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| December 7,
2006 |
Dear friend,
Season's greetings to you!
This newsletter brings you some practical things related to the
January 2007 class schedule, local happenings, interesting things that
some of you are doing, links to natural beauties, favorite quotes and some
philosophical musings.
» January 2007 Class
Schedule |
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December Musings
In Hinduism, Ganesha is a very popular and much
loved representation of God. He known as the destroyer of obstacles who
provides prosperity and good fortune. It's for this reason that his grace
is invoked at times of new beginnings and during times of great
challenges.
The elephant headed diety represents the perfect balance between
opposites such as "force and kindness," "power and beauty," and perhaps
even "will and surrender." Ganesha, also called Ganapati, is considered
the embodiment of Buddhi (intellect) and Gyana (wisdom, knowledge). In
his name the sound "Ga" stands for Buddhi or the intellect. The sound
"Na" is derived from "Vaijnaana" or "Gyana" (Jnana) which means the higher
knowledge or wisdom.
He is the master of intellect and wisdom as well as all the senses.
He symbolizes the discriminative capacities which provide the ability to
perceive what is real from what is unreal, distinctions between truth and
illusion.
While preparing for "Letting Go With Ganesha" workshop, I read many
stories about Ganesha. The one about his extraordinary appetite got me
thinking symbolically about what fills us up, what feeds us, what makes us
feel satisfied and whole. But I'm ahead of myself. Here's the story:
When Ganesha was young, a wealthy bureaucrat wished to invite Lord
Shiva, Ganesha's father, to a feast to show off his great wealth. Shiva
declined but offered his son instead with the warning that Ganesha had a
"voracious" appetite. No problem. The wealthy man was happy to shower
Ganesha with attention. He took him to the baths and dressed him in fancy
clothes. Before the feast even began, Ganesha started eating and he kept
eating until there was nothing left. The wealthy man began to panic
because there was nothing left for the other guests and Ganesha was still
eating. He was eating the decorations and furniture and anything he could
get his hands on. "Feed me!" he roared. "I'm hungry and if you don't
feed
me I'm going to eat you too!" The man was beside himself and rushed to
find Lord Shiva. "What do I do? He's eating everything in sight!" Lord
Shiva told the wealthy man to give Ganesha a handful of roasted rice,
offered with humility and love. And he did. And Ganesha was satisfied
and calm.
During this time of year when stress is high and needs are many, what
fills you up? What makes you feel satisfied and whole? The story of
Ganesha's appetite suggests that more is not better, that material things
don't fill us up. Yet, we live in a culture that promotes consumerism as
the panacea for our neediness. There isn't a need that can't be filled at
the mall or grocery store or ebay. And if by chance our need can't be
found there then perhaps if we do more, fill up our days with more
scheduled events, then we'll feel full and whole, right? What if
simplicity and love is what we need?
Ganesha represents the macrocosm and the microcosm - the cosmos and
the human potential for enlightenment. Ganesha is the master of
intellect and wisdom as well as all the senses. It's through the senses
that we experience our lives and our environment.
According to the science of ayurveda, there are two main causes of
disease - wrong application of the discriminating mind and wrong use of
the senses and motor organs. Impulses that come through the senses are
not always good for you. In fact, marketing and advertising counts on
this! Of course, we do have the ability to make conscious choices, right?
Rather than staying up too late to watch a movie when we know we
should go to bed or eating too much because it tastes so good even though
we know it may result in heartburn later - we could ask for what we really
want. Stress and tension create a fertile environment for confusion and
illusion, the veil of maya that distorts reality. We forget that our true
nature is santosha, contentment.
Ganesha symbolizes the discriminative capacities of the mind which
provide the ability to perceive what is real from what is unreal, to make
distinctions between truth and illusion. Before there was yoga there was
tapas – the practice of discerning what's real through witness
consciousness.
For me it means looking at every aspect of my life in a different way.
Do I really need that? Am I making do with this? Can I be silent?
What's really going on here? Listening to the inner voice. Being the
witness. What's really going on here?
I wish you peace and true contentment this moment and every moment.
Namaste, Karen
» Read more about
Ganesha |
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Jan Beekman, Artist and
Yogi
In early November, Jan Beekman (pronounced yahn
bakeman) was featured in the Day newspaper article titled "A Call for
Tolerance."
The article coincided with the recent presentation of a painting to
the United Nations. In the article Jan described getting up at 4:30 a.m.
on the day of Nelson Mandela's release from 27 years in prison in South
Africa. He was so moved by the "wonderful, serene smile" on Nelson
Mandela's face that he began painting a portrait of that face in what Jan
once described to me as the "Buddha" style. The three year odyssey
resulted in a six foot square "close-up" painting that uses colors and
brush strokes found in many of Jan's landscape paintings. The painting
was presented to the United Nations by the Beekman Foundation and the
Belgium.
Jan is a gifted artist best known for his large, nature inspired
landscape paintings. I found these quotes on the Beekman Foundation
website:
"Nature has always been very important for Beekman, even though this
passion has never resulted in a realistic rendering of landscapes...The
development of his work was influenced to a great extent by the places he
lived. First in his native Belgium, in areas of natural beauty that were
still untouched at the time, and later the United States.
Moreover, after a rather fortuitous visit (where he met his wife,
Gillian Lane-Plescia,) he has lived in the States since the mid-1980s.
