EVENT | Yoga Boogie : Worms Ritual

Worms! Worms! Worms! The Spring Equinox has long been celebrated as a time of rebirth, fertility, and creation. In this spirit, we dance, we breathe, we give our intentions to the w.o.r.m.s. Yup, that's right, worms! As part of the ritual for this upcoming Yoga Boogie; Resurrect Frolic, there will be an installed aquarium with worms to chow down on our intentions, transforming them into luscious, nutrient rich soil.

Come to Yoga Boogie this Friday. Be part of the movement.

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INSPIRATION | An Illustrated Talk with Maurice Sendak

INSPIRATION | Alan Watts : What makes you itch?

THE SPANDANANDA SHOW | Rut or Groove?

The Spandananda Show : Episode 6 : Rut or Groove?

Is your potential energy stuck in third gear? Move from a rut to a groove with these five vivacious and contemplative exercises! With a refreshed state of mind, body, or outerwear, you'll be saying "so long" to your blue funk!

1. GET OUTSIDE Getting outside instantly changes your perspective, especially if you have been inside for a lengthy time.   Dress up in your favorite outfit, and walk around the block if you only have a few minutes, or allow yourself more time by going to your nearby park to people watch, sky gaze, or journal.  Be an explorer with how you walk, letting your need for a variation of movement be the impetus that gives you the freedom to do this even with people around.  A slow, contemplative stroll?  A fast, energetic skip?  Try it backwards!  Is it an investigation into the children’s fortress?  Twirling round and round?   Let me tell you how much fun this is!  So, if it’s raining, bring an umbrella!  If it’s not raining, bring an umbrella!  Where do you sit?  At a bench, or on the Earth?  In lotus pose or lying down, fully relaxed?  Listen for your needs, and also be sure to take a risk and try something new!  And remember, you’re outside, so breathe in that fresh air!    2. CREATE ART We all have art supplies, we just may not think of them as such.  Be creative, and use what you have.  Even if you just have magazines, scissors, glue, crayons or markers, there are an infinite number of ways you could use them to create a piece of art that reflects where you are in this moment.  What we’re going after is helping you to make sense of what you’re going through in a way that is outside of your head.  Do something you love, or try something you are totally unfamiliar with.  Perfection is not the goal of this exercise.  What you create may be abstract, or not fully understood by you, and that is the beauty of it!  Do it just for you and keep it private, send it to a friend, or post it on Facebook! 3. MOVE YOUR BODY Ah yes…I really do mean it…DANCE!  Many people have a fear of dancing, when in all honesty, there is nothing more authentic than someone giving themselves permission to move their body in any such way that feels real.  We all have our “home moves” those movements that we feel comfortable with and will do if asked to dance, but I encourage you to vary the way your body typically functions through life, which is a dance in and of itself!  Choose some music:  one song, two songs, a whole playlist, or put your itunes on shuffle and come what may!  Shake, swivel, undulate, spin, bust a move!  A fast thrash, a slow riff,  a waltz or a polka…anything is possible! 4. DRESS UP All of us have costume elements that we pull out once a year for Halloween. Dressing up is not just for a holiday!    Elevate your spirit of fun and frivolity by painting your face, putting on a mish-mash of colors and textures, and do a  photo shoot!  If you are really adventurous, do the shoot with a friend on the street, to fearlessly bring more creativity to yourself and anyone you come in contact with! Talk about a mood changer!  Having a mask or goggles can really allow for further freedom, as no one knows who you are!  Be safe and respectful of course, and interact!  5. MEDITATE Take the time to create a lovely space, which could easily consist of one or more of the following: a shawl, cushion, yoga mat, a candle.  Clear your mind and sit in viparita karani  or lie in savasana.  Just be with your mind still, or pay attention to the thoughts and sensations as they come and go.  Keep experiencing!

