Dear Friends,

Sometimes it’s tiering to always have different opinions than others and feel different about things and, well I guess, just be different. Being different than people expect you to be, different than people wish you were and different than most, starts to feel lonely and hopeless. Its easy to blame our struggles on our differences but hard to suppress our uniqueness and still find connection.  While some of us seem wildly different, we all have unique finger prints, one of a kind irises and even a signature heart beat, we all are individuals, we bear the essence of something new the world has never seen before. It’s a responsibility.   In light of that it’s no wonder we all experience our differentness, and continue to find differences in the rough edges between us and the world.   Rather than just thinking about smoothing out our own edges or changing the world to suit us, what if we search for ways to weave together and integrate these edges into a fertile lattice of creativity and resilience? That way instead of just thinking of ourselves as the isolated special ones in need of perfection we start recognising how much we contribute to each other’s becoming, how much we create when we make new agreements and collaborations and how much life we restore when we use the hard stinky stuff to fertilise new ideas rather than ignoring it and hoping it will disappear!  By no means is this the path of a coward, quite the opposite. It’s time we stop imagining the opposite is always a hero the opposite of cowardice could be boldly making things beautiful despite the wars in the world, it could be advocates standing up for each other’s rights, people who protect land and water, and communities who are brave together honouring peace. 

Time changes humanity not only in technological progress but in the sacred evolution of the human being. In the history of our becoming we have exalted and exhausted the plight of the hero’s journey to discover the jewels of individualism.  Instead of revealing a humanity sparkling in their unique gifts and services for each other we have inadvertently unleashed a tidal wave of greed, together creating an arena where every individual is prompted to fight for their needs, their desires and their well being over everything else.  While some still march to their higher ideals, morality and/or sense of service, our collective agreements perpetuate rewarding greed, speed and power over vision, contemplation and honour. Perhaps there are still gems to be uncovered through the classic story of the individuals’ plight to become themselves against all odds and hardships but lets start complimenting this model with one of bridge making, healing and regenerating life. What could this look like?  Thats the kicker isn’t it?!   I can’t just tell you, you can’t just tell me, we have to actually create it together.  No one person can present a finished picture of how we can do this, but wondering about what the human being is, honouring nature and the being-ness of the whole earth, and/or committing to truth, kindness, life, and beauty all start to lay a foundation for a future that has room for every difference. If we depend on our heroes to make the world for us then we just have to keep finding new enemies for them to battle while we lament all the suffering, instead if we treat our gift of individuality as a responsibility rather than an isolating burden then we can respond by asking ‘how can my differences become gifts for the world?’ ‘ What future is possible through our collaboration?’  ‘What has been planted in me that belongs to supporting life in the future?’ ‘What live in me that is a jewel for your becoming?’ These same questions we ask of ourselves could also create a lens to look at all the different people with their ever challenging differences, what happens when we carry this wonder and questions diligently as we bump into another’s rough edges? What could happen if instead of fighting we ask and wonder ‘what needs to happen now to create more beauty, love and life in the world’?

with lots of love, Rachel

Christianity and Buddhism

 Dear Seekers of Love, Light, and Truth,

When my dad was visiting last summer he told me that he was a Buddhist, a Hindu and Christian!  Needless to say I was a little surprised and pleasantly woken up.  See my father is a priest for the Christian Community and has been since I was 7.  The Christian Community is a nondenominational church that was founded with the help of Rudolf Steiner and has the tag line ‘a movement for religious renewal’.  While the traditional story of a preachers daughter is usually about rebellion and wildness, mine was that and at the same time a story love. As the first born daughter in my family I grew up very much ‘daddy’s little girl’ and loved everything connected to my dad.   One early memory is when we were living in Germany my dad was explaining how American peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were and even though I didn’t like it right away, I worked on liking it because I wanted to be more American, more like my dad.  Oddly enough while I had to work at liking peanut and jelly sandwiches, I always and immediately loved being in church.  There were these great smells of incense and candles,  there were usually good feeling rooms in atmospheric colors because of the veil painted walls and to this day whenever I walk into a Christian Community Church I feel a little like I’m coming home.   As a teenager, after my confirmation at fourteen, I started to realise that amongst my peers religion was not a cool thing, especially Christianity.  Of course I still liked telling people my dad was a priest because it would confuse and shock them and I would have a chance to show off how smart I was and explain the difference between a priest and a pastor or minister and sometimes even the difference between catholicism and the christian community. But I get distracted, back to the topic at hand!   

 In the yoga community I often find myself around more Buddhist than Christians and, of course, all sorts of other expressions of spirituality and ritual.  One of my most influential yoga teachers taught out of a Tibetan Buddhist lineage and it was during one of her classes I was asked to visualise my teacher.  She didn’t necessarily mean herself and I have no idea who other people visualised, but a clear picture showed up for me. The whole image was glowing and green,  it was Christ sitting in lotus position with one hand raised in ‘fear not’ mudra  and the other hand open in a ‘welcome’ mudra. It was so strong and it sang to my heart, I knew this is my forever teacher.  Part of why my dad’s statement was so awakening was because it suddenly allowed for all of me.  Since then I have studied more and learnt about connection between Buddhism and Christianity and other religions that we so religiously try to keep separate, fleshing out a story of collaboration and destiny.   In our modern times it is our task to find humanity in each other not as a source to justify division but to confirm our belongingness to each other and the earth.  

