New beginnings

I always liked the idea of a "new year." But I never understood why our new year fell on January 1st. Once I began to study different cultures, I found I preferred a seasonal calendar. It made more sense that the year began the day after Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, because the next day, the light slowly returns.

So, as an adult, I practice my new year then. and then again on my birthday, which is more officially my "new year."

But I think that really, we all just want to feel like we have a fresh start. New Year's eve/day is only as powerful as you allow it to be, just like anything. We put so much intention and "resolution" into that day and for many people, they do make profound change.

Sometimes it lasts, sometimes it doesn't.

So I like the idea of getting to make a new start more often than once a year.

Which is why I have decided my most favorite calendar is the lunar calendar. We get a fresh start every 28 days and the cycle is very specific for how to rise and fall with it.

This year the new moon is January 4th, so fairly close to the traditional "new year." and it feels different. After a few years of closely following the moon, I feel the dark moon time right now. The time where things are closing, ending, waning. and the only thing that can happen next is opening, expanding. Because that is the essence of life. begin and end, wax and wane, new and full. There is always the opportunity to let something go and there is always time for rebirth.

So whether you celebrate the new moon, the solstice, the new year or simply your own birthday, may you experience beautiful re-birth of possibilities and be filled with the freshness needed to keep your intent.

and if you wane or waver, don't be afraid to start again.

There is always a new beginning in some calendar.

It takes two..

Duality.
Yoga has said for 5000 years that duality is both the nature of human life and also the cause of suffering (I am summarizing)
Contrary to popular belief, Yoga is not a non-dualistic tradition (we are all one mentality) Yoga is dualistic which means there are two. Parusha (spirit) and Prakriti (form). Shiva (divine destructive masculine) and Shakti (divine creative feminine). Up and Down. Right and Left. Dark and Light.
I have been studying Yoga now for 7 years... so why does the duality in life still surprise me?
Why is it devastating to have a beautiful awesome day in Burbank when Nashville is under water? How can we rejoice over weddings and births when oil is spilling at a frightening rate into the gulf?
Well... how can we not?
It is another duality- that relationship between the head and the heart.
Between the mind and spirit.
Somewhere, I know that things are happening as they need to.. that there is some "divine order" to all of this. But then their is that little voice that feels so powerless and wants to scream "It's not fair!"
That was my big line as a kid.. over and over "It's not fair."
I can still hear my mom.. "Life isn't fair."
True. Life is not fair. Life is a big contradiction and a hypocrisy.
So... what.. do.. we.. do.. now?
Yoga says that we should try to find the joy anyway.
In spite of duality and all of it, we try to break through it.. we soften into the middle of these opposites and we recognize the suffering and welcome the moments of peace. We try to be nice to each other, to the planet, to ourselves.
Ultimately, it is all a love story- 2 people from totally different worlds, upbringings, ways of life somehow can fall in love in the midst of it all.
That is the real lesson of all these opposites- they can only come together in love.
So we enjoy the California sunshine and send money to Nashville.
We celebrate our births and our weddings and sign petitions to stop off shore drilling.
We try not to ignore the dark but we can still bask in the light.
Without destruction, there is no creation.
It really does take 2 to make a thing go right.

Car-ma

Karma is defined by wikipedia as "that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect."

My whole life, well, since I was 16, anyway, I feel that I seem to have been involved in a cycle that is similar but that we can call "Carma."

Because I have the weirdest history with cars.

My mother used to say that I worked my karma out with my car, and that I should be grateful about that trade.

Well, I guess.

I mean, I really don't think I have ever been a "bad" driver, and most of the "accidents" I have been involved in were not because I was speeding recklessly down the freeway. Mostly. Mainly I hit inanimate objects.. other parked cars, curbs, poles.

Just the other week i was thinking, man, it has been a while since I hit anything!

Lo and behold, pulling out of the studio lot the other day, backed right into the evil telephone pole in the middle of our parking lot. (Really, it is a HORRIBLE spot for a telephone pole, just TERRIBLE)

Damage was minimal, but my ego was more bruised cuz I can't seem to avoid hitting things for too long.