THE SPANDANANDA SHOW | Art Cards

The Spandananda Show : Art Cards

Add a new element to your day that will nurture insight and intention!  These art cards are fun to create on your own, or they can be ordered from The Sacred Tremor, and are a great supplement to creating what you long for in life.  Used individually, with friends, or with your intimate, these cards bring symbolism alive! Make your own OR order a desk specifically made for you! Each art card deck is made to order, using a variety of card decks, cases, and images, so the entire gift you give yourself or a loved one is truly unique in its quality of presentation.   All images are intentionally selected and affixed to the cards in order to ensure for a long-lasting deck.  In addition, all decks come with a handy instruction guide! There are many opportunities to use these cards, such as: --During your meditation.  Shuffle the cards and create an intention, and interpret the selected card based off what you wish to have manifested in your intention.  Ponder how it speaks to you. Various interpretations abound even if the same card is picked again and again! --With your friends as a way to entertain, engage, and develop deeper fellowship.   Art cards are a nice alternative to a board game or movie.  One at a time, each person selects a card, and everyone interprets the same image as you go round.  The image is interpreted based off what you see solely in the image, and/or what they see reflected in the image for the specific person who drew the card from the deck. --With you partner, you can interpret the card you pulled, and then your lover can interpret the card for you in a personal way.

NETI/pothead

In honor of this celebrated holiday I wore my favorite homemade shirt!

VITALITY/force

About Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille said: ‘I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. ... I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly,’

‘There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique...

And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.’

from The Life and Work of Martha Graham

CREATIVE/blast

Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a storm of inspiration.  Absolutely brilliant!


"Eat, Pray, Love" Author Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

BLOW/pony

I'm sitting in a coffeeshop on West Burnside St. in Portland, Oregon.  It's simply called The Coffeeshop Northwest.  I ordered a coffee in a ceramic mug, and was told that the beans are roasted here.  I asked the about the baguette sandwiches wrapped in wax paper and tied with a string.  Come to find out every part of the sandwich is local from the bread to the meat.  That's typical of Portland.  People are interested in local and sustainable foods and services, but without the snobbery and self-righeousness you might expect.  In fact, people here are downright friendly and laid back.  Maybe it's the rain although in the week that I've been here it's been more sunny than rainy.

Our 2nd night in Portland my friend took us out to a once-a-month event called Blow Pony.  I still haven't figured out where the name comes from.  It's not from the various implications you might associate with such a name.  Instead the mission statement reads:

Created due to a callout in our queer community for unity and a place where all our sisters, brothers, others and allies felt safe, welcomed and loved.  We've been riding strong since 2007!

Our concerns are earth liberation, animal liberation, queer liberation, women's liberation, trans liberation, indigenous peoples liberation and searching the dumpsters for more trash!!

There's a big sign at the entrance making it known that if you are racist, homophobic, sexist, or just generally do not like hard-partyin' weirdos, this is not the party for you.  And they mean it.  Not long after we arrived the DJ announced that "This is a queer party. It's not okay to be rude.  This is a safe space for everyone."

The music spanned every dance genre imaginable and everyone was dancing and having a blast.  People were jumping around and what was most impressive is that people were smiling and laughing.  Could this really be true?  People having a good time and being friendly to each other?  After a couple hours of dancing the DJ stopped the music for an announcement:

I was just near the bathroom and heard someone make a nasty comment about someone.  This is a safe space for everyone to be accepted and expressed.  If you want to be nasty go somewhere else.  We won't tolerate your nastiness here.

That was followed by an uproar of applause and acclamation!  The music and merriment continued.

Kindness, laughter and smiles are contagious.  Be as generous as you can with these qualities.  When enough people are self-expressed, passionate and kind the world will follow.  Be part of this movement to throw your arms open as wide as possible in acceptance.  Join this movement to awaken joy, generosity and kindness.  Practice daily.  There's no better time to start than right now.

