Archive for August, 2013
One Spot Left for the Wild Cosmic Heart Retreat
Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
When will you take a moment to enter into nature, unburden, and listen?
During our Wild Cosmic Heart Retreat at Kalani Oceanside on the Big Island, you will enjoy the sun and the sea; delicious, nutritious meals; laughter-filled days; exciting Hawaiian adventures; insightful teachings, gentle yoga, and beautiful meditations sessions. You will enjoy long walks by the Pacific Ocean and take time to enjoy the palm trees sitting by the pool. You will experience adventures to waterfalls (Rainbow, Pe’e’p’ee. and Akaka), Hawaiian Botanical Gardens, Warm Ponds, Lava Tree State Park, and more. You will end
your week with an amazing bonfire overlooking the ocean.
However you arrive, you will return home lighter, relaxed, and ready to re-enter your daily routine with more joy.
There is only ONE spot open for the retreat. Excluding airfare, the cost of this amazing retreat cost $1,700 for a single room. Payments plans are also available.
If you really want to go on this amazing journey to Hawaii,
please reach out to me.
The healing power we experience when we connect to nature doesn’t stop at the sea or at the edge of the forest – rather it lives on in each us day to day, moment by moment, breath by breath.
Catskill Mountains
Friday, August 23rd, 2013
Take a moment to breathe in the beauty all around you.
Take a moment to breathe in the beauty within you.
Being Held
Thursday, August 22nd, 2013
I feel seen, heard, and received. ~Deepak Chopra
As I sat with my spiritual teacher last week, we decided to take a deep dive into a meditation about feeling safe, loved, and seen.
This was my experience of the guided meditation with my teacher:
I was invited to envision a place where I felt completely safe. Breathing into a safe place, I envisioned lying on the mat in her office. As I started breathing slowly, my body softened, and I melted through the mat. I found myself laying in the grass of Kalani Oceanside Retreat Center in Hawaii. I could see blue sky and big white clouds. I could see the large red house my group will stay in for the Wild Cosmic Heart retreat in November. I felt peaceful and happy. I felt expansive.
The next part of the meditation was to see a person, guide, or being that also felt safe. I could see images of people I know. As I walked towards people I knew and love, an image of Mother Mary appeared. She opened her arms wide − her blue robe was long and flowing. She took me in her arms and held me. Rocking me as an adult back and forth, she held me like a mother in the womb. I felt safe and loved. She invited me to stay held − to feel held − to BE held.
After a few moments, she invited me to notice all the places that life is holding me. Mary whispered, “You are held in the ocean. You are held by the trees. You are held by your wife. You are held by your friends. You are held. Allow yourself to be held.”
With the wisdom of allowing myself to be held, it was time to return from the journey. Before I left, Mary placed a medallion around my neck and said, “Carry me with you. I am your mother in heaven. I have always held you.”
I stayed in the embrace for another moment. I took a deep breath, placed my hand on the medallion, and began to transition back into my physical body.
With deeper, more conscious breaths, I returned to the sacred space of Kalani, then the mat, and back to ordinary time. I awoke to the couch and looked out the window and saw a bright blue sky with big white clouds.
There was something extraordinary about feeling held. I felt such a deep connection − being held − in myself.
After sitting for a few moments in quiet, I shared the powerful journey with my teacher. We honored the places that need tending to, the need for connection on all levels, the embrace we give and receive. And most importantly, a journey that reminds me just how loved, seen, heard, and received I always am.
Only Three Spots Open for the Wild Cosmic Heart Retreat
Wednesday, August 14th, 2013
What better way to experience transformation than in a beautiful tropical setting in Hawaii?
During our Wild Cosmic Heart Retreat at Kalani Oceanside on the Big Island, you will enjoy the sun and the sea; delicious, nutritious meals; laughter-filled days; exciting Hawaiian adventures; insightful teachings, gentle yoga, and beautiful meditations sessions. You will enjoy long walks by the Pacific Ocean and take time to enjoy the palm trees sitting by the pool. You will experience adventures to waterfalls (Rainbow, Pe’e’p’ee. and Akaka), Hawaiian Botanical Gardens, Warm Ponds, Lava Tree State Park, and more. You will end
your week with an amazing bonfire overlooking the ocean.
