I am creation
I am creation, the endless unfolding. The spark burst to flameEach shimmering breath, a new beginning,I am the expansion, the inspiration…I am a conduit of creativity. I am. I am maintenance, resting in fullness,I am tending the seeds of my inner garden.I am blooming my heart’s deepest longing.I am spreading my wings.I am. I am dissolution,I am exhaling […]
yoga nidra: the gravitational pull of love
Occasionally I receive requests to post a particular practice on the website for re-listening. This meditation, which followed a conversation on the Heartfelt Desire, one of the 10 steps of iRest Yoga Nidra, explores what it feels like to yield to the heart’s deepest longing, including any feelings of fear or resistance that may arise […]
bodhi baby
Exuberant, irreverent, and self-mocking humor is a timeless tool used by spiritual teachers from multiple traditions. In a short text akin to rap lyrics, Adrian Symonds wryly improvises on the famous mantra from the Heart Sutra, “Gate gate paragate parasam gate bodhi swaha.” The mantra can be roughly translated from the Sanskrit as “Gone, gone, […]
PRECIOUS LOSS
I have always been like this. I have always known what I know. I have never been better and I have never been worse. I have not developed, I have not learned, I have not forgotten. Not a thing. It has always been here, in me. Always. This is what I realize after one year […]
yoga nidra: the fantasy of becoming
Some day, with enough practice, I will be…If my body were different, then…If I could just get my emotions under control, then…If only I _, then… How do we break free of the belief trap that something should be different than it is?Can we sense even the possibility that nothing has to change? The “sleep” […]
Soaking in Being
Ananda has been an ongoing exploration and inquiry for me for several years. My morning practice has gradually become what I call “soaking in Being.” Shortly after waking up and brushing my teeth, I sit in a favorite chair that fits me particularly well. The deep, sweet, physical relaxation of sleep is still present and […]
Barebones BodySensing
“When there is teaching, you must follow the line free from expectation and anticipation […]. It is very deeply rooted in the body-mind that there is something to achieve, to become, to attain, and this brings us absolutely away from what we are. It takes us in the opposite direction. So we must first face […]
A Reflection on Mirror Gazing
What do I see when I gaze into a mirror…? Am I doing the seeing or am I being the seen? When does seeing (or being seen) become not an act of will, but simply being – arising, hanging around, then dissolving? I have been exploring different practices introduced to me in this year’s study […]
Bundles and jumbles of consciousness
A poetic and pictorial representation of consciousness seen through the lens of the tattvas using phrases from iRest Yoga Nidra. What do I believe?I believe in the Mystery.Bundles and jumbles of consciousnessUnfurling discoveries of creative expression in every moment.I believe in inter-beingOf skin boundaries blurring into spaciousnessAnd your hand melting into mine.I believe in […]
On Spiritual Riddles, Hemorrhoids and Butterfly Nets
I tend to look suspiciously at ancient texts and their practices. I am, you see, quite modern. Two stunning proofs: I recently bought an electric toothbrush and I am now totally adjusted to our local newspaper no longer being delivered in paper format. I also have very modern fears: viral Armageddon, planetary demise, misgendering people. […]