About 1 year ago I was in the process of preparing for a 6 week trip to India. The purpose of that trip was twofold. To experience Kumbha Mela, and to experience the new shrine in Kharjuraho.
Kumbha Mela is an event that happens once every 6 years in Allahabad at the banks of the Ganges River. Pilgrims from all over the world come to wash away their karma in the Mother Ganga. Known for the herds of people that make Woodstock look like a Sunday stroll, I was not one of those people caught in a stampede. Our group was early in the Mela season, and so I felt like I got Kumbha Mela LIte, as far as that goes. And the Lite version was heavy enough. Even though the Himalayan Institute campus was around 1 mile from the Mela, the air was full of smoke from ceremonial burning, and the sounds of the Mela carried to campus over loudspeakers that only stopped somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. There were a few concepts that really struck me and became personal and teaching themes throughout 2013. One theme started when our group of experienced an exciting roller coaster ride trying to leave San Francisco during a huge blizzard that was happening in London. This is where “Don’t know, just go” began. It was all about trust. Trusting the Universe to put us exactly where we were supposed to be and when. This concept was huge through the whole year, and became especially potent when I started looking at hearing the voice of God and following it. Listening. Hearing. Then acting. For example “drink more water.” Then drink the water.
Back to India. We were routed through London, and the flight was delayed 12 hours. Then we get calls to get to the airport because they are rebooking people NOW! Don’t know (as in “we don’t need to know all the details, the reasons, etc…), just go (as in, I Know that this is perfect, so i’m giving my rational brain a break and going with what I Know, not what I know). So we managed to get rebooked onto the same flight. After a comedy of errors that began to feel like a French farce, we finally arrived in Dehli. None of our bags made it. Another few hours in the airport putting in claims, this is India remember, and things move at a different pace, and finally we were on the bus to Agra. We missed the Taj Mahal. Three times to India now, and I still haven’t seen the Taj. That’s cool. I don’t go as a tourist anyway. So the big joke for us was that we arrived without baggage. How that translated into 2013 for me was to travel without baggage. Travel lighter. Strip down. And I’d say I did really well on that regard because but the time John and I took a trip to Palm Springs in December for a week, I took only a carry on.
The next theme was about from the Mela - Tirtha - a bridge, a place of a spiritual crossing. Rolf Slovik talked about this. About leaving something at the banks of the Ganges, and taking something away. The idea of bridges, Tirtha, spiritual crossing, taking and leaving were rich themes for me teaching-wise, but also in my own heart. How can I be more of a bridge builder instead of a bridge burner?
After 10 days in Allahabad of the Mela, we head to Khajuraho, where Pandit Rajmani Tigunait is opening a shrine that has been years in the making. To be clear, yes there is a building, which is beautiful, but its really about the energy, the stillness, the place that supports entering your own mind and heart. This is where I spent the rest of the trip. Study, quiet, meditation, and a unique and profound energy in this new shrine, steeped in the sublime tradition of Sri Vidya. And we are talking about holding a Sri Yoga teacher training on that campus in 2015 provided everything aligns as it needs to. Don’t know, just go!
Coming home with 1 week before the Sri Yoga 200 Hr training starting on March 1. Due to some unforeseen business I needed to address, I didn’t get the down time to assimilate and re-enter like I planned. Again, don't know, just go. So I kept going. The training had a record breaking number of people for us. I am so grateful for that. I love teaching and I love teaching retreats and trainings. I feel like I can really be my Self. And that always feels good. And on purpose.
2013 brought more healing, changes, and growth. The beginning of June was the first anniversary of my sister’s death, and I experienced a wave of grief that I have never felt before. I am so grateful because now I know what that amount of grief feels like. It was like I was under a fog for a few months. And then it lifted. And that was also amazing. What was amazing was getting to experience these aspects of the human condition from a nonjudgmental place. From, as we call it in yoga, from the “witness” or the “observer.”
It was also in June that I felt called to take a job at Yoga Garden San Francisco as Advanced Studies Director. My job? To revamp their 200 hr teacher training program and to write their 300 Hour Advanced program. What I’ve loved about the job is working in community. I enjoy the daily “grind” and I enjoy the creative aspect of problem solving. Helping make a program better. Putting the “I,” the “Jean” of it all aside, and just work from a place where I don’t have ownership. Does this mean I’m quitting Sri Yoga? Not one bit. It means I’m building a bridge. I want to model that 2 separate programs can co-exist peacefully. I want to model that people are drawn to whatever program they are drawn to for a reason, and that I trust they will find their “right” teachers. Both programs are strong for different reasons. If a person wants to dissect asana, the Yoga Garden program is the better choice. If a person wants more philosophy and to get more of the energetic transformational elements, then Sri Yoga is the better program. Yoga is by nature, transformational, so no matter what, signing up for a teacher training program will change you. Like I say, 7 Billion people, 7 Billion paths. So pick the one that’s right for you. Anyway, it’s been good for me to administer a different kind of program. Got me out of my rut.
