You are the Light of the World: Taking your Pain into Promise

It's been a while yogi/ni's life has intervened in my blogging efforts up to this point.   I wanted to share the writings of wonderful writer/life coach who has lived her dream, Tama Kieves @ www.AwakeningArtistry.com she was a lawyer, Harvard Law grad, but unhappy.   She left it behind to follow her true dreams.  This is part one, part two I'll put up after Christmas.  Namaste.  Happy Holidays!

You are the Light of the World:
Taking your Pain into Promise
©Copyright 2009 Tama J. Kieves. All rights reserved.

The wisdom tradition of A Course in Miracles teaches us, "I am the light of the world. That is my only function. That is why I am here." When I first read that line part of me stood at attention as though its true name had been called through a fog and cobweb of centuries. The other part of me felt screwed.
At the time, I looked around at my life of half-written manifestos, unused yoga videos, and abrupt tectonic shifts of doubt and fear, and thought humanity could definitely benefit from a more reliable guide. But I have come to see that limitation is spirit calling my name. Limitation puts pins in my sofa and lumps in my pillow so that I do not fall asleep in my life. Limitation calls me to seek for strength, focus, achievement, and liberating powers I did not know I had. And, in the end, limitation gifts me with a one-of-a-kind credential in this world. It's because as I come to experience freedom in the midst of defeated circumstances, I become a hope and light to others.
We, who are questioning our lives and our abilities, are the light of the world. We will be a beacon of comfort, hope and direction to those who need us. We are in the soup, but it is healing broth. We are the ones who are learning to find joy and full expression in the midst of bruised conditions. Every spiritual tradition teaches us that freedom is not being liberated once the job comes through, the check comes in or the skinny jeans fit. Freedom is learning how to be at peace no matter what, no matter when.
Our world is changing. The old ways are falling apart. Some talk about being in a revolutionary evolution of consciousness. We are the ones. We are the ones who are discovering our sacred resources and responses and bringing them to the table. We are the ones who write poems or sing praises to the divine, even as the stock market crumbles. Our dark days and stumbles are our training grounds. We are learning how to recognize a magnitude that is never threatened or taken away.  We are discovering the river of faith in the dryness of our desert. We are the ones. We may not get it right every single day or even for weeks on end, but we are the ones...(Part 2 After Christmas)


©Copyright 2009 Tama J. Kieves. All rights reserved.
www.AwakeningArtistry.com
Want to discuss this or any other aspect of living your dreams? Please visit our free discussion forum at:  http://www.awakeningartistry.com/resources.discussion.html



Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring

Open House Holistic Sampler

OK what have I been up to I have not updated YP yet!  Geesh:   ok come to this event, treat yourself.  Oh an the vegan chocolates are soooo good, they dont' taste vegan.

This Saturday  Nov. 14^th 12:30-2:00 pm, myself and Bridget Kruzik will be hosting a 

Holistic Open House

 in Shelburne Falls

Experience mini-samplers of Angelic Reiki, Shiatsu…

Tea and raw vegan chocolate treats will be served!  

Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid

Where: 12 Main Street. 2^nd Floor

 (Behind Greenfield Savings Bank)

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Reserve a space to get a mini treatment

by email to Kalavati @  yoginikalavati@gmail.com or

call Bridget @ 413.774.5280. 

Or drop in to pick up a brochure and meet us!

Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring

Media Mention of My Work-Transition Mentoring & Massage Therapy

I'm psyched to be a part of an article in the Mt. Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly.  It discusses various alums of the college and in my case talks about my Transition Mentoring and Massage Therapy practice.  It's  entitled, see below for article:

Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring

My take on an article: THE HUMAN BODY IS BUILT FOR DISTANCE

The Human Body Is Built for Distance

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: October 27, 2009

Does running a marathon push the body further than it is meant to go?

BASIC FOOTWEAR Arnulfo Quimare, a Tarahumara Indian who is a champion distance runner, laces up his sandals for a 50-mile race on canyon trails. 

Ok this tag line is misleading really this is about what we have done to make something "natural," running into an "industry" with correct and incorrect way to do it.  Much of that judgement hinging on $ spent!  Check out the article then read my letter of comment below,  in response sent to NY Times.  This got me because the findings confirmed my own experience, so I was psyched.  In fact as I state below, I've wanted to run more in my regular shoes but felt goofy like folks are gonna wonder about that girl!
Can this apply to our Yoga too?  What judgement about "correct" yoga is hanging over you and perhaps keeping you from getting all you can from this wonderful practice-Yoga with a big Y?