Having spent several years in and around Chicago, in the 1990s he moved to
Preston, Connecticut. That is where he lives a secluded life, with his
wife, surrounded by the greenery that is still his main source of
inspiration."
Most recently, the Preston woods provide his inspiration but Jan has
produced a lifetime of paintings now in the hands of the Beekman
Foundation in Belgium, in galleries and in private and public collections
around the world.
» The
Beekman
Foundation |
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Kathy Uschmann, Birth Doula and
yogini
From Kathy - Birth Doula in a nutshell:
'Doula' is a Greek word meaning 'woman caregiver' or 'woman beside the
mother.' Birth Doulas provide emotional and physical support to mothers
or
mothers and their partners throughout labor and immediately following the
birth of the baby. Additionally, doulas meet with the families they will
support a few times before the birth to clarify the family's preferences
for the birth and to discuss non-medical comfort measures for pregnancy
and labor. Doulas also help families find information they need to make
informed decisions about their pregnancy and the birth.
My philosophy:
I believe that childbirth is a natural process and that women's bodies
are wise in the ways of birth. I believe that women instinctively know
how
to birth their babies and that it is every mother's right to be empowered
so that she may experience the birth which is right for her.
My situation:
To be certified, I needed to support a certain number of births and be
evaluated by the attending physicians, the labor/delivery nurses, and the
families. I have recently completed this phase of the certification
process and am now completing the paperwork to become a certified Birth
Doula through the doula organization, DONA International.
Contact Kathy:
Phone: 860.464.9082
email: snuschmann@sbcglobal.net
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Robyn O'Donnell, co-owner of the Dog and
Biscuit
When my sister, Robyn, was 16 she got her first
dog, a miniature schnauzer. It was cute and shaggy. She loved that dog.
Then one day someone told her that the dog needed to be groomed. Groomed?
What's that? Well, that began Robyn's journey and she's been following
her
dharma ever since.
Nearly 30 years later (that was fast!), she's a very successful dog
groomer and owner of the Pink Poodle Parlor in Westerly, RI. She is the
original "write it down and make it happen" person. Years after she
opened the PPP she found her list of goals and dreams. Nearly everything
on that list had happened even though she had long forgotten her hand
written list! (check out the Buddha quotes!)
Well, now she has a new business. With her long time friend and
fellow dog lover, Anna, she's co-owner of the Dog and Biscuit, a fun place
for you and your dog. If you have a dog or know someone who does, check
it
out. You can even bring your dog to the in-store Bow Wow Cafe featuring
treats for dogs.
The Dog and Biscuit
9 East Avenue Plaza, Westerly
401.315.2290
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Favorite Quotes -
Buddha
The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its way with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings. – The Buddha
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
and trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart...
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable. – The Buddha
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Favorite quotes -
Rumi
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.
**
Drumsound rises on the air,
its throb, my heart.
A voice inside the beat says,
"I know you're tired,
but come. This is the way."
**
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
quotes from the Essential Rumi translations by Coleman Barks
"In December of 1273 when Rumi died, representatives of every major
religion came to his funeral. In the midst of the crusades and violent
sectarian conflict he said, 'I go into the Muslim mosque and the Jewish
synagogue and the Christian church and I see one alter.'"
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Favorite quotes - Rabia of Basra (c.
717-801)
There is a dog I sometimes take for a walk
and turn loose in a field,
when I can't give her that freedom
I feel in debt.
I hope God thinks like that and
is keeping track of all
the bliss He owes me.
**
I am always hold a priceless vase in my hands.
If you asked me about the deeper truths
of the path and I told you
the answers,
it would be like handing sacred relics to you.
But most have their hands tied
behind their
backs;
that is, most are not free of events their eyes have seen
and their ears have heard
and their bodies have felt.
Most cannot focus their abilities
in the present, and
might drop what
I said.
So I'll wait; I don't mind waiting until
your love for all
makes luminous
the now.
quotes from Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East
and West
translation by Daniel Ladinsky,
"Rabia is the most popular and influential of female Islamic saints
and a central figure in the Sufi tradition."
» Read about
Rabia |
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Special Holiday offer now through
December 15, 2006
While supplies last!
Purchase one of the following in-stock items:
Healing Yoga for Every Body audio CD $18
Gentle Yoga for Every Body audio CD $17
Yes! You Can Yoga video $16
Eye Pillow $10
Kripalu book $24
Long sleeve women's t-shirt $20
(White – size large, Grey – size medium)
Short sleeve women's v-neck $17
(White – sizes M, L, XL)
Short sleeve women's jewel neck $17
(White – size 2XL)
OM necklace $24
Satyaa & Pari Prayer Music CD $17
And receive a second item at half price. (The higher price prevails
for the first item.)
OR
Purchase 5 items and receive an audio CD free. Choose from Healing
Yoga for Every Body audio CD Gentle Yoga for Every Body audio CD.
This special offer applies to in-stock items as listed above and does
not apply to special order t-shirts, pants, totes, Hugger Mugger products
or Kripalu DVDs.
Place your order now for:
3" Foam Blocks Blue or Purple $15.90 (tx incl)
Kripalu Yoga Dynamic DVD with Stephen Cope $21.15
Kripalu Yoga Gentle DVD with Sudha Carolyn Lundeen $21.15
OM necklace (you choose the color) 16" $24
OM necklace (you choose the color) 18" $27
yogahealsus@yahoo.com
(860) 204-0797
Wishing you peace and well-being now and always,
Karen
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