In September I led a retreat at Stillheart Institute on "Finding Your Authentic Alignment." What was amazing for me is that the concept of "community" came up. This is huge. I deliberately have avoided themes like "being nice to others" "helping others" "kumbaya" etc... because I believe that community begins from within, and frankly, not many people in the yoga world were really teaching the idea of "Selfishness." In other words, get yourself strong, stable, confident. Love yourself, and the rest will follow. This retreat was a milestone, because the concept of community started pouring out. Again, gratitude, growth, and awe.
This was not a musical year for me, but I find creativity in all that I do. I can't help it. And who knows what that creativity will look like in 2014? I will continue to blog, maybe turn them into a book someday. Maybe I’ll start writing songs again. I start a few from time to time, and I know there is a lot in there. And with my new toy - the iPad, i’ve started “painting” again, which I love. It’s not the same as mixing and throwing paint, but it’s still visual and colorful. A new medium. A new year. Creating as we go.
2014 will hold some milestones in the world of numbers. 20th wedding anniversary. 55th birthday for John and I. And John gets a 6 week paid sabbatical, so you know travel will be involved. Winston turns 7 which is 14 divided by 2 (2014). Brenna, my teaching partner has graciously planned a 5 day retreat in Hawaii Feb 15-21 for us to teach, as well as a weekend retreat in September in Napa. So I still get to teach, but didn’t have to do the planning. That is a huge gift and I’m so grateful for that this year. And teaching-wise, I’m adding 3 new classes to my weekly schedule. Sri Yoga 200 Hour Teacher Training starts in March, and we are setting up 2 of the Advanced training modules, one locally, and hopefully 1 in Mt Shasta. I also get to teach in the Yoga Garden 200 and 300 Hr Teacher Training Programs, which gives me the opportunity to reach more people. And even though it seems I’m doing o-so-much more, I feel more space than ever. I’ll be heading out to the Himalayan Institute in March to study with Panditji, and will head to Mt Shasta to study with Dennis Adams. I’ll stay here to study with Bonnie Cohen. And of course, I’ll be studying my Self in all of this. It’s my purpose, my dharma, my path. And the more I travel this path, the more my Self I feel. And I thank you all for that. Building bridges.
Motto for 2014? I’ve already let the cat out of the bag to some of you-
“Fearless in ’14”
Yep. That’s it. and it’s the shit.
And Thank You. So. Much.
Jean
Kumbha Mela is an event that happens once every 6 years in Allahabad at the banks of the Ganges River. Pilgrims from all over the world come to wash away their karma in the Mother Ganga. Known for the herds of people that make Woodstock look like a Sunday stroll, I was not one of those people caught in a stampede. Our group was early in the Mela season, and so I felt like I got Kumbha Mela LIte, as far as that goes. And the Lite version was heavy enough. Even though the Himalayan Institute campus was around 1 mile from the Mela, the air was full of smoke from ceremonial burning, and the sounds of the Mela carried to campus over loudspeakers that only stopped somewhere in the wee hours of the morning. There were a few concepts that really struck me and became personal and teaching themes throughout 2013. One theme started when our group of experienced an exciting roller coaster ride trying to leave San Francisco during a huge blizzard that was happening in London. This is where “Don’t know, just go” began. It was all about trust. Trusting the Universe to put us exactly where we were supposed to be and when. This concept was huge through the whole year, and became especially potent when I started looking at hearing the voice of God and following it. Listening. Hearing. Then acting. For example “drink more water.” Then drink the water.
In September I led a retreat at Stillheart Institute on "Finding Your Authentic Alignment." What was amazing for me is that the concept of "community" came up. This is huge. I deliberately have avoided themes like "being nice to others" "helping others" "kumbaya" etc... because I believe that community begins from within, and frankly, not many people in the yoga world were really teaching the idea of "Selfishness." In other words, get yourself strong, stable, confident. Love yourself, and the rest will follow. This retreat was a milestone, because the concept of community started pouring out. Again, gratitude, growth, and awe.
“Fearless in ’14”
Jean
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