Category: Uncategorized

6/30 and 7/30 To catch up on writing poetry is like eating two sandwiches one for lunch tomorrow?

6/30

Either way it is

Toilet paper up or down
Hanging it still works

7/30
Ode to a Sandwich

(Maybe because I’m now gluten free/vegetarian
I have these longings for a sandwich
The bread is just not the same.
Not from what I remember.)

Oh Sandwiches.
Let me count the ways I’ve had you:
White bread, Safflower mayonaise,
fresh chicken breast, sliced tomatoes and lettuce from the garden;
Wheat bread, grilled cheddar cheese, tomatoes and onion,
dipped in tomato soup;
Rye bread, smoothered in 1000 island, swiss cheese, corned beef,
with saucraut dripping from the sides;
Whole wheat, strawberry jam, bananas, peanut butter,
honey drizzled between your layers;
Grilled wheat bread, slices of ham, jack cheese,
with sweet spicy mustard;
Sourdough with tuna, onions, tomatoes chopped finely
and melted havarti cheese.
French Roll with cranberry sauce between layers of fresh turkey,
lettuce and dashes of horseradish;
Kaiser Roll, juicy roast beef, cheddar cheese, onions,
and aujus on the side;
Perfectly powdered white buns with layers of cheese, grilled vegetables,
mushrooms and garlic aoli;
Although many make you, enjoy you, and delight in you, none of this
compares to the memory I have of you.

Poem 4/30

Trust
Nature
Connected
Sure
Source
Time
Patience
Waiting
Willing
Yes
Being
Alive
Still
Soft
Pause
Landed on finger
Tentative
Cautious
Willing
Nature
Yes
Composed
Flurry
Feathers
Alive
Live
Fly
Wind
Wings
Knowing
Beyond knowledge experience
Chord of Being
Alive
Yes
More
Yes
Friend
Yes
We
Yes
Connected
Yes

The picture above is a friend, whose husband patiently took this picture to not scare off her friend that is a big blue Scrub Jay who comes to eat peanuts from her hand.

Ideas for Peacemaking – as taken from the Peace Alliance Newsletter

Three Suggestions for Peacemaking in Your Own Life

  1. If you have any internal judgements of anybody, politically or in your life, notice any judgments of “wrong or bad.” Then connect, “what are the deeper needs of mine behind those judgements?”
  2. When you have disagreement with what others are saying (with politicians and media pundits, for example), see if you can empathize with the needs they are trying to meet, and see if there are ways you can relate to them.
  3. If you are talking to someone who is expressing judgments — that you either agree or disagree with — try to reflect back and empathize with some of their needs.

These are paraphrased from Nonviolent Communication (NVC) facilitator John Kinyon.

A letter to our supporters

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your support.
We started this in January 2010 as a means to provide qualitative yoga instruction at a financially available rates to support the space and our teachers. The donations we have received have not been enough to sustain the space or our teachers.  We would love to continue in 2011 and ask for your help to keep us improving our offerings and facilities.
Some of our highlights of 2010:
*Provided over 200 classes of a variety of yoga styles and levels.
*Provided workshops for meditation, yoga, teachers and new practitioners.
*Hosted events including raising  money for V-Day 2010 and awareness of this movement.
This is what we are asking for the rest of 2010:
1.  Ten for 2010:  Please give a financial donation of $10 before the end of this year in addition to your class donation.  You can give this directly to your teacher when you are taking class.
2.  Bring a Friend to Class:  Word of mouth is the best marketing we could ask for.  Bring a friend the next time you come to a class or workshop.
3.  Donate To the Church:  Give a donation directly to Swedenborgian Church of San Diego.  You can mail the check directly to them at 4144 Campus Ave., SD 92103 and your donation is tax-deductible. This directly supports us and all of the other things that this church does for the community.
4.  Volunteer:  If you can do a one time or ongoing volunteer to help clean up the church and hall, or any other ways you might contribute some much needed carpentry or marketing expertise or in an area that they need.  Contact the church directly to volunteer at 619-296-5662.
5. Spread the word.  Blog about it, take some flyers that are at the Hall the next time you’re in class and post it at your local coffee shop, community center or your lunch break room at work.  Tell people about us.
6.  Facebook:  Become our Friend on Facebook and recommend us to your friends.
7.  Email:  Forward this email to your friends.  They have the option of subscribing or not but if you think someone would like it, please forward it on.
Please keep an eye on your inbox and our website for upcoming events and activities that we’ll be doing.
Again, we started this with an open heart and thank you for responding.  It’s only through you that we’ll be able to stay and grow.
Peace and Blessings,
One Love Yoga San Diego

Outside the Lens….

I think that this is one way we can take our practice off our mat.
Today I was SO happy to be able to donate 2 older digital cameras to my friend Debi to take with her to Africa.

The Daraja Project

The more I learn about this project, the more grateful I am to live in this time we are living. 

To give a voice to those that normally have the lens pointed to them, but their story is told from another’s point of view.  This is an opportunity to tell their own story.  Click on the link above to see the blog and follow it.

Bringing balance

This afternoon I practiced the first in the Ashtanga series with Jennifer.
It’s the first time this class is offered.
It’s not my first time doing Ashtanga.  
I practiced for a bit in 2006.   I went to classes and tried to practice at home.   My monkey-mind would not take it.  I didn’t understand the dedication to the same postures, same sequence, etc.  I thought “this is going to be boring.”  I moved on to Vinyasa.  We move.  We move a lot.  Breath and movement.   I thought “yeah, this is what I want.  I can’t be bored here.”
As I practiced today and I had to modify a lot because of a knee issue.  As I went into one side, modified, I then went to do the other side and realized that if I didn’t modify as well on the other side that I might be overdeveloping one side, going deeper in to one side and therefore bringing further imbalance to my body.
Hmmmm…..
I then thought of what I was doing and the point of the practice that I was doing.  To bring balance.  The description of the class is Yoga Chikitsa, which means yoga therapy, realigns the spine, detoxifies the body, and builds strength, flexibility and stamina.  So if I’m this class, I’m here to heal.  
Still boring???  I don’t think so.  There’s the intention.  There’s the reason.  That’s the practice.  

So I’ll be modifying…and practicing.