Journey of the Heart

When I was younger, I spent a lot of time walking around in a chronic state of apology… Apologizing for who I was. Apologizing for how I felt. Apologizing for things I didn't even know I was apologizing for. I had collected so much shame, guilt and sense of lack from my own personal experiences and my experiences of being a woman in this world, that my heart was frequently heavy from carrying all the weight, and I lived in an almost constant state of feeling like I needed to prove my worth and show just how "enough" I am. So many women I work with in my practice tell stories that echo my own. Stories with a common theme of struggling with wounds of insignificance, that would tell us our worth is up for evaluation by others, that we are always falling short. Stories that suggest many women minimize their true self, give away the best parts of themselves to others and defer their personal authority in an effort to placate and peace make and help other's feel wh...

I wrote this poem in August 2013 just after what seemed like a "sudden" and spontaneous spiritual awakening… I just remember saying: " I get it" over and over. What I didn't realize at the time, was that it was a spiritual awakening in preparation for the following year of tragedy ahead. My mother and I were very, very close and she was always my support but sadly in January 2014 she suddenly and unexpectedly was given a terminal liver cancer diagnosis with only 3-9 months to live. In February 2014, my mum's soulmate, my stepfather Jarmo, was also given a terminal lung cancer prognosis with only months to live. During his cancer removal surgery they saw that the cancer had spread extensively and my youngest brother and I had to go home and tell mum this is devastating news. She was naturally just worried about him because she had always been his caregiver. Mum only lasted for 10 weeks after she was diagnosed, and my stepdad joined her on 24 Sept...

The cycle of our moon's phases serve to teach us an important lesson  in the realm of the heart… The lesson is that of the fullness and beauty of giving and receiving. She moves through her lunar flow with the greatest of ease and regularity; seamlessly and gently undergoing her daily metamorphosis with wordless grace. In doing so she imparts her secret lesson: We cannot keep enfolded in our arms so many gifts without—having reached the fullness of gratitude—continue the dance and release. The time then arrives to open our arms and cast wide the net of blessings for others to receive. The Great Lesson of the Moon Goddess by Vrinda Aguilera Ebb and flow Ebb and flow Wax and wane Wax and wane The rhythms of the moon queen Each day she edges a slice more towards wholeness Wordlessly, without complaint she paints in her sphere With poise and grace she hovers Her eyes opening, seeing Her journey to fullness pushes and pulls A force that emanat...

Balance teetering on the verge of nonexistence… It takes effort to find balance within. Sometimes I feel as if I am a ballerina teetering on the edge of self-destruction. Too much instruction, too much structure, always distractions, how can one possibly concentrate? How can one go within, where balance exists? How often I wish I was one of those beautiful, unfaltering ballerinas that commend the stage with grace, only the beauty do I see. “Close your eyes I say just breathe” Wellbeing by Kim Buskala To create balance In ones life We must find The center of our being We must be Stretched Bent Folded into many layers We must be Examined and reexamined We must be Unclothed Exposed Ripped open Raw Bare to the bone Exposed Lying in the ditches of our own mind               Balance teetering on the verge of nonexistence Streams of blood pooled Witness to our...

This poem is inspired by the famous meditation technique practiced by the great Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi... He practiced sitting in contemplation, asking the question over and over: Who am I? In asking this question repeatedly, we start to understand what we are not – we are not our bodies, we are not our minds, we are not the fleeting and transient identities we form, and re-constitute, over time.   The more we are capable of shedding the layers of these comfortable senses of self (by looking at them directly, and rendering them strange), the more gracefully we can approach what is most true: that we exist in our hearts, from our hearts, and in a world arising in universal love. With this poem, I immerse myself in a line of questioning that speaks to a state of confusion and longing, one of the many storms traversed in a life on the way to the horizon of love that permeates us … Who Am I? by Tammy T. Stone Who wakes to the mountain morning Bowing ...

Aging is inevitable... Sooner or later it catches up with all of us. This poem captures my struggle with accepting the visible signs of aging … Silvery Strands by Tara Anand Looking in the mirror I see today
 My browns being swallowed by dreaded grey! Startle, rude shock and heavy dismay Although I knew this would come my way. Good Lord, what now! What am I to do? 
I'm too young and vain to let grey rule! Yet these silvery strands are nothing to hide... 
I'm secretly proud of earning my stripes. So I'll follow the norm and color them over But once I turn fifty, I'll let them take over. Photography by Elena Ray Tara Anand (formerly Charu Agarwal)   is a yoga teacher, counselor, alternative healing practitioner and above all an ardent seeker. She practices and teaches Patanjali’s classical Ashtanga Yoga as a means for mindful living, self-inquiry and self-empowerment. She is passionate about sharing the gift of yoga w...