So my mom, again, brought up the carma idea.

and it got me thinking, if this "karma" thing exists (which i think is likely as most actions seem to have an effect)

Could it be possible that the universe, God, whatever, sometimes doles out karma in specific ways? Like I work out this life and the last life with my front and rear bumpers, maybe someone else works it out with their bones, another with pets, I don't know.

It just got me thinking.. could there be carma??

Think about it...

(and yes, I have considered the idea that maybe I should just pay better attention, but seriously, I really am paying attention most of the time!!!)

I've got the Power!

Power has been coming up a lot.
For training, I had to read Love & Power by Lynn Andrews.
Last weekend, in a Core Shamanism workshop offered by Foundation for Shamanic Studies, the topic of power was discussed in depth.

Basically, it seems like we have to change our relationship to power. It has gotten this reputation as being bad thing. (Much like money)
We have come to equate money & power with rich white men or the like. The whole "power over" thing. This is not power- that is CONTROL.
People have become dis-empowered because we have confused these 2 words. We think, I have no control over these things, so I have no power.
and if that is what you think, well, then you truly are power-less.
Cut to Yogic and Shamanic thought- the power I am referring to could also be called mana or Q'i(chi) and the term I prefer is Prana.
Prana is vital life force, as is Q'i and Mana. Prana is the true power.
Yogis believe that the sun is made of Prana and that it is the energy that fuels all life. If you think of your power as your own personal sun, you begin to understand why you do have power and why it is NECESSARY to be power-full.
Everyone who is alive has power, or prana, or you would not be.
But many of us have lost our prana, our power.
If is the same energy we get when we are stuck inside for long periods of time and then you suddenly experience that first ray of pure sun and suddenly you fill up again.
That is true power.
and it can be accessed through nature, yoga, meditation, shamanic journeying, chanting and anything esle that allows you to clear blockages and let prana to flow through you.
In Yoga and Ayurveda, Prana enters through the breath and moves through channels (nadis) on the right, left and center. The prana moves through you and heals, stimulates, cleans and yes, empowers.
You know when you are becoming power-full because your breath is slow and steady, you feel tingly, maybe even sense warmth or vibration. You feel present, focused and filled with confidence, wisdom and POWER. It feels really, really good.
You don't have to have money, fame or any of that to be powerful.
We must change our relationship to power!!!!
No one can empower you, and you can not empower someone else. You cannot pay to become empowered.
You find power through breath, intention, moving your body and connection to spirit (which could be anything you need it to be)
We empower ourselves and then hang around other empowered folk and suddenly, the world changes.
Power is not bad and it is not the enemy. Control can be a bit of a problem, but if more of us consciously took the time to tune in and fill ourselves with more Prana, things can be different. We can, we should, we must ALL hold power in this world.
That power is held in our hearts and our bellies. It comes from earth and sky. and we need it to survive.
Next time you walk, or take a yoga class, or lay in the sun, take time to think about Prana. Deepen your breath, stretch and start to be aware of the subtle evidence that you are being filled with light and power. Do this every day if you can. and life will change.
power prana q'i mana power power prana q'i mana prana power power power power
We ALL have the power.

On this New Moon

On this new moon
there are thousands of people dead
and thousands more scared out of their minds
in Haiti
and in other places in the world
On this new moon
there was also a solar eclipse that told me
it was time for new beginnings
On this new moon
I read from one of my favorite authors
To save what you love
cuz it is all coming down
On this new moon
I walked my dog through the park
and rested with the trees
On this new moon
I taught a yoga class
about balancing fire and earth
cuz isn't that what we are doing?
Balancing fire and earth
On this new moon
I fantasize about my wedding
my best friend's baby shower
learning to compost
and "greening" my backyard
On this new moon
I have a couple hours left of work
and then I will sit in circle
with other women
we will eat, laugh, create
we will take a moment to honor those who have passed
and the labor pains of our mama earth
as she balances fire and earth.
On this new moon
I will go home to my partner
(who has a cough and an aching back)
and I will lay with him under a dark sky
and look for signs
of this new moon.