~ the treasure box ~

Shadow dances

kristenjoy — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:16:26 GMT

One of the things I love about yoga is that it inspires me to write. And when I write, then more artistic and musical ideas follow. And when they come, then there's healthy expression, which nourishes my soul and allows me to heal myself - and others. It's this cool kind of synergy that continually feeds itself and produces more, and something about it is sort of effortless - natural, I suppose. So many people ask me how I have the energy to do so many different things...and to be quite honest, the energy really isn't even mine. It just comes through, and I'm always exploring new ways to harness, direct, or play with it. Anyways, to loop around and back to yoga practice this morning... Found myself in an assisted handstand. Hung out there for maybe 11 or 12 breaths, and all of a sudden...was bombarded by an immense demon of a thought. It nearly knocked me over. It screamed "You are going to get hurt!!!" just as my teacher moved me into assisted Scorpion. Coming out of the pose, I laughed for a moment and told Steve what had happened. Don't think I'd ever had a thought that gnarly come my way! But it didn't throw me off...and Steve reminded me that that yogi(ni)'s way of working with things like that is to embrace it somehow. Embracing it...instead of putting up the massive shield that we're taught when we are young. This made me realize a lesson that has been evolving in recent months...and maybe I can find a way to put it into words. Hmmm. I guess it is just that I see all sorts of spiritualized people out there running around, completely afraid of their own shadows. I've been one of them, admittedly. And, like little kids, doing everything they (we) possibly can to show everyone else that they have absolutely nothing to do with their shadow, to somehow hide their imperfections for fear that they may look bad, unholy, or make one unworthy, bla bla bla. What I'm learning is to go for the authentic embrace - and exposure of the shadow. Maybe even love it, or joke about it. This way, it can't indirectly rule your life. Seriously! Find a healthy place for it, you know, just one small drawer in the vast wardrobe of your existence...let it remain tucked there, or open it up occasionally, don't let it dominate you. Keep working on it and illumination comes. Ultimately it all dissolves into love. I'm no expert, this is all just coming through. As spiritual beings we've all developed spiritual immune systems. There's a certain amount that we can take, now...a lot more than we think we can. And instead of turning blindly from the tough stuff that we don't like to see, let's love it on up into a higher vibration. Like Amma, who just hugs it all. Or like coyote, laugh at the absurdity of cognitive dissonance...the things that don't seem to make sense. And it is serious work, no joke. But joking at the same time. Can we expand enough to hold this embrace? I think so. That's the work!

morning star

kristenjoy — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:27:47 GMT

gently encapsulated within this "me" - which often confuses itself between raindrops and sea - there lives a gypsy who is content to roam far and wide, and a quiet maiden ready to remain ever deep, inside some secret tree...and then pull the tides...the longings and the foamy crashes, the beautiful storms, the flutter of eyelashes...and then the opening heart, the gentle rose pulled to your sweet face...the beauty and the chaos and the beautiful chaos...lightning in a bottle? lightning in a puddle of {{{love}}}... and the circus plays; there's truth there. in the circular, fleeting nature of shiny illusion, our committment to this Nowness (and newness) and the beauty masked unmasks itself. the show plays on, the fire burns, we stomp in the mud. and all around me dance the beings of the forest, traveling from afar to engage in a magical conjuring, to throw themselves into the mysterious brew of the unseen, waiting to see what happens. and here we play, kings and queens. gracefully and playfully creating our dreams, sometimes unknowing. hearts flutter, words stutter...do we need them anymore? wait, could you feel that? the mystery wins! {{{love}}}

Higher Beings

kristenjoy — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:54:08 GMT

We are all higher beings We are situated in an adventure where everything is real. Do you feel bad? You can change that. Are you sour? You can be sweet. Are you happy? You can be even happier.......... Here we have four hearts. Place yourselves on their outlines. We will give you the stars. Fill this thin line with hope and power. Higher Beings will bring you the light. Give each other the light. You are beautiful. This is a wishing moment. We are joined in the power of a wish. Close your eyes and wish. (I.L.C.)