COLLAGE/book

Every year around the turn of the New Year I spend a full day in creative contemplation reflecting upon the past year and creating an intention for the year ahead.  This year, I spent two full days in that quiet space.  No electronics-- no phone, no computer, no facebook, no email, no texting.  Nothing.  I cleaned off my desk and spread out all of my art supplies.  I lit candles, burned incense, practiced yoga, meditated, journaled and created lots and lots of art.  The theme for 2012 came pretty quickly.  "Follow Your Bliss," which is part of a longer quote by Joseph Campbell: "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls." Using that as my theme I decided to create a small collage book as a visual reference for all the things that bring me bliss.  I've been adding something to it everyday.  More pictures of collage book below.
 
Here's to wishing you a CREATIVE year of FOLLOWING YOUR BLISS in 2012!

May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be free.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CIRCLE/shirt

A few months ago I spilled some of my Ayuvedic oil on my favorite brown tank top. I liked the color and the way it fit me so I couldn't throw it out.  So.  I put it in the heap of clothes and fabric for sewing and repair.  The other day I went through that pile thinking I was either going to deal with the stuff or throw it out.  I took this brown tank top and with a brush and some bleach I drew a circle on the front of it where the oil stain was. I let is sit for a couple of hours and then tossed it in the wash.  The above is the result.  I actually like it even more now. 

WATER/color

For Christmas Doug bought me a beautiful bound book of handmade watercolor paper.  At first I was intimidated.  When I was younger I did a lot of watercolor.  I've thought about doing it again.  Year after year went by.  Over time I got rid of the paints, the brushes and the paper.  Doug's gift inspired me to start again.  I bought some watercolor and brushes.  I opened the page, and, after a mini-anxiety attack, I grabbed a lemon from the fruit bowl and started painting.  I was immediately happy to be putting paint on the page without any judgement or need to get it right.  It's my goal this year to fill up this book with experiments in watercolor.  I leave all judgements and unnecessary criticisms behind.

OPEN/heart

If you look closely, the picture reads: "Keep your heart open NO matter what."  It reminded me of a Krishna Das kirtan I attended a few years back in Vermont.  At the end of an ecstatic chant, in the resounding silence, he simply said: "May we open and never close."  Tears streamed down my face as I felt the openness in that moment while simultaneously recognizing the great feat and immense courage it takes to keep the heart open.  I bowed in humility knowing that the task of such a request is impossible, and yet the intention holds the light when the dark cold doors of the heart unexpectedly close.

I was walking down the street with my boyfriend Doug a couple of weeks ago when he pointed out to me a tag of an unknown Brooklyn graffiti artist on a black garage door (above).  I was in a tizzy over something he had said or didn't say earlier that day. I don’t remember. What I remember is that my heart was closed, my body was tense, and I was breathing shallowly.  When I read the words my first response was actually an increase of anger.  I was clinging to the comfort of my bad mood.  I was rolling around in it.  You know how it is, something triggers you and you can't let it go and nothing anybody says or does can make you let it go.  Somehow, being mad is sometimes easier than opening to the discomfort of what is right before you.  I attempted to smile, but it was meager.

Less than an hour later we were having breakfast at the Willburg Cafe laughing and talking and drinking coffee and eating really good food.  Whatever it was that had made me angry I left on the sidewalk somewhere along the way.  It all changes.  Everything.  "The only constant is change."  It's been said by lots of people, written in books on spirituality, and elaborated on in many blogs.  It's even a song title by a band called As I Lay Dying, which I don't recommend unless you want to thrash your head to some death metal, which I am sometimes known to do.

The point is to try not to cling to your moods and emotions.  They are temporary states.  They rotate on the axis of our experience, and we have the ability to influence our experience just by simply remembering that we are not defined by your emotions.  They change.  The next time you are gripped with emotion, any emotion, remember  that you will not always feel this way.  Then take a breath, and allow yourself to really lean into your experience.  It's the same with our joy, as well.  We have an ecstatic moment and we think it's always going to be like this.  Then it isn't and we crash.  We are in a constant state of expanding and contracting.  It's the basic law of the universe.  It's our breath; it's the seasons, the waves of the ocean, the wind, the clouds.