Ok first I am not a “runner.” I tried running got the shoes and started having injuries, while in college. Recently at 46 I’ve been drawn to go for walks, wearing flat thin soled shoes. I then felt ok let’s run a bit and do. But frankly felt stupid running without “running shoes,” which I cannot afford. Yet it’s amazing! Intuitively I knew this- physically I felt better running in this flat “ordinary” shoes, I can feel the ground-what a concept!!! Rather like a whole grain bread vs. denatured white. Or a sunset vs. a video game. Or an olive oil vs…..on and on. And secondly also will just switch to a walk when I get tired (that made sense too) but also felt like “a real runner just runs!”
Again nature (what did our ancestors do successfully,) what are we built for vs. commerce and what we are told is “scientific and advanced” a lot of it is bull. I remember a comment from someone on Kenyan runners and sort of in awe “oh they train barefoot.” sort of like how primitive and yet they succeed. Well perhaps it’s us Westerners who have lost a lot of our good sense. The proof is all around us.
 

Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring

YOGA for KIDS-Resources

I've compiled a list of yoga books and resources for children and a few for teens. Enjoy, and thanks for shopping via my site. Namaste.

Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring

The Speech Obama Needs to Give

A friend of mine who is deeply worried about the world situation sent me this link.  It is not about yoga asana, but about our yoga in relation to the world.  How we "handle," deal with, process and adapt to reality, which is what our practice of Yoga, big Y, is about.   It is always about adapting to our environment, which we cannot transcend--escape from, and even if we could, what about the rest of humanity?  I believe we can adapt, some of us-it will be hard and require huge amounts of tenacity, compassion, cooperation and deep listening to ourselves, others and the Planet.

The Speech Obama Needs to Give

The Speech Obama Needs to Give

Note from the speech-writer: In one illuminating sense, the future is a probability distribution. Unfortunately, a host of not-so-nice futures are now more probable than others at this point. Every species we eliminate; every ton of fossil-carbon we release; every gallon we pull from fossil aquifers; every cubic meter of top soil washed to the sea lowers the probability of the more livable futures.
So trouble’s a-comin’ in what will likely be a many-act play headed downward over the next few decades -- it just remains to be seen what costume it’ll be wearing in each scene. At some point the general public may be told the truth about our predicament -- but maybe not. I suspect the revealing of the truth would be a sort of last-resort for those in power to try to keep things together. This speech is my take on “telling the truth.”

Setting for the speech: Several “bad” things have happened in the span of a year or two (ex: sharp economic downturns, petroleum shortages, extended blackouts, acts of terrorism, flare-ups of civil unrest, storms or other natural disasters, etc.). America is reeling, but the center is still holding -- for now. A slightly drawn Obama sits down at his desk in the Oval Office…microphones on…the cameras roll…

Our Predicament

As I’m sure all of you are painfully aware, the United States, along with the rest of the world, is in the midst of some of the most profound economic, environmental, and energy troubles ever experienced by modern civilization.
I understand the deep pain, anger, and confusion many of you are feeling at this moment, and I sympathize. My goal tonight is to try to clarify our situation a bit, and in doing so, perhaps channel some of those feelings towards more constructive ends.
The economic, environmental, and energy problems we are currently experiencing are not ultimately the fault of any one person, political group, ethnic group, religious group, country, or region. They go much deeper than that. They are, instead, manifestations of the ongoing conflict -- a war really -- between a finite planet and a human species with infinite aspirations.
In such a war -- a war we are waging against our very life-support systems -- we have no hope of winning. Our best hope is to, as quickly as possible, call off the war, regroup, and fundamentally restructure our society around the acceptance of our planet’s finite nature – around limits.
My words here are, no doubt, striking to you. These are not ideas commonly expressed in “polite” circles -- in the national print media, on television, in board rooms, in Congress, in addresses from the President. They are revolutionary. But they are true and they are necessary.
Let me use an analogy from my experience as a father. As children grow towards adulthood, one of the most painful experiences – for both the child and the parent – is the child’s slow realization and eventual acceptance of limits. Such an embrace of limits is, in fact, one of the hallmarks of “growing up.” My fellow Americans, we need to grow up.

CLICK LINK The Speech Obama Needs to Give for the rest....

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Take rest;  a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.  Ovid
Kalavati (Viv Williams)  send e-mail
Shiatsu massage/yoga/transition mentoring