Stillpoint Hildegard Offering in April

Hildegard was a wondrous scholar, physician, artist and mystic in Germany’s Rhineland, many centuries ago. Jillian and I had the privilege of walking portions of her pilgrimage trail in 2019, when we were traveling in Europe and bringing some of my mother’s ashes back to her homeland. It was hauntingly beautiful to walk in the ruins of the monastery she established as a woman of her time, against all odds. Her legacy lives on in music she composed, her artwork, the stories of her vast knowledge in natural medicine, and the many wondrous reflections of her mystical insight. Stillpoint will host a morning offering with Kathleen Deignan, who will guide us in seeing the power of Hildegard’s teachings in the profound and urgent quest of these times, to draw back from environmental devastation and enter into a new era of reverence and deep care for earth and all her creatures. See the description and details for this offering, presented in the flyer posted below. Please direct all inquiries about this program to Stillpoint.

New Links for Remainder of Winter Qtr

Please note that new links have been sent via email for the remaining classes for Winter Quarter. If you did not receive them, and are enrolled in this quarter, please let me know and I will pass them along.

New Link Coming for Class 2/3/21

Greetings! My computer is broken— so I will be sending a new link to you for tomorrow evening’s class, as I will be using Jillian’s computer! I will keep you posted as to the links needed for the rest of the quarter, once I have reorganized my technological life. Stay tuned! If you don’t receive the new link by tomorrow midday, please send an email alerting me.

Yoga Sutras Online with Ravi Ravindra

Many of you know of Ravi’s superb teaching through the blessed days of studying together here at Turtle Haven, in days when such gatherings were common, and which now seem ever so much more precious in retrospect! Here is a forthcoming online opportunity to study with Ravi through the Theosophical Society. Please note if the timing does not work for you, the sessions will be available through recordings.

https://www.theosophical.org/program/webinars/4917-the-purpose-of-yoga-exploring-the-wisdom-of-the-yoga-sutras

Photo by Rahul on Pexels.com

New Session/Fundraiser Reflection!

Greetings as we live into the New Year sense of a chance to begin again, provided by the calendar having shifted into 2021, with the prospect of new governance, the presence of the vaccine, and whatever inspiration may be stirring in any of us, as we begin anew– and yet continue on our paths! I find inspiration in these words of recently deceased Barry Lopez, a soulful and brilliant man; he embraces our complex journey as individuals and as the weave of the larger collective of humanity, in a way I find true and stirring:

No culture has yet solved the dilemma each has faced with the
growth of a conscious mind: how to live a moral and compassionate
existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent
in all life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s own culture,
but within oneself.  If there is a stage at which an individual life
becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its
unfolding and accepts the responsibility for a life lived in the midst
of such paradox. There are simply no answers to some of the great
pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life
a worthy expression of leaning into the light.

I hope you might join me in the Winter Quarter, of course with the medium of Zoom practicing in our own places, as we “lean into the light!”

I wanted to share that we together raised just shy of $2,000 to share with the local houseless community, and Maher Ashram. The vast majority of the local donation went to Lydia Place, which has a clear and solid mission in our community. Some of the least served population of houseless folks here in our community, many of whom struggle with the disease of addiction, and with mental illness are currently in the camp outside City Hall. This is a very challenging situation for all of us– and one we must consider as essential to remedy. While there is no clear path yet, there are dedicated volunteers, and many people from the community providing basic sustenance for this particularly painful part subcommunity of the houseless in our midst; I donated $250 of our proceeds to the Human Rights Task Force who are helping with the collecting of resources for the 210 Camp. Flip Breskin, long active in our community as musician and justice activist offers a very practical Coumbia Neighborhood newsletter. While much of it is NOT pertinent to those of us in other neighborhoods, or out in the county, there is much to be gleaned if one wants to help out with various causes in Bellingham. Flip has organized food offerings for the Camp 210, and other such wonderful undertakings. It may be worth subscribing to her notices! Here is a link in case you are interested:

http://flip.breskin.com
 

May this forthcoming year unfold with increasing grace, insight and compassionate action as we take on the challenges before us!

Poem from Class 12/19

Just finished the benefit restorative class! There was a request for Lois’s beautiful poem.
Please know I am still accepting donations for Maher and the local houseless community, if you wanted to make an offering but have not yet done so! My Venmo is @Elizabeth-Kerwin-3 or a check or bank transfer is also possible. All proceeds will be donated. Many thanks to all who came to class today, and/or donated! Happy Solstice!

The poem is by our own Lois Holub!

Announcement

Today, taking nothing for granted,

I praise with gratitude this most extravagant gift:

This luxury of listening.

Wind moves a chorus of trees into sound-

the cear, then the maple, then east to the cottonwoods.

The birds- different families of song and chatter-

finch, chickadee, wren and waxwing.

The chirp and buzz of hummingbird.

The drone of mason bees, diligent and driven toward pollen

& back again to the darkness of their round chambers.

The constant undertone of the river,

like a tiny boat

that drifts forever through my ear canal…

The world is breathing my own breath with me.

I belong here, listening.

Listen!

It is all a love story,

a life story,

each moment a birth

day

present

Shelter From the Storm Fundraiser

Greetings! Sending out this reminder that this coming Saturday I will offer a 2 hour class by donation, and would love to see you there. Please feel free to share with others, and to donate as little or as much as you wish. I am so glad to share in a time of inwardness and deep stillness to nourish body and soul this Saturday morning from 10 am to 12 pm, as we move to the dark edge of the year, which then shifts back towards light!

Corrected Flyer Winter Yoga/Benefit Class

This flyer has the accurate AND CORRECTED date for the Solstice Fundraiser, which is SATURDAY, December 19th, 10 am to noon. The class will be meditative, relaxing, and gentle! Please feel free to invite others. All proceeds will be donated as per the flyer description. I left the donation amount completely open ended, so please offer what feels comfortable and doable! When I receive your donation, I will send the link for the session. Of course feel free to donate, even if you are unable to attend the class. Checks made out to Elizabeth Kerwin and mailed to me at 6551 Rutsatz Road Deming WA 98244

Wonderful Poetry Event!

I recently attended an online Speakeasy poetry event, called “A Spiritual Thread” and thoroughly enjoyed it. The next round is Saturday December 12th, and I know many of you would be enthralled. Jillian and I will “be there!” We found this to be one of the most inspiring online experiences we have had in these times of drinking in art and culture in new ways. Below you will find the details. Please contact the organizers directly for information and the free link for this special offering. Here is the text from Luther Allen’s blog:

Please join us on Saturday, December 12, 2020, at 7:00pm Pacific, for the second round of poems from SpeakEasy 27: A Spiritual Thread. As with Round 1, Susan Alexander, Luther Allen, Bruce Beasley, Jennifer Bullis, and Dayna Patterson will each read one poem linked to the previously written poem (or poems), discuss the linkage, and whatever else is on their mind. At the end of the reading there will be a group session with further discussion and questions from listeners.

The poets’ bios and a video link to Round 1 are available on the SpeakEasy 27 page(video link is at the very bottom).

The Zoom link is included in Luther Allen’s announcement email (dated December 5) or you may request the link by sending a note to othermindpress@gmail.com.

Winter Yoga/ Solstice Fundraiser