Yoga and meditation are practices which can influence our mood fluctuations.  The second of Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras reads: "yoga chitta vritti nirodha," which translates as “yoga is the stilling of the thought-waves of the mind,” or (my translation): practice yoga and get a grip on your crazy mind!  These practices work because in yoga and meditation you are asked to focus the mind in some way, to be in the present moment, to experience thoughts and emotions and feelings as fleeting. The stilling of the mind doesn't happen in your first class or second or even after 10 years of practice, but over time the fluctuations become less and less.  All of a sudden we are able to recover from emotional distress faster and live more fully in the present moment without denying that "shit happens."  Yoga and meditation are tools to help us enjoy life and to cope with the stresses of living in an over-stimulated world full of chaos.

Alan Watts says, "As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil.”

BLIND/drawing 6

BLIND/drawing 5

BLIND/drawing 4

Self Portrait with winter wool hat

BLIND/drawing 3

BLIND/drawing 2

Blind Contour Drawing

Doug sitting in bed on a cool November morning with the window slightly open and the kids in the school yard playing loudly.  Doug without a shirt sitting in front of me so open and available and sexy and warm.  He had just brought me green tea that he made from the tea we got at Flower Power last week.  He made it too strong and we had to dilute it by adding hot water.

BLACK/friday

Black Friday is coming up in just a few days.  I've been seeing hyped up, big blow-out, sale-of-the-year marketing campaigns everywhere.  Even the site I use to upload my photos has a blaring video announcing Macy's Black Friday sale.  At the same time I am also being sent links and seeing posts on Facebook and Twitter asking me to not spend a cent on Black Friday. So I ask myself, what do I do.  I appreciate the sentiment of the Spend-No-Money-On-Black-Friday protest, but I think there's a more practical and effective way to create change around how we spend money.  The slogan I created for myself is this:  You money is your vote.  What are you voting for? It means being conscious about what you are supporting with your dollar.  Before going out this holiday season to load up on gifts and holiday treats take a deep breath and consider what you are voting for.  Instead of shopping at Walmart or Target or some other big box store try making your holiday purchases at smaller, independently owned shops.   You might think about buying some of your holiday goodies from your local natural foods store. Whenever possible make the effort to choose consciously how you are spending your money and why. Talk it over with your friends, family and loved ones.

Doug and I have decided not to buy each other presents.  We decided that we would put whatever money we would spend on gifts into a fund for travel or for something that we do together.  We also want to honor the tradition of gift giving so we agreed to make each other something handmade.

Enjoy your holiday season however you like to celebrate.  Eat well.  Indulge some.  Give gifts from the heart, and remember that most often less is more.

Ps.  A unique gift idea might be sending someone an original piece of intentional collage art from The Sacred Tremor Project.  Click on blue link for more info!

INTENTION/art

We are all searching for ways to call upon stronger powers within ourselves to manifest our intentions for creativity, abundance, and change.   

The Sacred Tremor Project is a way for you to clarify a specific intention you would like to bring into your or someone’s else’s life.   

When you make a donation to The Sacred Tremor Project, an original piece of collage art will be created especially for you based on your personal intention or prayer.

Asking me to create this personal art piece for you will demonstrate your concrete commitment to realizing your intention.

Here’s how it works:

  

*Create your intention. 

You may already have an idea of some intention you would like to create in your life.   

If you need, here are some examples to help you identify your intention:

    I want to make more money

    I want to achieve life/work balance

    I want to have deeper intimacy in my relationships

In creating your intention, it’s best to be as specific as possible.  Write a sentence or short paragraph describing your intention, and title it with a single word.  That word will be the title of your piece of art.

*Make a donation using Paypal

Your donation will sustain me while I do my volunteer work here at Easton Mountain for the summer.  You can also have one of these original art pieces made for a friend, family member or loved one and have it mailed directly to them.  CLICK HERE to make a donation.

*Anticipate the arrival of your original piece of art.

Each piece of art is 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 and will arrive within 2 weeks.