However you arrive, you will return home lighter, relaxed, and ready to re-enter your daily routine with more joy.
Excluding airfare, the cost of this amazing retreat ranges from $1,400 to $1,700, depending on your level of accommodations chosen. Partial scholarships are available. Payments plans are also available.
If you really want to go on this amazing journey to Hawaii,
please reach out to me.
Register by August 31 and take $75 off.
Meditation in the Catskill Mountains
Tuesday, August 13th, 2013
Take five minutes to slow your breath and open your heart with a meditation in the Catskill Mountains. With beautiful mountain views, we will take a few minutes to breathe in light and be the mountain. Enjoy!
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Going Deeper Into the Breath
Thursday, August 8th, 2013
Let’s go into the breath. 
Let’s explore the breath.
Breathe in your nose and out your mouth.
Our breath can open the channels within.
Notice how it feels to breathe.
Notice your breath.
Are you comfortable with your breath?
Notice any discomfort – breathe there.
Sit in the healing power of your breath.
When you breathe without resistance, what happens?
Fill yourself even more with your breath.
As you breathe, feel your body expand.
Drop into yourself a bit more and breathe deeper.
Welcome the inhale and exhale meeting.
Every breath is a new beginning.
Now you are starting here. Breathe.
And now you are starting here. Breathe.
And so on. And so on.
You breathe peace and we all feel the peace.
The miracle of the breath will show you the way – always.
Being Here—Being Home
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013
There was a time I was between here and there. Now I find myself between here and here.
I came across the above line in my journal recently and was reminded just how easy it is to move away from the present moment. I have recently removed a lot of “activity” from my schedule and it now has space for walking, watching sunsets, meditating, writing, and sitting. It’s amazing how busy we can convince ourselves to be!
As Thich Nhat Hanh says in his writing, I Have Arrived, I Am Home:
“I have arrived” is our practice. When we breathe in, we take refuge in our in-breath, and we say, “I have arrived.” When we take a step, we take refuge in our step, and we say, “I am home.” This is not a statement to yourself or another person. “I have arrived, I am home” means I have stopped running; I have arrived in the present moment contains life. When I breathe in and take refuge in my in-breath, I touch life deeply. When I take a step and I take refuge entirely in my step, I also touch life deeply, and by doing so I stop running.
Stop running is a very important practice. We have all been running all of our lives. We believe that peace, happiness, and success are present in some other place and time. We don’t know that everything—peace, happiness, and stability—should be looked for in the here and the now. This is the address of life—the intersection of here and now.
Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me of the gift of the present moment. I have stopped running and I have arrived. For me, being here is being home.
Welcome home.
Breathe – Just Breathe
Tuesday, August 6th, 2013
“Are you breathing?” 
“Yes.”
“No, you are holding your breath.”
And so began my conversation with my spiritual teacher. We took time to take conscious breaths. We paid attention to any tension held in our bodies and sent our breath there. We relaxed into ourselves with each inhale and exhale. We allowed emotions to surface.
I realized I was holding my breath because I was feeling stuck and overwhelmed by all the minutiae in my life. I became quiet – the kind where I couldn’t find the words.
So we meditated again – deeper this time.
Towards the end of the meditation, all I could hear was my teacher repeating the words, “You matter.”
Every story allows us to learn from our breath. We hold on, we hold in, we breathe just enough to get through our day.
Yet, the power of our breath can be profound. Deep, rhythmic breathing expands the diaphragm muscle and expands the lung’s air pockets. Shallow breathing constricts.
What am I constricting in my life? And what am I expanding?
Our breath will show us. The easiest pathway to freedom is through the breath.
Are you holding your breath? Are you willing to exhale fully?
Breathe – just breathe.
Holy Witness
Thursday, August 1st, 2013
Living on the edge
You accepted me
Sitting on the edge
You invited me
Alone on the edge 
You witnessed me
Breathing on the edge
You exhaled with me
Crying on the edge
You held me
Waiting on the edge
You inspired me
Walking on the edge
You journeyed with me
Emptying on the edge
You healed me
Hiding on the edge
You honored me
Sharing on the edge
You trusted me
Returning from the edge
You celebrated me
Dedicated to my spiritual guide, teacher, and holy witness, GH.
Photo by Mary Anne Flanagan