may muse

bonjour! each session ran over today so i'm scrambling a bit to eat dinner, write, shower (it's a must after today's practicing), don my white, and head to satsang, soooooo i'm sharing my muse that i wrote for the may tranquil space newsletter. we learned a TON today so i'll wrap it up into a fun package with a bow during my day off tomorrow. au revoir! tranquil space may muse:

lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu: may all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all.

greetings from my month-long jivamukti teacher training in ny. we’re only a few days into it and many of us (110 participants) feel like it has been weeks. the schedule is intense with breakfast at 7am, mediation at 8, practice at 9, lecture until noonish, lunch, four+ hours of afternoon workshops, dinner, and three hours of evening satsang ending at 11pm. i’m getting used to the immersion, but during our first meditation practice all i could think about was how i would be able to get my eight+ hours of sleep, stay in contact with all at home, and shower during our short breaks.

i was a bit panicky as i’d expected at least a few minutes of down time each day and brought books, beading, journals, and an art kit. guess i’ll be saving those for when my beau and pug come to visit on my days off. sure I’d read the schedule but nothing can fully prepare you for a regimented 16-hour day. i’m happy to say that despite the challenges it is all working out perfectly. i’ve honed the craft of utilizing every minute to the fullest to get it all in and still get as much sleep as i can.

during my first full day here i managed to set off the dorm fire alarm by burning nag champa incense plus two candles (shhhh – i’m burning my stargazer lily candle as i write this but have it on the windowsill to avoid upsetting the hypersensitive alarm) and showed up for evening satsang in all black. in case that doesn’t sound odd to you, everyone else was wearing all white. i asked a sweet girl from south america next to me why everyone was in white, she replied, “it’s a satsang!” in her lovely accent. like, duh – everyone knows that. apparently i didn’t, so luckily i brought a soy cardishawl and neckscarf. guess i’ll be donning that every night.

oh, and we were given a neti pot for our shat karma. i couldn’t get mine to work. kept pouring the water with salt into a nostril and it wouldn’t go out the other. the water just stayed there and i felt like i was drowning. who would have thought neti potting could be so tricky? i’m determined. stay tuned.

many people have asked why i’m taking this training. i’m obsessed with learning, grasping, experiencing, absorbing. since i began teaching in 1999, i’ve taken ten other teacher trainings, attended oodles of workshops and conferences, and received certificates from various teachers – all with the hope of becoming the best teacher and practitioner that i can be. my practice and teaching has changed tremendously over the years and will continue to do so as we’re all evolving beings. this one-month training with such an incredibly respected and thorough style seemed to be the next challenge for me. so here i am – cramming in the newsletter muse while others are still consuming their vegetarian lunch, living in a room the size of my office at the studio (yep, that tiny “room” that the electrician thought was our electrical closet), setting off fire alarms, showing up in the wrong color, trying out a neti pot, and embracing every minute of it.

as i was walking back to my room to type this muse out on my iBook, i came across a beaver (or a very chubby squirrel) in the woods and it made me smile. how often do i get to see these little critters in the city or hear the consistent sounds of nature outside my window – sans sirens? i feel truly blessed to be here and i am incredibly excited to share with you what i’ve learned when i return late may.