-lisa messina
Sooooo many good things happened in Mexico that I developed a new habit phrase that seemed to be on constant loop in my mind and all I could say over and over again was: “pretty great:)”
It was fitting and true for almost every moment in Puerto Escondido from luxurious beach house living in quiet Los Naranjos to the pure local style hang time in a house in La Punta so fitting I almost moved in for good.
Retreating with the people who make
Downward Dog one of the most enjoyable places to practice in Canada, was a true honor. They couldn’t have made it feel more right for me to be there practicing in paradise with the teachers that I admire most. Claudia of
Cruda Cafe deserves a shout out as well as she fed me exactly what I needed to support a good cleanse.
On this trip, a practice that often comes up for me time and time again continued to show face in a way that could not be ignored: The Art of Letting Go… and where better to drop it all off then into the sand, water and clear blue skies of Mexico. Okay, maybe I did a little shedding on my new best friend and fellow retreater Nikki’s bed as well but she’s a Reiki master so she had the crystals to deal with all the residue.
I could write forever about all the magic that tickled me bright on this trip: Diane’s primal movement workshop in the sand, Ron’s (mexican name: Rinaldo) powerful guidance through pranayama and morning Mysore, Marla’s voice, David’s dowels, hot springs, holding hands with my new friends, surfing, learning the Spanish word for everything that grew in Pablo’s garden, the hammocks, riding in “The Thing” and discovering Tlayuda…but you don’t have time for all that.
What I do want to share is the most profound experience, rooted in the theme of letting go and allowing the greater influence to guide, that I have ever come to know. There was a 7.4 Richter earthquake in Puerto while we we
re retreating. An earth shattering and potentially nauseating quake that lasted for what felt to me like 20 minutes. A true test for my Vipassana meditation practice to say the least.
This is what I wrote home: Read the rest of this entry »
lisa messina
Is anyone completely comfortable with change? I’m talking; career, relationship, birth, death, environment, illness, injury, financial situation… What if one or more of these things suddenly shifted in your life? Would you say that your reaction would depend on your perception – whether you feel the change is for better or for worse?
What if, at the time, it feels like the shift is for worse, but way down the road you come to know it was for better? How much do we fear change, and how can we remain balanced throughout life’s inevitable changes?
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lisa messina
it’s a new year and the holidays are definitely over. as things are beginning to pick up and clip along again, are you finding it hard to keep balanced and peaceful?
i’m no stranger to stress – in fact i consider myself an easily stressed individual, and i must work diligently and stay devoted to my practice in order to release myself from it. i’m an over-achiever, constantly setting extremely high expectations of myself in my work, my relationships, my home life and even my practice. i believe it’s important to have goals and ideas – not to fixate on the outcome or achievement necessarily but to seek a way that is wholesome and fulfilling in order to maintain progress. it’s easy to become obsessed with achievement, the end goal, and in shifting our focus from the now to the later we begin to sacrifice the quality of our work; we alter our behaviour and even begin to entirely shift our perspective. suddenly things in our daily lives seem to take on extra weight; we lose sight of our true selves and see through different eyes, as if a film is clouding our view. we may feel pressure to live up to our expectations, and start believing that others are relying on us to do so as well. how much of this is self created and how much is actually coming from the outside in?
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adam bolton
Folks, we are in the darkest days of the year.
Even the daytime is dark, so dark that it seems to press against the surface of the skin. It’s sometimes hard for a sun lover like me to embrace nature’s beauty when everything looks…well…dead. In these days, before the magic of snow reflects light back into our spirits, the only thing that seems to be illuminating is my computer screen as I fervently search Travelocity for the cheapest flight to Costa Rica!
I miss the sun. The vitamin D supplement has not been cutting it. As it has grown increasingly difficult to extract myself from the cocoon of my bed and onto my mat, I gravitate towards a greater understanding of these, the darkest days of the year.December 21, 5:30pm marks the winter solstice: the day of the year with the least hours of daylight for those living north of the Tropic of Cancer. From that moment forward, the sun will be out for longer each day. It is on its way “back”. What does this mean for our practice and for our lives?It means slow down.Go inside.For those of you who are like me and are, for better or worse, predominately excitable and energetic, and lean towards the yang end of the spectrum, this time of year offers us easier access to the most yin aspects of ourselves. If we align with nature, we notice that there is a calling to go inside, to take time to be introspective, and to find stillness and quietude (which can often be quite allusive). Instead of resisting the heavy nature of December and creating tension, it can be quite profound to dive into quieter practices and open yourself to the possibility of experiencing them with greater ease. As I give in to the dark and reflective qualities of this time of year, I notice how letting go into the natural breath cycle is a piece of cake. Releasing into restorative postures becomes second nature, and Savasana seems to take on a whole new meaning.
lisa messina
I am back to life as it was before I left it for a ten day course to learn the technique of Vipassana Meditation (taught by S.N. Goenka) at the Ontario Vipassana Centre.
Life as it was feels soooooooo different.
I realize I am a preschooler when it comes to Vipassana meditation. I sat my first course two weeks ago and have since committed to a sit at least once a day for 45 minutes to an hour. Nonetheless, I am enthusiastic to share the valuable lessons I have learned this far, even though right now they are just tiny seed sprinkles that may not be landing where they will optimally grow.
I have been actively searching for real peace, true love and lasting happiness for something like 10 or more years now. Within that journey I have gone down windy roads that seem nothing short of fantasy-land: I have committed to a multitude of healing practices, diets and treatments, I have a large enough collection of books, websites and DVD’s to open a small wellness library, and I travelled to India for four months to live in an ashram, study yoga, participate in a month long pilgrimage/educational tour on religion, and see Ayurvedic doctors known for curing celebrity cancers. I have had my fair share of realizations, epiphanies, and spiritual awakenings – whatever we want to call them – all pretty much pointing me in the same-ish direction. All leading me to this place, happier and healthier than ever before.
Vipassana for me is something old, something new…it has lit or re-lit something inside me; I feel the same but different. It’s not so easy to put into words, stages or categories but I can tell you this: I am finding a brightness inside of this being that only takes the three steps from my bed to my meditation cushion to uncover. Sometimes I sit there so overwhelmed with the layers piled on top of this knowledge that I almost forget it’s there. Sometimes I witness a tiny glimpse of the ultimate wisdom and light expanding into infinite space, and sometimes all I can hear is my dog barking while I grow more and more agitated and wonder why my parents are notorious for raising annoying pets…. but overall, something is different in me. An intuitive perception into an essential way of being is now present and alive within.
I sit on my cushion and I see the load I am carrying. I watch myself become tightly wrapped in hard layers, I can feel the flower like petals opening and falling off effortlessly… There is resistance, there is clinging, there is greed, tension, suffering, fear, envy, passion, craving, sorrow…I am seeing, I am observing, I am filling up with love and happiness for all things. I am finding real peace and harmony with it all…inside and all around.
{want to read my journal? click here!}
re retreating. An earth shattering and potentially nauseating quake that lasted for what felt to me like 20 minutes. A true test for my Vipassana meditation practice to say the least. This is what I wrote home: Read the rest of this entry »