protesting the Xingu dam

kristenjoy — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:37:40 GMT

Saw this and got goosebumps...usually a sign that Spirit is moving...so felt like maybe this could be a place to share these things as they come through... Sustainable...that which sustains life, to keep in existence, to maintain...to supply with necessities for nourishment, to provide for...to withstand, to support. Lately I'm getting a bit angry about how words like "sustainable" and "green" are getting co-opted by folks with clearly capitalist, neoliberalist agendas. I'm tired of hearing stories about how local folks are displaced or disempowered in the name of "sustainable development." Perhaps it's a bit more intense here, since I work in an environmental studies program and hear about so many different issues. I guess it's a fiery feeling of wanting to protect what is sacred, for ourselves and future generations. It's not a destructive anger. It's more like a sacred rage that comes from seeing something we love so much threatened by dollar signs. The Brazilian Amazon is in a tough situation right now - with "sustainable development" cutting its way through the forest and its people. Recent drastic changes in environmental governance there reflect the lopsided emphasis on development ($$$). A "sustainable energy" plan is slated to dam up a sacred river that runs through Xingu, the largest indigenous territory in Brazil. Sustainable for who? The folks who will have their land flooded and drained...? Water sustains us, water nourishes our lives. We must pray for the water of this planet. Especially us women. Prayers to the water... Article here: http://lougold.blogspot.com/2008/05/indians-protest-amazon-dam-ap-photo.html

healing the forest

kristenjoy — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:44:17 GMT

This is an amazing initiative to plant a billion trees in the Mata Atlantica (Atlantic Rainforest) in Brazil. Even if you don't plan on donating, there's a lot to learn on the site. {{{love}}} http://www.plantabillion.org/

practice

kristenjoy — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:39:24 GMT

i smiled as the elder said gently, after hearing my litany of challenges/triumphs, "well, it's all just practice anyways." her voice was so sweet on the phone. simple and clear, but speaking to so many different levels... love that. but then, the memory of my old militaristic high school basketball coach was shouting in my head. "practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent!!!" what a scary thought...permanent? really? and then this morning i find myself at my ashtanga practice. now living on the mountain means getting up by 4:30am to make it to the shala in time. and how perfect the practice is. it is so funny - the moment my heart closes up with doubt and fear, i find myself at purvattasana, a heart-opener to break me back open and free. and then, feeling scattered, i end up in krounchasana, or heron pose...focus, focus...and how funny it is that today, just as i'm needing a bit of strength to leap to new (inner) bounds, i end up in bhekasana (frog!). i see union all around me...from birds flying together, to plants growing intertwined, a higher power guiding their spirals. my closest friends paired off with lovers, getting married, having children, new life. springtime, indeed. heron teaches me to focus inward still on that union going on in there, which moves and swirls and makes the soul's connection to source forever indestructible. practice. learning to receive some of that life force instead of give give give all the time. practice. learning to choose wisely in which direction to pour all this momma bear love, holding it inside so it can grow and blossom and radiate to its fullest (even more practice). this is what self-nourishment is, and today i'm welling with gratitude for the teachers (even the beautifully painful ones) who have taught me that this - union - and practice... is all i need. {{{love}}}

~~<<giving thanks>>~~

kristenjoy — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:39:42 GMT

~*~<<giving thanks>>~*~ forgiveness (for-give-ness): a gift to ourselves, really...an expression of the heart, a moving out of our own way to allow the divine radiant (inner/outer) (((love))) to take center stage...an ability to see clearly and focus on what is true and beautiful, and head in that direction...a return to Oneness. a relief from pain of the past. an ability to allow the universe/creator/god(dess) to carry that which is not y(ours)... a brokeness coming to a miraculous healing close, woven together in a briliirant crystalline dance....only Creator knows this Plan... a burning fire softened by calm, cooling waterfalls... a release from bondage, self-pity, blame, excessive self-importance, and confusion...admiring the rose instead of feeling the thorns... accepting, surrendering... calling forth inner guides, angelic presences, ancestors for assistance on the path...allowing the resistance to give way, so the blossoming may occur...there is so much more... a realization of inner strength, to hold a prayer strong enough to withstand the inherent suffering of the journey...and to walk in beauty... and to not grow overly joyous when the beauty arrives...we meet to only part again...and this is the wave in the ocean, this is the flight of the hawk in the heights and it's swift disappearance, this is the rhythm of the pulsing stars that guides the beats of our hearts and blesses us with this gift of life (and light). love and gratitude to all the hands that have held me up unto this point. happy mother's day. *k

Courage

kristenjoy — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:03:25 GMT

Plunge boldly into the Beyond, then be free wherever you are. -Shoitsu

~Happy Birthday Blessings~

kristenjoy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:04:23 GMT

So I just want to take a moment to rave about one of my favorite human beings on Planet Earth, Ms. Laurel Kitten! Since I was unable to physically join in the festivities in celebration of her solar return, I just wanted to create a space right now to say thanks, Laurel, for being here with us. Just love you so sooooooo much, radical goddess-siSTAR- Earth- Momma. The light you shine is somethin' pretty bright! And your true day of birth is tomorrow, which means we'll all be lighting candles on the altars of our hearts and sending good prayers your way. May you be blessed with life, health, happiness and open paths...this year and beyond. Health in the body, peace in the mind, {{{love}}} in the heart.

