sun + breath + good spiritual friends + scratch-made yummies = harvest!
Thank you, loves, for sharing your gifts — hugs, hearts, laughter, presence, silence, curiosities, discoveries, baking/gardening/pickling talents…and so much more!
We’ll take refuge in the full embrace of Sangha on October 8th when our fall series Bearing Witness begins.
I’ll always remember my aunt telling me long ago that your friends are your assets.
I’m blessed to say that my good spiritual friends are my Harvest!
So on Sunday, we’ll celebrate the Suchness of Sangha and all that we’ve learned and all the ways we’ve been stretched to grow this past season through our commitment:
to self-understanding and well-being;
to diligently taking refuge in the full embrace of sangha where we cultivate the sacred pause where, with silence and breath, we listen deeply, see clearly and learn to respond skillfully to all that arises as it arises;
to investing in collective wisdom and supporting the healing and transformation of one another.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
11 AM | Walking the Labyrinth
12 PM | Harvest Party
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
❤ Bring snacks to share, as you are able. I’ll provide napkins, cups and some cutlery. Consider additional plateware and serving utensils that your dish may require.
❤ Kiddos are welcome!
❤ IN THE EVENT OF RAIN: We’ll hold the practice and party at Heartdance Studio.
a tree in transformation.
some may see it as a premature sign of fall and lament the coming season of harvest.
but this here is actually a sign of distress and, most importantly, of its inherent capacity for self-preservation by inducing its transformation in order to heal! its profound cellular wisdom illuminates the beauty in the process of surrendering to rebirth.
a lesson for those of us who seek, cultivate and advocate/facilitate transformative healing:
the healing of wounds happens in stages and at a pace that is determined by the quality of our attention and care as well as the conditions we create to optimize our healing.
it begins with developing the capacity to discern the source of our suffering and committing to the heartwork of lovingly tending to our wounds. and, because some scars never go away, recognizing that our healing continues beyond the restoration of wound to new tissue.
rather, we invite a complete transformation that — like the tree ridding itself of invasive pests that are feeding off it — involves shedding, releasing, eliminating, purging and, ultimately, being renewed. in body, heart, mind and spirit.
healing through transformation is a willingness to be changed by the process of healing!
“Many biologists believe that an early color change is an attempt of a tree to rid itself of insect pests, especially those that feed on the juices in the cells. These insects have evolved with these trees and shrubs, and understand that when the chemical process behind the leaves changing color begins, their meal ticket ends. Rather than feeding on other leaves, many will move on in search of a better food source…
In essence, leaves changing color too early is a defensive mechanism that allows the stressed out shrub or tree to eliminate at least one source of trouble.” ~ Kristi Waterworth
[from Gardening Know How: Early Color Change Of Foliage: What To Do For Tree Leaves Turning Early]
the strength of fingers, the might of earth.
gratified by the labor of tending + clearing the path.
where sweat meets dust, we see the body + soul at work.
the day’s lesson: let that shit go!
found/left behind: scattered rose petals. a mason jar with a forgotten sip. a book on philosophy…
“The logic of the rebel is to want to serve justice so as not to add to the injustice of the human condition, to insist on plain language so as not to increase the universal falsehood, and to wager, in spite of human misery, for happiness.” ~ Albert Camus, The Rebel
more gems from our sunday: zen mom life
friends on the path: weeding and tending the labyrinth. walking in awareness, aligning with intention, praying with our feet, moving into clarity and wisdom. nourishing ourselves and one another with laughter and good eats.
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our outdoor practice season has come to a close,
and it could not have been a more beautiful fall day!
the abundance was overflowing: a feast of homemade goodies and raided-refrigerator treats, plenty of laughter, a reflection on how each of us is connected and all the overlapping threads we share, and crafting the harvest of herbs from a friend’s garden into bundles of sage, rose petals, mint and lavender that can be dried into smudging sticks.
excited for all that our new season of practice will bring.
“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
It’s been another lovely season of
BIG SKY MIND: Walking The Labyrinth!
Join us for the last two official practices of the year.
Sundays, August 16 + September 20
11 AM – 12 PM
Moores Park
In honor of my birthday on August 4th, I vowed to spend time enjoying the people and activities I love: special meals with family; a mini-ice cream party with my son, nieces, and nephew; walking the labyrinth; a midnight birthday meditation; hitting the trail for a run; waking up at 4:30 AM to share my craft on the local news; and bowling with friends! Nearly every one of these last seven days has been a small celebration.
The locus of this joyful beginning: the labyrinth.
I set the intention to walk lovingly, mindfully and gently into my new year with a Sunday morning practice at the labyrinth. I invited friends to join me in this “embodied prayer” to generate the compassionate energy of mindfulness for self-care and social healing.
The small gathering was more than I envisioned! After practice, I was surprised with my favorite home-baked vegan chocolate cake (it’s so yummy, as one person joked, you “can’t taste the vegan in it!”). Then, to my delight, a new practitioner from another local sangha spontaneously grabbed tools from his car and took the initiative to dig up the overgrowth that had begun to bury parts of path. A mason by trade, he explained that he couldn’t bear to see the stonework covered due to lack of proper maintenance (it’s been mowed over but not adequately edged).
Pulling weeds and clearing the path became another embodied act of releasing what is old or no longer useful, removing obstructions, and making way for new opportunities, adventures and lessons. I am so grateful for all that I have learned this past year and excited to blaze new trails on journey before me!
The day before the practice, I brought my son and niece out to Moores Park to experience the labyrinth and burn energy on the playground.
A few silent but silly moments affecting the posture of walking meditation quickly dissolved into laughter and shenanigans — a foot race and cartwheeling.
tscottmiller 