If you are hungry to explore spirituality as part of your becoming don’t fear that you will alienate others through your chosen path, with sincere study your will only find more connections.  In that vein I want to invite you to a retreat my partner is hosting here in Järna where I will be teaching a wee bit of yoga.  I am including a flyer below and some links to explore, but very simply put this stream of Buddhism that he is engaged with is ancient and modern, celebrating the traditions of Buddhism while lifting up the long neglected feminine aspects, figures and elements.

Wether you heart leads you to uncover your spirituality through Buddhism, Christianity, or Nature, our practice on the mat strengthens our body to bare our spirit so we may fervently pursue our hearts desire. This week I am offering one zoom class because of many guests in and out of our home and its a vacation week here.  Take this opportunity to explore these links below and/or visit and subscribe to my youtube channel :)  May your endeavours be fruitful, and I look forward to meeting you on the mat!

with so much love, Rachel

 

https://www.taramandala.org/programs-2/14479/chod-of-chogyal-namkhai-norbu-rinpoche-retreat-in-sweden/

follow this link to read about the retreat here in Järna <3

This link is to a page about Live Sunday Talks with Lama Tsultrim Allione  which a lovely and accessible way to start to get to know this Sangha

https://www.taramandala.org/programs-2/14516/lama-live/

A painting by Mats Hermansson I saw in a Gotland church, the Swedish translates to 'don't be afraid' and notice the mudra!

 

Dear Complex Beautiful Human,

I woke up this morning to an aching and throbbing wrist sucking my energy, bleak prospects about finding a new place, and snow on the ground in April coupled with a hopeless grey sky.  I wished I could just fall asleep again or hide under the blankets for a while, but my wishing was interrupted by my husband bringing me coffee before leaving for work and like a wave of sunshine parting the clouds I then also felt gratitude for my beautiful partner, coffee and the present moment lying in a warm bed in a beautiful place right here and now.  After this wave of warmth, another roll of harshness clawed its way back and I remembered a friend shared with me yesterday about the struggles her son is going through with aggression and eruptions, and another friend the day before who confided that her daughter is hopeless and depressed and she doesn’t know how to help her. While these two stories are about only two kids, unfortunately its far too common of a problem in all of us, but it also echos the stuff that is going on all over the world.  So many wars are still raging against innocent people all over the world, some with real bombs, some with bans and mandates, some purely economic, even some habitual and unnoticed by the perpetrator or victim alike, all of them equally deadly.  All wars divide, some drive wedges between nations and folk, some divide humans from their human rights, and some divide our thinking from our creativity or our spirit from our body. What can we do to heal, help and transform instead of despairing or fighting?  How do we create fertile ground for peace, freedom and love?     

As i sip my coffee I keep feeling this push and pull between anger and depression but also I notice gratitude hanging about at the edges and the desire to share and write a letter to you that gives light, inspires love or ignites action towards creating the world we all want to participate in! If I let my inner division drain me, immobilise or stop me, then I’m defeated truly.  Therefore I need to celebrate that we are not computers, we can be complex and hold paradoxical truths, we can be wonderful while still being a work in progress.   We can work on loving ourselves more while being a force of love in the world and loving others. I can feel anger and fear and also let gratitude in, I can be scared but act out of love or a deep wish for peace even if i don’t know what to do or how we’re going to get there.  I don’t know what to do to make boys feel loved and not want to hit things, I don’t know how to cure little girls from adult sized depressions and inspire life in them again, i don’t know how to stop bombs from falling or the greedy from scheming but i know that despite my fear and doubt i have to try anyways.   If we all try in our ways to heal divides and champion peace, then maybe collectively we have a chance of reaching the one place nobody can get to alone, peace. 

Well my coffee is now long cold, the snow has turned to rain and the sky is still relentlessly grey, but I feel more ready to keep going and creatively raging towards peace, love and collaboration even if we don’t know how were going to get there  because I know I am not alone in this deep wish for Peace. In the spirit of cosmic entrepreneurship we need to say yes to what we want, Peace, even if we don’t know how to do it!  We will discover the way together.  

Come join us on the mat, lets remind each other that we are truly in this together, help each other keep our hearts up and keeping our practice on. 

with lots of love, Rachel 

p.s. if you are not making it to your mat these days are you praying or meditating?  what are you doing to keep your light on and how are you actively working towards peace?  there are many ways, but if your searching  below is a thread that you could follow...

TĀRĀ YÜLLE GYALJEMA, 

protector against war and violence.  find out more about her and a mantra for piece by following this link:

https://www.taramandala.org/13th-tara