Metamorphosis

kristenjoy — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:15:58 GMT

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. (Chuang Tse)

Changing lives

kristenjoy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:47:03 GMT

Check out www.kiva.org. You can lend as little as $25 to someone in the developing world. And as they repay their loan, it comes back to you...and then you can lend to another small entrepreneur, if you choose. You can support small business folks and cooperatives around the world. Empowerment is recyclable!

spring cleaning

kristenjoy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:31:42 GMT

woke up this morning and decided to clear out the page/blog and disappear for a while. to regenerate. have a funny feeling...like wanting to crawl into a hole, alone, and just cover myself up with dirt so i could sprout anew. or to disappear in the chaotic anonymity of a huge city i have yet to explore. or to take a long walk without any particular destination or deadline. or to melt into the ocean's waves, losing the boundaries of "i" and "me." fighting the powerful urge to run away. needing more time to focus and work... work...work... bla bla bla...this is all so very insignificant... ;-)

the drop and the sea

kristenjoy — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:14:45 GMT

I went looking for Him And lost myself; The drop merged with the Sea -- Who can find it now? Looking and looking for Him I lost myself; The Sea merged with the drop -- Who can find it now? (Kabir)

Stardust

kristenjoy — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:25:44 GMT

"I guess it shouldn't surprise us to find ourselves linked with the stars. Every atom of gold or silver jewelry was created in supernovas. The water we drink, the air we breathe, the ground we walk, the complicated pouch of fluids and salts and minerals and bones we are -- all forged in some early chaos of our sun. I think it was the astrophysicist John Wheeler who remarked that we are the sun's way of thinking about itself." -Diane Ackerman, *A Slender Thread: Rediscovering Hope at the Heart of Crisis*

Walking the Beauty Way

kristenjoy — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:17:01 GMT

In beauty I walk With beauty before me I walk With beauty behind me I walk With beauty above me I walk With beauty around me I walk It has become beauty again It has become beauty again It has become beauty again It has become beauty again Hózhóogo naasháa doo Shitsijí' hózhóogo naasháa doo Shikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa doo Shideigi hózhóogo naasháa doo T'áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa doo Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí' Hózhó náhásdlíí'

Living Proof

kristenjoy — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:16:44 GMT

The eternal mysteries, following wisdom's lead, brought forth the human form as their living proof. As long as the drop hadn't emerged from the sea, the ocean didn't notice the depths of its splendor. (Abdul-Qader Bedil)

the uses of sorrow

kristenjoy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:26:34 GMT

Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift. (Mary Oliver)

Higher Beings

kristenjoy — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:24:01 GMT

We are all higher beings We are situated in an adventure where everything is real. Do you feel bad? You can change that. Are you sour? You can be sweet. Are you happy? You can be even happier... Here we have four hearts. Place yourselves on their outlines. We will give you the stars. Fill this thin line with hope and power. Higher Beings will bring you the light. Give each other the light. You are beautiful. This is a wishing moment. We are joined in the power of a wish. Close your eyes and wish. ***I'm in love with the Icelandic Love Corporation's work. Check them out! http://www.ilc.is/ILC/works.html

Poema

kristenjoy — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:40:41 GMT

climbing gently up these rungs & moving sandy inches toward my own ecstasy a bit of sea glass in these foamy ~waves~ of ((( existing time ))) and mermaid kisses... smoother today than before and forever uniquely shaped is this b r e a k i n g --- what brought me to these beautiful shores.

~ the treasure box ~

Shadow dances

morning star

Higher Beings

protesting the Xingu dam

healing the forest

practice

~*~&lt;&lt;giving thanks>>~*~

Courage

~Happy Birthday Blessings~

Metamorphosis

Changing lives

spring cleaning

the drop and the sea

Stardust

Walking the Beauty Way

Living Proof

the uses of sorrow

Higher Beings

Poema

~~<<giving thanks>>~~