Let it go.........

Upon awakening (no, not that Awakening:-), I sat drinking my coffee, pondering my behaviour... so, here I am pouty, feeling as I am regressing to a childish behaviour and I ask my husband, "Do you love me?"

"ABSOLUTELY!"

"Do you love me even when I'm grumpy and irritiable?"

"Yes."

I didn't sleep, but when I did I had crazy dreams. One being that I went to a fortune teller who said she wishes she could open up a Cat Cleaner's.... I have a friend from Texas who would move here if you did, I told her.

The bottom line is - it's not really just the tooth - it's that I have to work on someone else's time.

For 6 weeks, time for myself is lessened. I work outside at a camp teaching art and I don't like the heat and humidity. I leave by 8:15...(ugh) and during the year, it's more like "whenever".

I do like kids. Love 'em. But this is pretty much 20 classes a week as opposed to 5 or sometimes 6. When I have a painting job, I can call it a day when I want to. I am my own boss :-)

So....using the wise words of Abraham, better to focus on what I DO want:

Having fun, chilling out and creating with the kids.

It's a good pay check :-) and it goes by fast.

Reward is a week in the mountains and then onto the ocean.

So, lighten up Dor, and fly...............................

Light my path

I wish my path - the one I should take - would be well lit.

That is just what I wish, but what the truth is, no matter what path I do take... it is the path I should take. No matter what path we take, it is there to teach us something. We learn, no matter what. Maybe one path is harder and the lesson is tougher, and other times when we can skip down that path, feeling the lightness of our being.

Not today.

Today, my path feels heavy. Clouded. I'm very cranky with a toothache. There are these "should-haves" running across my mind, and although they will make my life easier for tomorrow, today I just wanted to have some time for me.

Done. No going back.

Today, I chose "grumpy".

Tomorrow is another day.

Yantra for the Moon

Moon Nourishment

A great article in Yoga Journal talks about these Yantras.

Similar to Mandalas, both seen as sacred and helping one to turn inward and used for healing. According to the article, the practice originates from the use of mantra (sound vibrations) and yantra (visual depictions of the sound vibrations)...

The article, which is worth reading, is in the Aug. 08 issue, called Drawn Inward by Sarah Tomlinson, page 71.

For me, mandalas or yantras... as long as they bring me into that state of centeredness, peace and being in the moment... doesn't matter much what they are called or how it is done.

Although, what I did find interesting in the article was the approach to them. Starting at the top, working clockwise around and towards the center, brings you out of the chattered mind (external world) and into the calm place within. Oh yeah, to live there... to be able to make clear decisons, to be so focused and calm as not to be rattled by someone's opinion. Yeah, that's where I'd like to live. And how does one get there?...... practice, Doreen, practice and patience.

If you go to www.yogajournal.com/yantras you should come to a page with 5 yantras that you can print out and color... thank you YJ :-)

Centering in the Storm

I am in mandala mode.

I'm also reading and focusing on the chakras.

Asked the question, "What calms me?" This came to mind.

Being still.

To be still in the chaos that surrounds us, what a wonderful gift that would be...

and what brings us there?

The breath.

The mind will follow the breath... then the body will follow the mind.

As we breathe in deep full breaths, our minds will quiet, become calmer and our body will relax. We become calm.

It is such a powerful tool. We carry it with us everywhere we go.. we just need to bring our awareness to it.

Every deep and wonderous, divine breath, I am grateful.

Digging Deep

ROOT CHAKRA:
Reading up on the root chakra, I was inspired by a passage about Earth as Home. Mother Earth - Pachamama... my mother. my home. my roots......
Friday I watched Danielle Bain, Medicine Woman, and how she had come to the realization after traveling for I think 6 months, that she needed to go back home to study the medicine of her people.
Traveling is good for the soul. We learn how similar we are even with our differences. We are all brothers and sisters on this planet.
But it is always good to come home.
In the first chakra, it is where Spirit is grounded in the material world. We manifest our creativity in a physical form.
It is here where we must get out of our head and into our body. Connecting to Mother Earth provides a healing source.
We master the fundamentals of survival here by grounding our spirit into our body. We ground our energy in some form of expression, discharging an accumulaton of emotional energy.
Consciously breathing and moving our body, connecting to our inner core, bringing awareness to the body and puts us in touch with our feelings.
Move consciously upon the Earth.
Be aware of the ground beneath your feet. Walking meditation.
Tell the truth about what you feel.
"I am a child of the Universe and I am taken care of."
"I honor my body by nurturing it with healthy food, exercise, and loving thoughts"
Mother Earth blesses me with Abundance.
I take responsibility for myself. I honor all my needs.
I am in touch with the Mother within and it's healing source.
Good yoga postures to help be grounded:
Lying on your back. Knees bent and allowing the whole spine to release onto the ground.
Tree Pose ~ Mountain Pose ~ Child Pose ~Cobra ~
Color Red
Square Shape
Blessing the Earth and being grateful.

Rooted - begin with a strong foundation

I began this blog at the new moon in Gemini. Sun and Moon joined together in my 10th house. The 10th house is the career. Gemini, the twins, a sign of duality, multi-tasking, represents the lungs, arms, hands (for self-expression) A sign that represents communication... and I started a blog :-) This also explains why I usually have two or more jobs going at the same time.

Not only that, I joined another yahoo group - a mandala group. I started back up with

Creative Everyday and started to reread Susan's book, The Chakras in Shamanic Practice by Susan J. Wright. Susan is my yoga teacher and who I trained with for my certification. I'm reading Shaman, Healer, Sage by Alberto Villoldo and just so happen to be reading chapters on the chakras.

This morning, I decided I would sit for awhile and create a mandala. I thought of starting with the root chakra - that was my intention. As with any art, the creative process flows where it needs to go and I allowed whatever wanted to come up... messages of movement.

A message that has been repeating itself lately.

Yes. I need to move. Walk. Do some yoga.

Get in touch with the body and out of my head... so really, this mandala did have something to do with the first chakra. Placing your feet on the ground and move.

Muladhara is the Sanskrit name of the first chakra, meaning foundation. I decided it is best to start with a strong foundation to build upon. Our roots. It is where we begin to trust.

It is also here we connect to Mother Earth, Pachamama. What draws me to the South American cultures, Peru in particular, is the deep respect they have for Mother Earth.

She provides everything for us... food, shelter, gravity and heals us.

Walking, whether in sacred places like Machu Picchu or nearby wooded areas, provides us this opportunity to connect with her abundance.

Connecting with the earth helps us to connect with our own body. Walking and yoga are the two ways I use to help ground myself. These are the tools I use to ground me, bring me back to humbleness, to help me trust that I am provided for.

It began with a walk

I've decided to get back into a daily or almost daily walk. Even if it's just around the block, I need to get the body moving. One reason is because I've gained some weight and the other is because it helps me to think better.

While in Peru (see other blog for pictures), my husband went into the hospital. Prostate was enlarged.. but it was more complicated than that.

Rethinking diet. Rethinking how we live.

And when you live with someone you care about and love to pieces, you share and help and grow together - challenges included.

My husband goes to extremes with many things. I see this in myself as well and he will point it out how much I do it with working.

Thus work and play need to be brought into balance.... among other things.

During my walk, my mind returned repeatedly to this idea of balance.

Yes, I want to fly. I want to do it all, reach for the stars, visit other lands, try new things, go wild with abandonment on a canvas.

Earth calls me. I need to be in the woods, surrounded by trees, plants, flowers, birds... otherwise I can get too flighty, too scattered. I need to be grounded to get things done. Practical stuff like putting things away before I am buried in clutter.

What do you do to bring yourself back into balance?