us all together and for inviting me to weave my voice into this service.

Celebrating Rev. Phiwa Langeni for doing the damn thang and truly activating the call to embody gratitude for all who were blessed to hear your sermon.

Treasuring the gift of being able to bring radical bodhicitta — the awakened heart of justice, liberation and healing — into the sanctuary by sharing:

the practice of inviting the bell so that we may inhabit our bodies, hearts and minds with full and loving awareness;

and the wise and loving words of zen buddhist priest, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Reading

For All Beings

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 afforded patience,

Be allowed to live without fear of having their lives taken away or their bodies violated.

May all beings,

Be well in its broadest sense,

Be fed,

Be clothed,

Be treated as if their life is precious,

Be held in the eyes of each other as family.

May all beings,

Be appreciated,

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,

Be given what is needed to live fully, without scarcity,

Enjoy life, living without fear of one another,

Be able to speak freely in a voice and mind of undeniable love.

May all beings,

receive and share the gifts of life,

Be given time to rest, be still, and experience silence.

May all beings,

Be awake.

from Chants Against Hatred

bearing witness | full moon meditation

How Spirit answers when you’re contemplating this coming Sunday’s dharma circle on Bearing Witness — looking back, beneath and beyond!

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

“untitled”

who is healed?

who is housed?

who is silent?

who speaks?

whose hopes?

whose fears?

whose values

whose justice?

— the art of barbara kruger,

on nyc metrocards《via performa 17: http://17.performa-arts.org/events/barbara-kruger21》

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

Sangha will reflect upon:

what we have turned away from and what we have turned toward following last year’s election and its devastating impact on the well-being of our bodies, hearts, minds, spirits and relationships.

We’ll look deeply into:

what is

arising × dissolving

compelling × challenging

enduring × transforming

in our relationship to justice, liberation and healing?